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The Effect

The ultimate Staple Gun Roulette



Cost £24.99 (sort of, I'll explain later)



Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

I'd give this a 2. It's easy to do but you have be a little bit careful in your handling.



Review

This is a simple concept. Four staple guns are shown to be empty. One is loaded. The staple guns are mixed by the performer while the spec is blind-folded/turned away. The performer then uses his powers of persuasion to psychologically force the spec to choose the unloaded guns. Each gun is then fired into the perfomers face (or wherever you like) until one is left. This is then shown to be loaded.



Overall

I've always wanted a russian roulette type effect in my routine, and this is going to be it. Mark Spellman has a staple gun routine on his 'Chapters of Spellman' DVD which he released in 2004. He has stopped using his method and now uses this one. That should give you some indication as to how good this routine is. This is an absolute killer piece of material in my view. It's safe, (well, provided you're not a complete idiot) and any 'risk' has been reduced IMHO to virtually zero. You can relax and simply focus on your presentation, building as much tension as you possibly can.

My only word of warning before you rush out and buy this is that you only get the DVD. It may surprise you to learn that staple guns are bloody expensive bits of kit, and when you want four of the blighters it may make your eyes water. The guns that Tesei uses are made in Sweden and you can get them in the UK for between £17 - £26 EACH, so it will pay to shop around. Basically, if you're looking to get a workable staple gun roulette routine up and running you won't get any change out of £100.00.

This is 10 out 10 for me. I love it, and I can't wait to perform it.

K

Excellent review, thank you! It's possible to get staple guns at a much lower price - see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-6338 ... 89&sr=8-12 for one example but I don't know if they would work with this routine. Don't give away any secrets but is the design of the gun 'significant'?

Mandrake wrote:Excellent review, thank you! It's possible to get staple guns at a much lower price - see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-6338 ... 89&sr=8-12" target="_blank for one example but I don't know if they would work with this routine. Don't give away any secrets but is the design of the gun 'significant'?

I won't give anything away but the staple gun you buy is of the utmost importance. You can shop around if you have the time and opportunity to inspect different guns. Unfortunately these sorts of products are usually sealed in those impossible to open plastic cases. If you bought one, or indeed four, you'd be taking a massive...... well...... 'Risk.' (sorry, couldn't resist it!!)

I am certain that if you have the time you can set this up for cheaper than I have. If however, you watch the DVD and like me start running round the house looking for your credit card in sheer desperation, it's probably best to stick to the ones you know will 'guarantee' the workability of the effect. Hope this helps.

Oh, and if anyone does do this for a lot cheaper, for goodness sake don't tell me!!!

K

I must admit I'm very tempted by this..... perhaps not for the kiddie-winks Christmas Party but the parents might appreciate it....

Mandrake wrote:I must admit I'm very tempted by this..... perhaps not for the kiddie-winks Christmas Party but the parents might appreciate it....

Absolutely! This is definitely a cracker! I'd also state on the gun issue that the cheaper ones tend to look less 'meatier.' The ones Tesei uses look like they might take your head off!!

K

I can just picture it, Santa arrives at the party, reaches into his sack and extracts several lethal looking staple guns.....

Mandrake wrote:I can just picture it, Santa arrives at the party, reaches into his sack and extracts several lethal looking staple guns.....

Hahaha! Well the guns are red so at least they'll look a bit festive!

.

My staple guns have arrived and I am performance ready. However, I would like to point out to anybody who is considering doing this routine the following nugget of information that I wasn't aware of:-

STAPLE GUNS HURT EVEN WHEN THEY ARE EMPTY!!!!

Now maybe be it's just the model I bought and I've been unlucky but it's something to bare in mind. Of course, it could just be my delicate baby soft skin causing the problem and I'm just being a big fat ninny!!!

K

kevmundo wrote:My staple guns have arrived and I am performance ready. However, I would like to point out to anybody who is considering doing this routine the following nugget of information that I wasn't aware of:-

STAPLE GUNS HURT EVEN WHEN THEY ARE EMPTY!!!!

Now maybe be it's just the model I bought and I've been unlucky but it's something to bare in mind. Of course, it could just be my delicate baby soft skin causing the problem and I'm just being a big fat ninny!!!

K

Man up Kev!

Please show me this routine ASAP, i want to be your volunteer!

Much love

Aza

If I can make it on Thursday I'll bring my staple guns and you can staple away!!!

K

Yes!!!

I'm up for it Kev

Much love

Aza

Thanks for the review.

One thing I'm unsure about this routine is how the last remaining staple gun is demonstrated to be the 'live' one.

For me this is an important factor as it shapes the ending of the routine and how it can be made to play out as a piece of theatre.

The climax might need to be faked (wouldn't be the first time I've had to deal with that) with the last staple gun appearing to be live and proved to be so in various ways or it could be that the last staple gun can genuinely be shown as being 'live'.

Can you tell me which it is? either here or in a PM?

Many thanks.

I can't go into to much detail for obvious reasons but I'll PM you and should be able to clear up any concerns you may have.

K

Thanks for the PM Kevmundo.