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com

D’VICE
By Dee Christopher

An innovative mentalism tool for peeks, hold outs & the

“Out To Lunch” principal.

© Copyright e-mentalism.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Introduction

Over the years, I’ve developed many different peek devices;

from impression devices, to switching notebooks, to arts and
crafts projects that allow for some interesting and very fair
looking demonstrations.

Naturally, I’ve used all sorts of high tech devices in my time

working so far… Though I’ve always favoured the low tech
approach. I like having the security of being able to replicate
any of the devices or techniques I use frequently by taking just
a few minutes in a dark corner before a show is to begin, just
in case anything is lost or broken in transit.

In recent years, I’ve moved more towards a minimal approach

to the tools I make use of. For instance, the wallet I now use is
a small Alexander McQueen card holder; therefore I need to
use something else to get my peek of information, where most
people might use a peek wallet.

The device explained in the following pages will give you the
ability to peek approximately half of business card in a very fair
manner, while looking stylish. The device can also double up
as an “Out To Lunch” device, as well as a magnetic hold out
for smaller items, making it useful for a number of things.

There is some arts and crafts involved, but it’s very easy and
you should only have to do it once, as the device lasts for a
very long time!

You’ll notice some similarities to my Block Peek, I wanted to

build something using a similar method that seems even more
fair and opens up more handling ideas for the less nimble of
fingers.

So, let’s first look at what the device is and how to make your
own…
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The Gimmick

Essentially, this is based on a little notepad I saw that had a

magnet stuck on the back of it to adhere to a refrigerator,
which I can only assume was designed to remind the buyer to
pick up some milk, or other sustenance.

I bought one of these notepads and toyed with the idea of

making a window that would magnet on to the pad for some
time. I eventually decided that working with a ‘holder’ for
business cards was a much more effective gimmick to
develop, that way I could simply replace the business cards
every so often and didn’t have to worry about sourcing
particular sizes of notepads. It also solved the issue of how to
get the billet I wanted to peek into the correct place to peek
without it being a weird action.
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All you’ll need for this is some black ‘art card’, simply some
thick sheets of black card. If you can get them around A7 size,
you won’t have to do any cutting, but I have shown you
construction as if you are cutting from an A4 size piece. I used
480 GSM weight paper, but I doubled up, so it’s closer to
900-1000 GSM weight. As it’s black, it swallows the light, so
when stuck together, you don’t notice that it’s two pieces to
create that thickness. I’m getting ahead of myself now, so let
me just write a list of required items to construct the gimmick
before we move any further:

- Thick black card (Any colour will do, but I favour black)
- Your business cards (Or blank cards if you prefer)
- 4x small neodymium magnets (I use these: http://
www.first4magnets.com/circular-disc-rod-magnets-c34/
adhesive-15mm-dia-x-1mm-n42-black-epoxy-
magnets-1-1kg-pull-p2834#ab_1-1|ps_2-967 )
- Flat woven elastic (or if you prefer, elastic bands will work)
- Some glue or double stick tape
- A craft knife, ruler and cutting mat

That’s it! I’m sure, as you’re a mentalist, that you’ll likely have
a lot of the required pieces at home; the other stuff can be
acquired online easily, or by visiting a craft store.

The construction is very easy, essentially you’ll be building a

business card holder with a window, covered by a back piece
that snaps on and off with magnets, thus revealing or hiding
your peek window. I’ll teach you a couple of my favourite
handlings later on.

The final article should look similar to the following images.

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The Construction

First, you will need to cut out four pieces of card (assuming
your card is around 480 GSM, if you managed to find thicker
card, perhaps only two pieces are required.

These pieces should be half an inch larger than your business

cards, so it creates a nice border.

Take your knife and ruler and cut out the piece of card, then
repeat, after this, you must glue the two pieces together to
make one thick piece. If you managed to find thicker card, you
may just want to cut the two pieces and be done with it!
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Once you’ve glued your pieces together, you should adhere

your magnets to one short side of each piece. I always stick
two magnets on the first piece, then place two more magnets
on the other side (not sticking them in place) so that they
magnetise through the card, I then add the glue and stick the
second piece of card on top. this ensures that the magnets are
in the correct position and the correct orientation.

After you’ve got your

magnets in place, you
should cut your window.
I make the window a
little over half of the
card, but with a nice
wide border, ensuring
that the card doesn’t
weaken too much.
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Now, all that is left is to glue on your elastic - I’ve opted for a
wide elastic, but depending on whether you want to make use
of the ‘out to lunch’ option, you might want to find a slightly
thinner elastic in your local herbadashery store, or the online
shop you intend to buy from.

Once the glue is dry, use your knife, or some scissors to trim
off the edges of the elastic that fall over your window. This will
ensure that there is no obstruction of your peek.
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Now, your gimmick is complete, just magnet the two pieces

together, slide a small stack of business cards in the front and
you’re done! You now have a nice, stylish way to carry your
business cards in your pocket, a strong surface to lean on
when writing things, (you could stick magnetic field detection
paper inside and use it as an impression pad too!), and your
peek is always ready to go!

If you wanted to make the holder look even nicer, you could
acquire a sheet of fake leather and coat the device in this
before sticking your elastic on to it.

So, you have your gimmick ready to go! How does one use it
though? I have no doubt that you’ve got plenty of ideas, but I’ll
explain a couple of my favourite handlings.

Handling 1 - The Pocket

The simplest way to achieve a peek using this device is to

remove it from your pocket (I always make sure to flash the
back of the holder by bringing it out of my pocket with the back
facing the audience) and take out one of the cards, put the
holder back in your pocket and take out your pen. Hand the
card to your participant alongside the pen, instructing them to
draw a simple image. To ensure that they draw in the correct
area, I always write “Draw your image here” to fill the top half
of the card. This means that they cannot draw an image larger
than the area that you can peek.

Another nice idea is to use a sharpie DVD/CD pen. These

pens have a thick end and a thin end.
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You will write your text and the top of the card, then draw the
box, both with the thick end of the pen. Cap the pen and uncap
the thin end. This will allow your participant to draw a clearer
image, as sometimes sharpie images can be difficult to read at
a glance.

Also, pay attention to the orientation of the card. My business

card has a one way image on the image side, but if yours
doesn’t, or if your using normal blank cards, you can add a
small pencil dot on the top corner that you can spot later.

So, back to the handling, while your spectator is drawing, you

can turn your head away and ask them to hold the card
drawing down when they’re done. Once they’re done drawing,
you can turn your head back to face them. You will take the
device back out of your pocket as you do; unknown to your
audience, you’ve left the back of the holder inside your pocket.
The magnets allow you to easily thumb off the back as you
reach in to take the device out. This time, be sure you remove
it with the cards facing the audience!

You will hold the device cards upward and take the card with
the drawing on and slide it to the bottom of the stack.
Alternatively, you can peel up the stack slightly and allow the
spectator to slide it in there. You should peel from the ‘non-
window’ half of the device, with that side facing toward the
participant. Make sure that the card is orientated correctly so
that the drawing will line up with the window. This is very
deceptive, it appears that they can see the solid black card.

Now, to get your peek, you should do one of two things. Either,
you can hold the whole stack up to the light, explaining that it’s
impossible to see through, while staring directly at their
drawing, or, if you are placing the device in your top pocket, or
you inside pocket, you can look to your pocket and move the
peek into view as you put the stack away.
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Once the device is put back in your pocket you can begin your
mind reading. You’ll be safe in the fact that the back piece will
automatically magnetise onto the window in your pocket and
when you bring the stack out of your pocket again (should you
wish to) you can flash both sides once again.

Handling 2 - Energy Stack

This is by far my preferred handling. My entire act revolves

around energy, the vibrations that everything gives off and how
one can manipulate these patterns and rhythms once they’re
understood. Mind reading falls under the same umbrella as
psychometry in my act, it gives reason to my understanding of
people in a ‘readings’ sense and it also gives subtle
explanation to why I can melt and bend metal, move objects,
etc.

So, for me, the thick card holder, and the rest of the stack act
as visual barriers while still allowing me to feel the subtle
differences in the energy given off by the thought embedded in
the fibres of the card through the ink that’s sunken into it.

In this handling I hold the entire stack in a left hand

‘mechanics’ grip, with the window half closest to me (the
magnets are closest to them). I gradually turn the whole bunch
over once or twice in my hands, with my right hand on top,
feeling the energy and obscuring the stack from view. At some
point, when the back of the device is facing upward, I allow my
right fingers to curl around the end of the device facing toward
the audience and use the ‘meat’ at the base of my thumb to
peel the back of the device upwards.

This allows you to gaze down and peek the drawing, before
turning your head away as if you’re picking something up,
releasing the back of the device will allow the gimmick to snap
back in place.
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A very interesting idea is to remove your hand completely (as

long as the stack is parallel to the floor) as this will create
something that look’s a little bit like the ‘Marlo Tilt’ often used
by magicians in ambitious card routines. See the images on
the next page to see how deceptive that is!

I've edited the position slightly so that the camera could see
effectively, but the key is to hold your arm out slightly, so that
the peek falls within your gaze as you casually look down at
the device during your routine.
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As a final note on this, you can actually cop the entire bottom
away to your pocket and pull out a pendulum and use a peek
similar to the first handling, before allowing the device to lay
flat on your hand, the pendulum should swing and the reading
should begin!

The key with all these handlings is to practice them in the

mirror, simply to ensure that there’s no flashing of the extra
piece. The energy handling is fairly angle proof, but you should
be a little more careful with the cop handling and the pocket
handling.
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Final Notes

Thanks so much for reading this and I urge you to make one of
these devices - You’re going to love playing with it, it’s a lot of
fun.

I did say that it was possible to use this as a magnetic hold out
and as an ‘out to lunch’ device. While my focus is on mind
reading in this ebook, you can easily apply any of your
favourite OTL routines.

Another interesting idea is to use the device to peek in a

similar way to the late and brilliant Bob Cassidy in his “Mind
Razor” effect. Rather than putting the billet in a bowl and
burning it, you could simply have the business card placed on
top of a stack of a few business cards (that you’ve previously
removed from the device, two or three will suffice, you’ll use
the others in your next routine) on the table. You place the
device down momentarily on the stack and you’re set.

Dee Christopher. March 2017.