I don't understand why someone would complain about the price of this item. If you wanted to buy a decent boon writer, it would cost at least this much. You can't compare this to cheaply-made gimmicks in this category.

Anyway, if you do mentalism work, you really need to have this sort of a gimmick. You could opt for a nail writer or a boon writer, but the reason I prefer this is because nowadays, a sharpie seems much more natural. Who still uses pencils? Plus, the writing from a sharpie is far easier to see.

Refilling it isn't a problem, since you can just use the insides of a regular sharpie. No need to repurchase a new one. Definitely one of my favorite gimmicks.

Hi. This is your official PenguinMagic reviewer, B_Magic.

I got a Super Sharpie a couple years back, and to be completely honest, it's for the most part sat on the shelf. First of all, it's a little pricey for what you get. The idea behind it is genius, but the practicality and functionality of the thing is just not so good. It's harder to use than a swami gimmick, it's MUCH noisier (which is not good for this effect), and it needs refilling. It just isn't as practical to carry around.

Again, the idea is genius and I love the "hidden in plain sight" feature with this (much like Quantum Bender). However, practically, it just wasn't the thing for me. A swami is better.

B_Magic

YES, this WILL take practice to be able to use it confidently and convincingly. But the time you put into it WILL BE worth it. For what you can do with it, this is CHEAP! Someone said it makes noise when you use it. That tells me that this person has not put in the time with it to develop his technique and to experiment with the best writing surfaces. This is not a toy for kids. This is not a "self working magic trick" to impress your friends. For anyone who is serious about this art though, this is an amazing tool to add to your arsenal! I consider myself a mentalist, not a magician. This is one of the tools I ALWAYS have on me. I am able to do a complete mind reading act, seemingly impromptu using nothing more than a couple markers, a small notepad in my shirt pocket, and a business card wallet in my back pocket(with some business cards and billet slips inside obviously). You can too. Just get yourself a Super Sharpie, a Telethought Wallet, Psypher (with Psypher Sharpie), and Allan Zingg's complete course on billet work. Forget the deck of cards. This is all you need to create mindblowing mentalism demonstrations anytime anywhere with a few normal looking items that are totally normal to carry around with you.

This is a clever idea to put the hookup
on the writing utensil itself,
hidden in plain sight.

However, it could be improved in a number of ways:

1. The swami part is black. Why? A non-gimmicked sharpie is not black on the end. It's gray. If you're going to make it black on the end, that's bad for the following reasons-- a., it doesn't look like my real sharpie; b., it stands out/contrasts with my flesh-colored thumb. Making it flesh-toned would make it 10 times more invisible in case you flash it, but I understand that would look very strange on the sharpie. Making it light gray is much less contrast against my thumb color. That's why magicians use red sponge balls, or flesh-colored sponge bunnies. The red sponge concealed in the hand looks like a shadow within the hand, and Goshman's 3D bunnies look nearly flesh-toned. That's also why (I think) most magicians prefer red-backed cards. The red (on white stock), really pink from a distance, approximates a (white) hand.

2. The black puddy this comes with sucks. I use Tacky Wax (which by the way is far superior than Magicians' Wax for just about anything, comes in a small yellow tub) or that super tape (it's red, double-sided tape on a wheel, you can get it at Walmart in stationary or crafts/sewing section). Way better alternatives, and they are transparent and more sticky.

3. Using a marker may impress those familiar with nail writers (magicians). It's a great achievement. However, practically speaking, a professional magician's hands should be sparkling clean. This ink gets everywhere, all over your fingers. Maybe with great care you can avoid it, but that just adds to the difficulty, when china marker NWs or lead NWs don't have that problem at all.


Here are some tips if you want to use the Super Sharpie:

-Blank playing cards are perfect. No noise when writing.

-Business cards that have gloss finish on BOTH sides are ideal. Not a matte finish on the blank side.

-Use double-sided tape instead of the black puddy. Or Tacky Wax.

-Shove the Super Sharper in your rear and get Solari's Swami Secure, which is the best NW I've ever tried. It even beats Lincoln's Best Boon, no question. And the latter is way more expensive. It's 10 times more stable and secure than anything, it's like a dream. Super easy hook-up too, since it's attracted to a magnet, fit's in the smallest pocket or behind your lepel or collar or under your rolled up sleeve. You could even hide it in your hair.

Here's a funny and revealing story...
I've pretended to write the number or word in BLUE PEN.
I set the BLUE PEN down.
Then I swami'd the number or word, which to your educated eye actually looks like black crayon (china marker).

Nobody noticed the discrepancy, and they were all blown away.
I wouldn't make a habit of that,
but just know that in a pinch,
it doesn't really matter if you grab a pen
and your swami is marker or pencil lead.
They're so in shock that the number/word is correct
that they're not thinking (I guess).

I'm always surprised how a swami has gotten me out of some embarrassing situations, similar to if you can one-hand palm a card. Recently I dramatically revealed a card, and the spectator said, "That wasn't my card." This was at a paid gig. I said, "Oh, that's interesting," then I quickly scanned the deck and cut it to the top, and continued, "because the 10 of clubs isn't even in this deck," I one-hand top palmed the card and, "it's been here in my pocket."
Yes, if you don't do the one-hand top palm, then you're out of your mind.
And if you don't swami, then you're out of your mind.
It will serve you for the rest of your life.

This is a great little gimmick, as most magicians carry around a Sharpie anyway. However, it is way too expensive for what you get. This should be less than half the price that it is. It will require some practice, and you will really blow people away. The concept is great. I knocked off 2 stars solely because of how expensive it is.

The super sharpie is a great gimmick that you should carry around all the time. Magicians usually carry multiple sharpies anyways so it's easy to get away with. The only downside to this product is that you are limited to certain canvases. A nice plastic coated business card will work great, but a paper one won't. The reactions you get will depend on how you use it though.

This is a well made gimmick and it works very well. It will require practise until you've got the handling down to a very smooth and natural motion.

It's a bit pricey but if you're looking for this sort of gimmick then it'll be worthit.

I bought this a while back and I LOVE the idea! The problem is that the actual writing implement is too fine and because of the design it causes a lot of noise! This is a big problem for this type of effect. All in all, a great idea, but could use some refinement.

Of all the magic and tricks i have, this is my far one of my favorites, second only to the three shell game. whenever i go out i always carry my thumb tip, business cards and my super sharpie. no reset, you can write anything (with practice, start with numbers), and powerful. this is the perfect ice breaker and deal maker. i asked a girl if i could guess her phone number would she let me buy her lunch. lunch date next day. also i use it to pass out my business card.
all in all this is one of my best investments.

can't recommend this enough, add to cart today.

Ok, it's still just a trick. But this sharpie makes great use of the old swami gimmick. Everything is built into the sharpie. You start clean and you end clean.

This is one of my most requested tricks. Girls love it when I guess their birthday, and you can with this very cleverly made sharpie.

Write down their birthday, hand them the sharpie after your prediction is made, ask them when it was, they look at your prediction and you're right. Can you ask for anything stronger?

Add to cart.