Gadgets (or Gimmicks) That Should Be in Your Workshop Arsenal - The Corner Rounder

Over the years in magic, all sorts of tools have been used for creating new tricks and effects.

From the simplest gimmick to tools designed for one or several purposes.

All kinds of materials and tools that, over the years, shape our personal magic workshop.

I'm going to focus on the ones related to cards (even if they can be used for other things).

From the typical card marking with a pencil or pen to using classic nail clippers to create a simple crimp and control a specific card—two very common and useful items.

During my early years in magic, nail clippers were one of my favorite tools for forcing cards. Over time (which is how you learn if you experiment), I discovered this amazing tool, a corner rounder, and from then on, everything changed.

I have to say it's the best investment I've ever made, along with a paper cutter.

Now any regular deck can be transformed into any type of gimmick deck or key cards.

By the way, my cutter is just a simple one from a Chinese discount store; I modified it myself and made a ruler "adaptation" to control the cut near the blade and adjust measurements.

I had used it several times to make short cards, but they ended up with pointed corners, not to mention the beveled ones...

But with the corner rounder everything was solved.

I believe that when you're starting out, you should spend on what's important and save on the rest.

If you're a professional magician and literally "burn through" decks, I understand why you'd spend on special decks. But when you're starting out or are just a hobbyist, it's great to be able to make your own stripper decks, Svengali decks, short cards, etc., with used decks (or even new ones, obviously). It's a way to recycle, and also to avoid over-investing, especially at first, in those typical gimmick decks that, generally speaking, most magicians have tucked away in a drawer and rarely use daily (everyone's different, but that tends to be my experience).

This doesn't mean you shouldn't buy these types of decks. Generally, they come perfectly made, and with "do it yourself," how they turn out in the end will, of course, depend on you.

Even so, and thanks to the corner rounder (and a paper cutter), your cards will look perfectly professional.

And that's about it. I don't think I need to explain its use too much; all the possibilities are obvious.

For those who already know about it, I'm not revealing anything new; and for those who don't, you're really missing out on owning one.

All the best, and happy magic!!!