Does anyone here, in the course of your magic or otherwise, like to tear the deck in half? Wanna share your favorite method?

I can do it but I have to bend the cards back and forth ALOT. I've had some success kind of "bowing" the cards (the way you bow the pages of a phone book in order to tear it in half) but then its hard to get my hands around the deck because I don't have big hands.

Anyone have a good method for this, I'd like to be able to rip them in half really quickly. Thanks in advance.

Vandy

Put rips in the middle of every card before hand.

Thanks, I thought about perforating the cards. I could easliy get them perfed with a mirco perf, but a stack that is perfed always has a bulge in it. Plus I'd have to switch decks to get the perfed deck. I want to do it quickly, but with a regular deck.

This sounds interesting. Do you practice doing this by tearing multiple cards at a time starting with 10,20,30..until you can do the whole deck?

I've just been doing it with the whole deck. I can tear a medium sized phone book in half. But there is a kind of trick to it. I've ripped about 5 decks in half. I just bend them back and forth and then twist and tear them little by little until its through. Like I said I've also bent them and then "bowed" the cards.

I might have to go back and watch the "Cincinatti Kid" because I know Karl Malden does it in that movie.

I've heard tell that there are folks who can rip the corner out of the deck, I would really like to do that.

Building up (10,20,30 cards) is probably a good idea for increasing hand strength, mine are fairly strong. I was hoping that there was someone who had a good technique.

Vandy

Should this be in the flourish area? Has anyone ever seen a method for this in print? Is it just a matter of steroids and practice maybe?

When I was a kid I had a magic book that suggested baking the deck in an oven first. That was supposed to make it more brittle and easier to tear. I never tried it.

If you are willing to use a gaffed deck or a non-bicycle deck, you may be able to purchase/design a deck with only two layers, instead of three layers, to each card. Therefore, instead of 156 layers to rip, you would only (!) need to rip through 104. I have no experience ripping decks, but this might make it easier.

If you want to destroy a deck however, tearing it is definitely not the way to do it. Gasoline and Matches are the answer.

My brother can grab a bicycle deck and flat out tear it in half. He did it the first time he tried without bending back and forth or anything. Strong guy. 16 years old, 5'-8", 225 lbs(diesel, not fat). I've torn a deck in half with some practice and bending it back and forth though.

Maybe if you soak the deck (?) beforehand then let it dry or get one of those really expensive palming decks (if you have a lot of money).

Just some ideas.

1. This is one thread about the topic here at the Café.

2. Here is another.

3. This brief thread suggests that you check Hugard. I have seen it there, I believe.

Cheers - El Lamo

As mentioned, baking them in the oven works very well. Not very practical to perform with but a switch will make it work.

http://www6.mailordercentral.com/ironmin......ber=1273

If you're interested, there's a gaffed version in my book, The Royal Treatment, called "The Amazing Deck Tear", which was published by Chuck Martinez in the early 80's. And, there's a follow up routine in there, too, using the two halves of the deck.

Robert

Thanks a lot guys. There is a pretty good link in one of the threads El Lamo posted. Thanks alot!! Paul, I may have to look into that book. I like the description that says "A must-read for anyone who's looking for a mightier set of mitts." LOL

Thanks all,

Vandy

I can do it rather easily. However, my method is to tear it in half one card at a time. Takes longer but the end result is the same.

No need to thank me.... that's why I'm here.

Try beveling the cards at an angle, therefore you are only starting the tear in a few cards at a time. This technique will give you an edge.

I should also mention that one of the specific types of hand strength you want to develop for this is your "pinch grip". I just recently saw a picture of something a guy had rigged up for training his hands to tear decks. He took block of wood the size of a deck of cards, used tiny wood screws to attach a playing card on each side (so it would feel like a deck when he pinched it) and then put an eye-bolt in one of the ends. He'd hang weights off the eye bolt and lift it by pinching the deck between his thumb and fingers.

Paul

Well it in a lot of ways is an old carnival strong man's trick. Much like tearing a phone book, catalog, or magazine in half. Your success will vary depending on ur hand size, strenth of hands and strength in general. But basically you can start to spread the cards out, thus tearing only one or two at a time, effecutally. You didn't say if you tore them vertically or horizontally. Horizontally would be easier. While many times practicing some sleight I darn sure wanted to tear the deck in half, I can't say I actually did it. Just tried it to see if it would work like tearing the phone book in half ruse, and it worked. Now what kind of effect can I come up with to use a deck of cards torn in half?

"Do as I do" seems like the obvious choice.

Paul