"The Ultimate Floating Match" by Steve Shufton
Suggested Retail USD$25.00 (Matchbook)/USD$35.00 (Matchbox)
Available direct from Steve Shufton
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Steve Shufton's creation, "The Ultimate Floating Match", is a wonderful evolution of Ben Harris' original "Cosmosis" that takes the concept up more than a few levels and makes this something you'll love carrying around and using to knock people's socks into the next county.

The effect is simple to explain. The performer brings out a book of matches, tears one out, and rubs it on his sleeve, "charging" it and causing it to be repelled by the other matches. The match is placed over the other matches in the book and is seen to float over the matches. A toothpick or other similar object is passed over and around the match -- there's nothing supporting the match as it floats in mid-air. The match is taken and moved through the area where it was floating, proving there's nothing there at all to support the match. Yet again, the match floats over the other matches.

There are pictures of the levitation on the website. Check it out, because it just looks plain neat.

And that's only half the story. Yes, it looks good. It gets great reactions. But the best parts are the ones we have to deal with and the spectators ain't aware of.

Shufton did a great job here, that's for sure. Everything is self-contained inside the matchbook or matchbox (yes, there are two versions; we'll get to those later), meaning there are no hook-ups. There are also no set-ups or resets. All you have to do is pull this out of your pocket and you're ready to go. In execution, Shufton's "The Ultimate Floating Match" removes virtually all handling and manipulation, making this truly as clean as it gets.

Shufton also kept the premise simple and framed everything quite well. He got rid of the strangeness of using a match on a card (a la "Cosmosis") and keeps the focus on the match and the matchbook/matchbox. This makes for a consistent and logical and far less suspicious. It's a great bit of work.

Now, all of that comes at a price. You do lose the actual rising action seen in "Cosmosis". In "The Ultimate Floating Match", the match is placed in mid-air and there it rests as opposed to rising upwards. Is this a big deal? Nah, not really. It boils down to a matter of personal preference. Spectators I performed this one for didn't seem to care whether the match rose or not -- they were stunned when they saw the match floating and that was enough for them (and for me).

Also, you're not going to be ending clean with either version here unless you do a switch. Luckily, Shufton has put this together so nicely that there really appears to be nothing to hide; the actual need to do the switching is greatly reduced. Still, there are times when you will want to hand everything out for examination and for that, you'll need to do a little extra work.

The last thing is the problem inherent in this type of gimmick: lighting. You'll need to pick and choose when and where to perform this one, just as you would with any other effect using this type of gimmick. Shufton did an admirable job taking some of the bite out of the lighting problem, but it's still a slight issue and one you need to be aware of.

As I alluded to, there are two versions of "The Ultimate Floating Match": the matchbook version, with the paper matches, and the matchbox version with the wooden matches. Essentially, the two effects are the same. The workings are slightly different (for example, in the matchbook version you need to remove the match; in the matchbox version, the spectator can remove the match) but there are not great differences in the effect. The handlings are different, though, and I found the matchbook version seemed more natural and soon became my preference.

Now, having said all of that, "The Ultimate Floating Match" is one of those things I love to carry around with me. I think I spent more time playing with this sucker than I have with any other new trick in a long time. I like to look at it when the match is floating -- it looks really neat. I like to perform it -- it's simple and worry-free. I just love the darn thing.

It's just too good not to.

"The Ultimate Floating Match" by Steve Shufton
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Practicality: 9
Packs small, self-contained, easy to work with, no reset, no set-up... this is one you can throw in your pocket and run with. The only downside is the intrinsic problem you will always run into with this type of gimmick and that's minor (as many "bill floaters" will tell you).

Workmanship: 10
Big thumbs up here. Yes, the gimmick needs to be handled carefully or it will break, but Shufton built it in such a way that, remarkably enough, you don't have much to worry about with very little care.

Documentation: 9
The documentation is thorough and concise; you'll be doing this one in no time. The illustrations need some help (they are too small for my taste) but they don't detract from learning how to work with this one.

Effect: 10
This is my current favorite for causing jaws to drop. It looks good, it plays better, and the reactions are solid.

Presentation: 9
The basic idea is "match repelling match", but you can come up with something better. It's a premise that is good enough and the visual is stunning enough to carry just about any idea.



Shane