Hello Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone knows the name or the builder for the knife thru arm ? I'm not after the one which goes horizontal across your arm and then goes through it as I have this one already. However I am wanting to do a routine whereby the knife goes vertically through your arm or it looks like you stab it through your hand ?
Any ideas or help would be very much appreciated.

To my knowledge, there has never been on he market what you describe.

How about raising your forearm above your head, and use what you have.

For less than $10 you can buy two retractable knife gags at a magic/joke shop and make your own comedy knife through hand. Google Penn & Teller knife stab for inspiration and build something unique.



If you want something premade, you could consider the Harry Anderson Needle Through Arm as a similar premise. There is also a sword through arm which works the same as a sword through neck. Or a MAK Disarmed or Abbott's Torturette could potentially fill the space too.

Did a quick check of the archives. It turns out that the knife through arm was a popular effect in the 1920s and 30s. It was sold by magic dealers under a variety of names, for example:



There is a good article in Linking Ring Vol. 15 No. 8 Oct 1935 called "The Knife Through an Arm". It goes into the gimmicks as well as the proper handling. IBM members can access it for free via askalexander.org.

To me one of the best versions of the requested effect:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvpfoLR-AcA

The late Peter Diamond sold one similar to that in UK.