I know it's a long shot but I had to give it a try. A couple years back I bought an old, factory, two piece Canadian dufferin cue. I didn't think much of it but it turned out to be my favorite hitting cue. It was soft and bouncy feeling, which I didn't know is how I like a cue to hit. The ferrule was loose, so I took it in and, not knowing any better I had them throw an ageis ferrule on it. The hit was now crisp and stiff, I never really cared for it after that. I'm trying to narrow down the possibilities of what ferrule material it could have been. I have 4 dufferin Canadian house cues, 2 of them have that ferrule. It's hits soft and absorbent but still had feel, unlike some ferrules. It is not resistant to dirt, chalk, or scratches (I can literally scratch it with my nail if I press hard enough), and it is not a super smooth/ slick surface. Like I said, it's soft, pliable, you can even see in one of the pictures that the ferrule is smushed on one side. And the reason I had to change it in the first place is because all of them seem to swell, and loosen over time. Any ideas boys?
