The Linking Rings

Sorry for this one. I thought I share with you a true story. The story about me and the linking rings. It is true that I hate and love the trick. For exactly the reasons I give in the video. The gap issue needs to be addressed if you want to perform the linking rings successfully. You are underestimating the intelligence of the audience if you think that they won't think of a gap.

So this presentation leads up the the routine itself. It is pretty much the only piece of magic in my act that has that much talking that would finally lead into a magic trick.

In case you are wondering about the two routines... yeah there are two routines in the video. The one that I do and the one that I talk about. Ken Krenzels 4 Ring Routine can be found in Pallbearers Review on page 925 et. seq. Awesome little routine, but not the routine that I do. The one I do needs special rings. All the rings can be handed out and they link as seen in video.

I won't go in the details here. If you wanna talk to me about it, shoot me an email.

Key Ring Linking

Years ago Jay Sankey released Three Ring Circus. Linking Rings with key rings. And this is a wonderfully golden idea within his pile of not so good ideas he has released over the years. So we got normal objects and you link them. Unfortunately the DVD that came with the props didn't really have a well structured routine. And mine is far from it, but I at least tried to come up with a motivated reason to get into the pocket getting the dupes. So I came up with this one handed unlink which I like and use. The angles are pretty good and it freed the other hand to do the dirty business.

It's not a huge mind blowing routine that will make you the star of the night, but it is one of those tricks that is easy to carry around in the wallet. The Bonus is something that I came up with. So you only need the key key ring and you can link two sets of keys. Trust me when I tell you that this plays big. You do some magic to their property. And just like the cellphone everyone has keys. The extra ring that appears won't even be noticed, as each spectator thinks the extra ring is from the other set of keys that belongs to the other spectator.

Getting in and out of the bonus trick is easy enough and the gimmick is so hilariously ordinary you cannot not like it.

Linking Safety Pins

I decided to include this for one reason: Nobody does it. It's a beautiful little impromptu jewel. The needed preparation can be done all in the open and the "soft pin" principle is being used here. The routine you see in the video is quite basic. Just two links and two un-links. Like the big brother - the linking rings - the actual realization of the links are delayed creating wonderful time misdirection from the dirty work. In the end everything indeed can be examined. There is a angle issue with this routine. The audience must be in front of you. When this trick is appropriate the conditions are mostly one on one. And safety pins are all around us. So don't forget this little one.

Close Up Linking Rings

I always had this love hate relationship with the linking rings. It has all what you expect a routine to have. It's big, loud, impossible shit to hand out, interaction and all that jazz. Yet there are drawbacks. Not all rings can be handed out. Certain displays are more than fishy. Doing it with a small set takes away the "size" of the routine, but it enables you to do something else. You can switch an entire set. or part of it. So this is how the routine plays out now. I have all rings handed out. Each one. four single ungimmicked rings. Then I do my business and when I'm at the point where I link all of them in a chain of four I let go with my other hand. This fools most magicians. You can still show the set close up. When the rings are hanging I even point this out to laypeople "When you see other magicians do that, they will always hold their hand somewhere on the rings. I don't. I want you to remember that little detail."

I know that this is extremely unfair towards other magicians, but I love it that way. Handing all rings out in the beginning is crucial. if not you waste the whole effect. The spectators have to know that there is no opening. Otherwise you lessen the effectiveness of the trick drastically. I'm very unforgiving towards magicians who don't do that. There not milking the Linking Rings for what it's worth.