Grandmaster street magician Jimmy Talksalot tells a legendary story about Jim Cellini stopping crowds and starting shows by bowing and striking the ground with a magic wand, *tap tap*. Jimmy and his own school of busking follow in Cellini's footsteps and use magic wands as "thumpers" to make noise and attract attention.
     When using a sawed off drum stick or cheap dowel, one can whale on the ground without concern. Hickory, a common wood used for drum sticks, is loud and resonant, and inexpensive. When the ends splinter or the shaft snaps, they are easy enough to replace.
     Luxury ironwoods, on the other hand, are more exotic, rare, and valuable. Although they are tougher and more robust than softer woods, jagged concrete sidewalks can wear away at the ends over time. Cellini himself tapped his Lignum Vitae street wands on the ground, but he also had a supply of them. To get the most out of your own street wands, one factor to consider is how you hold the wand while striking the ground.
     

     In the left image above, the wand is held firmly with each of my fingers contacting it securely. While this grip is useful for other aspect of magic with wands, it mutes the vibration of the wood. To get the most sound out of tapping the wand, it needs to be held at two contact points, the thumb and first or second finger. In the above right photo, even though the wand is held with the thumb and first finger, the location of the grip is incorrect. Holding the extreme end of the wand also mutes the noise it can make.

     This is because of the way the wood resonates when struck. The image above shows another incorrect grip, as well as an illustration of how the wand moves then it resonates. The white line shows the exaggerated end positions of the wand as it vibrates. The green circles show the "nodes" where the wand doesn't move. The "anti-nodes" are the parts of the wand that move the most-- the tips and the center. 
     When the wand is held at an "anti-node" the vibration from tapping the wand goes into your hand and gets muted. When you hold a wand loosely at the "node"-- 1/4 or 3/4 of the way up the wand-- the wood is able to vibrate and make the most sound.
     What this means for you and your wand: you don't have to hit the wand as hard to get more sound. Hold the wand correctly and you can lengthen the lifetime of your thumper. If your wand is 12", hold it about 3" from the end between your thumb and first finger when you tap it and you will feel the difference.

     Go out there and make some noise!

   Are you a busker or street magician who would prefer to stop specific types of people rather than others when starting your shows? There are tactics for starting shows that involve getting large groups of passersby to stop and watch all at once, and they are important techniques to learn. But every pitch is unique, and some require a different approach. For the pitches where the best procedure is stopping one person or group first, then building a larger crowd with them as the core, the first people who stop matter. If a street person smelling of piss, cigarattes, and alcohol stops to watch, you're not likely to get the show you want. It's often best to be friendly and show a quick trick or two then move them along. If a happy looking family is enjoying your magic, other families will be interested in joining the fun.
    To get the right people to stop, elements like costume, characterization, jokes/lines and strategies come into play. In this post, I am only addressing the words we use to engage passersby. Reciting patter, telling people to stop, having everybody watch a coin or stick, or addressing people directly ["Hey, you! Pick a card"] are reliable and common strategies. These are effective at festivals, fairs, casual hang-out pitches like beaches and parks, and established pitches where people expect performers.
    If you busk in the city, downtown, tourist traps, or indiscriminate shopping areas, you may want to pick out particular people in a large wave of passersby to stop. There's only a chance they'll stop anyway, but by intentionally selecting, you increase the odds that they stop, while decreasing the likelihood that someone you don't desire stops.
    For example, suppose that after a green light down the street, five groups of people walk past you within ear shot. A group of young teenagers, a family of five, two couples, and a group of barhopping women. Announcing a magic show, telling everyone to watch a coin, saying "Free beer"-- all strategies we've seen. You might stop everyone, just the drunks and teenagers, or just the family. It's left to chance. But if you had a choice, wouldn't you prefer to stop the family and the couples on dates?
    In advertising, there is a term called "flagging the audience." I've used it twice in this blog post to get your attention-- in the title and opening sentence. Presumably, if you've read this far, you're a busker or street magician. One who is curious about being more selective about your audience. Flagging is similar to what Jim Cellini called "qualifying" the audience, though his process came after the crowd had gathered, before starting the main show or finale. Qualifying a crowd you have ensures that those who remain understand that they are expected to tip. Flagging stops the people you want, rather than those you don't.
    To get back to our example of the five groups. The family and the couples all consist of a core of people on a date. So a specific joke or line related to dating, or relationships, will get their attention, but not the teenagers or drunks'.
    "Make your date night seven times more memorable by watching a great magic trick!" And if it gets any of the couples or parents to pause at all, a tag, "And you'll only remember the good parts of the night in ten years."
    Or to be edgier:
    "Couples who watch magic are 36% more likely to stay together."
    Pick your own ideal audiences and write your own lines, but I hope you get the idea. It's an opportunity to really build rapport and good humor right off the bat. I recently got a $20 tip from a couple who only had time to see a couple quick bits, because I had noticed the guy obviously went to the gym and worked out. He was wearing a tank top and had defined arms.
    "Watching magic boosts your gains 50% more than creatine. You look like you take creatine." The guy laughed and said he did. "I bet you do, you're looking swole." Not particularly funny to most of the people who were on the sidewalk at that moment, but it charmed him and started a show. His date had to go along for the ride.
    You can write lines that attract broad categories of ideal crowd cores-- couples, families, tourists-- but you can also connect with people who you recognize care about specific things you're familiar with. In my example, fitness and supplements was something I knew someone like the guy probably knew about. People often wear clothing or accessories that show an association with schools, trades, sports, favorite music or films etc. It's like a cross between crowd work and cold reading.
    Like I said at the top, this is not a holy grail strategy to use all the time at all pitches, but in certain situations, it can be useful. Let me know in the comments below if you have effective flags you use, or ideal people to stop for starting shows.

If you've wanted to own a luxury quality magic wand with classical tips and the practical durability of ironwood, there have been obstacles that previously prevented its production.
Normally, to make a black wand with white tips, there is some compromise in structural integrity. The joint where the two different material meet is weak, and often breaks. Wrapping the wand with leather is a solution. It only adds additional protective material to the ironwood underneath.
To ensure that the wrapped wand is as street strong as the ironwood core beneath, I've found the toughest, strongest leathers to work with.
The results are dazzling, robust wands that can amaze audiences through decades of use.
The all-Stingray wand has maximum luster and toughness.

 When you get a Makoto Street Wand, you're getting a wand that is handmade from a single piece of ultra-dense ironwood. The species I select share exceptional qualities-- they are tough, sink in water, and have high resin content, allowing for smooth polishing. Being wood, they will patina over time, but you can take a couple simple steps to keep it smooth and shiny for as long as possible.
Your wand care begins with how you use it. As strong as ironwood is, it can only handle so much abuse. Tapping cups, table legs, or coins is fine, but bouncing the wand off of concrete sidewalks, or scraping it on the ground can wear it out. Use your common sense.
Avoid leaving your wand in a hot vehicle for an extended period of time. Depending on the specific wood, the resin and moisture may dry up, which may lead to warping.

To polish your wand and make it look shiny and smooth, use liquid beeswax and super fine #0000 steel wool. Evenly spread a thin layer on the wand. It takes very little to cover a whole street wand, just a few drops. Give it ten minutes to dry, then polish it smooth with the steel wool. Polish it until you are satisfied. It can reach close to a mirror polish.

Note: This process is not recommended for all magic wands. Many wands on the market are covered in lacquer or paint, which would not take the wax, and get scraped off by the steel wool. The ironwoods used for Makoto Street Wands are specifically capable of a beautiful natural polish.

Many street magicians use the gibeciere, or buskers pouch, when performing. It's a useful accessory for cups and balls, coin magic, and manipulations. Pioneered extensively by Jim Cellini, the busker's pouch has regained popularity among magicians. I have been using a pouch for well over twelve years.

Most pouches are made of leather. In general, leather is durable, pliable, and stylish enough to look good with a magician's costume. The leather quality can vary greatly between manufacturers, though. On the low end are thin bovine upholstery leather bags, factory made by machines. Higher tier gibecieres have been made by hand out of exotic, durable leathers. Regardless of their origins, all these leathers require conditioning and care.

If you can figure out the specific leather of your buskers pouch, a quick search online for specific care should be educational.

In general, you will want to clean, condition, and protect your gibeciere. You don't need much for it. Some scrap fabric like old clothes, a horsehair brush, some conditioner like Bick 4, and a waterproofing spray like Saphir Super Invulner or Collonil Waterstop will help keep your pouch looking and being its best.

A few times a year, wipe your pouch down with a damp cloth to clean it. Don't let the leather get too wet, though.
Once the leather is dry, use a cloth to apply the Bick 4 to the pouch, applying it evenly like you're moisturizing your own skin with lotion.
After a couple minutes, when the conditioner has been absorbed by the leather, brush the leather with the horse hair brush. This step is optional, but can help give your pouch a shine.
Finally, spray your gibeciere with Super Invulner or Collonil Waterstop. Follow the directions on the packaging. This will weatherproof your pouch, in case you get caught in the rain with it.

Congratulations, if you've followed the simple steps to pouch care, your gibeciere should have extra years of use on the pitch.

Note: more exotic leathers like Stingray, Shell Cordovan, Ostrich, or Pachyderms require more specific products and care.

If you enjoyed this article, please share it with a magician who uses leather bags,

What did legendary Street Magician Jim Cellini steal when he wrote his memoir/manual titled "Dreamer's Highway"?

  In the tradition of book publishing, following in the footsteps of S.W. Erdnase, Cellini borrowed major ideas and large blocks of copy from earlier books. As a door to door salesman in his youth, Cellini had evidently been well trained in sales and motivation.

 A classic text on self-help and entrepreneurship is Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich." Hill ostensibly derived wisdom about wealth building by studying the business leaders of his time.

In the introduction to "Think and Grow Rich," Hill teases the reader by stating that the book contains a valuable secret, hidden in plain sight, and repeated several times. He encourages the reader to celebrate their epiphany once they recognize it. Cellini's "Dreamer's Highway" contains the exact same hook in the introduction. Throughout the text, one of Hill's famous quotes is rephrased and reiterated in several ways. 

According to one of his stories, Cellini used the quote as an answer when people asked him whether his lignum vitae magic wand had real powers. "What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve." The OG Professor of Magic, Harlan Tarbell, wrote about magic being the power of the mind to change reality. Cellini extended that philosophy by reminding us that The Wand is the means by which Mind affects Reality-- the real power of Magic. 

I've met some wizards in my life. I'm sure you have, too. They are fountains of knowledge, perspective, and skills. Spending a few minutes in their presence provides insights that can change the course of your life. Danny Sylvester (the Jester) and Tom Frank have had that kind of impact on me in my twenties. They continue to inform my understanding of magic and the human condition.
"Wizard" derives, boringly enough, from the same root as "wise." Nothing to do with street wands or gibecieres.
However there is a fun fact about the word, that is, to my understanding, coincidental.  It is a numerical mirror of itself in the alphabet.
Consider that the letters A and Z are both one letter away from being away from either end of the aphabet. B and Y are both two letters away from the end. C and X are three letters away, etc.
The word "wizard" consists of two halves that mirror each other, under such a pattern. Specifically, "4 9 1 1 9 4."
"W"  and "D" are both four letters away from either ends of the alphabet. "I" and "R" are both nine letters away. "Z" and "A" are the end and beginning of the alphabet.
abc d efgh i jklmnopq r stuvwxy z
zyx w vuts r eponmlkj i hgfedcb a
wizard
draziw

Actually becoming a wizard might involve forgetting trivia like this and learning something useful

Choosing a wand to represent your magic while being fully functional and performance ready requires consideration of several factors. Design, size, and color influence what magic a wand can do. For example, the best wand for Ring on Wand may not be suitable for the Striking Vanish.

Design:
    Design refers to the material and shape of the wand, or whether the wand screws together in the center like a pool cue, is made in one piece, or has contrasting “tips”.
    Throughout history, magic wands have been made of ivory, bones, woods, plastics, and metals. They’ve been covered with tape and leather, embedded with gems, capped with bullet casings, and scorched with electricity. For cups and balls magicians who need a heavy durable wand that doesn’t damage cups, a good wooden wand is best for longevity.
    Many occult or “Harry Potter”-style wands have distinct handles and tips. Like the scepter or club, the precursors to wands, the shafts often taper. They have elements of the mysterious, exotic, and shamanic, and can feel more “real” than a conjurer’s straighter rod, but do not work well with much magic involving sleight of hand with the wand itself. A balanced, symmetrical baton style wand is the easiest to work with for the street magician.
    Two piece wands feel classy and provide time for exposition while they’re being screwed together. For special shows, they are beautiful and artistic. Screwing together at the center has downsides, however. The joint is necessarily weak, so such wands can’t be used as a “thumper”— to make noise by tapping it on the ground or table to draw attention. The ability to come apart also makes magic involving solid through solid, like the ring on wand, less impossible.
    Wand tips— making the last two inches or so on one or both ends of a wand different from the shaft— are iconic and easily recognizable. Occult wands have been made with contrasting colors, crystals, metals, and lodestones to represent polarity. The classic modern tips are the white ends on a black shaft. Many wands sold on the market go for this look. They do so in 3 ways: capping the ends, joining the ends, or engraving. Metal capped ends have the same issue as solid metal wands— they damage cups upon impact. Tips that are glued or screwed on have the same compromised durability as two-piece wands. Distinct tips allow for the possibility for gimmicks, however. The Tarbell Course, Lesson 21 describes many prepared wands using tips. Some single-piece wands imply tips with engravings. They look nice and are as durable as plain street wands.

Size:
    Magic wands vary in size from the comic extremes of a couple inches to large enough to cross a small stage, for children’s comedy acts. For performing most street magic, the popular length ranges from 8-14 inches, with a thickness of 3/8”-3/4”.
    The ideal size wand for street magic is about 11-12”x1/2”. For most people, this is just long enough for flipstick while being as long as possible. Much longer and the end of the wand will flash. 1/2” is thick enough to be durable, while being thin enough for most finger rings to slip over. Most hardwoods at this size are heavy enough for wand spinning moves.
    For strolling magic, shorter wands ranging from 6-10” long are also popular, since they can fit in a variety of pockets more easily. Spinning moves become more challenging with shorter wands, but they’re better for sleights along the lines of David Williamson’s striking vanish.

Color:
    Wands are available in all colors. There are even transparent wands. Wands can also be shiny or dull. For practical consideration, we can categorize them as flashy or subdued.
    Flashy wands have brighter colors and/or shiny finishes. A white metallic wand, for example, would be flashy. For our purposes, even if only the tips are flashy, e.g. white tips on a black wand, the wand will be considered flashy.
    Subdued wands are the opposite. Darker colors with matte or no finish. Many wands are painted or anodized black, or are made of ebonies.
    There are tricks that benefit from either a flashy or subdued wand. The striking vanish, wand spin, any sort of levitation or suspension or the wand itself, for example, benefit from the wand being clearly visible. Subdued wands are better for flip stick work and its variations, where the wand itself is being hidden. A flashy wand can leave a visual streak as it vanishes, whereas a subdued wand might seem to pop out of existence.