Oi vey, this cardistry…card manipulation project I have going on is driving me nuts. I put myself on a time crunch and I want it done before the end of the year. I’m working on it 3 hours a night working on 3-4 new flourishes, breaking in 5 decks, and polishing what I already know. The problem with it is that I REALLY lack the use of ‘moderation’. I don’t have projects I can easily set aside. They either do not happen, or they are MASSIVE obsessions. And quite honestly, I want this idea out of my head. So after 1 ½ hours in on one of these nutjob sessions, my hand (because I can only use ONE HAND) is not having it anymore. That and I’m REALLY sick and tired of LePaul spreading 5 decks of cards with the idea of breaking them in faster. That garbage is boring.
So with the next hour and a half, I’m rejecting my ‘business model’ that I utilize to select which Tenyo I review, and I’m selecting a Tenyo I used a LOT when I first got it, and recently picked it back up because I acquired some crayons and I wanted to see how I could make its presentation better. It'll make more sense when you read into this.
ULTRASLICE
Inventor: Hideo Kato
Year: 1982
Cost: $30-$40
Type of Effect: Penetration
Skill Level: Beginner-Intermedite
CONTENTS:
- 1 grey, plastic ‘Ultraslice’ carrying case
- 1 Ultraslice lid
- 1 Ultraslice case
- 10 fake cigarettes
- 1 buzzsaw...card
EFFECT #1: You, the magician, present 10 fake cigarettes and a case. Inside is a slit going from side to side, but the cigarettes go inside the case up and down. The top half of the case seals it and the buzzsaw card is pushed through the opening. Upon revealing the cigarettes, not one is damaged or cut and may be examined.
REVIEW:
You thought I had nothing but newer Tenyo? Surprise!
I picked up this gem from a friend of mine, John Mazza. He’s the creator and moderator of a specialized Tenyo fanatic website & forum. And also has a Tenyo collection that’s one of the most complete in the world. The man is great.
I will say this to you future Tenyo-ites: It is literally impossible to have a fully complete Tenyo Magic collection. Between the rare and hard to find stuff, one of the tricks only having TWO copies ever made, and some tricks having ambiguity if they even exist or not; just know that a full collection is impossible, and to acquire what makes you happy.
In my case, I acquire only what I intend to perform with. And that’s after LOOOONG deliberation and trying to figure out how a gimmick works and trying to figure out if it is feasible for performing.
Some of you know I intend to only perform for kids and families.
You may also notice that this trick has 10 fake cigarettes.
Now, before you jump and try to put me out like a flaming bag of doggy-doo; check this out, Flash Gordon. There is a fellow Tenyo-ite that has suggested the use of CRAYONS instead of using the cigarettes. Because of that, I gave ‘Ultraslice’ the time of day. And man, I’m glad that happened!
So, we have a lot of props here. How do they all hold up?
The carrying case is a moderately thin plastic that’s meant to hold everything together. NICE touch! And something that you don’t see at all in the days of now. Could be cost cutting, could be the inflation and recession thing. Could be that we’re just getting weirder and weirder props. Who knows.
The answer? Who cares! You get a carrying case with ‘Ultraslice’! Enjoy that or be ungrateful!
Both lids are thick plastic. They were made in 1982. They are in their 30’s and still kicking! No splintery badness here!
Now, while I got my ‘Ultraslice’ new, the fake cigarettes are these long, white, foam filled…things. When my daughter and I first tried it out, I told her that they were ‘fake chalk’. They COULD pass as cigarettes without the filter, but who’s counting? ‘Fake chalk’ it is!
The buzzsaw card is smaller than a regular playing card, but is thicker. The pictured buzzsaw looks like something you would see at a lumber mill. And has yellowed a bit due to age. The instructions have as well. But really, that’s not going to be a deal breaker here. The buzzsaw card is a cute touch. You can get real creative with using things other than the buzzsaw card, which we’ll get into later.
The gimmick? Ah, the Voldemort we must not speak of.
The gimmicks here are BRILLIANT! They are a bit like Scooby Doo when they capture the villain and they unmask them, only to find out it was Old Farmer Joe dressed up as the Internet Troll all along.
THAT is what the gimmick is like for ‘Ultraslice’. Except that there’s quite an involved process to get the card through the cigarettes. And the way it does is an absolute piece of work. For ‘Ultraslice’, it’s not the WHAT, but the HOW that makes it so wonderful and NOT easy to guess. You might have an idea, and you might be on the right track, but you won’t have enough breadcrumbs to figure the gimmick and you’ll be sent packing.
Presentation. There’s actually a LOT you can do with an empty box. You could use the fake cigarettes, crayons, golf pencils, pieces of rope, Legos. If you can make it fit in the appropriate 10 ‘slots’, you can make it work appropriate for your presentation There is A LOT of versatility here and ready for the taking!
Challenge Level: ‘Beginner-Intermediate’?
Yes. ‘Ultraslice’ is rather easy to use, believe it or not. It’s not one of the easiest Tenyo out there, but I’d say of all the Tenyo in my inventory, it is THE Tenyo that sits on the fine line between ‘beginner’ and ‘intermediate’. I know that for a few reviews I have written, I have placed some Tenyo on the same level between ‘beginner’ and ‘intermediate’. Typically, this is because there is an alternate way of doing business with those tricks that happen to land them on intermediate. With ‘Ultraslice’, it’s just the ONE effect, and THAT’S IT! The secret and performing it is easy; making it actually look good and not raise suspicion with the handling: intermediate. While I am embarrassed to say that I haven’t put in the extra time yet to do the handling the way I want to (part of it is my fear and paranoia that the audience can SEE what I’m doing. This might be ‘rookie-think’), I figure that an extra hour or three will set you on the right path. I say that a lot about every Tenyo I review, but I can’t stress that point enough: Even though they are sold as toys in Japan, anything worth doing requires practice and patience.
So who is this best for to utilize?
Well…Virtually all mediums except stage magic. It’s small enough to play from the pockets and has its own carrying case to prevent everything from going everywhere in said pocket. It can play off as a carrying case and not as a COMPLETELY ‘strange prop’. You can adjust your presentation via what it carries, so it can play EASILY for kids and/or adults.
Even if you decide to use cigarettes, you could do magic for one of those D.A.R.E. presentations at schools…if they still do those.
All these good typey-words about ‘Ultraslice’; what about it sucks?
Well, it’s hard to say what’s bad about it. The effect is great, the gimmick is ingenious, versatile in presentation, CAN play from the pockets; it’s actually pretty hard to lose with ‘Ultraslice’.
One of the big things I can think of is that the initial concept of it (a cigarette case) isn’t standing up to the test of time.
See, in the age we live in right now, everyone is eating organic, shunning GMO in foods, taking time to ‘CROSSFIT!’, and most of all: QUIT SMOKING!
We don’t live in the age where smoking is really ‘what the cool kids do’ anymore. An odd crayon box CAN be a hard sell. Who carried 10 golf pencils in a case?
You see where I’m coming at here?
The placement of what you put in the box needs a very good REASON why they are in there for your presentation to work. That, to me, seems like the biggest hurdle in ‘Ultraslice’. The buzz saw card can be easily supplanted, but the point still stands: WHY do you have what you have in the box?
Oh, you want a more corporeal reason of how ‘Ultraslice’ can suck? How about this: A regular playing card can’t fit through the slot.
I’m not sure a bridge sized card can fit, but the last time I saw a magician use a bridge sized card was never. You might have to get creative with cutting cards down or using a different prop entirely if the buzzsaw card doesn’t exactly jive with you. You could make your own saw, cut down a blank gaff card and draw a beaver, use a picture of Caitlin Jenner because (as far as performance goes) you’re having to make a big change yourself to make things work.
All in all, there’s A LOT of versatility to be had in ‘Ultraslice’. Whats better is that it goes rather cheap in the world of Tenyo. And for some reason, I seem to only find it being traded or sold as new. It’s rare to see this being sold or traded as used. That should speak volumes: Those who have opened it tend to keep it.
See you next week, and since I’m picking and choosing for a while, ‘Magic Butterfly’ is next week!
So with the next hour and a half, I’m rejecting my ‘business model’ that I utilize to select which Tenyo I review, and I’m selecting a Tenyo I used a LOT when I first got it, and recently picked it back up because I acquired some crayons and I wanted to see how I could make its presentation better. It'll make more sense when you read into this.
ULTRASLICE
Inventor: Hideo Kato
Year: 1982
Cost: $30-$40
Type of Effect: Penetration
Skill Level: Beginner-Intermedite
CONTENTS:
- 1 grey, plastic ‘Ultraslice’ carrying case
- 1 Ultraslice lid
- 1 Ultraslice case
- 10 fake cigarettes
- 1 buzzsaw...card
EFFECT #1: You, the magician, present 10 fake cigarettes and a case. Inside is a slit going from side to side, but the cigarettes go inside the case up and down. The top half of the case seals it and the buzzsaw card is pushed through the opening. Upon revealing the cigarettes, not one is damaged or cut and may be examined.
REVIEW:
You thought I had nothing but newer Tenyo? Surprise!
I picked up this gem from a friend of mine, John Mazza. He’s the creator and moderator of a specialized Tenyo fanatic website & forum. And also has a Tenyo collection that’s one of the most complete in the world. The man is great.
I will say this to you future Tenyo-ites: It is literally impossible to have a fully complete Tenyo Magic collection. Between the rare and hard to find stuff, one of the tricks only having TWO copies ever made, and some tricks having ambiguity if they even exist or not; just know that a full collection is impossible, and to acquire what makes you happy.
In my case, I acquire only what I intend to perform with. And that’s after LOOOONG deliberation and trying to figure out how a gimmick works and trying to figure out if it is feasible for performing.
Some of you know I intend to only perform for kids and families.
You may also notice that this trick has 10 fake cigarettes.
Now, before you jump and try to put me out like a flaming bag of doggy-doo; check this out, Flash Gordon. There is a fellow Tenyo-ite that has suggested the use of CRAYONS instead of using the cigarettes. Because of that, I gave ‘Ultraslice’ the time of day. And man, I’m glad that happened!
So, we have a lot of props here. How do they all hold up?
The carrying case is a moderately thin plastic that’s meant to hold everything together. NICE touch! And something that you don’t see at all in the days of now. Could be cost cutting, could be the inflation and recession thing. Could be that we’re just getting weirder and weirder props. Who knows.
The answer? Who cares! You get a carrying case with ‘Ultraslice’! Enjoy that or be ungrateful!
Both lids are thick plastic. They were made in 1982. They are in their 30’s and still kicking! No splintery badness here!
Now, while I got my ‘Ultraslice’ new, the fake cigarettes are these long, white, foam filled…things. When my daughter and I first tried it out, I told her that they were ‘fake chalk’. They COULD pass as cigarettes without the filter, but who’s counting? ‘Fake chalk’ it is!
The buzzsaw card is smaller than a regular playing card, but is thicker. The pictured buzzsaw looks like something you would see at a lumber mill. And has yellowed a bit due to age. The instructions have as well. But really, that’s not going to be a deal breaker here. The buzzsaw card is a cute touch. You can get real creative with using things other than the buzzsaw card, which we’ll get into later.
The gimmick? Ah, the Voldemort we must not speak of.
The gimmicks here are BRILLIANT! They are a bit like Scooby Doo when they capture the villain and they unmask them, only to find out it was Old Farmer Joe dressed up as the Internet Troll all along.
THAT is what the gimmick is like for ‘Ultraslice’. Except that there’s quite an involved process to get the card through the cigarettes. And the way it does is an absolute piece of work. For ‘Ultraslice’, it’s not the WHAT, but the HOW that makes it so wonderful and NOT easy to guess. You might have an idea, and you might be on the right track, but you won’t have enough breadcrumbs to figure the gimmick and you’ll be sent packing.
Presentation. There’s actually a LOT you can do with an empty box. You could use the fake cigarettes, crayons, golf pencils, pieces of rope, Legos. If you can make it fit in the appropriate 10 ‘slots’, you can make it work appropriate for your presentation There is A LOT of versatility here and ready for the taking!
Challenge Level: ‘Beginner-Intermediate’?
Yes. ‘Ultraslice’ is rather easy to use, believe it or not. It’s not one of the easiest Tenyo out there, but I’d say of all the Tenyo in my inventory, it is THE Tenyo that sits on the fine line between ‘beginner’ and ‘intermediate’. I know that for a few reviews I have written, I have placed some Tenyo on the same level between ‘beginner’ and ‘intermediate’. Typically, this is because there is an alternate way of doing business with those tricks that happen to land them on intermediate. With ‘Ultraslice’, it’s just the ONE effect, and THAT’S IT! The secret and performing it is easy; making it actually look good and not raise suspicion with the handling: intermediate. While I am embarrassed to say that I haven’t put in the extra time yet to do the handling the way I want to (part of it is my fear and paranoia that the audience can SEE what I’m doing. This might be ‘rookie-think’), I figure that an extra hour or three will set you on the right path. I say that a lot about every Tenyo I review, but I can’t stress that point enough: Even though they are sold as toys in Japan, anything worth doing requires practice and patience.
So who is this best for to utilize?
Well…Virtually all mediums except stage magic. It’s small enough to play from the pockets and has its own carrying case to prevent everything from going everywhere in said pocket. It can play off as a carrying case and not as a COMPLETELY ‘strange prop’. You can adjust your presentation via what it carries, so it can play EASILY for kids and/or adults.
Even if you decide to use cigarettes, you could do magic for one of those D.A.R.E. presentations at schools…if they still do those.
All these good typey-words about ‘Ultraslice’; what about it sucks?
Well, it’s hard to say what’s bad about it. The effect is great, the gimmick is ingenious, versatile in presentation, CAN play from the pockets; it’s actually pretty hard to lose with ‘Ultraslice’.
One of the big things I can think of is that the initial concept of it (a cigarette case) isn’t standing up to the test of time.
See, in the age we live in right now, everyone is eating organic, shunning GMO in foods, taking time to ‘CROSSFIT!’, and most of all: QUIT SMOKING!
We don’t live in the age where smoking is really ‘what the cool kids do’ anymore. An odd crayon box CAN be a hard sell. Who carried 10 golf pencils in a case?
You see where I’m coming at here?
The placement of what you put in the box needs a very good REASON why they are in there for your presentation to work. That, to me, seems like the biggest hurdle in ‘Ultraslice’. The buzz saw card can be easily supplanted, but the point still stands: WHY do you have what you have in the box?
Oh, you want a more corporeal reason of how ‘Ultraslice’ can suck? How about this: A regular playing card can’t fit through the slot.
I’m not sure a bridge sized card can fit, but the last time I saw a magician use a bridge sized card was never. You might have to get creative with cutting cards down or using a different prop entirely if the buzzsaw card doesn’t exactly jive with you. You could make your own saw, cut down a blank gaff card and draw a beaver, use a picture of Caitlin Jenner because (as far as performance goes) you’re having to make a big change yourself to make things work.
All in all, there’s A LOT of versatility to be had in ‘Ultraslice’. Whats better is that it goes rather cheap in the world of Tenyo. And for some reason, I seem to only find it being traded or sold as new. It’s rare to see this being sold or traded as used. That should speak volumes: Those who have opened it tend to keep it.
See you next week, and since I’m picking and choosing for a while, ‘Magic Butterfly’ is next week!