(Close Window) Topic: Ball colors and sources
Message: Posted by: Dave McFarland (Apr 20, 2008 10:14pm)
I'm wondering what color C&B balls everyone uses and finds most effective for their routine. Currently I'm using white, since I use a black closeup pad and I find that provides great contrast. But recently I was wondering if other colors are more effective when presented on the top of the cups or in the hand.

Also, where else besides RNT2 and Brett Sherwood can I find quality balls?

thanks
Message: Posted by: Bill Palmer (Apr 21, 2008 12:09am)
The color of your clothing must also come into consideration.

Go to the cups and balls museum web site, go to the page that shows all the balls and loads, and check the links there.

There are way too many to list.
Message: Posted by: kentfgunn (Apr 21, 2008 12:41am)
Frank,

I have a set of the monkey fist balls made by Frank's company. They are top quality. Mad Jake of RNT2 also has very nice crocheted ones. Brett Sherwood makes inch and an eighth balls. Brett's are expensive. I happen to use Brett's because they came with the cups. If your table top is black or green blue balls show up the worst.

All the above suppliers have a good variety of colors. I'd pick red, white and blue, myself!

Bill, Darn it, I never worried about the color of my clothes. I'm like most magician's, I'll never be as good as my cards. At least they have four suits.
Message: Posted by: MickeyPainless (Apr 21, 2008 1:32am)
As I've mentioned many times in the past, I am a huge fan of the Monkey Fists from Frank!
Message: Posted by: Bill Palmer (Apr 21, 2008 1:59am)
Most of my clothing that I wear when performing is black. So white or red shows up very well against them and my close-up mat. Sometimes a multi-colored ball is good, because of the way it contrasts with more backgrounds.
Message: Posted by: Jeff Dial (Apr 21, 2008 3:32am)
My close up surface is red as well as my costume. My balls are black. Contrast is the key.
Message: Posted by: Hansel (Apr 21, 2008 4:02am)
Blacks and White balls look very nice obviously separate.
Thanks,
Hansel
Message: Posted by: Dave McFarland (Apr 21, 2008 10:58am)
Thanks for the info guys. I ordered a set of monkey fist balls from Frank.
Message: Posted by: mmreed (Apr 21, 2008 9:53pm)
I use monkey paw style balls - red in two sizes... from my own store of course! LOL

The monkey paws are nice for roll control.
Message: Posted by: Bill Palmer (Apr 21, 2008 9:59pm)
That is the best reason to use the monkey fist balls. They basically don't go anywhere unless you want them to.
Message: Posted by: pepka (Apr 22, 2008 12:22am)
I normally use leather monkey fist balls I got from James Riser. They are red and black. Just like Bill says, they don't go anywhere unless you want them too. I DO use Brett's manipulation balls when I'm using the Sherwood cups. My routine with these cups is slightly different and I use the centrifugal move which is difficult with monkey fist balls.
Message: Posted by: SpellbinderEntertainment (Apr 22, 2008 1:18am)
I have a friend who is about to retire and loves to crochet,
she's offered to cover mouse-balls in any color I'd like,
if these work out she may be persuaded to make custom covered balls a
nd maybe even load balls, any future interest?

Magically,
Walt
Message: Posted by: Bill Palmer (Apr 22, 2008 2:30am)
I may be interested in some of those.
Message: Posted by: Frank Starsini (Apr 22, 2008 3:14am)
Mouse balls are very very very heavy. I used some for quite a while and really liked them but they take some getting used to. I'm planning on sending a batch of mouse balls to josh so he can do his monkeyfist magic on them but have been too lazy to do so.
Message: Posted by: raywitko (Apr 22, 2008 9:28am)
My wife crochets over balls. We used cork a few years ago. What would be the best type and size of balls to use now to cover?
Ray
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Mar 26, 2011 11:45am)
Just a note to make you aware of these:

Magicalaurie's Monkey Fists


Laurie
Message: Posted by: Frank Starsini (Mar 28, 2011 2:43pm)
Here's one reason I love the Nylon Monkey Fist balls. If you're a worker, the leather monkeyfist balls soak up any dirt and oils from your hands
and eventually look very dark. A customer of mine showed me his red ones and they were almost black (literally) after using them for 2 years.

Also, I stopped using leather ones because I didn't like they way they "clung" to the wrong items constantly. They won't slide on surfaces, such
as the table top, the cup walls, etc. That makes several moves much more difficult. The nylon balls slide easily. I use the pearl colored mouse balls
and they are as bright as the day I got them.
Message: Posted by: Mobius303 (Mar 28, 2011 4:59pm)
Those look great Laurie.
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Mar 28, 2011 5:20pm)
Thankyou! :)
Message: Posted by: jazzy snazzy (Mar 28, 2011 5:41pm)
Ooooo! Nice work Laurie.
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Mar 28, 2011 6:51pm)
Thankyou very much! :)
Message: Posted by: Frank Starsini (Mar 28, 2011 10:42pm)
Those are nice Laurie, I was not able to see them earlier.
I swear all I saw was a picture of a monkey on your web page.
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Mar 28, 2011 11:12pm)
Thankyou, Frank! The monkey is on my old viviti website which will be expiring in a few months. If you click on him, he'll take you to the monkey fists on my new site. :)

Laurie
Message: Posted by: afinemesh (Mar 29, 2011 1:16am)
Back to color:

On a black close-up mat, I think RNTII's green (7/8" money) balls look great with my aluminum mini DA chop cup and I just got some yellow 1" stingers that look great with the "BAR" cup. Also, I think white looks great with copper cups!

Jorey
Message: Posted by: Motor City (Mar 29, 2011 1:57am)
Your monkey fist balls look great! You should be proud.
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Mar 29, 2011 11:13pm)
If perchance that was directed at me, I'll add another Thankyou! :)

Laurie

Posted: May 2, 2011 4:36pm
I've got some new colours available now! See my "PUNCH of Colour Celebration" banner on the main page of the Café!

Laurie
Message: Posted by: Bill Palmer (May 2, 2011 6:59pm)
I ordered three sets of Magicalaurie's monkey fist balls in yellow, and she threw in a sample of the "punch of colour celebration" ball, as well. This is a really nice ball that should work well on any dark background. It brings back memories of some of the more tasteful pastel tie-dyed clothing of the '60's.

I realize that it may be difficult for some of you to think of tie-dyed clothing as being tasteful, but if that doesn't work for you, think of some of the nicer-looking tie-dyed silks. I think Laurie has a winner on her hands.

Bill
Message: Posted by: jazzy snazzy (May 2, 2011 7:16pm)
You have memories of the '60s?
Wow.
Message: Posted by: Bill Palmer (May 2, 2011 11:27pm)
I was more of an observer than a participator.

Someone had to drive. ;)
Message: Posted by: cdmdu (May 6, 2011 7:40pm)
Dave, I use a black close-up pad too. Therefore I have bought several different coloured crochets balls. I think that the red ones I used before didn't provide a good contrast with my pad (I don't tell any patter about vampires). Nowadays, I use white balls with my chop cup (and another green one) which is in aluminium. To use with my combo nickel plated set, I have turquoise blue (with silver metal) balls. I can use them with a cooper set too. The green sparkling balls - dragon scales (RnT2) are brilliant too and available with either cooper or grey-metallised cups.

I just have some colours-associated fears:
I think yellow and especially orange balls aren't giving a perfect contrast with copper cups.
I fear that my white balls become dirty and not so clean as they are now.
Message: Posted by: Bill Palmer (May 7, 2011 12:57pm)
If you allow your copper cups to patinize, yellow will work very well with them. Not only that, you will eliminate flashing by reflection, that is, people won't see reflections of things they shouldn't see.

Patinized cups can look very good. When they get to the point that you like, apply a little oil to the surface, allow it to set overnight, then wipe it off. The oil will stop the patinization from proceeding further, and will give the cups a bit of sheen.
Message: Posted by: yin_howe (May 7, 2011 11:40pm)
Quote:

On 2011-05-07 12:57, Bill Palmer wrote:
If you allow your copper cups to patinize, yellow will work very well with them. Not only that, you will eliminate flashing by reflection, that is, people won't see reflections of things they shouldn't see.

Patinized cups can look very good. When they get to the point that you like, apply a little oil to the surface, allow it to set overnight, then wipe it off. The oil will stop the patinization from proceeding further, and will give the cups a bit of sheen.



Dear Mr Palmer,

Is there a particular type of oil?
Message: Posted by: yin_howe (May 8, 2011 12:37pm)
Quote:

On 2011-05-06 19:40, cdmdu wrote:

I just have some colours-associated fears:
I think yellow and especially orange balls aren't giving a perfect contrast with copper cups.




Not really.
Message: Posted by: cdmdu (May 8, 2011 3:21pm)
I know that. But it's in my mind that these colours (it's just orange and some sort of yellow, not so flashy as those shown on the photo) don't fit with my copper cups (and strangely I don't like patina on my cup, so they always are shiny).
So, I don't use yellow or orange balls.
Certainly not the universal truth, but just my little one.
Message: Posted by: Bill Palmer (May 8, 2011 3:55pm)
This is, of course, a matter of personal taste. If you are going to use shiny cups, you need a color that will contrast with them, as well as with your close-up mat and your clothing.

@ Yin Howe -- almost any light, clear oil will do. Mineral oil would probably work well. If you play a brass instrument, the oil that is used on the slides of these instruments should do nicely.

Jojoba oil should work. I don't know if I would use corn oil. I wouldn't want my cups to smell like Doritos!
Message: Posted by: yin_howe (May 9, 2011 3:39am)
Quote:

On 2011-05-08 15:55, Bill Palmer wrote:

@ Yin Howe -- almost any light, clear oil will do. Mineral oil would probably work well. If you play a brass instrument, the oil that is used on the slides of these instruments should do nicely.

Jojoba oil should work. I don't know if I would use corn oil. I wouldn't want my cups to smell like Doritos!



unfortunately I dun play any instruments, so I have no knowlegde of the oils used on brass intruments.
Will baby oil work? (wow..i feel stupid typing this)
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (May 12, 2011 3:54pm)
If you would, please keep an eye on the What's Cooking? forum for Café members only specials on Magicalaurie's Monkey Fists thru May 31. :)

Laurie
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (May 21, 2011 1:42pm)
I've got some more new colours here now: http://magicalaurie.media.officelive.com/monkeyfists.aspx
My apologies if the page loads a little slowly- I'm working on changing the layout.

Laurie
Message: Posted by: Bill Palmer (May 21, 2011 4:28pm)
Quote:

On 2011-05-09 03:39, yin_howe wrote:
Quote:

On 2011-05-08 15:55, Bill Palmer wrote:

@ Yin Howe -- almost any light, clear oil will do. Mineral oil would probably work well. If you play a brass instrument, the oil that is used on the slides of these instruments should do nicely.

Jojoba oil should work. I don't know if I would use corn oil. I wouldn't want my cups to smell like Doritos!




unfortunately I dun play any instruments, so I have no knowlegde of the oils used on brass intruments.
Will baby oil work? (wow..i feel stupid typing this)



Very light machine oil should work. Rub it on, let it sit, wipe it off.
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (May 23, 2011 9:58pm)
A couple more new colours up tonight. :)

Magicalaurie's Monkey Fists

Check out What's Cooking? for 3 Specials running through May 31.

Laurie
Message: Posted by: ringmaster (May 28, 2011 6:35pm)
Spring colors is great, had to order them.
Message: Posted by: Rainboguy (May 30, 2011 9:48am)
I had Frank make up a set of 1 1/8 inch green monkey fist balls for my Mendoza Combo Cups, and they are the finest balls for c/b that I have ever seen in my life and highly recommended.

See my quote on Frank's website.
Message: Posted by: ringmaster (May 30, 2011 10:41am)
Quote:

On 2011-05-30 09:48, Rainboguy wrote:
I had Frank make up a set of 1 1/8 inch green monkey fist balls for my Mendoza Combo Cups, and they are the finest balls for c/b that I have ever seen in my life and highly recommended.

See my quote on Frank's website.

Chopped ?
Message: Posted by: Paul Mims (Jun 5, 2011 1:07am)
I ordered some Crochet Balls from Donnie at RNT2 and I got them in two days via Priority Mail!

The Snowballs in 7/8 are working like a charm in the Charlie Miller/Magic Inc. Cups. The look, the feel, and the weight are perfect.

I also got some Parakeet Blues and some Original RNT Reds in 1" for my two sets of Monti's. All I can say is wow!

If you are looking for some Crochet Balls for your cups, do yourself a favor and order some from Donnie at RNT2. You won't be disappointed.
Message: Posted by: ringmaster (Jun 26, 2011 9:08am)
I ordered a set from Laurie and they arrived in four days, from CANADA, amazing !!!!
Message: Posted by: Bill Palmer (Jun 26, 2011 12:45pm)
Quote:

On 2011-05-30 10:41, ringmaster wrote:
Quote:

On 2011-05-30 09:48, Rainboguy wrote:
I had Frank make up a set of 1 1/8 inch green monkey fist balls for my Mendoza Combo Cups, and they are the finest balls for c/b that I have ever seen in my life and highly recommended.

See my quote on Frank's website.

Chopped ?



These are combo cups. Figure it out.
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Jun 27, 2011 5:17pm)
Quote:

On 2011-06-26 09:08, ringmaster wrote:
I ordered a set from Laurie and they arrived in four days, from CANADA, amazing !!!!



:) Thankyou.

Laurie
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Oct 16, 2011 8:04pm)
http://magicalaurie.media.officelive.com/monkeyfists.aspx

I've finally got the layout rearranged and have a bunch of new colours here. New drawstring bags to go with sets, also.
Message: Posted by: Frank Starsini (Oct 16, 2011 10:19pm)
Quote:

On 2011-05-30 09:48, Rainboguy wrote:
I had Frank make up a set of 1 1/8 inch green monkey fist balls for my Mendoza Combo Cups, and they are the finest balls for c/b that I have ever seen in my life and highly recommended.

See my quote on Frank's website.



Thanks Rainbowguy!

Here's a link to his quote and a quote by Jamy Ian Swiss
http://theambitiouscard.com/aitem.cfm?itemid=75

I use the pearl balls (monkeyfist version). No other ball has such remarkable qualities.
I would never use anything else.
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Jan 13, 2012 9:32pm)
A note to let you know I now have Chop Monkey Fists available. More info on this thread: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=408599&forum=218&24 and at my website.
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Apr 5, 2012 9:50pm)
Just to let you all know that in honour of Magicalaurie's Monkey Fists 1 year anniversary I'm having a Spring Sale: http://magicalaurie.media.officelive.com/MMFs1stAnniversarySale.aspx
Message: Posted by: Jamie D. Grant (Apr 6, 2012 2:00pm)
Magicalaurie- those look great! Would you be able to make the 7/8" in some sort of Day-Glo or fluorescent green?
Message: Posted by: Bill Palmer (Apr 6, 2012 2:37pm)
Re: baby oil. Baby oil is generally made by adding a fragrance to mineral oil. So, if you want your cups to smell like a clean baby.... ;)
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Apr 6, 2012 4:20pm)
Thankyou, Jamie. I do have the "Bud Green" included in the sale right now- might be worth trying at sale price- it is very vibrant. If you'd prefer a more specific neon green, though, I'd be willing to do a custom order for you- let me know with a PM if that's the case. I appreciate your interest! :)
Message: Posted by: JESmagic (Apr 6, 2012 7:47pm)
With regard to "patinized" cups, I have found a company that sells various patina solutions, which can turn bright copper cups into coffee color brown beauties. They also sell a variety of coatings, from lacquer to oil which can be put over the patina to seal the process. I have used the mahogany brown patina to get a beautiful rich patina on my cups--but you do have to apply it properly so that you don't get spots. Here is a link to the site:
http://www.sculptnouveau.com/

In terms of ball color, I have struggled with this myself, because I generally use cups with a dark patina. I make miniature baseballs (similar to Mike Rogers) which I use. I started with tan ball, similar to the color of the ball used in the Ammar video, but as it naturally darkened, I found it blended in with the cups too much. I've recently been dying various pieces of leather, and have found that a metallic silver contrasts EXTREMELY well with patina covered cups. Here is a pic--albeit, not the best quality bc it was taken using my iphone, but you can see the tan ball and the silver ball next to the patina covered cups.
Message: Posted by: Jamie D. Grant (Apr 12, 2012 5:35pm)
I just ordered some balls from magiclaurie- and her customer service is awesome! Looking forward to getting them!
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Apr 29, 2012 1:24pm)
Thanks, Jamie! :)
New Link to Sale
Message: Posted by: s.freeman (May 2, 2012 3:02am)
Laurie, these are absolutely gorgeous props! I can't wait for my next paying gig so I can order some!
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (May 5, 2012 1:50pm)
Thankyou very much for the mention, s.freeman- I appreciate it!
Message: Posted by: Alan Wheeler (Jun 1, 2012 6:46pm)
Do the Rings-N-Things green "money" balls look equally good on red and green velvet? I assume they would also show up well against either a red or black costume.

I am trying to figure out what color balls and final loads to use with a copper, mirror-finish chop cup. I've been searching the topics and see that Pete Biro recommends white, then red. I see that several people recommend the yellow stingers.
Message: Posted by: Alan Wheeler (Jun 3, 2012 4:01pm)
White balls would probably work best with bright copper and red or black costumes. Can anyone confirm or deny?
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Jun 5, 2012 1:40pm)
Just to let you all know about Magicalaurie's Monkey Fists' Red and White and Blue Sale .
Message: Posted by: Alan Wheeler (Jun 6, 2012 11:00pm)
Hi Laurie, I'm going to look and see if you have chopped balls. What colors would you recommend to go with bright copper with black or red mat/costume?
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Jun 7, 2012 11:28am)
I do have chopped/combo sets, Alan. First off, I recommend it's a colour that you like and identify with and is consistent with the tone of your routine(s). After that I say, white would likely suit, but what about blue? :)
Message: Posted by: Alan Wheeler (Jun 7, 2012 7:58pm)
You must be a mind reader! I've been using blue balls on a red surface for the 1,000 rehearsals that Bill Palmer suggested: wax on, wax off!
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Jun 8, 2012 11:48am)
They don't call me magicalaurie for nothin', Alan. ;)
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Aug 27, 2012 12:57pm)
My mind reading skills elude me at this time, however... a Café member sent me a message at my sharepoint website last night re. 3/4" Banana Yellow balls. I'm going to try and work some out today- the density of the banana yellow cord makes the smallest size generally 7/8" but I should be able to work out some 3/4" for you. Please PM me here- I tried to send you an email reply but your email address bounced it back to me.
Message: Posted by: Dougini (Aug 29, 2012 3:50pm)
Wow! These are beautiful, Laurie (as are you)! I have the RnT's polished stainless steel Paul Fox's with 5 blue/glitter balls. Very, very nice! I like Laurie's! Yes, recommended! :)

Doug
Message: Posted by: NicholasD (Sep 6, 2012 10:04pm)
Quote:

On 2012-08-27 12:57, magicalaurie wrote:
My mind reading skills elude me at this time, however... a Café member sent me a message at my sharepoint website last night re. 3/4" Banana Yellow balls. I'm going to try and work some out today- the density of the banana yellow cord makes the smallest size generally 7/8" but I should be able to work out some 3/4" for you. Please PM me here- I tried to send you an email reply but your email address bounced it back to me.



I'm the guy. Just thought I'd let everyone know that I ordered two sets of monkey fists and received them today. As mentioned earlier, Laurie's customer service is awesome and the balls are perfect for my routine.

Thank you, Laurie.
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Sep 6, 2012 11:29pm)
You're welcome, Nicholas. Thanks for posting. I appreciate it. :)
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Sep 29, 2012 1:42pm)
I've got a limited edition Hallowe'en special- ORANGE magicalaurie's monkeyfists- it's difficult to capture their orangeness, but I'll be posting more pics as I get them. These will be around only while quantities last!
http://www.magicalaurie.com/halloweenmonkeyfists.html

Laurie
Message: Posted by: Donnie Buckley (Sep 29, 2012 2:45pm)
Very nice Laurie! You do great work. Orange is a great color for Halloween, but also is a very bright color for all seasons. It's highly visible.
I too introduced Orange balls this year (crocheted, not monkeyfist) and they have been received fairly well.
http://www.rnt2.com/orange.html

Science tells us that Orange is the color you "think in" when you are doing math (left brain). I thought it would be a color that magicians would just naturally be attracted to, because of their natural inclination as puzzle solvers and such. :)
Message: Posted by: NicholasD (Sep 29, 2012 4:17pm)
I just received a set of the orange monkey fists from Laurie. She's right about the fact that the picture doesn't truly capture the richness of the orange. I ordered these for a Hallowe'en show, but I know they'll be my "go to" set now.

Thank you again Laurie,

Nick
Message: Posted by: magicalaurie (Oct 1, 2012 11:01am)
Thankyou, Donnie. :) I like those tangerines- and with the crochet cover, they've got the appropriate texture, too!
You're welcome, Nick. :)
I've got another pic of them up on the page now.

Laurie