Finger Ring and Rope

Finger Ring and Rope is a close-up illusion in which 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 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 1971 May, 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)

• The Ring and String Routine, by Mark Leveridge. A four-phase routine published as part of Mark Leveridge's Master Routine Series. A borrowed finger ring links to and unlinks from an examinable length of thin rope (or cord). Leveridge performed the routine as part of his award-winning act in the 1989 British IBM Close-up Competition.

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

• The Ring, by Brian Nordstrom. Published in Genii 2006 December. 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.

• The Relentless Ring & String Routine, by Bob Miller. A long, multi-phase routine that is also modular, meaning that it has a number of shorter stopping points. First published as a booklet in 1997. Now a new version is available on DVD by Bob Miller MAGIC! in 2009.

Solo Finger-Ring-And-Rope Moves in Print

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

• OffeRing, by Ron Vergilio. Published and marketed in 1976. A borrowed ring is threaded onto a length of rope by the spectator themself. The ring, now in the center of the rope is placed on the performers palm. The hand is closed around the ring and the spectator is asked to hold the ends of the rope. The ring then penetrates through the rope. The magicians hands never passes or comes close to the ends of the rope at any time.

• 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 being held by a spectator.

• Faustus Ring Move, by Dan Garrett. Published variously in Korem without Limits (Danny Korem, 1985), Magic with Finger Rings (Jerry Mentzer, 1984), and at least three sets of Dan Garrett's own lecture notes - Close-Up Connivery #1, Garrett in the USA and Top Ten. A sleight-of-hand method for apparently causing a borrowed finger ring to link instantly to the center of a rope.

• The Fireman's Pole Move, by Gary Ouellet. Genii 1991 July. A ring is openly threaded onto a rope, then vanishes. Inspired by the Hirata Master Move, the move 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.

• Unwedding Ring, by Joe M. Turner. Published in the January, 2009 issue of Genii magazine. A novel method (based on a Dave Gripenwaldt precursor) for apparently threading a finger ring onto a rope or shoelace, then causing it to penetrate the middle of the lace.