I love a billet clip. The Ostin clip in combination with an index allows for some amazingly powerful effects. Anyone familiar with the works of the late great John Riggs will know how many ways this tool can be used. I had played with the original executive clip but found it a bit too unreliable for the billet going in. So I was interested in the improvements made to Mk 2.
Thanks to Colin Mcleod, Chris Funk was prompted to make it more reliable and he's added some extra power to the inside of the clip, so it has force both sides to pull the billet in. I have to say it's a big improvement. It goes in much smoother than previously. I appreciate that this is a little cryptic but will make sense to owners of the first version.
It is dangerously close to being a good product. However, they have placed the inside gimmick so close to the edge that I'm finding it sometime goes in slow or else ends up with a little bit of billet flashing.
I was convinced that placing the inside gimmick further in the clip would help reduce this so I assembled my own the same way.
You can see the difference here.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JLUAymLeO3A
Keep in mind the camera doesn't capture it as well as seeing it in person, but you can see the executive clip slides in and it caught a little. Whereas mine goes in faster for the gimmick being further back. I didn't have as strong gimmicks either. Mine has smaller weaker gimmicks and it is still going in faster. So Penguin or Chris if you read this play with putting the gimmick in an extra couple of mm and it makes all the difference to reducing the flashing and speed of the vanish.
As it is sold, it will still be fine for stage, parlour, a little less confident of it close up, but I think with practice you would get used to making sure it goes in. The way it's taught you cover the billet/card/note when you take it out of the clip so it isn't on sight at the moment it opens so you have the chance to adjust the object and make sure it's flush and not flashing. But I think with the gimmick placed in a little further you can do the switch more openly as John Riggs uses the Ostin Clip.
Tutorial wise you get taught how to make an object up ready to use in. How to do the switch. A routine with a bill and a routine with a playing card. They are entertaining enough, but in my opinion the best use for these sorts of clips is in mentalism with billets which isn't covered. I don't massively mind as most creative mentalists buying this will probably already have enough ideas in mind for this.
Overall it's a nice enough clip as is, but I'm probably going to end up using my home made one. I think with a few tweaks this could be a really good product. But I don't think many people will want to pay for Executive Clip 3.0 and I can't say I'm in favour of making magicians do your product development. I think we've seen enough of that over the last month with multiple dealers releasing products that weren't quite ready for release. Like the shadow wallet 2.0 and then 2.1 a month on. I can't remember the last magic product I bought that felt like a finished product. That said, I'm not unhappy with this as the idea is good and it has led to me making my own that seems to be working how I want.
I have been wanting to learn the colour changing knives for a while and decided to pick up this set as I had heard good things about it. The quality of the knives are very good and the instruction video has everything you need to get started. Well worth picking up. If you have large hands go for this set not the smaller one.
Love this trick. Yes, there is a bit of a setup. Participant does the trick, with a little guidance from the magician so it makes them feel that they are the mind reader and the performer. Such a fooler for the layperson.
So easy to follow. Yes it does take a bit of setting up. It's not just a few cards you've got to put back in order but the whole pack, but it's well worth it. And you make the spectator feel as if they are doing everything, just a little bit of guidance from the magician. No sleights at all, nothing to remember. It's a really good trick and such a fooler to the layperson