I kind of like the idea of what Mechanic Industries is trying to do. They're somewhat rebranding what close up magic props look like. I like the name "mechanic" because it'll spark discussions and presentational patter ideas.

This tool kit comes with four things. We'll take a look at each one individually:

• 4 x Full Dollar Sized Mechanic Coins with Gunmetal Grey Finish


• Stainless Steel Mechanic Card Guard


• FREE Black Mechanic Sharpie Pen


• The Mechanic Deck

The Four Coins

What follows is my original review that I wrote for just the coins as a separate product.

This coin-like prop is from the latest line in "hip" magic props, Mechanic Industries>. This particular coin is a hair bigger than an Eisenhower dollar coin. They're a bit heavier too. They have nice "grippy" edges for palming. However, their weight makes them a little harder to hold on to (at least for me), but keep in mind, I'm not that good at the Classic Palm to start with, so it could just be me.

These days, English Pennies, Kennedy Half Dollars, Walking Liberties, Eisenhowers, Morgans, etc. are all just as obscure as these mechanic coins. The only disadvantage that these may have is that they're clearly not currency. Whereas the aforementioned obscure currency coins actually look like money. Even someone who has never seen them, can recognize them as coins. The mechanic coins won't pass as coins, but they may pass as poker chips.

I presume that you could come up with some presentational angle about the "secret mechanics club" where members are given this coin, etc. That's likely the approach I would take. The ad copy claims that they're quieter than regular coins. They are a bit quieter and smoother/softer than regular coins.

In general, I'm not much of a coin worker. I've only recently (after many, many, many years) made some progress with my coin roll. I think it's slightly better with these coins just due to their weight. Overall, it's a very well made coin that has potential for presentational enhancements. If you're looking to add a little something to your close up coin work, this might be what you're looking for. Further, there are some pretty cool effects that can be done when you combine the Mechanic coins with the Mechanic cards.

My only question is regarding the price. When you consider that magic retailers sell Eisenhowers for $10 bucks and Morgans for a lot more than that, $8.95 seems a reasonable price for a prop that you'll use every day. Further, I've made some progress on a point mentioned above. Last night I was writing this review and I was about to go online and do some research on coin prices, but I lost my internet connection. So instead, I decided to put in some more practice time with my coin roll. I made more progress with these coins in a couple of hours than I've ever made with any other coin. I found the Eisenhowers tend to slide and fall off of my hand more. Whereas the Mechanics seemed to "stick" to my hand more.

Bottom line: I like the coins, and I think that coin workers should give them serious consideration.

The Card Guard

I've never used a card card before. I kind of like it. It adds a nice sort of elegant touch to your deck of cards. This one's nice and sturdy fits snuggly on the deck and creates a professional look and feel to your deck. Again, the logo (like the coins) and the title will/can create conversation pieces for performance. I really like the idea of telling my audience that I'm a member of some supposed card mechanics club and that part of my membership in the club gives me these various items. Fun stuff folks.

Free Sharpie

Um . . . it's a black sharpie . . . it has the Mechanic Industries logo and website on it . . . not much else to say. I think this is kind of a weak addition to the team.

The Mechanic Deck

I like the design and colors of this deck alot. The back of the deck is a set of gears and chain (think bicycle or motorcycle chain) going around the gears. If the deck is in new deck order and you riffle the deck like a flip book (think Dan Harlan's CardToon), the gears and chain on the back of the deck animate like moving clockworks. It's a very cool effect. The faces of the cards have are basically just three colors: black, deep maroon, and sort of a greyish-gold color. Very classic and cool looking. Also, the colors have sort of a splotchy textured look to them that I really liked as well.

The Ace of Spades and the Jokers incorporate the Mechanic logo and look/feel of the coins. You also get a blank facer. Finally, they handle pretty much the same as a regular deck of Bikes. All in all, this is a solid well made, good looking deck of cards that fits into a cool re-branding concept of close up magic.

The Price

Each coin sells for $8.95 individually. You get four, so that's theoretically a $35.80 value. The deck is $6.95 on it's own. Now we're up to $42.75. The card guard is $22 on it's own . . . new total: $64.75. I've seen guards for a better price than that, but this one is pretty well made, so it's probably a fair price. Finally, there's the "free" sharpie which, in my opinion is a bit pointless. I don't really see it bringing anything extra to the table. So essentially, you're getting about $66 (if you add in the cost of a sharpie) worth of stuff for $64 dollars. You're saving two bucks to buy the kit that comes with nothing extra. Frankly I thinks that's a bit of disappointment.

I think if you're going to take the plunge and buy the whole kit you should get a bigger discount than $2 bucks. I think a nice box or something to put everything in would have been a nice touch for the price. Or maybe a better discount or a DVD (or at least some online videos) teaching a few effects would have made the whole kit a bit more swallow-able.

Trailer

The trailer shows several ideas that you can do with the tool kit, but alas, the tool kit comes with no instruction whatsoever. It's just a bunch of stuff in a plastic baggie with a cardboard product image asking you to reorder. The first half of the trailer showed some weak and clunky looking pen manipulations and a few cool looking ones. The coin stuff shown in the trailer was mostly just standard stuff that you can do with any coins.

However, I did like the idea of combining the cards and the coins for a few effects that looked good. The problem is that you're not taught how to do those effects, so hopefully you're familiar with the methods shown in the trailer to accomplish the effects.

Final Thoughts

Overall I liked every product in the kit except the Sharpie. And it's not that I hated the Sharpie . . . it's just that . . . well . . . it's just a Sharpie. Having the deck, coins and guard with the branding of Mechanic Industries feels right, but the pen just doesn't.

To paraphrase my favorite dinner dish, "3 out of 4 ain't bad." I really like the concept, and the quality of the products are top notch. Unless you really want that Sharpie, there's really not much of an advantage to buying the whole kit. You may be better off buying the deck and a couple of coins to try them out first. However, if you like the brand - I like it a lot - then go for it, get the kit. You won't regret it. It's very well made and will definitely give your close up magic that extra something that sets you apart from the crowd.

Final Verdict:
4 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem.