Thomas Wayne Session Part II

As the hours ticked by we traded some card tricks, shared some ideas about coin magic and discussed the community of guys that make gourmet coin gaffs. Thomas showed us some gaffs that he had made as well as some pieces made by other artisans. I was impressed with a Swadling Coin that he had and it's interesting inner workings. Some very clever improvements to an oldie but goodie. Thomas demonstrated an extremely visual coins through table with it.

We talked at length about the Fitch/Kohler Hold Out System. Thomas probably knows this device better than anyone as he has an up close and personal relationship with every one that sells. I was impressed with the many improvements and revolutionary design modifications.

At his core, Thomas is a thinker and extremely intelligent problem solver. He looks at the world with a unique perspective. How does it work, why was it made this way, could it be made to function more effectively? I am such a simpleton that a guy like this boggles my mind. A good example of his process is; he picked up a trick that was lying around. It happened to be one of the first tricks I ever bought as a 7 or 8 year old. Just a nic nac to me as a reminder of my early roots. It was a simple cut and restored string trick made out of plastic.



It hasn't worked for a long time. Me, I accepted that it was just a 30 year old magic trick that didn't work anymore. Thomas picked it up, saw that it didn't work and his brain started working on the problem. I don't think it's a conscious thing for him, it just happens. He solves problems. In less than a minute he had figured that the string was just twisted around inside. He basically unwound the string from it's locked position to free it's movement. This trick has been lying around for months and not once did I think to unwind it or even think about it.

It was after 5AM when Steve and Thomas left. I crawled into bed, fell asleep and dreamed about magic tricks.