How Does The Magic Trick With The Saw In Half Operate?

The Sawing in Half illusion is a classic magic trick that involves an assistant lying on a table and held in place with a wooden crate or shallow box. The assistant’s head and feet are seen moving while the magician divides them with a saw blade or in two pieces by inserting metal sheets or blades. There is debate about the origin of sawing illusions, with some sources suggesting a magician named Torrini may have performed the first version in front of Pope Pius VII in 1809. However, it is more likely that the trick originated in London in 1921.

One method of the trick involves the assistant laying down on what appears to be a regular table, which is actually two tables pushed together. The light under the table from the light under the table is visible. The basic idea of the trick is to create the illusion that a person (traditionally a woman) is being sawed in half, usually while inside a box, and then magically restored to one piece.

The trick requires a saw, a box, and two willing assistants. Once the falling buzz saw has cut Copperfield in half, two assistants pull the sections apart and wiggle his detached feet before magically turning back time and putting himself back together. The Sawing in Half illusion is often credited to Horace Goldin, but the first public presentation of this type of illusion was by British magician P.T. Selbit.

In London in 1921, a magician cut his assistant in half and then magically put her back together again. The trick has changed over a hundred times since its inception.