Mark Leveridge Magic

A Wrinkle On - Fly-Ring

DAVE LORD

The ring move which I use for secretly stealing the ring off the cord prior to loading it into the key case is one which is described in the Earl Nelson ring and rope book, and Dave has come up with a preferred variation of this.

He follows the instructions up to step 7. At this point, however, he reaches round the front of his left fist with the right hand going in front of the strands of cord, and grips the string where it comes out of the fist by the left little finger. The ring is secretly dropped into the right hand which starts to wind the cord over the back of the left hand and TOWARDS YOU. However, instead of pulling the ring right off the end of the cord at this stage, Dave prefers to drop the ring, still on the cord, back into the top of the left fist where it remains hidden. This allows him to casually show the right hand empty.

He then takes hold of the other end of the cord which is still hanging down and passes it across to a spectator on the left. Then the right hand grasps the other strand, and thus secretly the ring which comes out of the top of the fist, and passes it to a spectator on the right, this being the moment when the ring is slipped from the end of the cord. The idea is that by stalling the actual removal of the ring from the cord you get a cleaner effect.

Dave also loads the ring into the key case in a different manner. Instead of hooking the ring on while the case is in the pocket, he actually retains the ring in his fingers and brings out the case with the gimmick concealed by the hand. He then uses the moment while he is unclipping the case to hook the ring onto the clasp and then allows the keys inside to fall out around the ring. Because the spectators believe, at the moment the case is removed from the pocket, that the trick is over (the patter having clued them as to where the ring is supposed to be), Dave believes they are slightly off their guard and allows him to get away with loading the ring in full view.

One final point, from a suggestion by Dave's friend Mike Field, is to use a key which has a plastic head on it to avoid the possibility of 'talk' with the ring when the two are in the hand together. You can buy a number of different coloured plastic tops for keys which would be suitable.