In the 1980 and 1990's, along with Tenyo and Tricks Co and Rabbit Co in Japan, there was another Asian company bringing neat, innovative magic to American magicians   That company was Kaifu Wang's Black Hat Magic in Taiwan.   Black Hat items had the same surprising innovation and magical thinking that the great Japanese companies of that era had.  As fans of these companies already know, the magical effects and props somehow mix cuteness (and sometimes goofiness) with diabolical ingenuity, as well as a charismatic, childlike charm.  And somehow, this odd mixture results in really interesting and compelling magical props, effects and methods.

Like items from those companies, Black Hat Magic items became difficult to find after the companies ceased production of them.  One of those items was the Transformer Cone.    But a recent re-make of this clever trick retains the distinctive design and style of the Black Hat original, and works just as well.  

 (This Transformer Cone is NOT a Black Hat product, it is a recent remake -- just thought I better say that twice!)

Magi shows a flat triangular "folder" which can be squeezed into a 3-D cone.  The cone is seen empty, and flattened again to further prove that nothing is within the folds.   But when squeezed into a cone again, the magi reaches in and produces a red silk.     The red silk is tucked back into the cone, which is flattened and then opened again to show the red silk has vanished, or (as the name of the trick implies) the red silk is transformed into a blue silk.

You can build a routine around this prop, or use it in the context of another trick where you need to produce, vanish or transform/change a silk.   Cone will hold an 18 inch silk comfortably in each of three load chambers.

Although not an original Black Hat Magic piece, this remake is well made and does everything the original did.   Since you rarely see the original Black Hat item for sale anymore (and when you do, it sells for about $40-$50), this is a great alternative.

Easy to do -- much harder to try to take good photos of it when holding it open with one hand and holding the camera in the other  :-)      The photo shows TWO cones, one flat and one opened.    (You only get ONE cone when you buy this, of course)

Brand new and unused

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