Anyone here own a snapper? My favorite is a snapper I got from a magic set called "Magic by Mr. Creepy" The snapper was shaped like a severed finger.

I have a wood snapper that is quite nice.

Night_Crawler

Geoff, I had that magic set too. I think I was about 11 or 12 at the time. I remember I couldn't figure out why that snapper thing was suppose to be magical. Do you remember the two strings through severed head penetration from that same set? Know that I got a lot of use out of it back in the day.

I had a plastic snapper but it broke and I am yet to buy another one.
Maybe next time I will get one made out of something stronger!

I didn't know there were different kinds of snappers. (Besides wood and plastic.) That might be a cool thing to collect.

Geoff, I have that magic set also I totally forgot that I had it but when marko mentioned the string through the severed hand I totally remembered

Night_Crawler

Take a look at http://geniimagazine.com/magicana/sankey.html

I tried this one for a while, and came up with something that was ungimmicked and easier (for me). Don't bother glueing a cap on the other end of the pen. Instead, use a cap of a different colour, a red cap on a blue pen, say.

"An interesting fact about Bic pens. The pens and caps are magnetic. A blue cap on a blue pen is ok, and a red cap on a red pen is ok. But put a blue cap on a red pen, and the pen repels the cap. Put a red cap on a blue pen, and the pen attracts the cap."

Then do the effect.

I have fun with that one, and while some people suss it immediately, others are baffled.

As it says in the instructions, you'll need to ensure that your finger tips are wet.

(I give the link to Jay Sankey's Mightier than the Sword because his descriptions and pictures make it far easier to describe "my" effect. I'm not trying to suggest that my effect is superior to his. It's merely a variant that I happen to prefer.)

Saw a snapper at http://www.magicsmith.com called snapper 2000. In the add says made from aluminum and uses a totally different principal. I never got one but sounds nice.

Hope this is helpful.

I love the snapper because of it's illusion principle. I have a great time with it.

I bought the aluminum one and don't like it at all. It doesn't play like the snapper.

I prefer the bic pen approach. 30+ years ago, a big kid (A Third Grader, even!) showed me how "spitting in a pen cap" made the cap magnetic. I didn't realize it was a trick - I really thought the laws of physics were that capricious. I drove my parents crazy spitting in pens trying to duplicate the magnetic plastic principle. Today, I show the trick to kids hoping to ignite that same chaotic confusion that kept me going for so long...

Chazpro makes a nice brass snapper that has a fooler for magicians at the end. They are on the specials page for cheap now. Recommended.

I was doing some table magic once and needed a moment to get things our of my bag. I pulled out the snapper showed it and then left it on the table while I went to my bag. It was a couple minutes before I was able to get them to put it down and get back to the "real" magic.

The snapper was the only trick from my childhood magic set that fooled my girlfriend when I recently ran through it for her (that might speak more to my performing ability than I care to contemplate). Great fun to watch her try to hook the band back to the top.

And even Ed Marlo has a contribution to the snapper, in his book, ARCADE DREAMS. It also appeared in Genii quite a few years ago. It had a little touch that even fools magicians at the end: Instead of the "head" shooting into the "body", the body actually snaps up to the "head". I've done it for a few magi that could not figure the simple workings of it.

DonB!

I use a plastic snapper it seems to set better for me than the pen. My friend makes them for $3 each. The reason the pen is obvious is because everyone knows the bevel shape of the cap. The focus on the snapper however is linking it to the rubber band The mind (some have brains!) is not on the cap of the snapper. You have to really improvise on the rubber band.

It even fooled me.

I have the aluminum snapper. It works on a different principle and is meant to be a magician fooler I believe.

I had completely forgotten about snappers. We made one out of wood as an assigned project in shop back in Jr. High. (Don't ask when that was.)

Deerbourne

I like to give snappers away to good friends and clients. Anyone know of an inexpensive quantity source for them?

I remember reading a wonderful article on Ricky Jay's collection of rare and unusual snappers. Now, unfortunately, this was in MAJOKE magazine, but it was still a fun read!