Finger Ring and Rope

The Plot

A finger ring (usually borrowed) is threaded onto a soft piece of rope that is typically between 18 and 24 inches long. The ring then magically penetrates the center of the rope, coming off in the magician's hand. Very often this is the first phase of a multi-phase routine wherein the ring is repeatedly threaded onto the rope and penetrates each time under increasingly impossible conditions. There are also techniques wherein the ring can be made to magically link onto the center of the rope (such as Dan Garrett's Faustus Ring Move).

Multi-Phase Routines in Print

• Ring, by Ray Grismer. Published in Genii (May, 1971), then later reprinted in Close-Up Cavalcade (Jerry Mentzer, 1973)

• Repeat Ring Release, by Dan McDonald. Published in Close-Up Cavalcade (Jerry Mentzer, 1973)

• The Homing Ring, by Gary Ouellet. Published as part of the Masters of Magic series (Vol. 1, #6, 1983).

• Three Round Ringer, by Danny Korem. Published in Korem Without Limits (D. Robbins Publication, 1985)

• Quad-Ringle Plus, by Marc DeSouza. Published in DeSouza's DeCeptions (David Acer, 2001)

• The Ring, by Brian Nordstrom. Publishd in Genii (December, 2006). A ring is threaded onto the string, then unlinks, relinks, and finally vanishes from the middle of the string, only to reappear on the finger where it began. One phase features an adaptation of Jay Sankey's Two-Way Toss to create a very visual link of a finger ring onto the center of a rope.

Solo Finger-Ring-And-Rope Moves in Print

• Ringer, by Scotty York. Published in Kabbala, Volume 2, #2, oct 1972, then later reprinted in the bound volume.

• Clifton's Ring Move, by Emile Clifton. Published in Variations (Earl Nelson, 1978). A seminal method for apparently causing a ring that's hanging from the middle of a rope to vanish while the ends are effectively being held by a spectator.

• The Fireman's Pole Move, by Gary Ouellet. Genii (July, 1991). A vanish of a ring that's been openly threaded onto the center of a rope. It was inspired by the Hirata Master Move, and as such must be done seated. (this was not included in The Homing Ring)

• Ringworm, by Richard Sanders. Published in Random Acts of Magic (David Acer, 2004). A borrowed finger ring is openly placed in a coin purse, whereupon the purse is closed and tabled. The magician then ties a knot at the center of his rope, holds one end of the rope in each hand so the knot hangs in the middle, then pulls the rope taut, causing the knot to change instantly into the spectator's ring. The spectator is invited to look inside the coin purse, wherein he finds the knot.