This is a great little trick. I'll have to admit that it's pretty darn convincing. When I watched
the demo, I could see a move that was suspicious... but I suppose laymen aren't watching that
closely.
Nick does, as usual, a great job teaching this. He's very clear and goes nice and
slow. This trick is essentially a mini-routine as you actually do a variation of the linking laces
twice (and if you choose to, you can even start with Nick's version of the self-tying shoelace).
Speaking of self-tying shoelace, I will just say this right off the bat: when I heard that
there was a bonus trick of the self-tying shoelace, I was excited to see how this would be done
gimmickless. To be honest, this version, in my opinion, is not as good as the original... so it
doesn't replace it. HOWEVER, it is a sufficient method that works. So I would use it. In fact, my
idea would be to attract spectators by leading with the Jay Noblezada self-tying shoelace... and
then have your other foot ready for the linking laces mini-routine. You could, in effect, be redoing
the self-tying shoelace using a different method. If you have some smart butt out there that knows
the original trick and calls you out, you can let him examine this other leg (where you just did it
a second time). I guarantee you that if he looks for a gimmick and doesn't find it, his mind will be
BLOWN.
Now regarding the actual trick, it is definitely a brain stumper as well. Nick's
presentation really makes this feel like a magic trick (instead of just some topographical
manipulation or tricky knot). The fact that this is done on a spectator's shoe instead of your own
is a huge bonus.
The only downside to this trick is an obvious one... this is a limited
viewing trick. You'll want to position your body so that everyone can easily see what is happening.
Either that or use a stool to prop the spectator's foot up for easy viewing.
This is an
impromptu trick that, once you learn it, will enable you to always have something when people ask
and you have nothing else. It's organic (everyone wears shoes) so you don't have to have cards or
coins.
All in all, I say that this is a great trick. I give it four stars... I generally
reserve 5 stars for the mind-blowing extreme visual stuff. Get this trick!
(By the way, I
always try to be honest and straightforward in my reviews, while being respectful to the magician.
If you appreciate my reviews, can you please click the "Yes" button below beside the question, "Did
this review help you?" It's not like I actually benefit in any way by your clicking it... but it
would be nice to see if my reviews are helpful or not. I hope they are. If you ever have suggestions
or comments or questions about my reviews, please feel free to leave me a constructive comment. I'm
just trying to be helpful. I love the Penguin community and hope that I can someday contribute my
own product. :-) Thanks for reading and for any (hopefully positive, but either way, at least kind)
feedback.
16 of 17 magicians found this helpful.
Before buying this know what you are actually performing. The trick has two phases. The first phase
creates the ILLUSION of the two laces being linked together. It involves a relatively simple move,
but you have to watch your angles (which is easy to do if the person with the shoe is looking
straight down). In part two you actually re-tie their shoe lace in a special way that allows the
laces to be literally linked together. The knot is complex and takes a fair amount of practice in
order to be able to tie it quickly and smoothly so the spectator thinks you are just re-tying their
shoe. The final result is pretty slick though. The advertising is deceptive and the price ($10) is
high for what you get.
8 of 8 magicians found this helpful.
This is not a feature effect by any means, but as a throw-away impromptu you can’t go wrong. If
someone has laced shoes with long-ish laces you are good to go. Phase one sets up the second phase
which leaves your spectator with permanently linked laces.
The bonus effect of ungimmicked
self-tying laces is a bit iffy, I have trouble keeping it set as I walk around but you can be 90%
set and complete it discretely.
7 of 7 magicians found this helpful.
because I want as few as possible other than me doing this trick! Just kidding. This is one of the
best impromptu tricks that you can perform where you link a spectators laces together. Not only
that, they walk away with their shoelaces still linked, a huge smile on their face and puzzled to
heck. There is no preparation required, no gimmicks, no set-up just learning the trick and having it
your arsenal at all times and ready to go in a pinch. Yes, they have to be wearing shoes with laces,
I’m sure you will be able to find someone. If not, no problem, demonstrate it on your own shoes.
Nick does an amazing job of teaching you how to do this and the camera work is excellent.
He also relates many useful tips to help make your performance as perfect as possible. I and you I’m
sure will learn the first phase in just a couple minutes. The second phase where they walk away with
their laces still linked will take a bit longer but it is very well taught. One you learn it, you
have it! Use one or both phases, it is up to you. Great to transition into after doing some linking
rubber band magic. As a bonus, you will also learn a ‘gimmickless’ version of the self-tying
shoelace. The tutorial is 40 minutes long and there is no wasted time.
You will wish that
you had known how to do this earlier and realized all the missed opportunities you had to blow away
your spectators minds. This is really a fun trick and you will enjoy doing it as much as the
spectator will enjoy having it done on them.
5 of 6 magicians found this helpful.
It's a great impromptu trick but can only be done on shoes with long laces.If you perform it
flawlessly,which isn't hard to do with an hour or two practice, they will be baffled and won't
forget what they just saw for a long time. I like it because it's not cards or coins and you don't
need anything to do it. Just a pair of shoes. How simple and organic is that? Paul Harris is a
genius. Get it.
4 of 4 magicians found this helpful.
I love having a video tutorial on this link! I'm a longtime owner of this effect. I've owned this in
its print form for over 10 years. I did learn the special knot from the text and pictures. Though
over time I've forgotten the knot.
Now that I own the Penguin video I can easily relearn
the effect and special knot without trying to make sense of the intricacies of the knot from text.
Yay!
Recommended.
4 of 4 magicians found this helpful.
First, I have to say it's very well taught and it does take some practice to do smoothly. But I
thought when am I going to use it - I live in Florida the land of flip flops. I learned and
practiced it because I figured it might come in handy one day.
And it did. Yesterday at the
gym. I was having a conversation with a gent on the treadmill next to me and was asked what I did
for a living. I answered magic.
"Show me something," he said.
"Do you know that
trick where magicians link those metal rings," I started.
Need I say more ...
3 of 3 magicians found this helpful.
I feel like we are the lucky ones here. I do own the original. But it came with pictures. So it’s
easy to see why a video of something I already love is so good. I don’t think I can add anything to
the reviews that hasn’t already been said. I can promise that once you learn how this is done, (
it’s sooo easy ) you’ll be performing this on every pair of shoes that has laces. This is something
I can recommend and encourage others to pick up. It’s worth every penny.
3 of 3 magicians found this helpful.
This will take some practice but it's nothing the average person can't master with a little
patience. I suggest you learn it with the soft, flat type of laces (as opposed to the harder, round
type) and, as suggested in the video, have lots of lace length to allow for sizable loops in the
beginning. I especially like that the spectator can walk away with their laces linked (which is
another reason to look for the soft flat laces because the final link is less likely to come undone
prematurely later). I was torn between a 4 or 5 star rating only because I'm not sure this is
something I will use regularly, but I decided on a 5 because it's clever and leaves the spectator
with a nice souvenir.
2 of 2 magicians found this helpful.
I have written quite a few reviews, I love new magic. This trick has got to be one of my all time
favorites for a couple of reasons. Number one, it's impromptu, you may want to scout out your
favorite shoe to work with but that's it. Second, your spectator is going to walk away wearing what
you just did. They're going to be showing their shoe to people and talking about what the "Magic
Guy" just did. They are wearing the physical evidence of a little miracle. You will definitely need
to practice this until it's ultra smooth. Nick gives great advice about how to get ready and what
you need to do before giving this a go in the real world. He is an outstanding teacher and the
camera angles in the tutorial are perfect. This is a worker and you don't need to carry a thing
except the knowledge of what to do. Practice hard and give people something their going to walk home
with !!!
2 of 2 magicians found this helpful.