The Blades Teaser 2016.mov from Scott Alexander on Vimeo.
THE BLADES
An Absolute Reputation Maker
The Methods Are Totally Safe
The Diabolical Solutions Will Fool Anybody
The Props Pack Very Small But Play Huge
Six Minutes Of Incredibly Funny, Dynamic And Powerful Magic Anyone Can Do
Our Mission
For years we've wanted to release high-end magic to working professionals that would give performer's incredible value for their investment. Let's face it, all magic purchases are really investments. Many investments are DOA. Some have never seen live performance and end up in your drawer. Many are useless to pros because everybody in the world is doing the same routine. Others are killed by the internet.
We've gone to extreme measures with our release of Scott Alexander's "The Blades" to protect your investment and pass on to you a routine that will be in your show for years to come. To comprehend how Bob Kohler Magic will protect your investment please take a few minutes to read our plan in it's entirety so that you will completely understand our vision to protect the secret and your investment.
What Are "The Blades"?
"The Blades" is Scott Alexander's brilliant routine for the classic effect of swallowing sharp razor blades and a length of thread then regurgitating the thread with the razor blades tied at intervals to the thread. What makes it unique is Scott's ability to get to the heart of the effect, designing the best method, weaving the presentation into a brilliant performance piece that gets big laughs and brings audiences to their feet night after night.
Simply answer…the next classic release from our Pro Line family of products. The Pro Line family of products is exactly what the name implies. Products designed and used by professionals.
Not many products reach the level of our Pro Line products but the Pro Line products we've released over the last ten years are in the shows of many top professionals worldwide. It's a short list. The Human Phone Number which is the world's best phone book test, The Final Answer which is the best Signed Bill In Lemon, Velocity for the Bullet Catch, the Fitch Kohler Professional Holdout System. You get the idea.
Our Pro Line products are not pipe dreams but routines and tools that are proven under fire, tested in live situations by pros until they are perfect.
Simply answer…the next classic release from our Pro Line family of products. The Pro Line family of products is exactly what the name implies. Products designed and used by professionals.
Not many products reach the level of our Pro Line products but the Pro Line products we've released over the last ten years are in the shows of many top professionals worldwide. It's a short list. The Human Phone Number which is the world's best phone book test, The Final Answer which is the best Signed Bill In Lemon, Velocity for the Bullet Catch, the Fitch Kohler Professional Holdout System. You get the idea.
The Beginning
In early 1997 I went to Caesar's Magical Empire in Las Vegas to see Scott Alexander perform in the Pagoda Room. It was an amazing room with a decadent Chinese motif. It was also a demanding job for Scott as he had to perform a minimum of seven shows a night.
His show was fantastic from the beginning to the end but the routine that brought the house down was Scott's routine for the classic Razor Blades. He closed the show with it to a much deserved standing ovation.
I had been performing the Razor Blades in my show since 1985. I used the routine for years until I switched my program to all mentalism. So I was very familiar with this type of routine where the performer swallows a number of sharp razor blades and then a length of thread successfully tying the blades to the thread in his stomach then regurgitating the strand to the audience's amazement. I had researched the various methods in print and also in the underground. In the end I had a routine that I'd built that was a good "middle" routine but definitely not a closer like Scott's.
The point is I had spent a lot of time on this effect but even though I was "in the know" Scott fooled me badly with his routine. Even more amazing was that I didn't care that I'd been fooled badly. I had died laughing at the routine along with the entire audience as the routine progressed. Scott took us all on a highly entertaining presentation that was filled with comedy then took a hard left turn into a dangerous, exciting mystery.
After the show I ran up to Scott and got to talk with him but only for about one minute as they were filling the showroom for his next performance. So I went back into the showroom and watched the show for the second time. Same result. I was fooled again and Scott got his second standing ovation.
Again I had about one minute with him then back into the Pagoda Room to watch the act for a third time. Same results again. Getting three standing ovations in a row is not an accident. This only comes from great performance.
The Reflection
So I left Caesar's Palace just grinning. But I finally had time to think about what I'd witnessed. While I was there the shows came at me so fast I didn't have time to think things through. But as I was driving home many realizations were flooding my brain along with a bunch of questions. The first realization was that I'd just witnessed a masterpiece. The construction of the routine, a method that fooled me, the subtext…the routine had it all. Most important was the reaction. I'd just watched Scott get three standing ovations! Unbelievable!
I've seen many well respected performers work the Pagoda Room and do OK but not kill like Scott did that night. The audience in the Pagoda Room had usually just finished a very large meal that also had a show weaved throughout the dinner. Their blood was rushing to their stomach's to digest the feast not to their brain cells. Just to keep them awake was a challenge. To get a standing ovation under these conditions was truly a miracle.
Then I started to consider the method. Scott fooled me with it not once but three times. When did he do "the work". How did he do "the work". Then I started thinking about the reset. When I did the blades I always took my time in getting it ready. You don't want to get the the big ending and end up with a tangled mess. So did Scott spend all day getting ready to do a zillion shows that night? Or did he have a way to reset in a flash?
I kept running the routine through my head. The presentation was brilliant. Eating Razor Blades or Needles is difficult to make highly entertaining. To the audience it's extremely dangerous. There are really only two possible presentational paths. You can either go the extreme danger route or attempt to make it funny and entertaining. I've only seen three pro's really pull it off: Denny Haney, Steve Spill and Scott Alexander. Each of these great performers had a completely different twist on the routine but what they have in common is that they make the routine so funny that the audience is laughing so they don't get overwhelmed by the danger aspect. Doing this is a real balancing act however so that the power of the effect remains. Scott had figured out a presentation that actually combined both the comedy path and the danger path. It's both hilarious and dramatic!
The Meeting
So the next day I invited Scott to lunch. I'm definitely buying. I want this routine BAD. Of course Scott knows that I want it bad. So we play cat and mouse over lunch with me trying everything to pry the secrets out of Scott and him fending me off. I want two things. First, I want to know "the work". Second, I want to get permission to do the routine. I'm not the first to attack him. Every magician that sees "The Blades" wants to do it just as much as I do.
So finally after much begging Scott shows me the method. He knew all of this was going happen and he'd already decided to show it to me. He had brought the props with him. As he explained it to me I just kept shaking my head in disbelief. It was perfection. He had solved everything. It was simply brilliant. He had cleverly weaved the method and presentation together in a way that created the perfect sympathetic relationship. The method and presentation were now one.
The good news was I now had the Holy Grail in my hands, I knew the work! The bad news is Scott's refused all of my offers of cash, cars and sex (it is Vegas) to sell me the rights to perform "The Blades". I was crushed. But I didn't give up. I threatened blackmail and scandal. Still a no go. How about a new house. NO! I couldn't pry the routine out of him.
The Present
That was 1997. I kept after Scott for thirteen years. A few months ago Scott was working in Vegas and he says to me "it's time". I say "what do you mean it's time"? Scott answers "I want to put out "The Blades". I'm astonished. But there was still a lot to consider. Scott had conditions. Stringent conditions we had to meet or he wouldn't release "The Blades". Scott's intention was to release the routine to working pros but still keep the routine a secret to the rest of the world. We had a lot of work to do.
The digital age has made magic a mess. It's extremely difficult to keep a secret. Times have really changed since I first got into magic. We used to fight hard to keep the best magic a secret. Everything now ends up either on YouTube, Bit Torrent or copied and passed from friend to friend. Invisible Thread has been ruined by pitchmen. It's easy for anybody to find out how" it's done".
The internet has put many of magic's greatest secrets at risk.
This has created a major problem especially for the creators. When Dan and Dave Buck released their phenomenal DVD set "The Trilogy" within a few hours of the release you could download a free copy from Bit Torrent. Think about this. Dan and Dave had spent years developing the material, countless hours practicing it to perfection, months to shoot it, many more months to do a high quality video production and invested thousands of dollars to produce this fantastic product for the magic community. Hours after the release the product was compromised. This same scenario has happened to countless magic products.
Honestly, it's amazing the creators of magic even bother any more. Scott did not want the integrity and secrets of "The Blades" to be compromised. I totally agree with him. This is a routine that is a professional caliber closer for his show. He makes his living from performing this routine. We're going to do everything legally in our power to insure that the secrets of "The Blades" remains secret and that our customers retain the full value of their investment.
The Goal
"The Blades" will set a new standard for releasing secrets to the magic community. We are taking a new path with this product and with all of our future Pro Line releases. These products are produced by professional magicians for professional magicians. Our target market is not amateurs or hobbyists but professional magicians who make their living performing magic.
It is our goal is to protect your investment by producing products that will retain their value and will remain in your act for years to come. The bottom line is these are products that are not for everybody. They are high end products that are designed to stay secret in the hands of professionals.
The Release
Our team at Bob Kohler Magic has spent a considerable amount of time and money chasing the dream of releasing products and giving value to our customers by taking every precaution to protect the secrets we are releasing. Protecting our product and protecting our client's investment is painstaking, time consuming and expensive.
1) "The Blades" has been protected under Copyright Law using a specific type of Copyright that protects Performing Arts. This is the same type of Copyright used for decades to protect plays. This type of Copyright protects Scott's presentation and script including the jokes, the gags and choreography but not the method. The method is protected under the California Trade Secret Agreement. This law is rock solid and has been successful in protecting our release of the Fitch Kohler Professional Holdout System. These two legal vehicles together will protect our client's investment.
2) To protect the DVD content from digital distribution each copy will be manufactured one at a time and will contain a digital watermark of the identity of the purchaser of the license. It is the purchaser's responsibility to protect and keep the information contained on this DVD secret as described in the License/Trade Secret Agreement. Any form of digital copy will contain this watermark revealing the purchaser's identity.
3)The video rights to "The Blades" have limits. Purchaser's are not allowed under the License/Trade Secret Agreement to post video from "The Blades" training DVD, or video of their performance of "The Blades" on the internet or television as described in the agreement. All television rights are reserved.
4) The license grants the purchaser the rights to perform "The Blades" anywhere in the world with the following limitations: Television, conventions for performers i.e. magic conventions, and Clark County Nevada in public venues.
5) The license IS NOT transferrable! You cannot sell your license. Why? Much of the value of "The Blades" is secret information and knowledge. Once you have been trained you'll know it forever. What we are selling is the license (i.e., the legal right for the buyer alone) too perform Scott Alexander's routine.
6) Warnings and Agreements! The training DVD contains warnings and agreements that the license purchaser must agree to before the training DVD will play. The warnings provide common sense information to provide the end user with the dangers associated with this type of routine. Failure to follow the training can cause injury or even death. The agreements contain the same information contained in the signed agreement.
How To Order
There are two steps that must be completed.
1) Order "The Blades" on this web page.
2) Each purchaser must sign and return our License & Trade Secret Agreement. When the agreement is received your order will be shipped to you. To receive our License & Trade Secret Agreement simply send us an email:
[email protected]
Questions & Answers
Are "The Blades" For Me?
First, you must be 21 years of age!
If you're 21 or older ask yourself the following questions. Am I a professional caliber performer? Do I want to get standing ovations on a regular basis? Do I want to perform routines that haven't been overused by amateurs and hobbyists or ruined by YouTube? Do I need a professional routine that I can reset in a matter of minutes? Do I travel and need a routine that packs into almost nothing but can entertain thousands? Do I need a reputation maker routine that I can use to close my show? If the answer to these questions is yes, read on…
Where Can I See The Blades?
Short answer…you can't. Most magic products today are represented by video trailers that show the routine to both the prospective buyers and the public. We live in an era where magic is often sold through deceptive video editing and dishonest advertising. "The Blades" will not have a video trailer. In fact, none of our Pro Line releases have ever had a trailer. Our tradition and reputation insure that "The Blades" is what we present it to be. In fact as you read on you'll discover that it's our intention that no footage of "The Blades" will ever be seen.
So What Do I Get With The Blades?
What you get are six minutes of action packed, hilarious entertainment that will rivet your audiences attention and get you standing ovations. What you are purchasing is the license to perform "The Blades". When you purchase the license we'll send you a kit as a bonus. The kit contains the special gaff, the necessary razor blades, the threads and a few other widgets that I won't describe. The parts and pieces are only a small part though of what your investment gets you. The real value is knowledge. You're getting all of Scott's creativity, his years of experience performing "The Blades" in front of critical, demanding audiences and all of the refinements that make "The Blades" the show stopper that will get you standing ovations night after night.
The knowledge is imparted to you on a professionally produced training DVD. This DVD is the property of Bob Kohler Magic and remains our property at all times. It is conditionally provided, not sold to clients who purchase the license. This is necessary to keep "The Blades" DVD from being shown in any way to someone who is not a licensee whether by renting it, lending it, showing it at a magic club meeting or selling it.
What's On The Training?
As usual we cover every detail of "The Blades". From the performance through the methods, this training is just like taking a private lesson from Scott. Nothing is left out. Scott reveals all of his work in precise detail. Each section of the routine is covered, every tiny point and tip that will make you understand the "Why & How" just as well as Scott does. The training also contains a live performance of Scott performing "The Blades" before an audience of 1000 on a cruise ship. This intense training will have you up to speed performing "The Blades" in no time!
Why are "The Blades" so expensive?
In our opinion "The Blades" is not expensive. It's an investment for "the few". Unlike more recent Pro Line products, you are buying only a license (i.e. legal permission) to perform Scott's masterpiece. We include the props as a bonus. The price will definitely limit the number of performers using "The Blades" which is valuable to professionals. As you read the description below you'll soon realize that we are taking strong steps to protect our clients investment.
We retain the right to refuse sale to anyone at our discretion
The Experts agree the best Razor Blades Routine ever!
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