Skip at Tweeten says Le Pro are water buffalo. He did not comment on Elk Master, etc. Maybe the chrome tanned types are cow. Old French tip boxes hint at tips made of leather from the head of calves, and they have graphics with cow head images. "Tete de veau."Those being made on the other side of the oceans maybe. But not the USA made single layered tips. They are cow hide.
Thank you, those blue grey colored veneers are stunning.Nice and beautiful cue.
Mike Betts, from Tulsa, looked for "new old stock" Le Pro tips to put on - and these extra-thick Le Pro tips hit like a dream. Skip, who owns Tweeten and makes the Le Pro says that water buffalo get skinned for fried snacks before they get old enough to have thick leather as in the past. Think pork rinds but in Nepal. My Nepali pool player buddy says water buffalo is a common meat used in "momo," and if you have ever eaten momo dumplings you would understand why water buffalo no longer grow old.That's weird. just kidding
You are a trusted source, but I hope you can remember the source regarding players spinning the ball before Mingaud. Maybe it was in the Thurston's translation, I bought a reprint recently so this will give me a reason to read it.I've seen reports of players getting a limited amount of spin with no tips prior to Mingaud, and I've done that myself in a rec room where there were no tips on the cues. It seems reasonable that Mingaud figured out how to press or treat the leather so it could last. Tip leather seems a lot harder than most of the other leather I've seen. I don't know of any contemporary sources that discuss tip evolution around 1800.
I ilked Le Pros and preferred them at full height.I always liked Le Pros shaved down to about 40% thickness. They got hard pretty quick.
Nice to see you again my friend. If I remember correctly, one of your cues might have been a Lee Peppers.Hi folks, I haven't been around for quite a few Moons now. Too long. Last couple of days, I have been doing an inventory on my small collection.
At 68, thinking about Thinning the Herd a bit. I have a couple of custom Sneaky Petes. One is an ordinary Pete, the other is what you might call,
"A not so Sneaky, Sneaky Pete". All fancied up and such. I can't remember the makers name now. We used to chat frequently. I know there is more than one
cue maker that makes Petes. But, if members would toss a few names at me, I know that I would know it as soon as I saw it. I did a few different AZ Search queries which all came up blank, I even tried Face Book. He may or may not still be around. I'd appreciate any help with this. All My Best. Terry.