This square knot gag is really just a silly gag, not so much a magic trick. I have seen some that get very involved and have the plastic pieces inside, like the stiff rope trick. You pretend to tie it and the plastic joints make the rope into a square. That seems way over-engineered for a gag.
I made this just using a rope, some wire, and glue. I have a piece of rope the same length, and pretend to try and tie a square knot. I simply set the rope on the table and pick up the square “knot”. It is not to fool anyone – just a gag. But it is a fun gag and I love doing it.
It is extremely easy to make and takes maybe 10 minutes, if you already have the items on hand.
Effect
The magician tries to tie a square knot and the rope turns into a rigid square.
Method
You use 2 ropes, one is a rigid square of rope with wire on the inside.
Materials Needed
- Two pieces of rope, about 24 inches each
- Wire, I used 2mm wire
- Scissors
- Glue (White glue and super glue)
Making the Square Knot
I have some 2mm wire that I used on earlier projects. I cut two pieces of rope about 24 inches. On one piece of rope push about 32 inches of wire through the rope. Be careful not to poke the wire out of the side of the rope. There should be about 3 or 4 inches of wire extending on both ends of the rope.
Inset the wire into the rope to make a circle. The red marks show about how far the wire goes into the rope. Trim the ends of the rope to remove the fray. Glue the rope ends together. I glue it with white glue, then later add a couple drops of super glue.
After the glue dries, bend the wire to make square. Be careful not to poke the wire ends out of the rope.
Optional – You could actually have a knot, where the ends meet, on the square, but I think that detracts from the gag. The square itself is the “square knot”. I have seen it done both ways. I prefer it without a knot on the square.
On the 2nd piece of rope glue the ends of the rope so they do not fray. The 2 pieces of rope do not have to be exactly the same size, but look better if they are pretty close in length.
To store the prop I simply tie the regular piece of rope onto the square with a hitch knot.
As I said, this is just a gag, but I enjoy it because it is goofy. It is fun to introduce a rope routine with this prop. Depending on the age of the audience you can do a simple Professor’s Nightmare, or go into a full 10 minute Daryl or Sanders rope routine. I vary the rope routine by audience age but will use this gag on all ages. The kids laugh, the adults groan… it is all good.
To see a video of the square knot gag and making of please see THIS video on YouTube.
