Coins on Edge, by Kainoa Harbottle
spiralbound, 113 pages
HISTORY
The title gives away what this book is about- edge grip. Kainoa is a respected master of this grip, and even appeared as a prominent member of the Edge Grip Forum during the Coinvention.
Edge grip was a grip that wasn't widely used until thirty or fourty years ago, when David Roth re-introduced it to the magic community with his coin plot, "Hanging Coins". It has since become more and more popular, however, the grip itself has appeared in texts as early as 1904 and is presumed to have been used and re-invented for years and years earlier.
Kainoa has changed this grip from the classic "Rothian" EG (edge grip). Roth's EG is closer to the tips of the fingers, and this bothered Kainoa due to how it immobilizes the fingertips. In Kainoa's EG use, the fingers are freed and can manipulate coins at the fingertips while holding out a stack of coins, and (for the most part) freely showing the hand empty.
CONTENTS
In Coins on Edge, Kainoa teaches:
Basic edge grip theory and practice
Basic vanishes and productions from EG
The spin display
EG to EG changes
Edge Flip moves
EG to EG transfers
EG to CP (curl palm) transfers
EG steals
Nowhere palm work
Mutobe palm work
Flying wombat..........................\
Kinky flying wombat....................- These three are vanishes!
Hideous kinky flying wombat..../
And after all the technique, he includes 9 (that's right- 9!) full coin routines using the above sleights/techniques.
These include a few hanging coins routines, a couple of coins across, a four coin production and vanish sequence, a production of a stack of coins from a sneeze (and the lovely nostril production) and a great trick called Deja-Flew. I especially like his in-the-hands spellbound routine with "three" coins.
TEACHING
You will need to go over the routines, following along with the book, many times for you to learn this stuff. He doesn't baby you in any way with this material- you're left to fend for yourself.
A serious student studying this will have no problems learning this eventually- however, don't expect to be coddled like Brad Christian does to you. Kainoa is a tough teacher with rubber cement that exudes from his fingertips
DIFFICULTY
This is an advanced text. You are expected to have amazing coin control and at least an "intermediate" level of coin skill and knowledge. This is not for the faint of heart; if you found Silver Dream even partially hard to do, you have a lot to learn before you can expect to get anything out of this book.
You must also have obtained a certain amount of ambidextrousness with coins if you hope to do many of the included routines.
MATERIAL
This is the stuff all coin guys dream about being able to do. 'Nuff said.
IF I HAD TO "RATE" THIS BOOK
I would give it a 9/10 - It loses points because some of the sleights made me cry a little bit (tear...
It's hard stuff!
