Bent on Strange
The Ultimate Key Bending Routine
by Bob Cassidy
All contents copyright © 2002 by Robert E Cassidy
In the early 1970's, at the "dawning of the Age of Aquarius," a young
Israeli named Uri Geller attracted worldwide attention with his "psychic" abilities.
While he demonstrated several paranormal skills, it was his "psychokinetic"
ability to bend silverware, borrowed keys, and nails that set him apart from other
"New Age" psychics. In the years that followed many mentalists and magicians
added "metal bending" routines to their repertoires, and many sleights and
gimmicks have been devised to facilitate the effect.
You may have noticed that most of the modern material on the subject
deals with silverware and coins. Key bending seems to have fallen by the
wayside. This is unfortunate, for the "psychic bending" of a borrowed key is, in
my opinion, the strongest effect of the genre. It also makes a performer's
subsequent coin, nail, or silverware bending far more effective. The following
comparison illustrates my reasoning:
Silverware -
Anyone who has ever tried using a cheap spoon to scoop frozen ice
cream is familiar with the malleability of inexpensive silverware. Thus, it is not
unusual for many spectators to assume that "spoon bending" is a type of magic
trick. Without a very direct and convincing presentation, many spectators will
privately conclude, "He must have bent it when I wasn't looking." (Which is, of
course, exactly what he did!)
Silverware was the object of choice at the "Metal Bending Parties" that
were popular in the late nineteen-seventies. At these rather strange affairs, the
guests would stroke spoons or forks and "will" them to bend. Many of them
succeeded, thus "proving" that psychokinesis is not only real, but is a latent
ability in most people, not just "super psychics." Often, these parties were given
in order to sign people up for "psychic development classes."
There were cynics, of course, who suggested that some participants,
either consciously or unconsciously, bent their spoons by hand, thus "inspiring"
many others to do the same in order to share the limelight. It was suggested
that the success rate would diminish considerably if the participants were given
heavy nails, or spikes, upon which to focus their "psychic energies."
That is the first weak point about silverware bending - it's easy enough to
do it without special powers. The second weakness is that it is often not
possible to borrow forks or spoons, and the performer must provide his own.
Psychokinetic effects of this nature lose much of their impact and mystery when
they are not performed with borrowed objects.
Nails and coins -
Just as everyone knows that silverware can be easily bent by hand, it is
equally apparent that large nails and coins, absent superhuman strength or
special tools, cannot be. Since nails are not easily borrowed, that would seem to
suggest that coins are the ideal objects to use in this type of demonstration.
Unfortunately, this is not the case.
The weakness in coin bending is that it has no "logical disconnect." A
spectator, who appreciates that a coin cannot be bent with the bare hands, is left
with only one non-paranormal explanation - the coin must be switched for a bent
one. The impact of any coin bending routine relies on the use of a borrowed coin
and "proof" that the coin is not switched for one that has previously been bent.
(And a switch is the method used in virtually every practical coin bending
routine.) Several routines successfully accomplish this end. None of them,
however, can match the personal and psychological impact obtained by bending
a borrowed key.
Keys are the Key to Effective Metal Bending
It should be remembered that Geller gave the impression that he could
bend virtually any type of metal object with the power of his mind. That is not the
impression given by mentalists who confine their bending routines to silverware
only. I have often heard Geller's spoon bending criticized as being "primitive"
when compared to the silverware bending of many modern performers. This is
the result of thinking like a mentalist, or a magician, rather than as a layperson.
Geller did not have to worry about people realizing that spoons could easily be
bent by hand, for he had convincingly ruled out manual bending (and also made
it much easier to get away with) by also bending nails and other objects that
could not possibly be bent by purely manual means. He didn't have to worry
about not being able to borrow silverware or nails; because he borrowed keys
and bent them as well, he gave the impression that the spoons and nails could
just as easily have been borrowed.
The spoons simply seemed to be an effective way of letting the folks in
the back of the room get a better view of the psychokinetic action. (The only
advantage that spoon bending has over key-bending is that it is more visible to a
large audience.)
Thus, key bending is a powerful prelude to a silverware bending routine. It
makes the spoon bending seem much more impossible than it would otherwise
appear to be.
But there is one other major advantage to using borrowed keys. I ve had
people come up to me ten years after a performance and show me a bent key.
 Do you remember the night you did that?" they often ask. Now, I have never
heard of anyone carrying around a bent spoon, coin, or nail as a souvenir of a
performance. But people always have their key rings with them when they leave
home. And that is where they always put the bent key when you return it to them;
there to remain as a souvenir, a conversation piece, and constant  proof of a
strange experience.
Despite the fact that key bending is such a powerful and amazing
demonstration, it is not often performed by modern mentalists. There are, I think,
three reasons for this:
1) Key bending is often perceived to be more difficult that spoon bending
(or coin switching).
2) It requires special gimmicks or unusual manual strength.
3) It is too difficult to hide the bending maneuver, or to perform it
effortlessly and undetectably.
None of the above is true.
 Key bending is actually  easier than silverware bending. No gimmicks or
unusual strength is required, and, as I will demonstrate, the necessary
maneuvers can be performed  right under their noses in a completely
undetectable manner.
[Lest I be misunderstood, I want to make it perfectly clear that present day
metal benders such as Banachek, Guy Bavli, and Alain Nu, have devised
brilliant approaches to silverware bending and their works are highly
recommended. They have also devised various approaches to anticipate and
handle the objections I have raised. My point is simply this: Most laymen realize
that silverware is easily bent by hand, and an effective spoon bending routine
must negate that possibility. Most house keys and car keys are extremely
difficult, if not impossible, to bend, a fact that is immediately apparent to any
layman who decides to give it a try. This is why key bending is actually  easier
to perform effectively. It is  obvious to laypeople that the result cannot be
obtained by purely physical means.]
Shortly after Uri Geller s early appearances on American television,  The
Amazing Randi, a skeptical magician and spokesperson for the  Committee for
the Scientific Investigation of the Paranormal, publicly demonstrated what he
alleged to be Geller s key bending secret. Basically, his method was this: He
used two keys. The tip of one key was inserted into the slot of the other, which
acted as a leverage point. The first key was pushed forward with the thumb,
thus creating the bend. The following photograph illustrates Randi s  move :
 The key that rests across my middle and ring fingers is the popular
 KwikSet brand key that has a rather large slot. The problem with this method is
that it is difficult to do undetectably. The action of pushing forward with the
thumb to produce the bend also forces the tip of lower key to press
uncomfortably, and sometimes painfully, into the palm. Furthermore, the action
of the thumb pressing forward on the head of the uppermost key is quite visible
and must be covered by strong misdirection.
The idea did, however, provide the foundation for my method and
handling, which I first described about twenty years ago. Unfortunately, my
description was somewhat less than clear. (I think the only people who
understood what I was talking about were the mentalists and magicians who
actually saw me demonstrate the handling in one of my lectures.)
Here is how I originally described my handling of the  move :
"...The main thing is to find a key with a large slot in it, like a KwikSet. Don't use a car
key; it is very likely to break, which will not go over too well with the owner. Remember,
this is not the key you are going to bend; it is the one that will act as a bender. If
possible, all of the keys used should be borrowed. By borrowing several, you will almost
always find a suitable "bender." As a precaution, though, I always carry a KwikSet key in
my pocket, which is easily added to the borrowed keys if necessary.
"In previous descriptions of the method, notably Randi's, the slot end of the "bender"
projects from the performer's hand. The tip of the key to be bent is casually inserted into
the slot and then is pushed forward with the thumb to create the bend. This should be
done during the collection process, long before the spectators believe that anything has
happened. This is because the hand position makes the bending obvious to anyone who
may be watching you closely.
 Instead, it is far better to hold the bender with the slot on the second joint of the first
finger and the shaft laying across the middle and ring fingers. This way you can insert the
other key into the slot and apparently only be holding it between the forefinger and
thumb. While you are moving around you only need to close your hand into a fist in order
to bend the key in a completely imperceptible manner."
If you understand what I was trying to say in that last paragraph, you are
a real mind reader and shouldn t be wasting your time with the mere trickery of
mentalism. Those who follow those directions literally will find that merely closing
the hand into a fist accomplishes nothing. That is because I omitted a very
important detail  there is a third key in play.
At the time of the bend, the uppermost key is not held between the thumb
and forefinger. It is the third key that occupies that position. The next series
of photographs illustrates exactly what I found so hard to describe with words
alone. Once you have this series of moves down pat, it will be easy for you to
understand the misdirection used in the finished routine.
Stage 1. My right hand holds the key that will act as the  bender. In my
left hand is the key which will be bent. Usually, as I wrote originally, you will find
a suitable  bender among the several keys you borrow at the beginning of the
routine. (The  gathering of the keys is described in the complete routine, which
follows this detailed explanation of the critical move.) I no longer, however, keep
a KwikSet key in reserve for use when a good bender cannot be found. Instead I
always have my  mother of all benders standing by.
My  Mother of All Benders is the
bottom key in the photo to the left.
It is about two inches long. Above it
is a standard, average size,
KwikSet key. While the KwikSet
has a hole at the top that is large
enough to receive the shanks of
most keys, some keys are so wide
that only the  Mother can handle
them. Very often, you will be able
to find a  Mother among your
borrowed keys. It is a truck key, but
it is much thicker and stronger than
typical car keys, which are apt to break if you use them as benders.
(Because of the fact that most car keys are rather brittle, it is best to avoid them
if at all possible. They will sometimes break in half when you try to bend them.
When you read the performance notes, you will see how I go about asking for
 useable keys.)
Stage 2.
The shank
of the key
to be bent
is placed
into the slot
in the
 bender. It
should be
pushed
almost half
way
through or you will only be able to obtain a very small bend at the tip of the key.
Proper placement
of the borrowed
key into the slot
in the bender
(You may have
noticed that the
 bender in this
photograph is a
KwikSet key and
not the  Mother.
This is because
the slot in the
mother is so big
that you can t
balance the keys
on the table the
way I wanted to for this picture!) This picture shows the details of key placement
that are hard to see in the  in the hands photo above.
Stage 3. I have
just removed my
left hand. This
is an exposed
view of the
resulting
situation. In
performance,
my hand is
almost
completely closed, thus concealing both keys.
My left hand is now picking up a third key, which it will place between the
thumb and forefinger of the right hand.
Stage 4. The third key is placed into
the right hand and held between the
forefinger and thumb. This key remains
in plain view.
This partially exposed view still shows
the two keys hidden within the hand.
The third key is not inserted into the
bender. It functions merely as  cover .
This is the factor, which, I believe,
makes this the most deceptive of all
key-bending methods.
In practice, it looks like you are just collecting keys and placing them into your
right hand. The next photo shows what the right hand looks like from the
audience s view.
What the audience sees. At this point, all I
have to do is squeeze with my middle and ring
fingers to secretly bend the key that was
inserted into the slot. The bend is remarkably
easy and takes far less force than you might
imagine. One try will show you just how effortless the move actually is.
The key protruding from the top of the hand remains in that position
throughout the bend. The left hand, in the meantime, is collecting yet another
key from the audience. The keys in the right hand are then  dumped into the left
hand to join the fourth key that was just collected.
I now look at the keys in my left hand and select two of them that  look
like they are pretty strong. Actually, I select the bent key and any one of the
other ones. I toss the remaining keys onto a table or hand them to someone to
hold.
I now show both remaining keys to the audience as in the next two
photographs.
Stage 5. I am showing the two keys to the audience and sliding them back and
forth on each other as illustrated in this and the next photograph. The top key
already has a bend in it, which is completely concealed by the right forefinger.
Stage 5 (part 2) The top key (bent) is shown at the conclusion of its slide to the
left. The bend is still concealed by the forefinger.
The illusion being created is that the keys are being rubbed together to show
they are both  perfectly straight.
The keys are now separated and held one in each hand - almost exactly as the
two keys were shown to the audience at the beginning of the sequence. (See the
photo for  Stage 1 . The only difference is that the center of the left hand key -
now bent - is concealed by the fingers.) Since the keys are held facing the
audience, the bend cannot be seen. It is the sliding move and the seeming
reversion to the original position, which  proves both keys are straight, even
after one has already been bent. This is, of course, the essence of effective and
undetectable metal bending  the dirty work is completed before the
audience thinks you have started the actual demonstration. The bend is
virtually invisible when the key is held face-on toward the audience. If it is turned
edgewise, the bend will become apparent. You will see how I handle the
revelation in the following performance notes.
Presentational Notes
There is one basic presentational difference between realistic  psychic
key bending and the  magical style of bending that has become all too
commonplace today. Most modern presentations of metal bending are far too
 slick to obtain their maximum effect. The most believable result is obtained
when the performer seems to be uncertain of success, even telling his audience
that  this might not work. I can t always make it happen.
 This was Uri Geller s greatest presentational strength. His uncertainty and
excitement over what he was trying to accomplish gave the proceedings an aura
of authenticity. This powerful and  realistic style goes something like this:
 Everyone knows that psychic powers don t work all of the time.
This is not like a magician s trick or anything like that. You must help me
make it happen. You must want it to happen as much as I do. You must
concentrate with me; I need your cooperation, your positive vibrations, if
this is to have any chance of working at all. Even then I can t be sure.
If the presentation looks rehearsed, or obviously well routined, the effect
is weakened considerably. It must look almost as if you are making things up as
you go along. Of course, you are really doing no such thing, and you would be
crazy if you were. But to be truly believable,  psychic effects must be made to
look that way. If you appear to be one hundred percent sure of what you are
doing and rarely, if ever, fail, your audience might well ask why you are wasting
your time working as an entertainer. They are likely, therefore, to conclude that
you are simply performing  magic tricks.
If the audience is led to believe that what they are witnessing is a genuine
experiment in psychokinesis, for example, some of the standard rules of magical
presentation no longer apply. It is almost a truism, for example, that a magician
should not tell an audience in advance what he is about to do. Not only does that
take the surprise out of a magic trick, but it also gives the audience a better
chance of detecting the magician s methods.
In a  psychic presentation, however, the impact and effect are not
dependent on the element of surprise. The audience already knows what the
psychic is trying to do. The dramatic tension is created by their uncertainty over
whether or not he will be successful. It is impossible to create such tension with
an apparently well- rehearsed routine. [And that, in a nutshell, is the reason why
many mentalists will never be mistaken for the  real thing. ]
Performance Details
My approach to the effect is described above. Here is the actual
sequence of the routine:
Begin by telling the audience that you are going to attempt the
psychokinetic feat of metal bending. Point out that this is simply an experiment
and that you are not at all certain if it is going to work. Explain that you will need
to borrow  several keys from the audience. I open the routine as follows:
  Most people are afraid to lend me their keys because they think I will
damage them or bend them so that they can no longer be used. And they are
right, that is exactly what I will attempt to do. With just the powers of your minds
and mine, I will attempt to bend heavy metal keys.
 If you will all look at your keys for just a moment, though, many of you will
notice that you have one or more keys that you no longer have any use for. In
fact, I am sure that many of you have at least one key that you don t even
remember what it was for in the first place! Perhaps it is an old house key or
office key. I get the impression that there is one gentleman here this evening
who has in his possession a key he once obtained in Nevada  yes, a crib key
from the old Mustang Ranch. I hope your wife does not know about that!
 But I want all of you to just try to bend an old house, apartment, or office
key with your hands. You will find that it is almost impossible to do so. If you
have an extra key that you no longer have any use for, or perhaps a duplicate
key of some kind, please hold it up so that I can select the strongest available
keys for this experiment. Do not, and I repeat, do not, hold up your car keys or
any other keys that you cannot afford to lose.
While I am often successful at bending metal objects, it is very difficult for me to
return them to their original states.
In any moderate size to large audience, several people will have keys that
they no longer have any use for. Occasionally, they will have a rather large key
that they think will prove to be an especially difficult challenge. (Not to worry- if
the shank of a key fits into the slot in your bender, you can easily bend the key.)
When I am working for a small audience I bring out my own key ring while I am
explaining that most people have keys they no longer need. I remove my bender
and another key from the ring as I say,  For example, here are two keys that I
haven t used in years. Take them sir. Try to bend them with your hands. Can you
do it? No? Who else has keys they no longer need?
At this point, I take back my two keys and hold them as shown in Stage 1
above. I then walk into the audience asking to have a look at their keys. In the
rare event that no one has a key they don t need, I ask to borrow one or two for
 comparison purposes only.  I promise not to bend them. I put the two keys I am
holding into the position shown in Stages 2 and 3, and collect a key from the
audience with my left hand. I put that key into the position shown in Stage 4,
between the thumb and forefinger of my right hand. As I walk to another part of
the room, with my left hand extended for another key, I squeeze my right middle
and ring fingers into my palm, putting a good bend into the hidden key. I then
 dump the three keys in my right hand into the left to join the key I just collected.
The act of transferring them from the right hand to the left allows the bent key to
fall free from the  bender. I then proceed as explained in the photo sequence
above.
 Of course, if many people are holding up keys, I don t bother using my
own. I just take a little more time to make sure that the first key I borrow is a
suitable bender. If I can t find one, I just remove my own key ring and remove the
bender as I say,  I need heavy keys. Keys that you don t need. Keys that are
thick, like this one. Here, sir, try to bend it&  Etc. etc. I take my  bender back
and collect the rest of the keys from the audience as described.
At the end of this sequence I am standing in front of the audience holding
only two keys, performing the sliding motion and ending up displaying them as in
Stage 1. (I tossed the other keys onto a table or gave them to someone to hold,
remember?) Both keys are thus convincingly shown to be perfectly straight. (?)
I now approach a woman seated near the front and ask to stand. We face
each other so that the audience sees us in profile. I extend the keys to her and
ask that she lightly grasp the ends of the keys between the fingers of each hand.
(She holds the end of the key in my left hand between the fingers of her right,
and the end of the key in my right hand between the fingers of her left.) I
emphasize that she is to hold the keys very lightly and I have her verify that I,
too, am holding them very lightly, that I am putting absolutely no pressure on the
keys.
I pull the keys away from her and put them into the  sliding position,
directly in front of her eyes as I say,  I want you to verify that these two keys are
perfectly straight. Without bothering to wait for a reply, I ask her to grasp the
ends once more. Again, I emphasize that we are both to hold them very lightly.
This last sequence is very important. Done as described, the whole
audience will be convinced that the keys are perfectly straight and that neither of
us is putting any pressure on them. (The bend, of course, remains concealed by
my left thumb, as my hands are now in palm up position)
I start to rub the keys gently between my thumbs and fingers and explain
to the participant that she may begin to feel one of the keys start to get warmer.
As I say this, I raise the key in my right hand  the bent one  very slightly and,
at the same time, glance briefly toward the right. Again, without waiting for a
reply, I raise my right hand and say,  Yes, this one. It seems to be a little
warmer, doesn t it?
[Please note: Even though I don t wait for the volunteer to affirm my
statements, most often she is nodding enthusiastically or saying things like,
 Yes, they re straight, or  Yes, I feel it getting warmer. ]
 I toss away the key in my left hand  preferably onto a table, to be sure it
doesn t get lost. All attention is now focused on the remaining key. As I gently
move the key up and down, while its end is still held by the volunteer, who I once
again ask to affirm that we are putting barely any pressure at all onto the key.
Then I say,
 Look! I think it is starting to bend! Can you see it?" I begin to increase
the movement of the key and at the same time slowly begin to draw back by
thumb, thus slowly revealing the bend. As soon as the participant says that she
can see the bend, I pull the key from her hand and place it on the back of my left
hand, which is now held extended from my body, the palm facing the floor. With
my right fingers, I begin to rock the key back and forth while telling the entire
audience,  Look, it s still bending, even more now.
At this point, the bend is visible to all. I walk around the audience, still
rocking the key on the back of my outstretched left hand.
The audience reaction is always one of utter astonishment. Many are
convinced that they actually  saw the key bend right before their eyes. I return
the keys to their owners, thanking them and the on-stage participant.
FINAL NOTES
After you get used to the basic handling, you will find that it is rather easy,
if many keys are offered, to put the bend into two of them and to discard the
 bender along with the unused keys. You can still use the sliding move and the
face-front  Stage 1 position to show that the keys are  straight. Instead of
tossing the left hand key aside when you say the right hand key is getting
warmer, just hold onto it for a moment. Then say,  Wait a minute, this one is
starting to go too! Put both of them onto the back of your left hand and use the
rocking move to reveal that both of them are indeed  bending.
Even if you are still enamored by many of the clever and subtle silverware
bending routines now available, I think you will find that by performing the key
bending routine first, you will greatly increase the impact and believability of any
subsequent metal bending effects you choose to perform.
And don t be surprised if, ten years from now, someone comes up to you
and says,  Remember when you bent this? (Rest assured that he will be
showing you his key, not a bent spoon or coin.)