metal bending Archives

If they can bend metal with their minds, why do magicians bend spoons!?

I’ve been using a Strongman nut and bolt at almost every gig for the past year. Starting with the prototypes and moving through each of the versions as different metals and designs were tested. If you are new to Strongman, it’s a device created by Jimmy Strange that allows you to have a nut and bolt inspected, before and after it is slowly bent by the touch of a spectators finger. It’s a powerful moment of magic, and I enjoy performing it very much.

Using Strongman made me think about an aspect of performing metal bending close up: The emotional meaning of why magicians bend spoons..

I started to wonder why I do many of the things I do as a magician. Would someone really do these things with magical powers? Why are all most of the things I do with my magic trivial?

Magic doesn’t HAVE to have meaning. We can change the colour of a playing card, or make a matchstick float in the air just for the fun of it. But.. is it more powerful for the audience if they see magic that has a valid purpose?

The magician uses magic to escape from his bonds.

The magician uses magic to heal.

The magician uses magic to win a lovers heart

The magician uses magic to win a fortune.

All these presentations have motivation and meaning. They are things someone who has magic powers would spend their time doing.

The favourite objects for magicians to bend using magic or their mental powers are forks, spoons, and coins. I understand why.. They are the items commonly around where magic is performed. The items have context within the environment. However, in the context of meaning, who really cares if magicians bend spoons or forks? Equally, a bent coin still maintains it’s purpose, it is still a coin and can be spent so no real harm is done.

A Nut and Bolt on a Playground Swing

The whole reason for being an nut and bolt is to be strong, supporting and dependable. Our lives often hang on the strength of just a few nuts and bolts. I think about that every time I fly..

I remember being a kid and swinging as high as I possibly could on the park swings.. I’d look up and see that single bolt holding the chains.. Did you ever do that? My life hanging from a single bolt…

This is why I like the Strongman nut and bolt so much. It’s not only a self working examinable metal bending trick, it’s also a way of presenting metal bending with drama and meaning.

It makes me look at the other tricks I perform and ask myself: How can I change the presentation or props for this trick so that the effect created is less trivial?

Adding a ‘story’ to provide meaning doesn’t have to make your presentations serious. A funny or light hearted presentation works just as well. For example, one way to introduce the Strongman nut and bolt is to bring it out, and explain that you helped put up the DJ’s light system (or the awards stand, speakers stage etc) with him earlier. You’ve just found this… Should we be worried…? or something similar..

Hope this helps

Dominic

Metal Bending is a genre of Mentalism that has become a lot more popular in recent years. For many years however, it was very rarely seen and only ever spoken about when people mentioned Uri Gellar in conversation.

What Uri Gellar did with some simple and direct demonstrations of metal bending was amazing. He inspired almost everyone who owned a television at that time to believe in the power of mind over matter. Millions of people worldwide would be heard shouting “BEND” at their TV screens on a Saturday night just willing a fork to bend in Uri’s hands!

This is how powerful metal bending can be.

Here are 5 reasons why metal bending still is some of the strongest magic you can perform.

1) A lot of people still believe telekinesis is possible.

To a lot of people telekinesis is an ability we all have but just can’t tap into, so if you can portray the illusion that you can tap into your ability then it instantly is more believable than say, a card repeatedly coming to the top of a deck of playing cards. Metal bending is believed to be a real phenomenon, (which it may be, who knows?!) to a lot of people. Therefore, if a spectator were to encounter metal bending in real life then this experience would be much like if they spoke with a psychic or fortune teller. They automatically believe that it is real as their primary belief is that it IS possible to do.

2) It cannot be explained as sleight of hand by a lay person.

Any card trick can be explained in the eyes of a spectator as ‘sleight of hand’. Now, nearly everyone who says this does not understand what sleight of hand really is. Sayings like ‘the hand is faster than the eye’ or ‘very good with your hands’ are the extent of the explanations you will receive from a lay person when asked what they think sleight of hand is. Metal bending does not fall into this trap (unless performed very badly). It cannot be explained as ‘being clever with your hands’.

3) Some visual bends are undeniable.

Thanks to some amazing minds in magic such as Banachek, Morgan Strebler and Dee Christopher there are some very visual bends that can be performed with regular metal cutlery that are undeniable. What do I mean by that? I mean that the spectator sees the metal bending before their very eyes. It is the old saying, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ the spectator’s see it, so they believe it.

4) There is lasting evidence of the magic that occurred.

Metal bending is one of the types of magic tricks that finishes with evidence of what has just happened. You begin with a straight, regular fork or key, coin or nail, and you end with it bent, distorted or twisted, it is proof of what has just occurred. Also, it is a very bizarre sight, no one in their right mind would actually bend their cutlery, so the image of a twisted and bent fork is a very strong and bizarre image.

5) Metal Bending is still shrouded in mystery.

Everybody has seen, or knows a simple card trick, even if it is just the one with three piles of seven cards! There has been tonnes of exposure and trick decks sold in toy stores; There are whole sections in magic books for beginners on Card Magic Tricks, some are common knowledge, and although most of the secrets are still secret the mystery has been lost, the performer, with his or her performance, can bring back the mystery and feel of magic, but card tricks especially are seen as tricks, not magic. Metal Bending is still mysterious and not common place in magic sets, toy stores or even in magic shops, this certainly helps gives you the edge as a performer.

As mentioned previously, metal bending has become more popular in recent years, thanks to magicians such as Banchek, Dee Christopher and Morgan Strebler. So studying and learning some of these secret techniques is easier than ever before.