Alchemist is a self-bending metal trick that comes in the form of a screw driver. In fact you get two screw drivers; one that is straight and bends and the other that is bent and straightens. This is truly an amazing gimmick and the fact that it comes with two opposite direction bending screw drivers is really awesome. But, and this is a big but, it is very expensive. Many will find it is worth the price.
The Alchemist Screw Driver comes with a 23 minute DVD narrated by Herman of Sans Mind. The DVD production and instruction is typical Sans Mind “A” quality production, instruction and camera work.
The ad copy pre-supposes that the purchaser knows the method behind this trick. For example, the ad copy claims that the screw driver “activates on body heat” and “stays straight in room temperature.” To this point, the handle on the screw driver shields the metal from your body heat, allowing for greater versatility and handling.
In the DVD, Sans Mind claims that the effect will require 30 to 40 seconds of rubbing the metal with your fingers to accomplish the bend. This contradicts the ad copy that states that you can “bend it with your mind, [or] in the open” which insinuates that the screw driver could be activated and the bend would perform on its own. That is not the case here. While I believe that Sans Mind took some artistic license with the language in the ad copy that you can “bend it with your mind,” needing to rub it does not seem like you are bending it with your mind, but that you are harnessing an energy source to bend the metal. In fact, the 2 minute Hollywood quality promotional video shows the screw driver transforming from the straight position to the bent position and also from the bent position to the straight position, while being held only by the handle, in about 5 seconds. While it is amazingly visual, it is not a fair depiction of what this trick is and can do. In another scene from the promotional video, the video shows the screw driver bending while being quickly rubbed back and forth with the performer’s finger. That is what you will see with this trick.
If you are not happy with needing to rapidly rub the screw driver back and forth to accomplish the effect, you may want to skip this trick or devise another method to deliver heat to the metal. There are other ways to accomplish the bend which are not taught on the DVD and which I believe are stronger effects than what is actually taught. For instance, you can mentally “bend” the screw driver by having the spectator hold the metal of the screw driver with a closed fist. The spectator can actually feel the screw driver bending in his hand. You can also do a bent/straight screw driver transposition if you hold both screw drivers in closed fist or simultaneously stir liquid in an opaque mug. Both of those effects are astounding.
The screw driver that transforms from bent to straight ends up perfectly straight, but the screw driver that starts straight and ends up bent is not perfectly straight when you start off with this trick. There are ways you can deal with that such as positioning of the screw driver or just flat out ignoring it. The bending is so significant that a slight bend in the start position won’t be a big deal to a spectator, especially if you explain that you bend it frequently with your mind.
Because you are provided with two screw drivers that bend in the opposite directions, you are able to “bend” the screw driver and after a sleight, straighten it. On the DVD, you are taught one way to accomplish this and it is particularly obvious, ineffective and not recommended.
The screw drivers remained in the start position for several days in a 72 degree inside environment, so it was ready to go after the pre-trick set up. The pre-trick set up, to get the screw drivers into starting position is easy to do, but you are cautioned to take care. If you set the screw driver with too much force, you could break it beyond repair.
The screw drivers measure 5 ½ inches long including the handle and they look and feel like real small size screw drivers. They can be handed out to spectators, but I would not want them to be inspected after the trick for fear that an overly inquisitive spectator would try and bend the screw driver and break it. There is no indication as to how long this amazing gimmick will last with proper care.
Sans Mind credits many predecessor magicians with self-bending metal tricks and claims that this is the world’s first self-bending screw driver.
The trick is easy to perform, easy to reset and is very impressive to watch. The reset must take place in private and will take 3-5 minutes to accomplish.
This rating suffers a bit because of the potentially misleading promotional video and ad copy. If both were more accurate, this effect would have been rated at least one star higher. Assuming the price tag is something you don’t mind (if you assume that each screw driver costs about $65) and you are accepting of the comments to the ad copy and promotional video, you will love this trick.