Peter Warlock Glass Penetration Trick Revealed By Info Ruckus

Do you want to know the secret working of Peter Warlock Glass Penetration trick?

How the rod could apparently go through the solid glass, without breaking the latter.

From the demo videos, it seems mysteriously impossible to poke through right in the middle of the glass.

This so-called the impossible glass penetration trick is the brilliant idea of British semi-professional magician Peter Warlock back in the Thirties.

Peter Warlock is gifted and prolific magic trick designer.

Besides, this amazing glass penetration trick, he also invented the Ring and Rope Release (in Tarbell Course in Magic, Volume 6), The Schoolbag (in Practical Mental Effects), and The Cardboard Prisoner (in Unconventional Magic).

This is another article from the Info Ruckus Magic Trick Secrets Revealed series.

I have revised and republish this article, and moved the Magic Wagon Atomic Glass Penetration trick to another separate post.

This original post was published back in January 2021.

Now I have included more relevant video clips and rewrote the trick exposure and explanations.

This penetration trick is manufactured by various companies, so it comes with various names, which include: “P. W. Glass Penetration Mystery“, “Ribbon Thru Glass” by Dynamite Magic Shop, and “Soft Glass” by Abbott’s Magic Company.

Magic Wagon also came out with its smaller design in 2020, called the “Atomic Glass Penetration”.

Then there is a bigger stage version called “Liquid Glass“.

All in all, all these different models of Peter Warlock Glass Penetration have the same magic effect and used the same trick secret.

The effect is penetration, and the secret is by shifting the glass sheet within the frame.

For the “Liquid Glass”, the glass is shifted all the way to the uprights (legs or stands) of the prop.

Now, let’s get into the trick secret and the prop design.

Effect:

A square wooden frame has four quadrants window that sits on a platform holder.

There is a piece of glass slotted within the wooden frame.

Two wooden panels with holes are placed over on the left side of frame.

The thin metal rod with a length of ribbon attached is then pushed through the holes, apparently penetrating the glass.

Next, the panels are removed and do the same routine over the right side of the frame.

The rod manages to go through the solid glass again.

Now all the four glass panes are covered with the panels and the metal rod is then continuously pushed through each one.

In other words, now all the four holes are inserted with the ribbon at the same time.

This is to prove the metal rod could pierce through the whole glass piece.

Without removing the ribbons from the four holes, the performer pulls the glass out from the frame.

Watch the performance by Peter Warlock demonstrating his own P. W. Glass Penetration Mystery trick:

Here are four video clips using the Soft Glass by Abbot’s Magic Company.

Peter Warlock Glass Penetration Trick Revealed

I have mentioned above the trick is by secretly shifting or moving the glass sheet within the wooden frame.

There is a hidden glass sliding device underneath the frame where the glass slotted in.

It is controlled by a small lever which is set below the glass, and most of the time, it is facing the magician during the act.

Secret Glass Slider Lever

The magician has to keep this lever away from the audience sight, as he has to discreetly manned it to slide the glass.

All the four Soft Glass trick demo videos, none of them turn the prop around to show to the viewers.

You cannot even take a peek at the hidden lever.

Except for the late Peter Warlock who lifts up the whole prop and turns it sideway at 0:55.

But he has to use his right thumb to conceal the secret lever, as see below.

So is this Ribbon Thru Glass by Dynamite Magic, he uses his fingers to hide the glass slider lever at 2:01.

It is similar to the lever of the Atomic Glass Penetration, as you can see the lever from Simon Corneille’s video at 0:31 when he spins the prop around.

Again, you can also see this glass slider lever (visual below) from the demo video by Brother Bor at 3:08.

Below is an image captured from the 2023 Arabic DIY woodworking video clip from YouTube.

Below is an image captured from Andy Martin’s thumb getting ready to slide the device to move the glass sheet at 1:08.

The other video clips you can clearly see them fiddle the lever, but you would notice their hand movements even though they are blocked by the panels.

For instance, in this video, he uses the two front panels to block the glass sheet and his hand movement.

At 0:12 under the pretext of telling you about the holes, his right hand secretly sliding the lever, moving the glass to his right side.

Then at 0:59, just after placing the front panel blocking the glass, his right hand again fiddles the lever to move the glass to his left side.

In this video, at 0:49, magician David Ginn uses the panel to momentarily shield the glass from seeing its movement, while his left hand slide the lever, to move it to his right side.

Then at 1:29, he uses his right palm briefly covers the glass, while his left hand quickly slides it to his right side.

From this video clip, at 0:25, you can see the glass moving towards the left, from the light reflection on the glass sheet.

This Ribbon Thru Glass video, at 0:23, you can see the performer using his right thumb sliding the lever to push the glass sheet to his left. In fact, you can see the glass moving towards the left frame.

Then 0:39, again he uses his right thumb to slide the glass back in its original position.

After placing the panels, at 0:57 his right thumb pulls the lever to slide the glass to his right.

Peter Warlock Penetration Prop Design

Now let’s scrutinize the prop design that makes the penetration effect possible.

Glass Sheet width

Observe carefully, you would notice the width of the glass sheet is just slightly wider that the window of the wooden frame of the Soft Glass.

It is because there is limited space to accommodate it, when it is slide to each side of the frame.

SIMILAR MAGIC TRICKS:

Glass Penetration By Sir Felix Korim

There is a similar glass penetration stage illusion idea by Sir Felix Korim, called the “4th Dimensional Glass”.

A sheet of clear glass is pierced with a steel needle threaded with a ribbon.

Again, the secret is by shifting the glass sheet which has a hole hidden behind the metal clip.

You can find out more about Sir Felix Korim’s glass penetration stage illusion in the book (page 86) below:

The Conjurers Book Of Stage Illusions
To get this book free online, type: The Conjurers Book Of Stage Illusions pdf or The Conjurers Book Of Stage Illusions kupdf in Google search.

DISCLAIMER: This post is only for informational purposes. The book is are copyrighted to their respective owners. All content cited is derived from their respective sources.