I'm going to use Bruce's format for reviews because they seem to cover everything well.

RNTII Copper Little Don Chop Cup

The Back Story:

For all those who don't know me, my name is Uriel Nashofer and I live in NJ. As of now I am just an amateur cup junkie who loves cups and performing the cups and balls.

Until I got the Little Don, I have been using two cups which are part of combo sets (as seen in my avatar); Uday and Foxy II. They are not really meant to be used as chop cups alone, being that they lack the weight and shape of a chop cup. I decided that I needed an official chop cup, and what better place to get it than from RNTII? I wanted to take advantage of their sale and buy from them because I already have two sets made by RNTII and I love their products.

So with Hanukkah (yes I'm Jewish, for all those that weren't aware) a few days away (when I ordered it 12/16/08), I asked my parents to get me the Little Don as my present; they did. I knew I would have to wait a while, but RNTII products are worth waiting for. The cup came surprisingly early (in my mind at least) and I was ecstatic.

RNTII packed the cup very well. They put so much padding in, that the cup had no where to go:


Under all the packing, I found a little black bag. In the bag were two white balls and the cup wrapped up very nicely in tissue paper.


The Cup Review:

Size:
The actual cup is 2 1/4" tall and the mouth is 2" in diameter.



If you have a set of FoxyII's, the dimensions are the same. The only difference being, the Little Don is shaped as a chop cup.


It takes a golf ball as a final load with a little breathing space, but not much (which I like).


The balls provided are 1/2" balls which are kind of small. I was told the cup would come with 3/4" balls which would have been a better size. I have written RNTII about the mix up and am awaiting their response.


The Cup in Use:

When I first got the cup, the gaff was VERY weak which became a concern for me because I thought RNTII balls can only be made weaker not stronger; I was WRONG. With a little help from Cafe members, I had my ball adjusted in  
minutes to my preference.

The gaff is hidden pretty well. To a layman it will be invisible, but to a magician it will be pretty obvious. Their is a very pronounced line around the gaff which surprised me because the gaff on my FoxyII is hidden very well - practically invisible. There is also some white glue around the gaff which I am trying to figure out how to get off, but probably won't because I don't want to risk detaching the gaff (there isn't much).


The cup is very easy to load; balls and final loads alike. It fits very nicely in my hand and weighs a ton for such a small cup.

I performed with it on my parents, and they freaked at the golf ball. It performed very well, and was a pleasure to handle. I use Dan Tongs routine.

Summary:

The Little Don is a great cup for anyone. If you are a table hopper then you will really like a cup that fits right into your pocket, but can also take a golf ball load. If you are looking for a mini cup, this is a great one to get. But act fast because RNTII won't be around for much longer.

Please post any comments or questions.

Thanks for reading,
Uriel

Uriel,

Nice review, the cup looks excellent. I have a set of micro riser/loomis cups also excellent cups but they don't hold a golfball.

Nice work.

Etienne

Now I'm worried that the one I ordered will have glue exposed... If I see glue in my cup I'm NOT going to be happy. For the price of these cups, there should be some attention to detail and quality control.
The last set of cups I got from RNT2 had gobs of left over Flitz inside the cups in the bead lines, which is no big deal and cleaned up with copper cleaner and water. But glue??? Oh boy...
DD

It's really not that much glue, maybe 3/4" around the gaff. Not too bad.

Uriel,
Thanks for the review and all the pictures. Just think if everyone would add to the review section all the Cup info that would be available.

Happy Hanukah to you (I know that I am late)…. Thanks,
Bruce
 

Just an update:

I was able to get all the gluey stuff off by using a whetted toothpick and whetted Q-tip. I worked around the edge of the gaff (VERY CAREFULLY!!) with the pick, and got the rest off with the Q-tip. I seemed to also have fixed my sound problem; the gaff wasn't fully secured for some reason and was moving around a bit, but now it is fully in place and doesn't make the "hollow" sound anymore.

Uriel,
That is good news that you fixed your Cup to your satisfaction. Maybe in RNT2s rush to get the Cup out they forgot a step in it’s making.

Take care,
Bruce

Wow Uri, that's good work.
You were able to get the glue off without any chemicals or anything? Just picking at it? AND you reseated the gaff...
I tell ya, the craft of magic is a labor of love.

Yeah, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I was just freaked out the entire time that I was going to detach the gimmick, when in the end I did the opposite and strengthened it!

Uriel,
Now that you have the Chop Cup are you torn between which routine to work on…. Cups, Combo or Chop?

I have said it before and I will say it again, I love the look of your PF Cups, the Squattys I have seem like they will take for ever to get to your Cups state.

Take care,
Bruce

Good question Bruce!

I currently use Dan Tongs chop cup routine which I really like. It uses no wand, no vanishes, no false transfers, nothing that seems unnatural and it hits really hard. The actual routine is not too long and very easy and fun to perform/practice. So I won't be working too hard on the chop cup (although I love playing with my new toy  ).

The combo routine I use is the Vernon/Mendoza routine which is another pretty easy routine to practice/perform because the gaff cuts out a lot of difficult slight of hand. So I don't practice it too often (maybe once every 3 days).

Now, you are probably thinking - if both the chop cup and combo routines don't have to be practiced too often, then I must be working very diligently on my 3 cup routine. Right? Wrong. Although I should be working hardest on my ungaffed 3 cup routine the most, I'm just not. Why? Because I don't find them nearly as FUN as my Foxys/chop cup. I really like performing with my Foxy's the most, they just FEEL right. The loads don't take up much pocket space, and neither do the cups. So as of now I am putting my PF's to a rest. That doesn't mean I never use them, but I am constantly trying to find a routine that fits me and I enjoy performing. Because if I don't enjoy performing it, then I know the feeling will spread to my audience and they won't enjoy watching it.

Uriel Nashofer

I have been playing a lot with my Little Don Chop Cup since it has arrived; it is starting to turn nicely over the past 2 months. What a great Cup… the lines of its design, size and working. If you don’t have one, I strongly would consider getting one, you won’t be sorry.

Thanks,
Bruce

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm227/BCSDenver/Cups/Patina006.jpg

Ya, mine has turned nicely as well. I used madkiki's method of holding it for a while until the oils from your hand get all over it.