Magic Tricks

When I was a kid I took lessons from Aldini (Alex Weiner). He introduced me to the power of R/S that went well beyond the Invisible Deck. Al also introduced me to Joe Berg, who was a real character as well as a collaborator with Aldine on a number of R/S effects. Long story short, I’ve been making my own R/S cards and decks for over 50 years. I’ve tried everything imaginable and for me, hands down, Grip Stick is the easiest, quickest, cleanest and most effective method for roughing cards. I also really like the video tutorial that comes with Grip Stick. Erik is a great teacher and he shares a lot of ideas that should help everyone get started using this amazingly simple product. The so-so reviews here are puzzling to me, as I really can’t say enough about how well Grip Stick is working for me. My thought is that perhaps some people are not taking the time to apply Grip Stick correctly. When Aldini taught me how to rough cards using beeswax, he said each card needed to be rubbed for about 30 seconds or so, rotating the card around so it is fully coated. Pressure is also important. I use a little more pressure than I’d apply using a standard pencil eraser to erase a pencil mark. Bottom line is I like Grip Stick better than spray, fluid and even beeswax. And yes, it is a little expensive but I think the video tutorial adds value making the package well worth it. I bought the combo pack with Grip Sticks in 2 strengths and have so far only used the “regular” strength to build a couple of test invisible decks. Both decks perform flawlessly and as good or better than any ID I’ve purchased over the years.