Simply add a split reveal card to your deck. Perform your favourite ‘pick a card effect’. The spectators freely(?) chosen card is left on the table at the end of your routine, as you entertain with some more miracles.
To close, a spectator is asked to merely think of a celebrity.
My favourite method, and the reason why I designed the Split Reveal cards, is to use the brilliant DFB app designed by Nick Einhorn and Craig Squires. The cards and this app work together hand in hand.
You could also use one of Brett Barry’s excellent ‘Sven’ products to achieve a similar result.
Without revealing their choice of celebrity, the spectator is asked to pick up their previously chosen card from the table and rub it face down between the palms of their hands, to warm up the ink.
You ask, how they would feel if when they turn the card over, an image of the celebrity had formed on the face of the card? They turn the card over, it hasn’t…….but that would have been good right!
Explaining that perhaps they did not rub hard enough, you take the card and break a corner point and begin to split the back design layer, away from the body of the card.
Getting everybody to watch closely you ask for the name of the celebrity, as you continue to slowly split the card apart. To reveal an image of the same celebrity trapped inside fibres of the card!
Drop the card into their hands and be prepared for people freaking out and a lot of swearing It does not get much better than that!
The image will be in red ink for a red backed card, or blue ink for a blue backed card, as if the ink has morphed from the card to reveal their thoughts.
'I love impossible reveals that defy logic and reason. This is without doubt one of the best reveals I’ll ever have the pleasure of performing. The quality of the craftsmanship is brilliant. Bravo David, I cannot wait to get this in my shows.'
'David Diamond has produced some beautifully-made, split celebrity cards, which open myriad possibilities for the discerning performer. The work involved to produce these cards is nothing short of jaw-dropping! They are a work of art! These cards should be used for that special occasion, when you want to leave a unique, amazing impression and a lasting memory and souvenir for the spectator. David has made my year by producing these wonderful cards! Very, very highly recommended!'
'Finally got around to trying the spit reveal cards you sent. I'd heard of easy peel oranges but never thought we'd have easy peel playing cards. These are really good. Far better than I could have imagined. Looks and feels like a regular card but peels apart so easily to reveal the image hidden inside.'
'Superb quality cards and an amazing reveal, wish I had thought of it!'
'Amazing!'
My Split Reveal cards are produced on Eoin O’Hare’s fantastic range of Card splitting Jigs and tools. www.theperfectshuffle.com
Everything is done by hand, a very time consuming and precision process. These cards cannot be rushed and go through several different processes before being put into an aligner jig and reassembled. Every single card is hand checked for quality at each stage.
They look and feel as close to a regular card as possible and have met with the approval of some of the UK’s leading magicians.
No rubber cement is used in my process of making these cards. The cards have a springy and snappy feel to them. ( A little softer than a regular card, a layman would never notice and are a huge improvement over their rubber cement counterparts.)
When the card is re split in performance there is no tell-tale residue of rubber cement to find or suggest that the card has been gaffed in any way. You will hear the fibres tear apart as the card is split, the same as a regular card.
The top right hand, opposite diagonal corners of the face down card, have also been specially treated to allow you to ‘break the corner point’ easily with a few flicks of your thumb. (You always have a backup corner.)
The corner, back layer of the card separates easily for you to start the split of the card. Watch the video below to see how easily this is done. (Performance Tip, do not make it look too easy, as you would struggle a little to do this with a regular card! Never fully separate the back layer from the card it will spoil the giving the card as a souvenir.)
This is not an effect that you will do for every table. The Bride and Groom, Company Director, the person who booked you. The people who you want to make a lasting impression upon are your perfect audience.
Cards are available in packs of single celebrities, blue bicycle backs or red bicycle backs. Choose the celebrity you wish to use, you have the option of adding different reveals for multiple performances at the same gig or repeat bookings.
As these cards are hand produced and made to order please allow a few working days for the cards to reach you. I will get them to you as fast as I can, but please bear in mind that I am also a professional working magician. I really enjoy making these cards, but it is a labour of love!
No instructions are provided with the cards, as everything you need to know is written above. If you do have any questions, please feel free to email me and I will help you in any way that I can.
It will cost you less than the price of a store-bought cup of coffee per performance. Only £2.50 per card. There are enough cards in a pack for 8 performances and first class postage is free in the within UK.
All our decks and cards are produced with real care. If for any reason you are not 100% delighted with your order simply let us know.
We offer a full money-back guarantee.
All orders are processed securely via PayPal.
My sincere thanks to the following people for their time, kind support, encouragement, advice, and ideas in helping this project come to light. Marc Spelmann, Nick Einhorn, David Britland and Eoin O’Hare.
As my project was nearing completion, I became aware of two magicians that had also featured split card reveals in their professional work. They must be credited and recognized as there work goes before mine and set the bar.
In the 90’s at a major international magic convention , Marc Spelmann performed an effect where a spectator signed their initials on a card. During a multi-phase routine those initials would later disappear from the face of the card and appeared inside the same card once it was split open. This routine was witnessed by the late Daryl Martinez (Easton) who loved the effect and thought it was some of the best ‘outside of the box thinking’ that he had ever seen. High praise from such a master of our craft .It is no surprise that Marc has gone on to achieve the success that he has.
In more recent times Ekaterina (Ekat) released her amazing and very detail work ‘Layers.’ A 55 minute streaming instructional video which received 5-star reviews. Here you will learn her method to split cards, the secret of how Penn Jillette’s signature vanished from the face of the card that he signed and instantly appeared inside the same card. This was performed on Wizard Wars by Ekaterina to great acclaim. Also taught in detail is Ekaterina’s method to reveal a shinning foil caricature image of an assisting spectator, found inside a freely chosen card. I highly recommend this download.
Both Marc and Ekaterina appreciated the fact that I reached out to them before releasing my work. They very kindly gave me their blessing for ‘Split Reveal cards’ to be released into the marketplace, for which they have my sincere thanks.
Hand Cut Stripper Decks is part of Corporate Illusion Ltd.