Toibox
Jonathan Kamm
Penguin Magic
First of all, what is Toibox? Well it's not a box. There are plenty of those on the market. What it is is a series of utility sleights and routines designed to work with a specific style of mint tin. Mainly the mini size Altoids tins or any similar size tin will work. The moves consist of switches, transfers, loading techniques, displays, reveals and basic handling of the tin. The system is based on the Fred Kaps style of card to box with one big difference. There are no gimmicks! Now there are a lot of boxes out there you can purchase that do the trick for you. Toibox does everything those boxes do but it's cleaner and more versatile. Plus it does things that were never possible in a card to box routine. (See list below) I've come up with tons of routines in the past years but I'm sure once this hits the magic community there will be hundreds more and even new moves created to add to the system. Don't think that you have to learn the whole system. Just adding a couple Toibox moves can improve routines you already have. Since card to box was created it's always been a one trick pony. You bring out the box. You find their card in the box. You put the box away.
With Toibox you can do full routines with the tin. With multiple revelations and multiple phases using multiple selections and even multiple tins. The tins are available everywhere. Go buy yourself a couple today then download Toibox. You will be glad you did!
Why Toibox?
•Box can be shown empty before and after routines. It doesn't just appear empty it is empty.
•You can place the empty box in the spectators hand and make their signed selected card appear inside.
•The spectator can open and remove their signed selection.
•Multiple cards can be found multiple times in one routine.
•Final loads are now possible. End a routine with the box full of mints, salt, paper clips, crickets, anything.
•Multiple ways to make their card appear inside.
•Can be routined without needing to secretly fold the card.
•Hundreds of routine possibilities.
•Works with cards, billets, bills. You can even switch mid routine.
•Toibox is super small. Takes little pocket space.
•Resets instantly.
•If you forget the tin just pick one up on the way to your gig.
What some of the biggest names in magic are saying:
"Jon's work with the little mint tin is unsurpassed. I'm not aware of any work as comprehensive as this. Highly recommended!"-Jack Carpenter
"Toibox is a workers dream!"-John Carey
"This isn't a card trick using a mint box, it's a full course in the card to impossible location."-Chris Kavanagh
"WOW it's like the sophistication of Okito coin box moves done with the classic folded card in the box."-Steve Draun
"I loved the reverse routine, doing a card fold without doing the fold – that is going in my repertoire."-Allan Ackerman
"Everyone out there is searching for the perfect folded card to box where you can show it empty...perform the effect...then again show it empty…you have done it my friend!"-Cody Fisher
"That fooled the F@#& out of me!"-Bill Cook
"Toibox by Jonathan Kamm is fantastic! No need for gimmicked boxes."-Todd Lamanske
"I am over the top with this! This beats them all! Forget what you already know about Card To Box"-Doc Eason
"Jonathan has taken an old standard and given the old girl a new dress. It's a worker. Go get Toibox!"-Paul Gordon
Reviews
(Top ▲)
In this case, it is well-deserved and absolutely spot on - this is definitely not one of those over-hyped products.
So, that said, what the heck is this Toibox, you ask? Well, it is not really an effect so much as it is a system. It is essentially a no-gimmick version of Card to Box (within the Card to Impossible Location plot), such as the John Kennedy Mystery Box or any number of the clear Card to Box boxes that are on the market. While there is a difference in effect between using an opaque box and using a clear one, both of those can be applied with this system, which I will get to later.
This system uses the mini Altoids mint tins for the box, which is where it gets the name Toibox (from the 'TOI' in Altoids).
What you are purchasing here is just the download video, you will have to supply your own mint tins, which can be found very inexpensively in most drug stores. Here is the best part: Any mint tin that is roughly the same dimensions as the mini Altoids box will work, so you do not even have to use the Altoids brand. If you work for a company that has custom tins printed as promotional pieces or if you buy breath mints for your cat (yes, those exist), you can use those tins for this.
The video is very well shot but it is not necessarily studio-quality, but the lighting, the sound and the video quality are all very good. The only thing you really see in the explanation video are the hands, arms and torso of Jonathan Kamm and the table. There are two separate videos that come with the download, both of them are live performances in two different settings, so you will get to see this in action. The ad copy and the video trailer are both 100% honest and accurate.
In the explanation video, Jonathan shows you many, many different things to do with this system. He shows you how to hold the tins, open them, close them, load them, switch them, steal a load, etc. The instruction on all of this is VERY clear. Jonathan shows you various ways to display the box as being empty, different ways to load it, different ways to switch them, etc. This is the bulk of the instructional video, but there is more than just this.
An added bonus is that none of these moves are particularly difficult and *just about every magician from beginners to advanced professionals can use this system with ease. Of course like any other effect, you must still put in the proper practice to make it smooth.
*In order to do this effect you will need to know how to do the Mercury Fold, and if you do not, Jonathan teaches his way of doing it, which is quite good. If you want a sure-fire perfect fold every time, you can use a device called The Bullet by Todd Lamanske, which is made specifically for making your Mercury Folds perfect every time. You can read my review of that product here: http://mylovelyassistant.com/reviews/view/5102
The Bullet is not necessary for this, but it will make your Mercury Folds look better. Jonathan Kamm also talks about that product in the video.
Another wonderful feature of this particular system is that it works with more than just playing cards. If you want to make signed bill (monetary note), a billet, a prediction, a piece of paper or other similar items vanish/appear under the same conditions, this system can be used for those items as well.
Earlier I mentioned that there is a difference in effect between an opaque box and a clear one and that both apply to this system. How? With this system, you can either start the effect by showing the box empty at the beginning and having the selected, folded card appear inside at the end, or you can start by showing a folded card inside the box at the beginning, which eventually (somehow) turns into the selected, folded card at the end.
You can also do both in the same effect, which would give you two kickers of the selections ending up in the box (one at a time, and the second one can happen with the spectator holding onto the box before their card disappears). I am not sure if I am a fan of the double climax that ends in the same way, but if the effect was routined correctly, you can easily elevate the appearance of the second card so that it is stronger still than the first one.
Jonathan Kamm teaches you five different effects that you can do with this system, all ending with the card folded in the mint tin, of course. If such things suit your taste, because of the way this system works, you can also end your routines with a final load appearing in the previously empty (except for the folded playing card) tin. Anything from mints to salt, sugar, little bugs, buttons or whatever you can find that will fit in them.
All of the effects that you will learn allow for the cards to be freely handled by the participants and they can also be signed. Also, since you are not using any gaffs or gimmicks, you can use any brand of cards that you like as well. As is pointed out in the video, another great thing about this is that if you are on the way to a gig and either do not have or forgot to grab your mint tins, they are easily and readily available (and cheaply too) at just about any drug store, grocery store and even some gas stations.
If you are a fan of the 'Card to Impossible Location' plot and/or if you have/use any of the number of boxes on the market, such as the Kennedy Mystery Box or the David Penn Mystery Solved box, you will certainly like this one. If you do not have any of those products and have always wanted to buy one but did not have the money to spend on them, this is an excellent substitute.
VERY, VERY, VERY HIGHLY Recommended!