I'm referring to Timothy Wenk's pencil through bill trick, Misled. I have been practicing it for a couple weeks to smooth out handling of the gimmick. From those of you who do the trick,I would appreciate any general handling tips -- within the boundaries of protecting the modus operandi.

But the one thing in particular that I'd like some help on is the first penetration. I have not been able, when pushing the pencil up "through" the bill, to get a sound that simulates a penetration; this really takes away from the illusion, in my view. Has anyone else encountered this problem and dealt with it?

Just do the routine. You are fine if it does not make the perfect ripping sound. Take a look at what you said, "this really takes away from the illusion, IN MY VIEW."

Try it out and see what your spectators say. If they react then you just might have a winner on your hands, which you do.

As for myself I have done that routine over and over and the reaction is always killer. However there is one point that you need to focus on that most magicians miss. The amazing thing is not that you have pushed a pencil through a dollar bill. The MAGIC comes from sealing up the hole.

C

Perform it exactly like Copperfield.... It Works!!!

When you fold the bill in half and place what you need behind make sure with your free hand that you make the bill crisp, then put the tip of the pencil where it needs to go, but not to far in.

With your free hand smack the bottom of the pencil in the upwards motion, this almost always give you a pop and I have done this thousands upon thousands of times, just keep working on it, and don't' show it till your ready!

This is a great effect to practive in a mirror!

I posted on another thread in the Café about this, but I'll try it here too. I recently picked this up and would love to see a good smooth demo of it. Does anyone know if there's one online (I couldn't find one by Googling)? Or, even better, if Copperfield's performance can be seen somewhere?

A search on "misled magic" produces a bunch of hits on youtube.com

Follow DMM's directions 3 posts above, I do the effect this way and you really
get that nice popping sound that your looking for.
Goodluck

Read the instructions - they have a little tip on this. Allow the bill to form a gentle point as the pencil rides up before the penetration. A sharp(ish) pencil will work well here. Then hit it to push it through. Cheers,

Chris

Doesn't Copperfield perform it so he ppushes the shot end through the bill first? I think it looks much better the other way around.
Nick

Here's a link to David Copperfield performing Misled:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX3QU4CF41c

Enjoy

Matt

Thanks montemagic, seeing Copperfield perform it really gives me a new perspective on presentation.

No problem, it did the same for me.

At the end of the routine I finished up with "Dough" by Sankey. 3 different penetrations in a row, this blew my guests away last night.

Blow the letters 'ffff' through your lipps during the pencil-tration.

Many thanks to all who gave me suggestions on Misled. It was particularly helpful, montemagic, to see Copperfield's rendition -- thanks for that. All the comments were extremely helpful and appreciated. Thanks for taking the time!

Anyone found a good source for pencils that look closest to it, so to speak, for replacements?

I know a lot of people say that it is not important, but the colour variance bugs me and I have had someone actually note the colour before.

Go find a Dixon Ticonderoga. Go to Office Depot (or Staples or whatever you have) and buy them by the box. They are the world's best pencil. Also, I agree with Krist of Limbo. Opening your mouth ever so slightly and making the "ppffftttt" sound is VERY convincing. Dan Harlan taught that (in another context) at a lecture, and it fooled everyone.

You know what? And I jsut realised this watching DC's performance again, everyone SAYS that they will show, mark, or find the center of the bill with the pencil, but it doesn't go THROUGH the center.

This was actually a big oops in DC's performance. He displayed it wrong and you can see that the pencil has "pierced" the bill about a third of its (the bill's) width in, and NOT the fold in the center where it SHOULD have.

This is actually one of the tiny things I liked about the "knock off" one, that it DID go to the center, but also why, with the REAL mis-lead, I actually do NOT fold it really when I pierce it,and also do it upside down from most and give the illusion that I just jam it through at a random point in the bill.

Gdw, if you fold the bill slightly uneven, it does allow the gimmick to rest against the fold thus giving the appearance that it has penetrated the "center".

That's sort of what I do, and what I was gettig at. DC, unfortunately, did not do this, however, leading to the aforementioned discrepency.