If you’ve got the fidgets, why not try learning the Knuckle Roll?
Ever watched a spy movie where the hero is playing poker and flips a poker chip around his hand like it’s nothing? Well, that’s actually a coin trick called the Knuckle Roll!
Also called a coin walk, coin roll, or a steeplechase flourish, it’s when someone moves a coin down their knuckles so smoothly that it looks like it’s rolling. In the movie Real Genius you can even see the character Chris Knight rolling coins up and down his knuckles on both hands at the same time!
Learning something like the knuckle roll is both easy and hard. The steps are simple but it takes time, patience, and practise to make it look smooth. Plus a soft surface for the coin to fall on so it doesn’t make lots of noise every time it drops. So the next time you’ve got a case of the fidgets, find a coin and take it for a walk!
Walking a Coin
- Pick a coin – make sure to choose the right size for you! Too big or too small is going to make this a lot harder to learn. Aim for the just right size, wider than your finger but not overly big.
- Keeping your hand flat, hold the bottom half of the coin between your thumb and the first and second knuckles of your index finger.
- With your thumb let it roll across the top of your index finger.
- Raise up your middle finger and catch the top edge of the coin between your index and middle finger.
- When you bring your middle finger back down, it’ll flip the coin on top of your middle finger and roll over so the bottom edge is between your middle and ring finger.
- Continue with this motion all the way across your fingers until the coin is between your pinky and ring finger. If you keep going after this, the coin will just drop to the floor!
- Let the coin drop through the gap between your ring and pinky finger and catch it with the side of your thumb. This is the part where you need to practise, practise, practise!
- Once you’ve got the coin on your thumb, bring it back to the starting point and you can walk the coin again! Try to keep the coin balanced on your thumb when you bring it underneath, instead of sliding it against your fingers.
This isn’t a complicated trick but it does need lots of practise, so it’s perfect for when you want something to do with your hands. All you need is a coin and time!
