I am a big fan of the finger chopper, as long as it is a nicely made, and deceptive model. Tenyo's See-thru Guillo and the ViennaMagic model (both from the 1980's and both rarely seen for sale these days...) are two of my favorites. This model is sort of a combination of both. It mostly mirrors the look of the ViennaMagic model, (with the garish blood dripping down the otherwise clear front and back), but it also is lighter weight and has a larger base and top handle, sort of like the Tenyo model.
Like both those excellent finger choppers, this See-thru Guillo is semi-transparent, so you can see the blade moving inside behind the "blood". It has a solid look, and as is necessary to really fool people with a finger chopper, it is completely examinable because of a built-in (and automatic) locking mechanism. The lock can be disengaged in full view of the audience so the guillo can be examined, (at which time, spectators fiind that the blade is solid and quite capable of doing some damage to a finger), then the magi can lift the blade, and have a brave spectator's finger inserted, and immediately slam the blade down and (magically) through the finger. The spectator can then look at the guillo while his finger is still in the hole, and finds the blade cannot be lfted back up without withdrawing the finger first!
Takes a bit of practice to get the feel of the simple unlocking "move", but after 20 minutes of practicing it, you will be able to do it without thinking.
You can wait around for one of the Tenyo or ViennaMagic See-Thru Guillo to come up for sale (and then pay $100 or more for it) or you can get this much less expensive model, and start scaring the heck out of your spectators immediately!
Brand new with instructions (Card deck shown in the photo is not included, just there for size scale)
