We received our Business Card Penetration Frame today from Meir Yedid Magic.

The premise is well known by magicians and likely performed early in their careers.

A frame is shown with a piece of clear plastic within its four corners. A card is inserted on each side of the frame so that if you looked at the props it appear as a sandwich with card, the clear plastic, and another card.

A threatening sharp stick is shown and without any hesitation, pushed through the first card, the clear plastic sheet and out through the card on the other side. The threatening stake is removed the same way it goes in or pulled through on the other side. You can show spectators that there is in fact a hole through both cards and the plastic sheet. The cards are removed from each side and now the hole is gone. The plastic sheet is intact, nary a hole to be seen. If needed, the frame can be inspected by audience members.

That’s the plot of the classic Penetration Frame and it remains the same with the Business Card Penetration Frame.

The difference is the appearance of the frame. It is smaller in dimensions than Penetration Frames we have used in the past. It works perfectly with business cards.  Playing cards would cover most of the plastic sheet, diminishing the effect. But the frame is also different in appearance from your old Penetration Frame.  It sports a metallic look, a gold metallic appearance.

It is not real gold – we checked with one of the local gold and silver merchants that occupy our building on the street-level.  He previously bought one of our fillings so he knows his stuff.  He said it is not real gold. That explains the very reasonable cost for the effect.

So the question is why would we want to buy another Penetration Frame?

We admit – and have done so under oath in one infamous family law proceeding – that we buy duplicates of tricks we own and purchase entire genres of effects that we never perform in our act. We are almost exclusively a card magician and take pride (because it would not be given to us otherwise) in never using gimmicked cards. That limits the number of tricks we can justifiably buy for tax and rational reasons.

We are usually restricted to bricks of Bee Jumbo Index decks and books on card magic written by John Bannon, Juan Tamariz, John Luka and the Stars of Magic series. So why have we purchased more gimmicked coins than we could ever need?  Considering we don’t even do Nickels to Dimes anymore or Scotch and Soda, that’s a question psychologists have found puzzling and others who care about bank balances, infuriating.

But this effect is different and will likely join our regular routine – the same routine, word-for-word, since 1974 – because it looks pretty, gets our business card and the spectator’s business card into play as souvenirs, and requires no difficult moves. If you have been doing magic for more than a decade, you know the moves. Now you need something that looks beautiful with which to perform those moves.

In our Twitter feed, @insidemagic, we have been repeatedly referencing Meir Yedid’s weekly mailing. If you are not a subscriber, you should be. He has new magic that won’t be found in other stores. Many are gems like the Business Card Penetration Frame. Along with the effects offered are great write-ups and suggestions for handling that you will not find elsewhere.

Some considerations: Even though the frame is not really gold, it looks like gold. But under close inspection there are some minor flaws in the coating – at least on the one we received. The flaws will be invisible to even close-up audiences but we thought we would note it. The trick itself works well and feels very durable. Despite being an effect most magicians know and have seen, in all of our time at the Magic Castle’s amateur rooms, we have not seen it performed. For a lay audience, this will come across as a unique effect. Finally, the wooden stake that comes with the frame is sharp. Be careful reaching into the envelope containing the frame or at least don’t be as grabby and careless as we can be.  Although the blood stain we caused at the tip of the stake gives it a certain something.

Even with the minor finishing flaws, we give the trick a Five out of Five for construction, inspiration and real-world use. Plus, the price cannot be beat.

Remember that Inside Magic accepts no payment for our reviews. If we review a trick, it is because we bought it and like it. If we bought it and didn’t like it, we won’t review it. There is enough negativity in the world and we’d like our Art to be a safe zone for innovators and businesses.