Thank you so much sir for the vote of confidence. I did just want to mention that this cue indeed has my latest low deflection taper...and ferrule. The ferrule is what I've named VXD for Varney Xtreme Duty. While in all honesty I can not say its 100% bulletproof... but it is very durable. If anyone has a cracking or other problem with this ferrule then I will stand behind it & will replace it no questions asked....for the life of the original owner. I did an extremely lengthy research into materials that were not common to the billiard industry...and chose this material. Its extremely light weight for low deflection, chalk resistant...it cleans off well with just your thumb, and has a superior hit. A crisp hit with a ton of action...I'm very pleased as well are those who tested the material. I put my heart into building cues that play exceptional and this cue features all the race tricks. If you are an A speed player...the performance of this cue will very quickly put a smile on your face. Nothing expensive or fancy...just a serious performance tool. Thank you for looking.:smile: