There is a whole lot of accumulated opinion on what weight for shells is right. It appears, from others' opinions, that it all depends on the routine you want to do since some moves are easier with a light shell and others work better with a heavy shell.

My question is, is there a set of shells with a weight that allows any moves? Perhaps one set is a good compromise between between heavy and light.

How are the shells ranked in weight order? I would expect the S4S Colorado Silver Shells to be quite heavy and their Street Shells to be the lightest of the quality shells out there. LM shells seem to be just a little bit heavier but still fairly light. Where do Black Fox shells fit in?

Somewhere in the middle.

It depends on the shells, though. Black Fox has made many different kinds of shells.

Weight really shouldn't be the determining factor in selecting shells. Size, fit, ease of use, etc... makes a much bigger difference.

I've used the La Maggiore shells, Black Fox Turtle shells, Colorado Silver shells, and the Street Shells.

I couldn't get used to the sloping sides of the BF Turtle shells so I eventually sold them.
Colorado is the heaviest of my remaining shells, LM in the middle, and Street Shells the lightest. (I'm talking real shells so I'm not including the ultra-lightweight Penguin shells in this discussion) Whit's other metal shells are probably similar to the Colorado in weight.

They all work well, but it takes a little time to get used to changing shells. The LM shells are a bit big, and the Colorados are a bit heavy (for me) for the "Three between the fingers" maneuver.

In general, each shell probably has it's own "best use" but for the most part I like the Colorado Silver ones best, followed by the SfS Street Shells.

While I'm not going to pretend I am an advanced shell mechanic, I haven't run across a shell game maneuver -that I wanted to do- that I couldn't accomplish with my Street Shells. Having said that, I would love to get the Colorado Silver's because.... well they are silver and that's reason enough.

I would imagine the most important point is to find the one you want to use and don't confuse yourself by always trying others.

Black Fox has some really cool looking shells. Not silver though.

Josh,
They're not solid Sterling, but Black Fox now offers metallic color shells as well.


cjp, if you're looking for a single set of shells that will do nearly everything you'll ever need them to do, go with School for Scoundrels Street Shells.

I still have my only set of shells and they are real ones...they are over 14 yrs. old and they are my fav's...and the only ones I use, since I do not own any of the expensive sets.

I AM JOHNNY MYSTIC

Here's my one question...why would anybody need shells and peas with magnets in them?

Do the pro's really use these and I mean street workers...these are the pro's.

I AM JOHNNY MYSTIC

Real street hustlers? Not likely. They used walnuts because they caused little suspicion and can be easily disposed of and replaced at little to no cost. It's the same reason they now use bottle caps, match boxes, etc...

Magicians, on the other hand, use all sorts of things to simulate extraordinary feats. These are the people who buy magnetic shells and peas.

BTW, the mag pea is very useful by itself. You don't need a mag shell to take advantage of it's abilities.

Ah-ha!

johnny

Ah-ha???

You mean to tell me you just figured out that we're driven by the "latest and greatest" hype?

Sure we are.

Do we need the "latest and greatest" to do our job?

No.

Does that stop us from buying new toys?

I certainly hope not, that's part of the fun.