I have a billiard routine and I use House of Fakini Billiard Balls. They're great, but sometimes my hands get dry and have a hard time manipulating them. Any suggestions?

One more thing. What is the best way to keep them clean? I've found if you drop them on carpet, they become a lint picker-upper. Any ways to stop them from collecting lint?

I wash mine with a soft liquid detergent and water, then pat dry. That works perfectly.

As for dry hands I use a hand lotion on my hands every day. I live in the desert so dryness is always a problem. The hand lotion has solved that problem. You might try a bit of hand lotion an hour or two before you perform so you don't get the gooey stuff all over the Fakini balls.

Hope this helps.
Steven

Okay, one more time!

Basic Manipulator's Hand Lotion

Get thee to the Drugstore/Pharmacy/Apothecary/Chemist and ask the nice person for Rose Water, Glycerine and Rubbing Alcohol.

Take these ingredients back to your secret laboratory and mix equal parts of each (1:1:1 ratio).

Apply this to your hands 10 minutes before you are going to practice or perform (Cards, Coins, Balls). This will allow the mixture to be absorbed into your skin.

All the grip without the goo! And the wait time is a lot shorter than with regular commercial hand lotions.





Cheers!

P.S. Like Steven Steele said, you have to wash the balls once in a while.

As far as them picking up lint off the floor, "DON'T DROP THEM!"

Sorry, I could'nt help myself!

Justin,
The only thing that I do is clean them with cold water before each practice and show. I regularly bounce them on the ground as part of my routine and they do get dirty.

I wish I had a problem with dry hands. My hands are like the inexhaustible sponge trick. Stanyon, does your mixture work for incredibly wet hands?

FC

FC,

Uh, no! I can't even recommend mixing the ingredients in reverse!

Maybe if you were to look into something on the order of a Bowler's/Pitcher's rosin bag?

Cheers!

I echo the comment about washing them in cold water. I use St. Ive's Collagen-Elastin lotion for very dry skin. It is a wonderful product, has no smell once it is absorbed and when applied 20-30 min. before practicing manipulation it is perfect. I can't recommend it enough. I also get lots of compliments on how soft my hands are. No joke

I use "Corn Huskers Lotion". It works great! It'll give your hands a rubbery feel.
Use several applications of the lotion, for best results, allowing it to dry between applications.

Great! Now I need to know what to do when the rubber sticks to the shell, gets stuck, and refuses to multiply. Especially disappointing when your act is timed to the music and the ball appears a couple of beats too late. Know what I mean?

Unnest (is that a word? maybe in magic) the ball and the shell a little before you do the multiplying move. That only takes a second and when you are ready to actually do the move, you will do it with no problems. Perhaps you could also put a piece of thin tape in the shell. This would prevent the suction created when the ball is in the shell.

FC

I never put the ball into the shell, tightly. Also, I use the old style, uncoated shells -- works great! Experiment like crazy, to find a way to unnest a tight shell. I can do it without thinking, even though it's been years since I've used them in my act. But, when I was learning how to use them, I had a hardtime unnesting them, until I got the knack.

I have glued a small dot or circle of felt in my Fakini shell. Now it never sticks.

I have found that the ball only sticks when it is dirty. So, make sure to clean them before each use.