The Rat Balancer

[ursulav]

Evan came from a long line of angel balancers, but he only wanted to balance rats.

“I have no interest in balancing angels on pins,” he said, “nor cherubs on tuning forks, nor toasters on seraphim. I wish to balance rats on poniards-not the points, for that would be unkind, but on the pommels.”

His family disowned him, except for an elderly great-

Comments

[jayblanc]

The trick is developing callouses on your fingers.

[siliconshaman]

Oddly enough, no it's not. I knew a knife juggler [not entirely the same thing, but he could balance a knife by it's point, so close enough.] You need the skin to be flexible enough that the [dullish] knife point causes a dimple in the pad of your fingertip, and thus doesn't slip or fall as easily.

Apparently, soaking your hands in cold water a few minutes before performing also helps, makes your fingers go all soft and shrivelly you see.

[eve_prime]

It's fascinating that someone here could speak to this issue. This is why I love reading comments on ursulav's posts.

[siliconshaman]

Yup, educational and informative as well as amusing! Hang around the comments here and you're bound to learn a thing or two...[sometimes it's even useful and doesn't leave mental scars!]

[eve_prime]

Indeed! Knife balancing techniques... lawn crawdads... what else could one ask for in reading material?

[jayblanc]

I'm always happy to be wrong if it means learning something new.