Anyone familiar with these multiplying bottles?

https://www.stevensmagic.com/shop/multip......tle-set/

I've been looking at the Kokubunji bottles for a while, but the other day I saw the bottles in the above link advertised in Steven's Magic catalog. They looked pretty good and there is a 3 bottle set you can buy separately to make a full 9 bottle set. All told, it would be way cheaper than the Kokubunji bottles.

So I'm curious if anyone knows who makes these or has any more info on these particular bottles.

Click on the words Product Inquiry, and request what you want to know about this product, or send an email to Mark Stevens.

This is over a thousand dollars less expensive then Kokubunji bottles. I would grab it before they are all gone.

Get the extra 3 bottle set and the Ken Brooke instructions.

The bottles from Japan have increased in price. You have to order direct from Japan now. So expensive that U.S. Dealers will not even order them.

Those are the DiFatta Magic multiplying bottles.

Thanks Frank, DiFatte, is in Italy, but they have their products made in India. They must have very good Quality Control, because the Phantom Tube I got was very well made out of steel.

I just ordered a set of 9 of the DiFatta Magic Multiplying Bottles (a 6-bottle set and a 3-bottle set). I've been debating purchasing them for months. When I finally decided to pull the trigger, Stevens was out of the 3-bottle set. I shot them an email and Mark got back to me late yesterday. They had just received more of the 3-bottle sets and Mark was kind enough to shoot a 45-second video to show me the quality of the bottles. I ordered them immediately after watching the video! (Stevens is, at this moment, now out of stock on both the 3-bottle and 6-bottle sets.)

I've never handled the Hanada/Kokubunji bottles but a member of our Ring absolutely loves them (he owns two sets). I'm hoping he and I can get together and snap some comparison photos. In the meantime, here is a photo of the DiFatta Magic bottles:



Lager version of that photo:

https://difattamagic.com/media/catalog/p......6127.jpg

It's my understanding that the DiFatta Magic bottles have a turned-in lip at the top of the bottle to facilitate grabbing/holding the bottles in the tubes. At least one of the smallest bottles has a reservoir for a "prover" pour. I do not know if the bottles are painted, powder-coated or anodized. I also do not know if the labels are paper or vinyl.

In the video provided, the the finish on the bottles is very glossy. They DO look like glass bottles.. very realistic.

.I will share more thoughts once my bottles arrive. I am not expecting them to equal the Hanada bottles but, for one-fifth the price, I am hoping they are the best value out there.

Mark

Mark, those bottles look fantastic, very much like real wine bottles.

If they handle well it could be an excellent product.

I found this photo of the 6-bottle set including the 2 tubes (which are metal, presumably aluminum).




My sets have shipped and FedEx says they'll be here on Friday.

Mark

Did you order the Ken Brooke routine from Stevens or do they provide with the sets ?

The Ken Brooke routine is not supplied (as far as I know, my bottles are due to be delivered tomorrow). However, I already own both the Ken Brooke series booklet (that covers Martini Multiplying Bottles) and the Ken Brooke The Unique years book.

Mark

FedEx appears to be having trouble delivering a 2-day shipment in 2 days. As of this morning, my bottles were still a couple hundred miles away. Why on earth FedEx is using ground transportation for a guaranteed 2-day delivery is beyond me.

Mark

The DiFatta bottles were a disappointment. More details when I have more time.

Stevens was *not* a disappointment. The bottles are on their way back (on their nickel) for a full refund. Stevens remains my favorite Magic dealer.

Mark

Brother magicians, take note. It's important to support the good magic shops. You may pay a little more for some items than from some other dealers, but in the end you're ahead of the game because this kind of customer service is invaluable. I am another satisfied Stevens Magic Emporium customer.

https://www.stevensmagic.com


.

That's unfortunate, I guess some things are only good in photos.

Regarding the DiFatta bottles…

The good:
They look like real bottles from just a foot or two away.
The top lip is turned-in to facilitate easy handling of the stack.
The labels appeared to be vinyl. Or, at least some sort of clear coated paper.
The two smallest bottles in the 6-bottle set have small reservoirs for prover pours.

The minor issues I could have lived with:
The bottles are aluminum, but fairly thin. They might dent fairly easily if dropped.
The tubes are also aluminum. One of the tubes arrived slightly dinged near an end. A small area of paint was missing from that spot.

More of a concern, but still livable:
The bottles and tubes are painted, not powder-coated or anodized. There were already small chips of missing paint at the very top of a couple of bottles.
The labels on a couple of the bottles were a little crooked.

Uh oh, not good:
The bottles in the add-on 3-bottle set were not an exact match to the bottles in the 6-bottle set. The labels were printed slightly lighter and the red neckbands were significantly shorter.
The labels on almost all of the bottles had trapped air under them, creating wrinkles/bulges in the labels. The wrinkles were not really noticeable from a few feet away, but I’d be concerned that constantly lowering a tube over the bottles (not to mention lowering bottles over bottles) might result in “snagging” the raised label area and creating a wear or tear.

Absolutely couldn’t live with it:
The bottles in the add-on 3-bottle set did not nest fully. When the 3-bottle set was nested and placed on a table, the outermost bottle was not touching the table. There was a small gap. And the smallest bottle had a tendency to want to stick inside the middle bottle.

That was the deal killer for me. The bottles in the add-on 3-bottle set were not a very good match to the 6-bottle set. Even though DiFatta advertises the 3-bottle set as an add-on to the 6-bottle set, I think the 3-bottle set was designed primarily for use as nested production bottles.

Also, long term, I’d be concerned the paint on these bottles and tubes would wear away far too easily. Based on what I saw with minor chipping right out of the package, I was left with the impression the paint is “fragile”.

DiFatta offers a 9-bottle set which would, presumably, solve the label and differently sized bottle issues. Mark at Stevens said they’ve got some 9-bottle sets on the way to them.

Still, the paint quality/thickness/durability is concerning and, more so, the number of wrinkles/air bulges in the labels.

Mark

Here are some photos.

Image #1 (left to right): Largest bottle from 3-bottle set, smallest bottle from 3-bottle set, smallest bottle from 6-bottle set, largest bottle from 6-bottle set. This image shows the shorter neckbands on the 3-bottle set and the difference in the color on the labels. Also notice how much taller the smallest bottle from the 3-bottle set is compared to a smallest bottle from the 6-bottle set.




Image #2: Nested 3-bottle set on the left, a nested stack of 3 bottles from the 6-bottle set on the right. Notice how the outer bottle on the right rests fully on the countertop. If you look closely at the stack on the left, you can see that the outer bottle is not touching the countertop. Which means the outer two bottles are resting on the shoulders of the two bottles inside them. That can lead to wear (on the shoulders) and sticking.




Image #3: Now, this situation might not occur during performance. But, just to give you an idea... I placed the outer two bottles from the 6-bottle set over the smallest bottle of the 3-bottle set. They didn't come remotely close to nesting fully. The gap is huge.




Again, that scenario would not necessarily need to occur during performance. But who wants to bother with trying to keep track of it? Using the add-on 3-bottle set to supplement the 6-bottle set is just a bad idea.

Again, Stevens has the proper 9-bottle set on order. That should solve the nesting/sticking/matching label issues.

If I could be assured that the labels would be straight and the labels were free from wrinkles/bulges due to trapped air, I still might be willing to risk the potential paint wear/chipping issues.

I did not take photos of the minor paint chipping because it wasn't a primary concern of mine. I tried to photograph the wrinkles/bulges in the labels but I couldn't get the lighting such that the wrinkles/bulges were obvious in the photos. Like I said, from a few feet away you can't see the wrinkles/bulges. But they are there, on pretty much every label.

To have a closer look:

Larger version of image #1:

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-q3RF......FQBK.jpg

Larger version of image #2:

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-f6nq......qdkL.jpg

Larger version of image #3:

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-WGSs......s7X3.jpg


I am exceedingly grateful to Stevens Magic Emporium for being not only understanding, but for being downright pleasant about this order. I sure wish their store was within a few hundred miles of me, I'd be visiting regularly.

Mark

I will underscore... From just a foot or two away, these ABSOLUTELY look like real glass bottles. Very much so!




Larger version:

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-RKDS......ShCk.jpg


I am oh so tempted to buy the 9-bottle set but I'd really need to see it in person before making the purchase.

Mark