JES magic Paul Fox Cups

[Guest]

Has anyone actually seen a set of these cups in person?
I saw them on the web site. I am torn between the JES magic cups or the Johnson cups. Can't decide! I just really like the design of the JES cups.
The Johnson cups have three ridges like the Paul Fox Chick Cups and The JES cups have two which is the style I really like! I would love a set of Paul Fox cups but $700 dollars just seems way out of line I perform! My cups won't be sitting they will be working! In addition I want the cups to be made of copper not brass.
Why did Johnson make them in brass anyways?
Can they be purchased in copper?
Well if anyone has an opinion on these cups let me know!

Very torn!

-Rick :(

[Cugel]

I have a set of the JES cups in copper and they're excellent. They're beautifully hand spun with good weight and no gap between the lip and the body.

I agree with you in that I prefer the PF two ring design (JES) as opposed to the PF three ring design (Johnson) and I only ever like my cups to be tarnished copper, rather than brass or chrome.

[Robert Kane]

Rick: I have both sets and both are wonderful.

For the best value and for pure strength of metal, I would recommend the Johnson Golden Cups. They look and handle great in that Foxy-Thermos Cup style. In addition, they are very thick and strong for years of heavy use. Just don't use them with an Ammar Mercury Wand which has sharp metal tips that can easily scratch & ding any right angles on the cups.

I would also absolutely recommend the fabulous JES Squatty Cups...more so for collectors though because of the cost and specific shape. However, I have no doubt that they would clearly be great for pro workers too and could stand up to decades of use.

Finally, don't forget to consider the Johnny Paul/Pete Biro Classic Cups available from Stevens Magic, James Riser's Jumbo Cups or the Owen Magic Supreme Stainless Steel Cups.

Be sure to see James Riser's web site for purchase information on his cups as well as a wealth of information on other available and historic cups.

[Pete Biro]

As beautifully machined as the Johnson Cups are, I find that the weight/balance doesn't suit me. At first I was thrilled and delighted with them

Not having handled the JES Cups, but they are as close to the Danny Dew cups as you will ever get, I would go for them. I believe I have a set (I can't tell them from the Dew Cups).

Brass? Johnson wanted to machine them from brass, because copper is much softer and I don't think you can turn it as nicely on a CNC mill. Spinning cups in Copper is easier than brass.

If you decide to ever go for JUMBO cups, check out the Galli Galli cups (my make) at www.stevensmagic.com

Check out www.jamesriser.com for all you need to know about cups.

:p

[Jim Riser]

Jon's JES Squatty cups are a very good spun cup which will be very difficult to tell from a Paul Fox Cup. I li ke the set I own. You would not go wrong with them.
Jim :)

[Cugel]

The Cellini cups are also very nice. They are VERY heavy copper and aesthetically very pleasing to the eye. They also ring like bells if you strike them with a wand (and I mean loud), a quality that's not really there with the JES cups. The problem with the Cellini cups is that they don't stack as well, there's a slight tilt. Aaron Shields thought this was a feature built in as part of Cellini's routine, but it kind of annoys me. But they are VERY reasonably priced, about $150, so definitely the best value for money.

The JES cups are the ones I'll be using professionally. They look and handle very well and are just basically great PF cups. I don't care about dents and dings and I like them tarnished, so your mileage may vary. I think they're great.

I also have some Charlie Miller (aka Bertram) cups that I got from Pete Biro. They look nice but don't seem to be a matched set. (The lips vary and some of the spinning is wonky.) Still an okay set of cups, though.

I may look into the Riser and Biro cups in future, though. (Never thought I'd get bit by the collector bug...)

Best,
Andrew

[Joe Hanosek]

The JES Squatty cups are great. I would highly recommend them.

[Pete Biro]

Andrew is right. The Charlie Miller and Phoenix cups--copies of the Ross Bertram cups--are not well made. The Miller cups were very cheap, selling under $50 a set for a long time. Many of the Phoenix cups have been selling as "2nds" on ebay... because the spinning is very sloppy.

Ross Bertram's cups were perfectly spun and polished at the same level as the Danny Dew Fox cups.

Cellini's are OK, but wobbly as Andrew said. Gazzo makes a great large (not really Jumbo) cup but at $350 is a little pricey. I call them intermediate size.

Riser's cups are perfectly made but scarce.

There's a guy on ebay who sells "Glass cups for learning" who also makes a super high quality large cup but $500 a set. I believe they are imported from Iran.

The serious collector should look at all the links and pages on www.jamesriser.com

That's where you will find all you need to know.

If you want huge cups the Millenium Cups are fine and well made...

But remember if you use the JUMBO cups, how you going to load 'em? It almost means you need to use a "poacher's pouch" like the street workers.

For Chick cups, copper or nickle plate, see mine available from Joe Stevens... www.stevensmagici.com link to galli galli cups.

stay tooned... :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Pete Biro]

Ooooooooooops... should be www.stevensmagic.com
:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Shawn Preston]

I too am looking for a new set of cups. I really like the Michael Kaminskas cups but can't seem to find any contact info for him. Can anyone help

Thanks in advance
shawn :D