42 Amazing Tricks And Stunfs With Rope

42 Amazing Tricks & Stunts with ropes Appearing & Vanishing Knots Cut & Restored Rope Effects Rope Penetrations Ring & Rope Routines Stretching and Shrinking Ropes and much more I

. © 2002 by Electro Fun. All rights reserved

Contents Introduction

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Rope Flourishes, Appearing and Dissolving Knots Vanishing Bow Tie Knots Tricky '8' Knot.. Knot so Easy ! Instantaneous One Handed Knot The Appearing Knot Knots to Order Easy Slip Knot The "Right" Knot ! Triple Appearing and Vanishing Knots Multiple Vanishing Knots Undaunted Knot The Chefalo Knot Dissolving Knots Dissolvo Twin Appearing Knot Knot that is NOT Pull and Vanish The Stretching Rope "Do as I do" Not!

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Cut & Restored Rope effects Easiest Cut & Restored Rope Classic Cut and Restored Rope Comedy Cut & Restored Rope Trick Page-2"

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Double Rope Restoration Easy Restoration Hindu Rope Mystery 'Multi' Cut and Restored Trick

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..25 ..26 ..27 ..28

Rope Penetrations and Other Rope Tricks Handkerchief through Rope Knotted Ring Ring in the Knot Ring Off Rope Ring on Rope Another Ring on Rope Ring On or Ring Off! Double Rings on Rope Rope Through Neck Rope through Magic Wand Three Ropes to One Two to One Rope Rings Release Threading the Loop Rope through the Thumb Professor's Nightmare (Unequal Equal Ropes)

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Introduction You can carry a piece (or more) of rope in your pocket, and use it to r.erform some amazing magic for an intimate audience of a coup e of spectators, or on a stage for an audience of hundreds. There are hundreds of tricks you can perform with a piece of rope. The most famous of these is the Cut &Restored Rope trick, where a piece of rope is cut into two or more pieces, and magically restored. But there are many others, where knots magically appear or vanish from a length of rope, rings or handkerchiefs penetrate through a length of rope, or a rope penetrates through your knee or neck. There are two Encyclopedias of Rope tricks for Magicians published by Abotts, with 100s of Rope tricks of all varieties. Dover publications has an excellent book of Self Working Rope Tricks by Karl Fulves. You will also find t"any Rope tricks in any book of Conjuri"] tricks, like the Tarbell Course, or Mark Wilson Course in MagiL. The purpose of this compilation is to give you many tricks of on assorted variety with ropes, enough to get you started on one of the easiest, most effective, and most economical types of magic you can perform. A piece of rope costs less than a good deck of cards, and a good rope trick can make a much bigger impact on a much larger audience. . The best rope for magic tricks is a soft cotton rope about a quarter inch in diameter. It is easy to handle, knots well, and is easy to cut when an effect requires this. It is also very visible to a large audience. at a considerable distance. Many of the tricks (execpt the C&Rrope ones) can be easily adapted to a borrowed necktie, or a muffler or even a piece of cord or string, making them impromptu innature .. The dimensions for the ropes given in the tricks are as a rough indication. You can adapt them as you think fit, - a length of rope held at shoulder height and hanging just below your knee (about 40" for most adults) is good for most rope effects. Sometimes you need a longer or shorter piece, as indicated. Learn the tricks that catch your fancy, and with a piece of rope in your pocket, you are ready to entertain and mystify any size of audience, any time, any place, and under any performing . conditions.

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Rope Flourishes, Appearing and Dissolving Knots Rope flourishes, appearing and disappearing knots are not "magic", but entertaining things to do with a pieceof rope, (and sometimes a borrowed necktie or "muffler") for a spot of impromptu entertainment. They makea good prelude to more elaborate rope tricks, or you can use them "off-the-cuff" to reinforce your reputation as an entertainer at a party.

Vanishing Bow Tie Knots A bow tie is tied in a length of rope and the ends are pulled through the loops a few times making multiple knots. The rope ends are pulled and the knots magically disappear leaving a length of plain rope. Drape the middle of a three foot . length of rope over the hands, as shownIn Fig.!. Note one end is in front of the hand, and the other at the bock. Extend the first two fingers of both hands facing each other, Now bring the hands together,as t~e, right fingers clip the left part marked X and the right fingers clip the part marked 'Y' as in Fig. 2. ~ ~

Pull 'X' and 'Y' through the loopformed and a bow knot wiII be formed. Pullthe knot reasonably tight being careful not to tWist the loops. Figure 3 shows the knot.

of t~Oi bring each end away from you and around the bottom part aroun~ and through the loops. Repeat this; twisting the ends as you wish br~spectlve loops. You may continue this as manytimes times. _ Fi 4u you must tWist both ends the same number of it forms mg'It"' ~kw pull the ends making the center knot tight and disappear u ip e nots. If you continue pulling the ends, the knots . one a t a time.

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Tricky '8' Knot A knot (that loaks like the number eight) is formed without bringing you hands together, or crossing them. A length of rope about three feet long is draped over the right hand passing over the three fingers as shown in Fig.5. One end, 'B' of the rope drapes over the back af the hand. End 'B' is now pulled down with the free hand until end 'A'. almost reaches the top. It is important that end 'B' crosses in front of end 'A' Fig.5. The right palm is turned downand the end 'A' is clipped with first and second fingers as shown in 7 Fig.b. The picture in the inset (Fig.6) shows this clearly omitting the hands. The ends are pulled, as the fingers extract end 'A' from the loop, and the result is a figure '8' knot as shown in Fig.?

Knot so Easy I A single genuine knot is formed in the center of a rope without bringing yours hands together, or crossing them. This works better with a stiff rope, is a little difficult to master, and hard for a spectator to duplicate. A length of rope about three feet long is used. One end of the rope is gripped between left second and third fingers as shown in Fig.8. The first finger is extended back aut of the way. The rape is flipped up, so that the points 'A' and 'B' touch to form a loop as in Fig.9. The loop is allowed to drop aver the three extended fingers

B

A

c

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of the left hand. The loop will twist on its own while dropping as shown in Fig.lO. . The end 'C' is gripped between the ·thumb and first finger, and pulled through the loop. The loop is allowed to slip off the three fingers and pulled. Immediately a knot appears as shown In Fig. 11. The moves should be performed quickly. You can repeat to form more than one knot.

Instantaneous One Handed Knot A length of rope about three feet long is given a quick shake and instantly a knat appears in the center of the rope. The rope is draped over the right hand. An end is clipped between the 3rd and 4th fingers where as the other end passes over the hand as shown in Fig.12.

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The hand is turned palm down and the end 'B' is clipped between A A the 1st and 2nd fingers as shown in Fig.13. It is A better to keep the end 'B' shorter so that it can be clipped easi Iy. Without any pause the loop over the back of the hand is shaken off with a flip of the wrist. A knot appears on the middle of the rope. Fig. 14. It looks really magical if all the moves blend in a quick, continuous motion. With a little practice the 'Instantaneous Knot' can be done with either, or both hands.

The Appearing Knot A length of rope held at one end is whipped, and a knot magically appears on it. A rope about two feet long, with a knot tied at one end is r~U1red. The rope iSJicked up with the end that has the knot tied an It. The hand is hel cupped around the rope just abave the knot, which IS grasped by the first two fingers and hidden in the hand as In the Fig.l5. The other end is brought up with the free hand and placed beside the knotted end. (Fig.16) The rope is snapped, releasing the plain end.

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This is repeated a few times, then finally the grip is switched and when snapped, the knotted end is allowed to drop down. The movement of snapping conceals the switch and seemingly the knot appears by itself. (Fig. 17.)

Knots to Order A length of rope about five feet long is shown, and someone is asked to callout any number between one and seven. Suppose 'Three' is called out. The length of rope is coiled andJlaced on the table. A little magic gesture, and the rope is Iifte up by one end, and three knots have appeared on the rope. The rope can be given to some one to untie the genuine knots. Any number of knots, depending on the length of the rope, can be tied in the act of coiling it. Once the number is called, one end of the rape is taken and held in the left hand. Now the other end of the rope is picked up and placed in coils over the left hand, as shown in Fig.1B. To form the knots. the coils are turned over so that the ropes cross, and the knots form. If the coils are not turned and just ploced over the left hand, the knot does not form.

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Practice is essential so that turning the coil as needed could be done without making it obvious. If three coils have to be made, five coils could be made, but crossed on every alternate coil. The result would be three knots. When the coils are placed over the table, they are taken off the left hand, and placed down, keeping the starting end of the rope in the left hand extending through

20

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the coils as shown in Fig. 19. Finally, this original end is lifted, gently shaking it as you pick up the rope and the desired number of knots appear on the rope (Fig.20).

Easy Slip Knot The slipknot is a knot that looks like a genuine knot but unties with a little tug. Slipknots are required in many tricks and here is an easy way to tie the knot

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A length of rope is held in the right hand with a strond between the thumb and first finger and the other strand between the second and third fingers. The center of the rope is pulled out about three inches from the fingers as in Fig.21. Now with the left hand palm down the left first and second finger are inserted into the loop as shown in Fig. 21

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The left hand is turned palm up and the left first and second fingers are inserted through the loopas shown in Fig.22. The fingers clip the strand at 'X' - below the right thumb and first finger as in Fig.23. The clipped strand is pulled back to left and at the same time the loop around the left first ond second

finger is ,allowed to slide off the fingers - see Fig.24. A push with the left thumb helps. Bypulling both the ends the loop is made smaller and a knot is formed as in Fig.25. A little tug as if to make the knot tighter makes the knot disappear.

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The "Right" Knot I A series of knots are tied in a length of rope. A spectator selects any knot, and holds it . When the ends of the rope are pulled 011 the knots but the one held by the spectotor dissolve into nothing! A length of rope about seven feet long is used and an overhand knot is tied as shown in Figure 26. Then the end marked 'X' is .brought up as in Fig.27 x The shaded portion 'A' is pulled down as indicated by the arrow in Fig.27. The A rope appears as in the Figure 28. 17

x

x

Next the shaded portion is brought down as indicated by the arrow in figure 28 and the rope appears as in Figure 29. The shaded portion is brought down as indicated by the arrow as in Fig.30. This should be continued unti I the bottom of the rope is reached. This preparation can be done beforehand, or in front of the spectators The prepared rope is placed over the table.

In performance, the prepared rope is held with the ends in either hand. You state there are several slipknots on the rope but one knot is genuine. Someone is allowed to choose any loop by grasping it between the thumb and forefinger as in the Figure 30. Both the ends =:::::::~ . ::::=== are now pulled in opposite directions 31 and the chain dissolves into nothing leaving a genuine knot in the rope at the point desired by the spectator as in Fig. 31.

Triple Appearing and Vanishing Knots A rope held between the hands is given a twist and three knots mysteriously appear on the rope. Blowing over a knot makes the . first knot disappear, the second knot IS untied and the thir-d one IS slid off the rope. A length of rope about four feet long and a short piece of rope

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(about 3") are needed. About 6" from one end of the long rope a knot is snugly tied with the A B short piece of rope. The ends sew 3~ FAKE. of the knot are trimmed to give KNO'" KNOT it a neat look. Now a 'slip knot' (see Easy Slip Knot on page 10) Bis tied about 6 inches from the :"\ other end. Figure 32 shows the rope " with a slipknot at end 'A' and the fake knot at end 'B'. 33 In performance the rope is held concealing the knots with thumb and fingers of both hand with backs-of the hands facing the spectators as shown in Fig, 33.

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The end 'B' is now placed in the left hand under the end 'A' as in Fig.34 (Figure 35 is an exposed view.)

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Holding the hanging center of the rope ' bYfalm up right hand, it is brought up to the Ie t hand as in Fig. 36, and placed over the: end 'A' However, in doing so the right hand is turned palm down as in Fig.37. Grasping the-end 'A' with the right hand (fig. 38), the hands are separated making a slight tossing motion as if to toss the center of the rope in the air. The result is shown in the Figure 39.

B

To vanish the knot the hands are on either side of the 'slipknot'. Now hands are pulled apart while blowing on the slipknot and the knot vanishes. Next the • A genuine knot is untied.

B

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=::::s;===~

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Finally faked knot is slipped off the rope. The rope can then be used for other rope tricks.

Multiple Vanishing Knots The ends of a piece of rope are tied with several genuine knots. The performer covers the knots with a handkerchief for an instant, and all the knots have vanished. c

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A

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B

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Use a piece of rope about two feet long. The secret lies in the fact that a reef knot can be easily upset by pulling one side of the rope. The rope should have smooth ends,and not toss led or lashed ends.

Tie a reef knot as illustrated in Fig. 40 . Have a spectator check this. Now tie another knot, making sure the second and third knot make another reef knot as in Fig. 41. Youcan tie yet another knot, but again the third and fourth knot should make a reef knot. (Easy to remember, if you tie the knots left over right, right over left, left over right, right over left ...) Cover the knotted ends of the rope with a handkerchief for a moment. Pull straight one side of the rope. If you tied an odd number of knots (say three as in Fig 41) you pull one end of the rope loop (A), and the opposite rope end (B). If you tied on even number of knots, (say four), you pull the rope end on the same side as the loop (A and B in Fig. 40). Now you can easily slide the other knotted end off the rope. The same effect can be performed with a large handkerchief{ twisting it like a rope, and using the diagonally opposite corners tb tie the knots. Cover the knots with the middle of the handkerchief, and place it on a spectator's hands. Blowon the handkerchief, and ask the spectator to open it, and the knots have vanished.

Undaunted Knot A knot is tied in a rope and tightened. Although attempts made to untie the knot, the knot remains undisturbed.

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A 'One Hand Knot' (see page 8) is tied in the rope (Fig.42) and the top strand is grasped between the left first finger and the thumb. It is tugged upward (Fig.43) feigning the moves of untying a knot by loosening it. This is repeated a few times more, feigning a bit of difficulty at the start in untying the knot, pulling a few inches of rope until end 'B' is completely out of the right hand. If the movements are correct, the audiences wiIIbe convinced that the knot has been untied. It is better to really untie a knot and follow the natural moves to fake the untying.

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t A

44 4~

B

46

A

B A

Once the untying is complete, declare that there is another way of tying a one-hand knot. Hold the rope in the right hand WIththe fi"9ers closed, and back of the hand towards the audience. (FIg. 44.) One strand of the rope passes through the crotch of the thumb and hangs down over the back. To all appearances this looks like the starting position of the one-hand knot. The hand should be turned palm towards the audiences. Since the audience have seen you untying the knot, they presume the rope free of the knot. "'s Shown in Fig.45 the end 'B' is pulled down pretending to adjUst the rope ends. In reality the end 'B' is pulled down ta enable the knot to slip between the thumb and forefinger and the knot at thiS moment should be over the back of the right hand. The palm is opened casually and everything Seems fair. With the right forefinger and second finger the end ....' is clipped as shown '" Flg.46. The rope Is snapped downwards and ImmedIately a knot appears In the center of the rope. Po e - f.I

The Chefalo Knot Three knots are tied an a piece of rope. When the knots are tightened, they dissolve leaving a length of rope. For smooth working, ensure that no kinks or twists when moking the knots. First tie a normal knot as shown in Fig.4B, leaving a large loop about 5" in diameter.

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51

Tie 0 second knot as shown in the Fig.49, but do not tighten it. If you tighten the knot you wi II make a reef knot. Now insert one end of the rope through the lower loop as in Fig.50. Note the rope goes in on the side opposite to the one used to make the first knot. Finally thread it through the upper loop as shown in the Fig.51.

Now pull each end of the rope and as the knots tighten, blow on the knots. Keep pulling the ends, and the knots dissolve into nothing, leaving a plain length of rope in your hands.

Dissolving Knots

.

Several knots tied on a length of rope dissolve into nothing, leaving a simple, straight length of rope. This is in fact a combination of the Bow Tie Knot and the Chefalo knot, both explained earlier. Just make the knots one over the other. We have detailed the working below. Using a length of rope four feet long, make a bow tie knot as explained earlier (see page 6). Do not perform the dissolving part. Just make the bow tie knot, pull ittight and pass the ends of the rope through the loops. Now over this Bow Knot, tie a Chefalo Knot as explained above. Figures 52 and 53 illustrate the final stages.

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Pullthe ends and the knots comeclose together and tangle up in the middle of the rope. Havesomeone blow over it as you give the ends a sudden fast pull.and the knots to dissolve into nothing!

Dissolvo A tangled knot is formed in a length of rope. The ends are pulled and the knot gets tighter and smaller till it finally vanishes. A rope about three feet long folded in half is held in the left hand by both ends, and the right hand enters into the loopcit the center of the rope as shown in Fig.54. The right thumb and the first finger grasp both the strands as in Fig.55. The right hand points downward and the loop on the right wrist slides off the

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shake of the wrist helps the loopto slip off. The left hand maintains the grip on the rope ends. The right fingers follows the direction 51 shown by the arrow in Fig.56 and both ends are clipped with the right first and second fingers as in the Fig.57.

The double strand over the right first finger shown by the arrow in Fig.57 is allowed to slide: off the right fingers but the grip on the rope ends is retained as shown in Fig.58. The knot is pushed downward a little with the left hand. Then the ends of the

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rope are taken in each hand and slowly pulled apart. The tangled knot first tightens and then suddenly dissolves.

Twin Appearing Knot Two knots simultaneously appear on a rope with a simple flip of the rope. A length of rope about 36 inches long is displayed as in Fig.59. The loose ends should hang straight and clear over the back of hand. Insert the right hand through the loopand pull both ends out and up through the loop with first and second fingers. Clip the free end at the right between first and second fingers of the left hand where as right fingers keep their hold on the other end (Fig. 60,)

61

Now do two things quickly and together. Retaining your grip on both ends move the hands apart and throw the loops out with a

quick flip. Two knots appear instantly on the rope stretched hands (Fig.61).

Knot that

between the

is NOT

A knot is formed in a length of rope several times to let all see how it is made. Next a second knot is also made. When the rope is shaken both the knots disappears into nothing. The rope used is about four feet long. The ends are crossed one over the other and held in the left hand as in Fig. 62. The hanging center of the rope is brought up by the right first finger (Fig. 63) and placed over and between the crossed ends so the end 'B' passes through as shown in Fig. 64. Taking the ends 'A' and 'B' in the left and right hands, the hands are separated and a knot is formed in the center of the rope. The knot is untied and tied again. Now start again and when the position in Fig. 64 is reached the

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A

rope is transferred to the right hand - Fig. 65.

B

4

B

6:2.

A

B

A

The leftmost loop is now lifted up by the left first finger and put over the end 'A'. Thus 63 the second knot is formed. Taking the end 'A' in the left hand, and end 'B' in the right hand, the hands are drawn apart. Both the knots magically disappear.

Pull and Vanish A knot tied in a rope disappears when it is tightened. A length of rope three feet . long is draped over the left hand with the palm facing the spectators as shown in the Fig.66. The ends are pulled out as in the Fig.67 and then placed between the left first and second fingers - Fig.68. Retaining the grip over the clipped ends the loof is allowed to slip of the left hand, ond a knot is formed, which looks genuine. (Fig. 69.) Now holding the ends in both hands slowly draw the hands apart. First the knot will tighten and then dissolve Qway.

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The Stretching

Rope

Two pieces of ropes of equal length are shown and their ends knotted together. The knot is slid down to the bottom then untied. One rope is now seen four times longer than the other. Two pieces of ropes one 36 inches long and the other 8 inches longare needed. The small piece is looped around the center of the longer one as shown in Fig. 70. In performance the rope is held in left hand as in Fig. 71 concealing the joints by the thumb and fingers. It seems two pieces of ropes of equal length are held in the hand.

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71

73

Pretending to tie the ends of the two ropes. the smaII piece of rope is tied around the longer one (Fig.n.) Holding the rope in left hand by one end (Fig. 73) the right hand slides down the knot a little at a time up to a point four inches from the opposite end as in Fig. 73. The long rope is then turned end for end and the left hand holds the knotted portion.

The right hand unties the knot and one end is 'c1ippedbetween the left second and third fingers as shown in Fig.74 (exposed view). In actual performance the hand is held closed around the rope. Holding the end of the smaller piece in right hand the hands are separated and one rope is seen more than 4 times longer than the other is. (Fig. 75) .

75

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"Doas I do" Not I A

The performer ties a knot ina length of rope without letting go of the ends from the hands. When the spectators try, they fail to duplicate it. This makes an excellent Party stunt of the "1>0-0$I-Do" variety, and can be performed with neckties, besides rope. Showthem how easy it is to tie a knot without leaving the ends, then watch their futile attempts to duplicate this! The rope should be about three feet long.The ends are held between thumbs and first finger of both hands as seen in Fig.7b. To form the knot, the right hand is brought over the left hand as in Fig.77. The right hand further moves downand back to

B

77

\::dQ~~;:~ -, 78 A

right as in Fig.78.

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Then the right hand enters into the left loop and comes -:::::~~~:::::::~ out of the right one following the arrow in Fig. 78. The final position is shown in Fig. 79.

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90

Now to tie the knot on the rope it is necessary t 0 grasp point 'X' with right thumb and first fihger l eovlng hold on 'B'. Page-20

A

This has to be done secretly, as you pretend to throw the long loopover the wrists. The hands are turned over, to throw off the loopcircling them. Under cover of this movement the right fingers release their grip on end 'B' and grasp the rope at 'X' as the long loopover the wrists is slipped off the wrists (Fig. BO). Slide your grip to the end, so that to all appearances you are holding the same end 'B' of the rope, and not a part several inches below this. A knot is formed in the rope as shown in Fig. BI. When a spectator tries, and slips the loop off the wrists, unaware of the secret move, the knot willnot appear.

Presentation Points Some of the several flourishes given in this chapter blend naturally to form an effective rope routine. On the other hand following up the same effect (like producing or vanishing a knot) by several different methods, in the same performance could be monotonous. A good routine for example would involve having a single knot magically appear on a length of rope, then several knots magically appearing. Follow this with a dissolving knot or vanishing knot (or knots), and you have an interesting routine with some variety. Then follow this with some strong rope magic, as described the following chapters.

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Cut & Restored Rope effects Cut & Restored Rope Tricks are strong magic - the poor man's version of "Sawing a lady in two". There are some ingenious mechanical methods for performing this, using special tricked ropes, but the trick can be equally effective with a piece of ordinary rope, and one of the methods that follow. Traditionally a pair of Scissors are used to cut the rope. You may find a 1" wide "snap off" blade Craft knife, with a push-out blade (Fig. 82) easier to carry around in your pocket, and use with one hand to cut a thick cotton rope.

Easiest Cut & Restored rope This is the easiest method of cutting a rope and restoring it. I

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.' 83

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4

85 Page-22

Use a piece about 6 feet long. With one end, tie a reef knot on the rope about 2 feet from the end. as in figure 83. Do the same with the other end of the rope, so you have a length of rope with loops at either end. Now, you cut the rope in three parts. Cut the rope on the same side as the ends of the rope about 2" away from the knot, as in figure 83. You have a perfect illusion of 3 pieces of 0 rope, tied together. (Fig 84.)

Trim away the ends of the knot, so that they are less than an inch long. Now ask someone to blow on the knot, as you tug the rope on both sides of the knot. The knots fly off, (Fig. 85) and you have a fulllehgth of rope. .

If you cut the rope at the wrong end of the knot, your rope wiII be really cut in three! .

Classic Cut· and Restored Rope A length of rope is cut right through the middle. The cut ends ore tied together. The rope is coiled over the hand, and when uncoiled the knot has vanished, leaVing a single piece of rope. A length of rope about 40" long is held in A A· B S 'the left hand with one end 'A' between the thumb and first finger and the other end 'B' between the tips of the first finger and second finger cs shown in Fig. 86 87 86. The back of the hand should face the audience.

A

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89

The right palm is placed under the hanging center of the rope and brought up as in Fig. 87. When the right palm is near the left hand the rope is grasped by the right second and third fingers about seven inches below the end 'A' as shown in the Fig. 88.

8B

Grasping the rope firmly it is pulled through the loop in the right palm and up to meet the left hand. A loop is formed in the right hand, about the srze of the end of the rope end held in the left hand. The left thumb and first fingers hold it beside the end 'A' Fig. 89. With the right hand, the loop is cut through as shown in Fig.

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90.

A

A

The end 'B' is allowed to drop down and the audience see two separate pieces of ropes in the left hand. Fig. 91. is an exposed performer's view.

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91 B

NOelthe top ends of the two ropes (?) are tied with a doub Ie knot. The two ropes are shown knotted together atthe ends. Hold this by one end.

The rope is now wound around the left hand and in the process the rope slides through the right hand, which retains the knot and finally slips it off the rope. The right hand with the knot concealed nowgoes to the pocket, apparently to pick a pinch of "magic salt" or "woofIe dust" leaving the knot behind, and sprinkles the invisible powder on the coded rope. The rope is then unwound from the left hand to show a single completely restored piece, which can be thrown to the audience for examination.,

Comedy Cut & Restored Rope Trick

92

93

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A pair of scissors threaded onto a piece of rope is covered with a handkerchief while two spectators hold the ends of the rope. The magician removes the scissors after apparently cutting the rope under the handkerchief. The two cut pieces are tied into a single piece, to restore ,t.

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Not convinced, the audience jeers the the . performer. The knot is then slid off the rope, magically restoring it. :>

A piece of rope about four feet long, along with a pair scissors are needed for this amusing Page - 24

trick. One end ofthe rope is threaded through the left handle of the scissors.,then around the blades and bock thraugh the same handle as shown in Fig.92. Next the some end goes through the right handle, around the blades and back through the right handle as shown in Fig. 93. The ends of the rope are given to two spectators to hold - Fig. 94. Whi Ie bringing out the handkerchief from the pocket, a small 3inch piece of rope is olso secretly removed. The scissars are removed under cover of the handkerchief from the rope, and this short piece af rope is tied around center of the rope. The scissors are removed as follows: There are two loops around the blades of the scissors. First one loop is drawn downwards as shown in the Fig. 95 until it is off the blades. Next the other. loop is drawn down off the blades. The scissors should nowbe free from the rope. Hanging the scissors by the left little finger the short piece of rope is tied around the center of the rope. . The scissors are now shown free off the rope, and then the handkerchief is removed. Seeing the knot on the rope, the audience believes that the rope has been cut to remove the scissors and then re-tied. Holding one end, the rope is wound around the left hand and in the process the knot is slid off and hidden in the right hand and the rope is given to the spectators ...the rope has been restored by magic.

Double Rope Restoration Two examined lengths of rope are held and a spectator cuts through the center of both at a time. The cut pieces are held wide apart and then both are restored. Two pieces of ropes about four feet long are needed, along with a ring of the same rope about 2" in diameter. To make this ring or circle a length of rope about 4" is taken and the ends are diagonally cut. A coat of clear rubber cement is spread over the ends and C_ A,' B one end is put over the ~ other and rolled between 96 ~~ the fingers. " 97 D In performance, the ring is kept concealed

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between the right first and second fingers. After the ropes are examined, and taken back in the left hand both ends are grasped near the top-and placed in the right hand. In doingso, the ends are secretly pushed through the ring and when they emerge are held by the right first finger and thumb. Both the ends are grasped again with the left hand and pulled up so that the ring comes to the center. Taking both strands of each rope in separate hands the ring is stretched between as shown in Fig. 97. The thumbs and fingers cover the joint at 'A' and 'B' . The spectator is allowed to cut the ring on the dotted line shown in Fig.97. He cuts the ropes under the impression that this is the middle of the pair of ropes. Both hands are held wide apart and it seems to be two halves of the two ropes in each hand. Both pieces are then held in the left hand and under cover of suitable patter the ends 'C' and 'D' are switched over. Now as the spectator takes both ends and draws the ropes for examination, the two short pieces are kept hidden in the hand. .

Easy Restoration A long rope is coiled and the center loop is cut dividing the rope into two halves. Then the rope is magically restored. A rope about seven feet long is used. The coils are made in the following way: First three or four coi Is are made around the left A hand until about half of the ~ rope is consumed. After a pause another loop is farmed; as the right hand cames over, the loop 'A' is grasped as in Fig. 98 (that is the first loopthat was formed) and pulled through the other loops as shown in Fig. 99. One more loop is made So that all see the actual center of the rope.and it is placed with the loop 'A'. While reaching for the scissors from your pocket, or a nearby table, this last loop is allowed to drop. Now the loop 'A' is openly cut. In fact only a small piece has been cut off from the end of the

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rope. Thct piece, about 8-inch long runs through the first three/ four loops formed. Holding the ends of the short rope, allow the loopsto drop. The short rope is looped through the middle of the longone. The ropes appear as in Fig. 100, apparently cut in two. Allfour ends are brought together in the left hand. The right hand grips together one end of the short rope, and one end of the longrope between the right thumb and the forefinger. Let the other ends drop and the rope willappear restored.

Hindu Rope Mystery A long piece of rope is held by two spectators stretched out to its full length. The rope is cut into two equal pieces and then Immediatelyrestored by magic.

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The rope used inthis effect is about 10 feet long or more. Twospectators partkipate and they hold the rope by the ends stretched to its full length. The performer stands between the two and holds the rope in the middle with his left palmFlg.101. I 101 He takes the end 'B' from the spectator to his A • 6 right. The end 'B' IS held in the left hand with the ::::::==::;:; '-r-- - center of the rope to mark ~ 102 that place while the right hand holds the strand to form a loop as in Fig 102.

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The Fig .102 is an exposed view. In actual performance the hand is held in a loosely closed fist.

6

103

104

Momentari Iy the loop is transferred to left hand (Fi.g.103.) It is important to hide the next move under cover of showing the scissors with the right hand. Replacing the scissors, re-grip the loopjust below the left hand as shown in Fig. 104. The rope is brought up to the right to form the loop again. To the spectators this appears to be the same as in fig. 102 but in reality the true position is shown in Fig.l05. The center of the rope has been switched for the end. !he spectator at the right is asked to cut the rope at the point

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sho~n in the Fig. 106. To all appearances the center of the rope is cut, where as in reality a point near the end 'B' is cut. 12.-'--

Once the rope is cut, the right hand's grip is released and the rope falls to the position shown in Figure 107.

The new end 'D' is given to the spectator and he is asked to step back So that the rope is taut again. The left hand maintains its A grip on the rope. The ends D 'B' and 'C is are tied D , together and the hand is