Do you have the Appearing Ten Foot Pole (ATFP) trick?
It's a simulated wood pole, or wand, or pencil, etc. that can spring out and extend itself as soon as its removed from its holder. Its a great surprise, but it has a problem: the only way to put it away is to manually roll it up. You don't want to do that in front of your audience, do you?
This has been a problem for magicians for years, UNTIL NOW! With Total Recoil™, you can simply push the ATFP straight down into a paper bag or case. The pole shrinks as its pushed in. It looks really magical! Now you could use it as a running gag: Each time you pull the pole out a little farther and then push it back down, until, the last time, you pull the pole all the way out so that your audience sees the full 8' length. Then, just push it straight back down into the hidden Total Recoil device. Now the simple flash production has become a COMPLETE ROUTINE!
BUY NOW for $75.00 or add an Appearing 8 foot Pro pole for only $60. More info on special offer...
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Total Recoil™ Narrow Model will work with almost any pole that will fit into it*. It has been tested to work with The Original Appearing Ten Foot Pole, The Pro Pole, The 4' Crayon, The 4' Pencil, The 8' Wand, and The 8' Straw. A pole will probably work if the circumference is under 5.25", if there is proper lubrication. Sometimes the straw and wand really need to have the lubrication to work. Total Recoil™ Wide Model will only work with the new Real Ten Foot Pole from Sorcery Mfg. It is even possible (but not guaranteed) to put TWO 8' long poles into Total Recoil™. This has been tested with The Original Appearing Ten Foot Pole and a Pro Pole at the same time. Other combinations of pole models may or may not work. Note: Total Recoil™ now comes in two different models: narrow and wide. The Narrow model will accomodate most of the older appearing poles (The Original, the Pro Pole, The crayon, the pencil) or most poles that have a CIRCUMFERENCE OF LESS THAN 5.25"; in other words, when you roll up the pole, it is no wider than 5.25". The Wide model is made specifically for the new Real Ten Foot Poles from Sorcery Mfg, which are taller and wider than the old poles. The Wide model will NOT work with the narrow poles. So, please specify which model you want when ordering. * Appearing Ten Foot Pole. * Note that Total Recoil will not work with any poles sold by Wayner Rogers. These poles have vinyl circular stripes on them. The vinyl causes too much friction. |
| See a short video (330k) of Total Recoil here. Quicktime required. |  |
| See Real Video clip here. |  |
Total Recoil is a utility device to be used to shrink an appearing pole. It is not intended to be seen by your audience. Total Recoil™ is for the magician who thinks that it's more magical just to push a "Ten Foot Pole" into a simple paper bag
.
We can't show a picture of Total Recoil on this site because the mechanics are secret and only available to purchasers. But we can tell you that the device has a wooden frame and the internal parts are sheet metal and plastic.
It won't wear out. It will continue to function for many, many performances.
Extra feature: A free shopping bag with handles is included with all retail orders.
This is what the back of Total Recoil looks like as an Appearing Pole is starting to be removed from it. Of course, the audience would never see this because it would be in a bag. The mechanics of the pole are secret and can only be seen by purchasers.
It's 7 " tall, 5.25 " wide and 4" deep. Plus it has a foot pad that extends back 2 more inches.
BUY NOW for $75.00
Before using your appearing pole with Total Recoil™, it is strongly
recommended that you cut a triangular notch at the bottom of the slit
on the back of your pole. Just cut off the corners at the base of the
slit. This will allow the pole to get centered as it slides into the Total
Recoil™ device. 
You can press your foot through the back of the bag onto the foot pad on the TR device.
Do not force the pole down into the device. Just push it slowly and gently. Forcing it in too fast may kink the pole or cause it to spring out of the internal coil.
Do not use a pole that has any tears or cuts along the edges. These tears will get caught on the edges of the metal spreader and jam the pole in the Total Recoil™ box.
The interior roller of Total Recoil™ comes slightly lubricated with silicone. This silicone should last for many performances. But if it starts to require more pressure to force the pole into Total Recoil™, then it is suggested that you put a few drops of silicone in the interior of the main roller.
Caring for your Appearing Pole :
Total Recoil can be used to quickly pack and transport your Appearing Pole. However, DO NOT STORE YOUR POLE in Total Recoil for long periods of time. This may cause your pole to lose its shape.
To store your Appearing pole, you should wrap it with some rubber bands on both ends and in the middle. The bands will help to shape the pole, keeping the diameter of the pole as small as possible. Then, store your pole extended and wrapped with the bands. This will help your pole to last as long as possible.
The Development of Total RECOIL™:
The Appearing 10 Foot Pole was invented and popularized by Sylvester the Jester. It was obvious that it was a big hit among magicians because of the many variations that have appeared: Wand, Pencil, Crayon, Straw, Nose, even a ladder.
I liked the idea of the ATFP, but I felt that it lacked a plot. There were two ways that a magician could make the pole appear: QUICKLY- a flash production as its tossed into the air, or SLOWLY- unrolling it from the bottom of a paper bag. But, either way, it was still just a production of a single item, not a routine.
I found a cardboard box that could contain the ATFP while it was rolled up. I cut a slit in the top of the box and put a foot pad on the bottom. Then this box could be hidden inside of a paper bag. Now I could pull out the pole partially, and push it back in. So, now I had a running gag. Then for the end of the gag, I'd pull the pole out all of the way and hope that the audience realized that you can't roll up a solid pole (or a semi-rigid tube.)
Then, for my next step in the development, instead of hiding this cardboard box inside of a paper bag, I realized that this box (which was really being used as a roller), could be enclosed inside of another box with a hole in the top. So, for a while, I used this box inside of a box in my family magic shows.
Then it was just one more step, I thought, to putting a spreader inside of the box so that I could take the pole all the way out and then replace it. However, I had underestimated the mechanics and the physics of making a piece of plastic roll up simply by pushing down on it. I had to deal with the massive friction that resulted from the sliding plastic against the interior of the roller.
I first tried making the entire box out of sheet metal. That was expensive and unnecessary. Then I tried making the box out of wood and the spreader and roller out of sheet metal, that was more workable, but the sheet metal didn't perform well and it resulted in a lot of friction. But this was the first prototype that was demonstrated in June, 2001 at the Close-Up and In The Parlour Convention in MN. It worked good enough for one prominent magic dealer at the convention to say, "I want that in my next catalog!"
But it still took many more months of testing and searching to come up with the right type of plastic to make the roller from. Now Total Recoil is made from wood, plastic and sheet metal. And now it works everytime. There are currently THREE versions of Total Recoil: Narrow, Wide, and Mini.
Bob Miller MAGIC! will be the only manufacturer of this product, unless we decide to license it out.
Sylvester the Jester suggested calling it "Total Recoil"
Raju Madhok (who created one of the Ring & String moves used in The Relentless Ring & String Routine) suggested the following slogans for Recoil:
- "The Shrinking Man's Best Friend"
- "When you need a shrink"
- "Don't windup without one"
- "Packs small, plays big!"