Empire Magic's PEN PENETRATION

What The Audience Sees:

'This week Jamie had me sign my name across a Sticky Note. He then put a pen through the paper, through my name. When he took the pen out, though, the Note didn't have a hole in it anymore!'

How It Went:

Great! Here was my complete presentation:

"Hi everyone. Hey John, sign your name across this Sticky Note, will you. Thanks,it's just a regular Sticky Note, yeah? Cool. You know that trick that they did in the 1930's in India where a boy would climb up a rope into the sky and disappear?"

Someone would say yes.

"Well, we're not doing that one..."

Laughter.

"Instead, we're going to do the one where they'd put the kid into a basket and drive swords through it. You know, they'd pull the swords out and the kid was fine."

I put the pen through the Note.

"John will be our little kid, and this Note will be the basket. You can all see my pen of death going straight through John, yes?"

Everyone agrees that the pen is going straight through the signature.

"Let's take the pen out and try to make the Sticky look more like a basket..."

Covering the entire Sticky with my hand I pull the pen out sideways and crumple the Sticky Note into a ball. Contrary to the popular method, I make no move of taking the pen out. As far as everyone can tell, I am ripping the pen out and crumpling the Sticky into a ball, which I put into John's hand.

"That's better. Okay John, hold onto your Basket of Doom and let's say the magic words, 'Jamie is Fantastic.' I think it worked- John please uncrumple the basket! Fully restored? Let's give a big round of applause to John!"

Applause.

Best Lines:

'What are you doing here?!!?' I think they meant, what am I doing still working a regular job as opposed to simply being a super famous magician. I replied, "Because, Dear Audience...of you." and bowed. Sometimes I crack myself up- a sure key to happiness :)

Angry Bob Rating:

I have a co-worker (Bob) whose uncle was a magician and thereby has a good working knowledge of how magic works. He's pretty grumpy but likes Magic Friday's because he can tell me how he figured out how the effect is done... A high rating means he'll never figure it out.

5/5. 'Show me the other $%#%@^ pen @$%^@!.'

"There is no other pen, Bob."

'#$@@!%^! Give me that!'

Then it got really funny as Bob took the pen apart. I love it when people ask to see the pen because it totally fries them.

My Rating:

My rating system is completely different from most people's I'm sure. I give everything a 10/10 and deduct points from that. I look for tricks that I can carry around, are natural, that can be inspected, are spectator proof, that lay people like, that I can carry around all the time, etc. The pen is great and I bring it to gigs but I'm not taking it out to the 7-11. It's also gimmicked so I'm going to say...8.5/10. That sounds good. If you look through most of the Magic Friday's, I rarely give something less than a 7/10. That's not because I think everything is fantastic, it's simply because I try not to perform crappy magic. I succeeded this week.

The JDG Tip:

I get the spectator to sign the Sticky Note with the pen. While I'm asking them to inspect the Sticky Note, I 'get ready.'

Closing Thoughts:

I really like this trick and would be curious what the 'nicest' version of this is, using the exact same method. Can I get a Mont Blanc like this? PM me if you know of a high class version. That's about it!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Jamie D. Grant

P.S. Steve Brooks has kindly informed me that my Empire version of this is, in fact, a rip off of John Cornelius's PEN THROUGH ANYTHING. As a result, my Empire version is being disposed of this very second.

Please support the originators of magic for, without them, Fridays simply wouldn't be the same. Take Care.

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