Infinity Magic Blog

I’m afraid I can’t speak to exactly what kind of oil is used in the
lubricated wand, but I can tell you that it has been around and in use for
many many years.  The lubricated wand is considered an upgrade to the
standard needle balloon wand and works much more professionally.  I
personally think the oil makes this version safer than the standard as the
needle is much less likely to get stuck during performance.

I would trust this type of wand to a 12 year old only if they show a
committment to practice and really want to learn the needle through
balloon trick.  Generally, if a respect for the magic trick is shown, then
my experience has been that kids will be less likely to use the needle
within the wand for anything other than what it is intended for. They
don’t want to ruin their new trick.

Thumbtips, HotRods, and coin tricks like scotch and soda have also been
really popular with the 12 year old age group and you should take a look
at these as well if you are concerned.  Just follow the links below. Hope
this helps!

~Chris (Owner, Infinity Magic)
www.infinitymagic.com

Thumbtips
http://infinitymagic.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=9553

HotRods
http://infinitymagic.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=9645

Scotch and Soda
http://infinitymagic.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2532

Close up levitations can mean a lot of things to a magician. You can levitate a playing card or credit card volunteered from a spectator. You may be looking to levitate small or invisible items that become “visible” under a handkerchief. Finally, you may be looking to actually levitate yourself, which does take some practice.  Actually, I have several suggestions for all three. 

For levitating a playing card, the thread genie is your best bet. It retracts and extends as you need it and has a built in system for dealing with storing the unused invisible thread very easily. You can also go with the Hummingbird card, or even the Amazing and Easy to Learn Magic Tricks - Floating Bill (which includes an instructional DVD full of levitation ideas) 

For levitating larger objects, I would suggest Loops by Yigal Mesika. He is world famous for his levitation routines with sunglasses, decks of cards, and anything else found on your person and performs a lot of these feats with his Loops product. Loops will take some practice however to master. I would also suggest any zombie ball routine. Here a solid metallic ball comes to life and bounces back and forth behind, on top, and below a large spread out Hanky that you hold with both hands. The audience is left to wonder how the ball could travel all over with both your hands visible the entire time. My final suggestion is The Thing - Platinum Edition. This is a very pricey item at $200, currently on sale for $180 here at Infinity Magic Shop, that I find amazing everytime I see it and well worth the price if you are performing for cash. My description wouldn’t do this product justice so I recommend checking out the Demo video on the site. But again, this is by far the priciest of your options and will probably go on most magicians wishlist rather than the add to cart. 

Finally, if you want to levitate yourself there are several good options. The first is the basic Learn to Levitate DVD that runs about ten dollars and teaches you a technique that is very angle sensitive, but effective if performed under the right conditions. The Skywalker DVD runs about $20 and teaches a slightly better levitation that has been fairly popular. By far the most involved levitation is taught by Criss Angel on his Masterminds Volume II DVD and involves purchasing and building several props. Its expensive at around $100, but is the most professional levitation you will find at this price.

Send all your questions to Chris@infinitymagic.com