The Genii Forum

All:

I want to find a chopping block that I can safely stab a knife into a card and be able to lift up the board vertically and still have the knife/dagger stuck into the board.

However, most of the wooden boards I've seen are too hard for this purpose, since they are designed to be chopped on. I don't want to get into the situation where I need to really stab hard because I think that's just asking for trouble. I also don't want to lift up a board that won't hold the knife securely because that is also asking for trouble.

Needless to say, going down to my local Bed, Bath and Beyond to test this out on the various available boards would likely get me arrested.

Those of you who do woodworking, can you please suggest a good wood for this purpose? I was thinking perhaps I could make one on my own or get someone to construct one for me.

Many thanks!

This is a great board with side handles and a flat front to slide out the cards easily:



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Primitive-Pine- ... SwBahVYQuI

Teak?

Cork.

A 12"x 12" tile would probably be best. Maybe a small (2' x 1.5') bulletin board.

observer wrote:Cork.

A 12"x 12" tile would probably be best. Maybe a small (2' x 1.5') bulletin board.

Is this Cork the same thing like a cork board you put pins in? Would that be strong enough to hold a knife/dagger?

erdnasephile wrote:

observer wrote:Cork.

A 12"x 12" tile would probably be best. Maybe a small (2' x 1.5') bulletin board.

Is this Cork the same thing like a cork board you put pins in? Would that be strong enough to hold a knife/dagger?

Are you going to hold up the board showing the knife stuck into it, or are you going to use the knife to raise the board? I don't suppose it matters much. Cork is very light but solid, so it should work either way, just so you're not using a Ka-Bar or other inappropriately weighty knife. And it's self-healing, so you should be able to use a block more than once. I don't think any other kind of wood, even balsa, will meet the conditions as well.

I'd like to pin the card with the knife then tip up the board vertically.

The problem I'm trying to avoid is here at 4:13 (Mr. Thompson does his usual terrific job with the trick, but the difficulty with the board is apparent.)

Looked into the cork-- sounds like you can order it an inch thick which just might work. (Either that, or I suppose one could just glue thinner layers together.) Thanks!

On a tangent--when looking at video on card stabs, an alarming number of magicians use balisong (butterfly) knives to do such effects close up. I personally think this is crazy. I got interested in these knives in the old Pacific Cutlery days and even the best knife manipulators' knives would go flying from time to time. I'm pretty sure stabbing your spectator would be a definite applause killer.

Butterfly knives are also illegal in some areas.

Erdnasephile, when you stab the knife into the board for the final card, you must TURN the knife so that the blade direction is parallel to the wood grain. From my experience with this trick, the knife will fall down if you stab it perpendicular (or on the diagonal) to the wood grain.

I use a basic wooden cutting board from a dollar store, but have also stabbed directly into the furniture like Malini did, with some of the antique furniture at the Waldorf.

Hi, Mr. Cohen: Thanks! That's awesome--sounds like I don't need anything fancy--just the right technique. Appreciate this a lot!

Back in the 1960's when working my way through college doing magic, I often featured this effect. Since I was operating on a limited budget, I did not like the idea of having to constantly replace a piece of wood with numerous knife stabs in it. I preferred to spend the cash on the fairer sex. My solution was to use a coconut husk doormat as the surface to accept the knife or ice pick point. This material accepts the flat or round points at any angle, holds the knife or ice pick in an upright position, and lasts forever. Give it a try and you will never use wood again.

Here is an example:

https://www.google.com/search?q=doormat ... _Me2wYM%3A

These mats can be ordered or found in about any size.
Jim

Thanks, Mr. Riser---I'll check them out!