Cucumbers

[MisterM]

Hello my streety friends,

I have seen a number of performers with a gimmicked cucumber to demonstrate that a knife/sword etc. is sharp. Can anyone PM with the work, or if this is published somewhere, direct me to the source?

Thank you very much... If any of you come by SoCal, stop by and say boo anytime.

Morbidly Yours,

Mister M

[ElectricBlue]

????
I'm not sure if you are being serious or not but, Surely most juggling knives and that sort of thing would be able to cut an ungaffed cucumber with out being deadly sharp.

To me a gimmicked cucumber sounds crazy.

Blue

[MisterM]

Well I'm sure it has something to do with precutting the slices 3/4 of the way or something like that. I am certain it is not unprepared as this is used to demonstrate the razor sharp quality of the item. It has been done with swords for sword swallowing and these have to be dull dull dull.

[Lee Nelson]

have you actually attempted to slice a cucumber with a juggling knife of sword swallowing sword? You might be surprised.

[MisterM]

Hmm... Time for a trip to the super market.

Ah nevermind, got the answer. Thanks to Mr Nelson, you learn something new everyday.

[Jim]

This is one of the greatest performers.net threads, ever.

[gav]

Yeah, now I want to know if people rig cucumbers or not, and if so, how?
I know there is a way to rig a banana so when you peel it, it already has slices.
Maybe it's the same concept.

[Isabella]

The banana gaff involves sewing thread through the banana in a pattern that lets you pull the thread through the banana and out a tiny hole in the peel. I think it theoretically would work for a cucumber, but because the cucumber's flesh adheres directly to the skin, whereas a banana doesn't, it would be a lot trickier. Like, you would end up with a fairly thick cucumber peel and not the thin skin we associate with peeling a cucumber.

All this talk of produce...I may have to go lie down and rig my cucumber for awhile...

[Rachel Peters]

Is there a diagram somewhere of the banana sewing pattern??
I'm just very curious now.
Either someone explains it or I go out and waste a LOT of bananas.

[Stephon]

Here's the thread method:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4487339_perform-banana-peeling-trick.html

And a no-thread method:

http://www.ehow.com/video_4971801_slice-unpeeled-banana.html

Start at the :52 mark to lessen exposer to cheesy magic.

[Rachel Peters]

http://borro.ws/bananas/banana-how-to.html

and a visual, with thread.

[Stephon]

Seems like the needle only method would work just as well, and be a lot easier.

[Rachel Peters]

I think it's a matter of more puncture marks vrs. more potential bruise/internal scratch marks.
...But not like it's terribly important.

I like the adventure of the string method.

[Doctor Eric]

The cucumber gaff is actually a very closely held trade secret, MisterM. I do, however, teach a workshop on produce rigging, for a small fee as well as airfare and accomodation. PM me.

[Rachel Peters]

Don't fall for it!!
You'll fly him out, put him up in a hotel, then he'll come by your apartment, throw a rotten cucumber at you, shove a baked potato down his pants, call that the workshop, and then ask you where the closest bar is!
I've seen it all too many times!