Pocket Portal By Sam King
The leather coin pouch that vanishes, switches and produces coins. It works like a gimmick, but it isn't one.
Postage A$10.00 anywhere in Australia, or A$25.00 worldwide. You pick your destination in the cart.
- Handmade by Sam King in Australia
- Hand Stitched
- No slits, no holes, no magnets, fully examinable
- Real full grain leather, Vegetable Tanned Leather
- Bonus download included, for Chinese Charming Challenge
- Secure checkout by Stripe, posted from Adelaide
The best everyday carry coin purse for magicians
It is a coin purse. That is the whole trick. No slit, no hole, no magnet in the seam. Hand it out, let them turn it over, take it back.
Works like a gimmick, but isn't.
What you can do with it
- Vanishes. A coin goes into an empty pouch and it is gone.
- Switches. A signed coin comes out as something else.
- Steals and loads. In and out clean, in the real world.
- Transpositions. Two coins swap places, the pouch does the work.
- Penetrations. Solid through solid, with a prop nobody looks at twice.
It holds five coins, so the standard five coin routines are all there.
The bonus idea that never made the cut
I will send you a handling that was not in the original release. It is my finale for Troy Hooser's Charming Chinese Challenge. It's a neat bit that never made the cut on ellusionist.
It is also the one that fooled Chris Ramsay.
Why I make them myself
Ellusionist released the Pocket Portal first. It picked up over 100+ five star reviews, then sold out, and they do not make it any more.
I was not going to let it disappear, so now I make every one by hand here in Adelaide.
What the leather words actually mean
Two words get printed on leather that mean close to the opposite of what you would think. Worth knowing before you buy anything leather, not just this.
"Genuine leather" is the cheap stuff
It sounds like a promise. It is a grade, and a low one.
A hide gets split into layers. The top layer, the outside of the animal, is the tough one. Keep it and you have full grain. The layers underneath get sanded, sprayed and stamped with a fake grain so they pass as the real thing, and that is what "genuine leather" usually means. It looks fine for a year. Then it cracks and peels, because the strong fibres were sanded off.
Full grain wears in instead of out. Yours will darken where your hands go.
The Pocket Portal is full grain.
Chrome tanned and veg tanned
Tanning is what stops a hide rotting. Chrome tanning uses chromium salts, takes about a day, and comes out soft and cheap. It is most of the leather you will touch today, and it looks the same in five years as it did new.
Veg tanning soaks the hide in tannins from tree bark for weeks. It costs more, fewer tanneries bother, and it comes out firm enough to hold a shape.
Mine are veg tanned, and for this prop that matters. A pouch that holds its shape sits the same way in your hand every time. A floppy one surprises you halfway through a routine, which is the last thing you want.
Bonus Idea
Specifications
| Material | Full grain leather, tan |
|---|---|
| Tanning | Vegetable tanned, not chrome |
| Made by | Sam King, by hand, in Adelaide, South Australia |
| Capacity | Five coins comfortably |
| Gimmicked | No. No slits, holes or magnets |
| Examinable | Yes, completely |
| Difficulty | Beginner to intermediate coin handling |
| Included bonus | Download teaching the Charming Chinese Challenge finale, emailed on order |
| Postage | $10 within Australia, $25 international |
Questions people ask
Is the Pocket Portal still available?
Only from here. The Ellusionist run sold out and finished. I make them myself now, one at a time.
Can my spectators really examine it?
Yes. There is nothing to find, because there is nothing in it. It is a real coin pouch, which is what makes it work.
How hard is it to use?
If you can handle a coin at a basic level, you can use it. The pouch does the difficult part. It is not self working, but it is nowhere near years of practice.
What coins does it fit?
It is built around the dollar size coin and takes five of them comfortably. Most world coins that size are happy in it too.
Dollar size or half dollar size?
The pouches on sale here are dollar size. That is what I would tell almost everyone to get, because a dollar size Pocket Portal does everything the half dollar version can do. If you are set on a half dollar size one, get in touch with me before you order and we will sort it out.
What is the bonus download?
A handling that never made the original DVD. It is my finale for Troy Hooser's Charming Chinese Challenge, the one that fooled Chris Ramsay. The link is emailed to you the moment you order.
Do you post overseas?
Yes. Australia is a flat $10, anywhere else is a flat $25. Pick your destination in the cart and the right rate is added at checkout.
How long will it take to arrive?
Each one is made by hand, so give me a little time before it goes in the post. Australian orders usually land within a week of dispatch, overseas a bit longer.
Is full grain better than genuine leather?
By a long way. "Genuine leather" is a low grade made from the lower layers of a hide, sanded down and stamped with a fake grain, which is why it cracks and peels. Full grain keeps the tough outer surface, so it wears in instead of out.
Is the leather chrome tanned or veg tanned?
Veg tanned, with tannins from tree bark rather than chromium salts. It takes weeks instead of a day and costs more, but it holds its shape, which is what you want in a prop that has to behave the same way every time.
How much is postage?
A flat $10 anywhere in Australia and $25 to the rest of the world, posted from Adelaide. Postage is added at checkout.