Pour-Man's Salt Gimmick

[Guest]

Here's my "Pour Man's Salt Gimmick" idea.
http://www.theambitiouscard.com/gallary.pl?pourmans

Very close in size to the Kozak Gimmick which I owned for a short while.

You can pick one up at the drug store for $15 or so. Or buy them off ebay.
http://bizrate.lycos.com/haircare/oid451791429.html

The size is great as is the shape. Spray paint the color of your choice and you've got a very inexpensive and nice salt gimmick. You can even glue a steel washer on the bottom to allow ditching on a magnet.

[Guest]

If you like a ball shaped gimmick (and many do not), the original bottle selected is not bad. IMHO - The large flat bottom is an improvement over the Kozak gimmick as is the shorter neck. The neck could still use a little fine tuning for easier gripping and the way oversized washer on the bottom is laughable. A thinner fender washer the right diameter would be much better. But if it works for you, that's fine.

FYI...
On several special orders of my Ultimate Salt Gimmick I actually spun the bottom half of the gimmick from galvanized steel. This allowed magnet ditching and even magnetic valves. You may see some such gimmicks in the process of being made here:

http://jamesriser.com/Magic/salt080sm.jpg

The two in the center have steel bottoms. Some of the others are all copper and others all aluminum.

In this image, you may see all three types. The steel bottomed one is in the middle of the stack.

http://jamesriser.com/Magic/salt081sm.jpg

Note: All of the gimmicks shown still needed their gripper ring installed before completion.

You may also see one with a sliding magnetic valve here:

http://jamesriser.com/Magic/SpecialStee ... t085sm.jpg

Enjoy.

Jim

[Guest]

Nice stuff Jim.

Why is the shorter neck an improvement over the Kozak? I personally didn't think it was? The longer neck seemed a bit easier to do a thumb palm steal.

Frank

[Guest]

Frank;
A longer neck means the "closed fist" needs to be open more to fit everything in when flowing salt. A long neck requires a huge hand! If you look at the shape on my Ultimate Salt Gimmick, you will see that it is "squatter" when in the salt flow position. This allows for a more closed and natural looking hand position. The Classic Salt Gimmick shape also does not require a huge hand. This has been confirmed by many performers who after trying the Kozak gimmick went back to a smaller more manageable size of gimmick. There is much more to a salt gimmick than how much salt it will hold. I've even made smaller versions of my Ultimate Salt Gimmick for several female magicians with smaller hands. For additional info check out the Roy Benson book.
Jim

[Guest]

I'll check it out. Speaking of too big. That book is too big. Can you make a smaller one of those?

[Guest]

Frank;
You'll need to talk to Levent or Todd about the size of the book. I thought it was just right. ;)
Jim

[Guest]

The bizrate/lycos link is dead. What is the bottle?

Thanks!

[Guest]

Dan;
If you really want to go cheap to experiment with this effect and a ball shaped gimmick, go to a "Dollar Tree" store. A local one has hundreds of the raw ball shaped containers. They are plastic water holders for a water gun (squirt gun). Each gun comes with two containers. The bottom could easily be flattened with some heat. With the smaller neck on these, the thumb clip steal would work best; but a larger tube could be added for a finger tip steal, if desired. These go for the princely sum of $1 per set - not too bad for experimentation purposes. They probably would not hold up to the needs of a pro; but would be good enough for learning a routine to see if you really want to add the effect to your show. These are ideal for the cheap do-it-yourself "magician".
Jim

[Pete Biro]

If you want to go Big Bucks... Joe Porper has made a limited number of double ended salt gimmicks with an ingenious valve system. You can turn it on and off, and turn your hand over and have it pout out of the top or bottom without any adjustments.

[Guest]

Pete;
Any salt gimmick with a hole or valve on the bottom allows salt to flow from the top or bottom of the fist. Either my magnetic valve or older ball valve versions both allowed this "feature". Heck, you can do it with the old Vernet plastic gimmick. Nothing new, Pete. :sleep:
Jim

[Pete Biro]

This one has two valves, one top and other bottom. It is meant as a second load as you CAN NOT pour salt into it during the show, but need to pre-load.

[Guest]

Originally posted by Dan Trommater:
The bizrate/lycos link is dead. What is the bottle?

Thanks!

Hi Dan, do a google search for "tigi girl toys"
and click on images.

I used rustolium "sand" spray paint and a big ugly fender washer glued to the bottom.

you could even drill a tiny hole in the bottom of the bottle and place a small flat magnet over the hole in the washer to make a valve.

If you consider the time spent and money spent it makes you realize the riser gimmick is priced pretty well.

the kozak gimmick is 3 times the price I think but I guess you get the rights to do the routine. I think that is part of the thinking there.

[NCMarsh]

A quick second to one of Mr. Riser's comments...if you're doing the salt pour (and, for that matter, if you're doing any number of classic stand-up effects) the Benson book is extremely worth your time..

[Guest]

I agree that the benson book is great. Just not for reading before falling asleep due to safety concerns.