Flash by Chad Long:


Effect: This is, simply put, the color changing knives with a computer USB flash drive. R.Paul Wilson calls this “Flashtastic”….Okay, Cheezy taglines aside it was a brilliant idea to update the color changing knives.

Price: $30.00 U.S. (It cost me another $15.00 for international shipping.)
Where to buy?: http://www.chadlongmagic.com/page8/page8.html

Teaching: There are two forms of teaching with this product. You will receive a booklet and there are several video explanations that are available on his website. The video explanations can be found here: http://www.chadlongmagic.com/page8/page1/videos.html I think exposure Nazis might get uptight because he effectively teaches you how to do his trick before you even buy the effect. This essentially exposes the method not only for Flash(which he has every right to do) but also the color changing knives. Personally I find nothing wrong with it. The very first trick I ever learned was the color changing sticks and not long after that I got the color changing knives. The paddle move is about as big a secret as the French drop to anyone with even a passing interest in Magic. Furthermore, anyone who likely stumbles across his teaching videos will likely do so while researching Flash and thus already be a magician. For those reasons I don’t think the fact that his teaching videos are free for anyone to see qualifies as exposier.
The teaching and routine is well laid out in the videos and the booklet. He covers the paddle move as well as a move I have not come across before called, the friction flip. The friction flip is a great move that should be applicable to color changing knifes as well. Even if you have no interest in flash but do enjoy the color changing knives you should check out is teaching videos to learn the friction flip and his basic routining. (Bear in mind I learned CCKs 20 years ago from the guy at the magic shop who sold them to me. I have gotten buy with very basic routining, shuttle passes and paddle moves ever since. If you are really into CCKs, you have read Ascanio’s book, you may not gain much more insite from his videos.)

Because the teaching videos were free I had basically learned the mechanics of his routine and the Friction Flip before the gimmicks arrived with the booklet. Thus it is hard to judge the booklet as I merely skimmed over it once I got flash. One thing I can say is that he has some added advice on the psychology of the paddle move and a few other pointers that I found very helpful.
Overall the teaching and the routine is excellent. I have not found the need to deviate from the basic routine. The only things I have personalized are a few of the patter lines.

Quality of gimmick: You will get a total of three fake Flash drives. One flash drive is inspectable, one is gimmicked for the paddle move, and one is lengthened for the finally. Let me stress that they are not real flash drives. That fact seemed obvious to me when I bought them simply due to the price. A good flash drive could cost between $10-$30.00 on it’s own so if they were operable flash drives that were also gimmicked for a magic effect I would have expected a much higher price tag. It certainly doesn’t bother me that they are not real flash drives. I doubt I would have wanted that anyways as I think I would have handled them more carefully and that might detract from a smooth magic performance. They are made of a semi hard rubber material that is pretty durable. They will take as much of a beating as your knives. The texture will give you a good grip for all the moves you will need to do. The long flash drive may feel a little floppy but that actually helps it remain more concealed in your pocket as it will conform to you body. The non gimmicked Flash drive will withstand all but the most careful inspection. The only way to detect that it isn’t real is look inside the USB port and see that there are no “innards.” The gimmicked flash drive is obviously not inspectable but we’ll get to that in a second. The gimmicks can be plugged into a computer USB port and thus you could start your routine from a work station if you wanted any added convincers. Overall I was quite happy with the gimmicks and how well they work in the context of Chad Long’s routine.

Difficulty: The moves will likely be familiar to most of you so It will simply be a matter of learning some new patter and the specific phases of the routine. For me that took about a day or two before I was ready to perform. If you are unfamiliar with the color changing sticks or knives then it might take a bit longer but bear in mind that neither the friction flip or the paddle move are terribly difficult techniques. The only possible problem some may encounter is that the Flash drives are a bit larger and wider than a standard color changing knife. Pick up a USB flash drive, try out a paddle move with it, if you can do it then you should have no trouble with flash.

Applications: A great thing to keep in your pocket for any time, any where, close-up magic. It will take up a pocket and because it won’t clink with coins you can likely stuff a coin effect in the same pocket. For example, I carry Flash and Holy Moly in the same pocket.

Overall Thoughts: I really can’t think of a draw back to this effect other than availability. As of yet I have only found it available at Chad Long’s website. The biggest problem with that is for international customers like me. $15.00 seemed a bit steep for shipping but I understand that there are very few ways for private sellers to recoup their costs other than charging full price for shipping. The second problem with that is Chad Long’s location. When he ships, at least internationally, if is processed through the Jacksonville FL mail processing center. It took me over three weeks to receive my package even though he shipped it within a day of my order. By contrast, Penguin, who use the San Francisco facility, get my packages to me within a week to 10 days after the ship date. You can’t really blame that on Mr. Long but it is something to keep in mind.

For the most part I love this effect, but then, I have always had a soft spot for color changing knives. What is best about this is that it is applicable for just about any setting. I used to live in an area where pocket knives were very common in any age group from 10 years old and up but I currently live in an urban culture and often find myself performing for kids. As such I am not always comfortable using knives in my magic. Flash has definitely solved that problem. Also the addition of the extra-long flash drive plays great for the lay audiences. It also serves an unexpected function. In my old Knife routine there was always a desire to see the knife. The routine just seemed to call for it and that was where the gaffed opening in the knife came in handy. Passing out the knife was rarely a problem but it did require a shuttle pass of switch of some sort. The introduction of the extra long Flash drive as a kicker ending pulls all attention away from the gimmicked Flash drive. The only thing people even want to see is the big one and while they are gawking at that you casually put your gimmick away and you are immediately reset for the next performance. Overall Flash is a nice revisit of the color changing knives that is well made, teaches a well thought out routine, is applicable for just about any age group, and is visual enough that it plays well with an audience that doesn’t even speak your language. I have been getting a lot of mileage out of it for the last three weeks and It has quickly claimed a spot in my pocket every time I leave the house.

Flash is FANTASTIC! The drives are super well made makeing the moves sooo easy to do. If you do cck's you will not go wrong getting Flash

Definitely one of those, "Why didn't I think of this?" effects.
I don't have this yet but after picking up a regular flash drive and doing a short routine for someone, I'll give Flash 5 out of 5 stars. A simply BRILLIANT idea!

Chad freely teaches the friction move on his site to all visitors.

I definitely need to get this. Chad is a great magician. His old videos are AWESOME!

wow. i thought of this idea 2 years ago. But like i was never able to make it. i'm buying this for sure.

hah, that's actually a really clever update.

Chad was in town a few months back to do a lecture for us here. Flash is a really good effect and I would definitely recommend it! If you plan on picking it up, consider grabbing one of his DVDs as well. I picked up "disc 1" and it has some really good stuff on it. Fire Coins is a pretty cool routine that comes to mind off of that disc.

The Shuffling Lesson is also on Disc #1. One can watch Wayne Houchin's performance of this fantastic routine on YT.

just to mention. i purchased flash based on this review. thanks! To me this will replace Freakey by Greg wilson. Cause the key's colours have gone wierd and when i tried repainted it, i basically stuffed it up.

I'm glad some people are finally noticing this one. Yes this has been a real worker for me over the last year. Here in Korea the kids science classes teach the paddle move in the 4th grade and it is really tough to slip color changing knives past them here without a killer switch. Something about putting the plot on a USB flash drive throws them for a loop. By the time they start to put two and two together you are whipping out the extra long drive and they are completely fried and all the heat on the gimmicked drive is gone. Honestly, adding that finale to the color changing plot is one of the most underrated aspects of this trick.

so this arrived today. I will be using this immediately. i think it is great. it would of been perfect had he given 1 normal black usb drive also. then i wouldnt have to use his routine but i could of used my own routine without the kicker ending.