Where is the best place to purchase these? I understand they are different than regular silks. Thanks

Greetings and Salutations rowdymagi5,

I believe you can find the Slydini Silks, with no routine— just the silks, from Hank Lee's. Dick Berry also sells the silks with a routine of his own.

Yes, they are different— heavier material and slicker than regular silks, plus they have an orange thread down one seam to tell the difference between the two silks during the routine. They will not bind up, or bind up as easily.

Hope this helps.

Joe in KC

Make magic happen, live a great adventure!

http://www.stevedraun.com has them in RED, which will last much longer then the white ones. I think he uses a stronger material, too!

The original Slydini silks were made for Tony by a little old lady in... Really, he had them cut and stitched by a mom and pop operation, a little tailoring shop near his apartment. Tony supplied the material, which was, PARACHUTE SILK! Yep, that's why the silks are so strong - they are made of parachute silk. Tony originaly bought used material from the Army, Navy Surplus Stores.

Palmer Tilden took over the sale and manufacture of these for Tony at one point in the late '70's (Palmer owned Sterling Creations, coin manufacturers from California), and since then other people have "knocked off" the silks. I have no idea what the silks currently available are made from, but the previous poster is correct about the originals, you got two silks in a set and one of them had an orange thread sewn along one side, to help you distinguish one from the other after the tying. Also, all the originals were in white. I bought 12 sets from Tony at the time (They were $15.00 a set, retail...) so I don't anticipate EVER needing new ones, lucky me! Just a little history...

Best, PSC

Palmer still makes and sells the silks at http://www.palmermagic.com

I found them at hocus.pocus.com.
Michael

I got a set off e-bay - so worth keeping an eye out there.

Cheers,
Shafique

I think the orange thread is new. I have several sets from either 1967 or 1969 and the thread is tan or brown as it was originally. I'm sure they are not knockoffs because I knew Tony and have the correspondence from him to go with that shipment.

He did not call the thread orange. It's a small point but it may indicate that there were several "runs" of product out there. And yes, some were made from used materials.

My favorite was watching him tie them together in one knot and splitting them into two separate knots. One knot was on each silk.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Parachute material is not made from silk it is actually made from nylon.

If they had been made of silk instead of nylon, light would not have caused them to deteriorate like it does.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

The nylon is used as it is easier to dislodge the knots. Just try the difference between nylon & silk and you'll see why. My Slydini Silks (nylon) have held up well but I've heard from others that they will eventually wear out also. Cheers.

Unfortunately, nylon does not last forever. Keeping them in a dark place will extend their lives. There is still plenty of that material available.

Did you know that Slydini made some of his student's costumes? Ask Tony Clark. He is on tap this week.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Louis Falanga just sent me the new set of Slydini silks that L&L Publishing is selling. These silks are the absolute best on the market.

There are two major differences with these than any other on the market. The first is that they look like real pocket hankerchiefs. With every other set, there is a grid in the hank.

The second difference is these silks make the "secret work" super easy! I have a set of the Palmer silks, Steve Draun's and these are the easiest to use.

If you're looking for a second opinion, ask Bill Malone, because he's using these now.

Thanks for the tip Steve. The silks from L&L work like a dream. I used a de-wrinkle spray to take wrinkles out so I can use them as regular hankies and do an impromptu Slydini Silk routine.

I have to say, I received the Slydini Knotted Silks today and after just a few hours of practice they are showing signs of wear! Have I done something wrong!!

peter

Handmadeinwales,

That is why you must buy 2 sets, one for practice and another set for performance.

Serously, who's did you purchase?

Bill, I got them from Merchant of Magic in the UK, along with the booklet and Bill Malone's handling DVD. It is the genuine L & L product as far as I can tell!

peter

Steve, I read somewhere that their is a routine with muliple knots in both silks. I also heard there is another video besides Malones in the silks. Any ideas?

Jeff

Denny & Lee is selling a DVD ( with the silks ) by Tony Clark. Would anyone happen to know if this is worth getting, or stick with the book & Bill Malone DVD?

Also, can the DVD be bought seperate? I went through the L&L catalogue and they just books for the silks (except for the package deal)