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tank5030 Regular user Portsmouth, VA 151 Posts |
Has anyone found any good uses for the polyester ladies "silks" that are sold at various stores? I was considering using them instead of silks for various applications (such as squared circle production, etc.) Has anyone used these for anything else with any success? Thanks.
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Andre Hagen Inner circle 1432 Posts |
They work well for Slydini Knots and for Sympathetic Silks.
Andy
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one - Albert Einstein
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ClintonMagus Inner circle Southwestern Southeast 3997 Posts |
For a Square Circle, you can get a LOT more real silks into the load chamber than you can polyester. They handle better and look much better.
Things are more like they are today than they've ever been before...
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Spellbinder Inner circle The Holy City of East Orange, NJ 6438 Posts |
The biggest advantage of polyester silks is that you can get beautifuly bright colored 36" squares at the Dollar Store. They make excellent foulards, Devil's Hanks ... fabric you don't have to bunch up because unlike pure silk, they do look wrinkly awfully fast. However, the biggest bonus is that because they are so cheap, they are expendable. Eleazar Goodenough taught me that when he first showed me his "Every Century Silk" effect (The Wizards' Journal #8 on my site) and had a spectator sign across the face of the "silk" with a magic marker. I thought my heart was going to stop right there. I would never think to have a spectator sign a Silk King Studio Silk (or any other brand of pure silk- they are just too expensive!). When I learned that it was a Polyester from the Dollar Store, my heart went back to normal. But it opens up a whole new bunch of uses for cutting up "silks," burning "silks," and generally wreaking havoc on them, only to restore them to their former beautiful selves. I perform my 2007 Vanishing Radio (Wiz J. #14) with a modified Polyester and don't feel a bit guilty about it.
Professor Spellbinder
Professor Emeritus at the Turkey Buzzard Academy of Magik, Witchcraft and Wizardry http://www.magicnook.com Publisher of The Wizards' Journals |
tank5030 Regular user Portsmouth, VA 151 Posts |
Thanks for the ideas, I really appreciate it!
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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
"Polyester silk" is also sold as "costume satin" for about $2/yard. It has uses but is far from silk. It is not very strong. However, it is opaque and pretty.
Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
Regan Inner circle U.S.A. 5726 Posts |
I use magician's silks exclusively with the exception of one routine. In that routine I use two large, semi-transparent pieces that are made from a silk-like material. I bought them at Walmart a long time ago. Because of the way my routine is, regular silks wrinkle badly. The Walmart silks do not wrinkle at all, and they work really well for my application.
Regan
Mister Mystery
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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
Thanks Regan. Any satin will wrinkle like crazy. That is the problem with it.
Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
mtpascoe Inner circle 1932 Posts |
For the squared circle, use the magician silks because they fold up nice and you can get more in the load. But, I agree with Spellbinder that if you are going to use a trick where the silk will be destroyed, this would be the way to go. The cheep blends would be good for the cut and restored silk trick Copperfield did that is in Tarbell #7 and Fulves Self Working Handkerchiefs Tricks.
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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
Cheap substitutes are not only for destroyed and restored.
Real silk stains easily. There are times when that matters. Disposable hanks have their place. However, some of us play audiences that know the difference. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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