I will reveal the spoon-bending methods used by many magicians (including Uri Geller) all around the world and explain their secrets. On top of that, I’ve included three different tutorials on how can you do this illusion yourself!
So, in short, how does spoon bending work?
Spoon bending is an illusion and can’t be done using only your mind. The performers either use a prepared spoon that is already cut in half or work with a spoon made out of a special material that can be easily bent.
Many performers, magicians, and mentalists make it look like they are actually able to bend a spoon or other cutlery using only their minds.
The secret behind these tricks is often rather simple and spoon bending works just like any other magic trick. I will explain a few techniques that many performers have used in the past to fool their audience.
The famous spoon bending magic trick by Uri Geller explained
While there are many different magicians all around the world that have performed the spoon bending trick, Uri Geller is probably the most well-known one. His acts made him world-famous, and he convinced millions of viewers that mentalism is real.
He has performed his spoon bending trick many, many times, you can watch him in this short video right here:
This trick might seem impossible at first, but that’s the same with every other magic trick. Every magician uses sleight of hand, a special technique, or help from an assistant to pull off their tricks -and Uri Geller is no different.
Uri Geller made many people believe that mentalism is real and never admitted that he used any kind of tricks.
He never revealed his secrets – which makes a lot of sense, because he then would admit that he has been lying to everyone for his entire life. His performances are unique and he definitely knows how to sell his tricks, but even he can’t bend spoons by staring at them.
The method used by Uri Geller to bend spoons
As I already mentioned, Uri Geller never explained his tricks to anyone, so nobody knows for sure how he did his illusions.
So, how did Uri Geller do his famous spoon-bending trick?
He probably used spoons made out of a special material called “gallium”. It looks like metal, but it has a melting point of approx. 86°F or 30 °C. This allowed him to actually bend the spoon by rubbing it for a few seconds.
You can always watch him rubbing the cutlery for a few seconds before he starts bending it. The reason for this is simple: The material is heated by the rubbing and reaches its melting point.
Since gallium melts at very low temperatures, the heat by his fingers and the rubbing is enough to make it soft and bendable. So, if he simply asked someone to produce a few spoons made out of gallium for him, he could perform his trick without using any sleight of hand or other tricks.
In my opinion, the marketing by Uri Geller is way more impressive than the actual trick itself. He managed to become world-famous with only a few tricks!
Since you now learned how the trick is done, it might feel a little weird to watch him perform his tricks. But keep in mind that the job of a performer is to entertain his viewers, and he did it perfectly.
Uri Geller isn’t able to bend spoons with his mind, but he still made many people believe in mentalism, which is at least as impressive as real spoon bending.
How you can do the spoon bending trick youself
Uri Geller used special spoons made out of a special material, but don’t worry: There are other methods you can use for spoon bending.
They might now be as impressive as the technique used by famous magicians on stage, but you can still fool your audience if your performance is on point. Without any further ado, let’s get to the spoon-bending magic trick instructions.
Spoon bending magic trick explained: Step by Step Guide
This trick can be done with any spoon or cutlery without any preparation. The magician in the video uses a knife, but you can of course use a spoon, fork, or other cutlery.
You can watch the performance in this video:
The instructions are written from the point of view of a right-handed person and a knife is used as cutlery.
Step 1: Hold the knife correctly
Take the knife in your right hand with the tip down and clench it into a fist. The back end of the knife is in your fist, and you also cover it with your thumb.
Step 2: Use both hands
Put your left hand on your right fist to further cover the movements. You can explain to the spectators that you can use more force with two hands than with one.
Step 3: Bend the knife a little
Bend the edge of the knife a little on a table or other surface in front of you. This part is very important since the small bend in the knife makes the trick way more convincing!
Step 4: The technique
Hold the knife handle with only the pinky finger of your right hand at the very bottom. This will allow you to move both your hands downward, and the knife handle will be almost parallel to the table. From the view of the spectators, the handle of the knife must not be visible!
Step 5: The illusion
Move your hands down so far that the knife is almost completely on the table. From the front, it looks as if you have bent it by 90°. Then move your hands immediately back to the starting position and show the intact knife.
Of course, this effect is not as impressive as a spoon that is actually bent and can be examined afterward.
But it’s a nice effect that you can perform with just regular cutlery and doesn’t require any special tools. From the right angle and with a convincing show, this trick can come across very credibly to spectators.
Keep in mind though that you really have to practice this trick, and make sure that nobody is behind you when you perform it!
How to bend a spoon “with your mind” – another tutorial
This is another method that you can use to perform a spoon-bending illusion.
For this trick, you need a spoon that you can actually bend relatively easily. Unlike the other variant, the spoon is actually bent after the performance and can also be examined by the spectators.
You can watch the performance in this video:
The whole secret of the magic trick: you distract your audience at the right moment and bend the spoon in one hand with your thumb.
The only requirement for this trick is a spoon that you can bend relatively easily with just your thumbs. It’s not that easy to bend cutlery with your bare hands. So, you may have to search for a while before you find a suitable spoon.
How to perform this spoon bending trick
You don’t need more than an easily bendable spoon to perform this effect. You can give your audience the spoon to examine before the trick, so everyone can see that it’s not a special gimmick.
Then ask a volunteer to hold out a finger and hold his hand up in the air for everyone to see.
Keep in mind: The most important part in this trick is the right distraction.
You make this movement with your empty hand just before, on the other hand, is the spoon. Lower the hand with the spoon next to your body, clench it into a fist and bend the upper half of the spoon with your thumb.
How to bend the spoon secretly
To do this, hold the handle with your index-, middle-, and little finger, and place your thumb on the spoon. This way, you can push your thumb forward and bend the spoon forward by about 90°.
Then close your fist around the spoon so that only the head of the spoon is visible. It must not be visible from the outside that the spoon has already been bent!
Make it look like an actual impressive trick
Now, raise your hand with the spoon upwards and hold it in front of the spectator’s finger. You can now make any magic gesture (for example, rubbing the spoon on the spectator’s hand) and meanwhile place the head of the spoon on the volunteer’s finger.
If you now slowly open your fist, it will look like the spoon is bending over the spectator’s finger. In the video you can watch this once, then you’ll know immediately what I’m talking about!
The advantage of this variation: The audience can examine the spoon afterward because it was actually bent by you.
The last method: Using a special gimmick (a loose spoon handle)
I don’t really like this method because it requires a lot of practice and you have to use a special gimmick, but I decided to explain it anyway, in case you are interested in it.
With this method, your audience can see the spoon seemingly deforming before their eyes. The whole secret is an already bent spoon and a loose handle held in place.
The downside of this technique is the extra handle of the spoon, which must be hidden in your hand from the audience. Some spectators might become reveal the trick if your technique is not perfect.
However, it is a very nice visual effect, because the spoon deforms in your fingers and can even be shown afterward.
How to perform this spoon trick using a cut off handle
Take the curved spoon in your hand and hide the handle in your fist. Then hold the loose handle between your fingers so that it looks like you have a normal spoon in your hand.
Now, as you slowly decrease the pressure on the handle, it will slowly sink to the bottom. Once it is all the way down, take the loose handle in your fist and immediately pull the other, whole spoon out of your hand.
If these movements are fluid, it will appear as if you have actually just bent a spoon.
Just be sure to put the loose spoon handle down as quickly as possible so that no spectator can see it in your hand.
Please keep in mind that this version of the spoon bending trick is really hard and requires a lot of practice.
I wouldn’t recommend it for beginners, but I still included it since this method is used by a few performers.
You aren’t satisfied with these tutorials, but you want to perform a mental trick anyways?
The spoon bending magic trick – still a world-famous illusion
Although there are many, many magic tricks, the trick with the bent spoon is incredibly well-known (just like the one where a magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat), while other effects hardly get any attention.
The secret behind it is, as always, simply a trick, an illusion – but it has stunned millions of people. While the secrets behind it may be simple, I hope you can still enjoy this trick if you see it the next time.
In case you want to perform the spoon bending illusion in front of your friends:
Make sure to practice enough and watch yourself in the mirror or film your hands! This way, you will get a feel for the right movements and angles.
Image source (header image):
https://pixabay.com/photos/spoon-coffee-spoon-teaspoon-metal-2002388/
