A Tale of Three Cups (Copper Cups)As you know, if you have read my other reviews, I am quite fond of Chop Cups. A while back I received the RNT2 SBL Strolling Heavy Copper Chop Cup and to this day it is my favorite Chop Cup… so shiny, heavy and right in so many ways. Having Cup fever as I do, I just had to acquire some more like it for my Cup collection, so I ordered from Jake and Epiphany (of RNT2) Cups that they had listed over at TMC. These are the Al Wheatley Copper Replica Chop Cup and the Ken Brooke Copper Highball Chop Cup (Photo 1- Al Wheatley Cup, SBL Cup, Ken Brooke Cup).
I felt that I needed them to kind of fulfill a historical homage to the Chop Cup. A little history lesson:Al Wheatley known as “Chop Chop” first developed a one Cup routine using a specially gaffed Cup some time around 1954. His first Cups were made out of bamboo and became known as Chop Chop Cups. These bamboo Cups were quite fragile so latter models were spun of aluminum known as Master Cups. Looking through old Tannen’s catalogs it seems that the name later morphed into Chop Cup sometime around 1980.
The Master Cup is quite tall compared to many Chop Cups seen today. As the story goes, Don Alan must have thought the same, for he took a hack saw to his Master Cup and sawed of about 1” of his Cup. It is said that Don did this to his Chop Cup so that it would fit better in his briefcase.
The Chop Chop Cup was known to magicians, but did not really become popular until Don Alan performed it on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” Needles to say after many saw it performed on TV, magicians everywhere ordered the Chop Chop Cup. Magic Dealers were happy for the sales but soon many disappointed magician complained wanting to return their Chop Chop Cups… they wanted the “professional model”… like Don used, the shorter Cup, thus the birth of the Master Cup Jr.
The Chop Cups-The Al Wheatley Replica and Ken Brooke Chop Cups are very close copies of the original Master and Jr. Chop Chop Cups. The original Ken Brooke Cups are copies of the Master Cup getting the Highball name because of the height of the Cup. The SBL Strolling Cup is its own animal; however you can see the influence on it by the other Cups.
When I purchased the Al Wheatley Cup from Jake, he told me that it was a one of a kind that he made for himself. He went on to say that the original Chop Chop Cups gimmick were a work of marvel. Jake had to have the original Cups x-rayed to get the full story of their workings. He would not share what he had seen with me.
The Chop Cups are all pretty similar in size; heights ranging from 3 1/2” to 4 1/2” tall, Wheatley, SBL and Highball (photos 2 thru 4). The mouths of the Cups are all about 3 1/4” wide (photos 5 thru 7).
Each Chop Cup can easily take a tennis ball for a final load; however the Highball Cup can take a small baseball (Photo 8 and 9).
The tops of the Chop Cups are each equine to themselves, with the SBL and Highball Chop Cups having pronounced indentations on their tops or the bottom (Photo 10).
Whatever the secret Jake discovered as to the workings of the original Chop Chop Cup’s gaff, it has been used on each of the Cups (Photos 11 thru 13). I have noticed that RNT2 uses a variant of this design in their full size and stubby Don Alan Chop Cups.
The Chop Cups in Use-The Chop Cups pretty much all behave the same, my favorite being the SBL Cup… I am sure that this is due to its weight.. I do notice though that the Al Wheatley Cup has a very elegant feel to it, I can only best describe it as its balance is just right. The Highball Cup is taking a little effort to get used to. Its height throws me off a little bit and loading a baseball seems strange due to its weight. I have had to struggle the same with the Traditional Cups due to how tall they are.
The balls that I have tried with them have been RNT2 balls. I think we all know about their workings. Once adjusted they pretty much worked the same for all the Cups.
End of the Story-All in all, I cannot think of anything more that I can say about these Chop Cups. Like all RNT2 Cups they are little works of art and a joy to use. I highly recommend each of them. I will write a follow up comparison once I receive the SBL Strolling Aluminum Chop Cup and the other Don Alan Chop Cups that I have on order. Just for kicks Photo 14 is the Highball Cup next to an early Tannen’s Chop Cup from the 70’s. They might look the same but the RNT2 Cups trumps it for performance.
Photo 1
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http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm227/BCSDenver/Cups/IMG_1275.jpgPhoto 13
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm227/BCSDenver/Cups/IMG_1276.jpgPhoto 14
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