I have become very interested in this , so I purchased a very inexpensive pen thru, from my local magic shop, yes you read that correct, I did not buy it on line, it was around 12 bucks, it’s called Pen Thru Bill, it is quite easy, it uses a black plastic pen and comes with an ungimicked pen, which I found I don’t need and it gets great reactions too, with so many of these on the market at varying prices my question is , what others are good and bad, also why .
I saw a nice looking metal pen for around $60.00 it was a bit flashy for me.

I have the $10 plastic pen and I also have the Cornelius pen thru bill which cost me in the neighborhood of $60. The expensive pen is cleverly gimmicked, and is obviously better made than the plastic pen through dollar. However, I prefer the plastic version. It's straightforward, and you hand the pen to the spectator after the effect and there's nothing to find. On the Cornelius pen, I once had a spectator figure out the trick by finding the gimmick.

Jim

I think I paid $7 for my cheap one. A club member also showed me a routine where the pen can be handed out beforehand to have an item signed before the penetration.

I have no experience with the nicer ones, and still feel very much like a newbie in a lot of ways. I will say there was much joy in the eyes of my fellow club members when they got to play the inexpensive one.

My cheap one also passed the scrutinous proddings from The Wife, who never did quite figure out how it worked.

At one time I had all the expensive ones available. Over the years I've gotten rid of all of them. I now make I own. I use plain white Bic pens. The ones with the black cap and black writing end. I bring it out, hand it to a spectator to mark the bill for identification, take back both the pen and bill and do all the regular moves. I then hand the bill back and place the pen on the table. If the anyone wants, they can pick up the pen and examine it, nothing to find. Perfect!!! I pick up the pen and place it back into my pock. By the time the pen reaches it's resting place in my pocket, it's already reset and ready to go again.

As I make my own, I use nothing but the strongest of M-----S.

Up here in canada we pay$21 for the $10 pen thru bill (what a rip..............but well worth it) that's my favorite.

it looks so generic like a cheap pen that everyone has lying around, no reason to even inspect it although they can.

the cornelius is a very nice corporate looking pen but I think lay people are more curious and enticed to check it out because the metal could have a mechanism, and although hard to find.......it sort of does.

just my thoughts

I owned the cheapy one for a long time and I found I was using it considerably and getting great reactions from people. It became one of my favourite effects... So I decided I should splash out on the John Cornelius version. I have to say that within a month it was in the bottom of the drawer and I was back to using the cheap one again.

I had various problems with it including: The m****t in the JC one was way to strong, and capable of actually ripping the note. One other problem which I cant really mention here, but will say as much as the clean up is different from the cheap ones and I have to say its awful IN MY OPPINION, others like it.

It looks nice but stick with the cheap one in my oppinion. When the spectator handles the pen the first thing they try is to pull off the end off, when it comes off the cheapo one and has that long ink cartidge attached they really don't have a clue, its a nice subtelty. With the JC version you should not let them handle it.

One good point about the JC version is that you can show the note HAS REALLY RIPPED, they can see the ripped edges moving around the note. Then the note completely restores..... and the pen looks pretty...

Swings and roundabouts really.

I recently started using the sharpie version.

Didn't really use the others so I can't compare.

Harris

So Harris How do you like the Sharpie verison? What kind of problems (if any) have you had with it.

Thanks
kOnO

I wish the g------ could write. With the workings it can't?

I like it because sharpies can be used in previous effects such as to sign a coin or playing card.

User error....It came with the cap off. I discovered why. At first I though that was why the sharpie couldn't write...there is another reason.....Don't get the working end stuck in the cap...

Only used it a couple of times as it is still in the development stage for future programs.(2012 Summer Reading will get the biggest next planned use)

Harris

The thing with the Cornelius pen is this: If you were to walk up to a table in a restaurant like Buffalo Wild Wings or Applebees, you were not dressed in a suit or tuxedo and you pulled out a pen like that, people would look at you funny. Then they get suspicious of the pen, once they know what you are doing with it. The key, obviously, is to use it in the right setting/venue/environment. For me, it has never failed and one mistake I have seen other performers make is to hand both the cap and pen back to one spectator.

I will say that the $5 black plastic one that I have is very versatile, it looks like your ordinary everyday pen, as has been stated previously here. You can also do a few more types/styles of penetrations with it that are not possible with the Cornelius pen.

Most of the time however, I use gaffless versions like Driven by Cameron Francis and Misleading Misled by Alan Rorrison. These get just as good a reaction, if not better, as anything else and I attribute that to being able to borrow both the pen and the bill from the spectators.

That's another thing I like about the cheaper variant. You can take the cap off, and place both down on the table for inspection. Leaving plenty of time to clean up. and the specs assume they have seen everything. Id never go back to the JC version no matter what the venue.

May I also point out that if your in a place that has pens lying around, you can also make it look impromptu by pretending to pluck it from a desk.

Bonus!!!

I have only used the cheap versions and all is good. I looked at more expesnive ones and the only one I would consider is the sharpie version as I could switch it with a regulaur sharpie. But on choseing a pen think of the enveroment in and what kind of pens your find there.

Well said!

Too many magicians are overly concerned about 'let them inspect this twice or more' and 'let them inspect that twice or more' when really, it is not necessary. I just want to point out that such is the case with the Cornelius pen - they use the pen beforehand (or at least they are able to!) to sign the note, paper, etc. For spectators, that is proof enough that the pen is legit and after you do the penetration, they will usually be more worried about examining the punctured object and not the pen, giving you plenty of time to nonchalantly put it away and move on.

I use the Empire pen and it certainly does the job. Never been caught, but there's nothing to really catch - the handling that I use is well thought out. I place the pen on the table, but few examine it. The heat is on the bill.

How about the gaffless ones like Vanni Bossi's. That is pretty cool.

What is the empire pen? Is it different to the cheapo varients?