talkmagic.co.uk

I'm making a new review because I disagree with seige's...

The Effect
As copied from Penguin...
The Ultimate Close-Up Linking Ring Routine!

This marvelous routine features one eye-popping, magic moment after another! And thanks to the inspired structure, the rings can be examined before and after the routine!

Learn "The Shake Off," "The Edge Link," "The Crash Link", "The Blow Off", and more!

PLUS 8 BONUS SANKEY ROUTINES!

Dowsing: Jay's IMPROMPTU version of the classic Paul Curry effect!
Economic Risks: The mentalist puts his money where his mouth is!
Hot Date: The coin transpo you can do anytime, anywhere!
Sudden Triumph: Think "Dai Vernon as a hired assassin."
Kung Fu Coin Change:A 3-phase routine full of new moves!
Collateral Damage: Deadly easy vanish & appearance of a signed bill!
Menage a Trois: An ingenious mental sandwich effect!
Yes & No: Jay could've sold this killer card effect as a separate item!

Cost
Standard...$29.99


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)

Well...the linking rings are about 2, and the effects range from 2 to 4.


Review
I got this mostly because Sankey says, loud and clear, that the keyrings are examinable. They're not. I repeat, the keyrings are not examinable. If you handle them right, they look like they've been examined, but they're not.

Apart from that, this is the same as any other linking ring routine. The keyrings are a nice touch, but they're too big for standard keyrings (at least here they are) so people know that something's funny.

The bonus effects, IMHO, are a lot better than the linking rings. Yes and No, especially, has got its own part as a prediction routine (audience freely chooses a card, card has "Yes" written on the back, all the other cards say "No").


EDIT: I would like to point out that I made this review just after buying the rings, where I was still a bit new to the whole magic thing and not having learnt that sales pitches are misleading.

If you have spent almost any time in magic you will probably know how the linking rings work. That's not the point, and I should have known that . To the spectator, the rings are fully examinable (really). They can look at them, check them out, link them - no problems there. When you link them it really is magical, and it really does look good. If you were considering buying the rings, please don't be put off by this review. Have a look at seige's - it's much better than mine!

Overall
It's not a totally new effect, but then you shouldn't have expected that. What it is is a new rethinking of a classic that makes it a very workable solution for the linking rings close up. 10/10!

The bonus effects are worth it, though.

To be honest I would have thought it would be obvious to anyone with any magical experience that the rings must be gimmicked and therefore can't be honestly examined. However, the effect is that they have been examined, and isn't that the relevant thing?
I think it was always sold as a linking ring routine, but with keyrings (so that you can walk-around with them). I was never under the impression that there was anything particularly new about it but I think does what it says it does pretty well. It's a linking rings routine you can put in your pocket. To the best of my knowledge that's not been done before.

My main complaint was that Sankey clearly states that the rings are examinable. This led me to believe that he had invented some new kind of gimmick, that meant, say, that the *** in the ring was covered when you show it.

Apart from that, the set is perfectly good - in fact, I'm fiddling with them right now o_0.

katrielalex wrote:Sankey clearly states that the rings are examinable.

And the ones you hand out are! The package includes everything you need to present examinable rings to your specs, Sure, it's weaselly words but since when was magic ever about honesty? I guess you could say that that's all very well but shouldn't he be more forthcoming to magicians? I guess that's a fair argument but advertising is always about putting the product in the best light and Sankey can justify that statement.
It's always a case of caveat emptor.

Charles Calthrop wrote:Since when was magic ever about honesty?

True, true.

The effect is excellent, it's just nothing new.

This sounds just like any and every ring connecting trick made. Ya know one and ya know them all.

Charles Calthrop wrote:It's always a case of caveat emptor.

I disagree. This is false advertising, and there are laws against this. I'm glad I saw this post. I was almost going to buy this, cuz I need examinable tricks. Now when I say examinable, I mean 200 teenagers (ok maybe 170) that grab. Clearly this wouldn't have sufficed in my case. Lord knows how many times I've had to just walk away cuz they were too grabby and wouldn't let me do a trick from start to end.

I'm glad I saw this post. I was almost going to buy this

One of the main reasons we do what we do! Glad the thread helped you .

I just reread this review and I really think that I was being WAAY too harsh. Having used the rings on and off for a few months they have really grown on me as a very easy way to do the linking rings close-up. Sure, they're not 100% examinable but as far as the spectators can see they are perfectly normal. If you can't stop them grabbing the rings out of your hands then I wouldn't perform for them anyway, examinable or not.

I think I'll edit the review, I really wouldn't want to put anyone off this that was going to buy it. They are brilliant!

If you want a good review please have a look at Seige's - much better than mine!

Kati

Not at all. Your initial thoughts will be anyone's initial thoughts. I had hoped the 'new improved welded gimmick!' meant some invisible examinable trapdoor, thus the price, oh well. If it's just the standard gimmick then we're paying mostly for the DVD - then we choose differently.

Yeh, I have grabbers, I try to remember which ones and only do grabbable tricks there.

Hey Kati,

I appreciate the fact that you came back to update your thoughts on this product.

I really love doing this trick. While the concept is old the Sankey's key ring version breaths a new life to this trick. They are ordinary objects which a spectator can relate to, they are small which can make them easily portable, and most of all, make them examinable .

I also think the other trick he includes on the DVD are quite good and makes this a worthwhile buy.

The only issues I have is:

1) He should have taught a few more moves regarding the three rings. I am not that fond (or confident) of the one he teaches - regarding the break up of the three rings - because I can see it a mile away when he performs it (but I guess I won't really know until I try it on a layman).

2) The only other bone I have to pick is that I agree with the comment that Sankey is falsely advertising the product. I know why he is stating what he's stating but he could have said something along the lines of: "everything can be arranged to be completely examinable". Irregardless that I and probably many others might have known that the rings wouldn't be examinble; he sets a dangerous fashion by getting away with this comment.

Nonethess, as stated before, I love this trick! I have never ever been caught! And I have even been asked on occasion if I could teach the spectator to be able to do it on their own key rings so they don't have to waste time fiddling with them

But in saying all that