John Davis Blanks are in!

[Cue Guru]

WOW!

I spoke with John a few weeks ago about these, but with all my travel etc. it is only now that I was able to open the box and see what I had.

These are beautiful!

I was expecting two blanks:

(the top one) Ebony into straight maple. I asked for "exactly what George was ordering from you" and this is what he had. Veneer colors are John's choice based on George's orders (natural/green/orange/black)

(The middle one) Cocobolo into straight maple (no second splice) also natural/green/orange/black veneers.

The third one I was not expecting at all. Therefore I am not entirely sure what it is, although it appears to be Rosewood, and I also believe it to be Brazilian. It shows the colors and striations I always loved in old Brazilian, that you just don't see too often these days. It is also clearly redder than the Cocobolo. It could also be an EXCEPTIONAL piece of Indian rosewood, as on the other side it is slightly less red, and resembles Indian rosewood more closely. The colors are the titlist colors, and I have to say the color match is amazing. Natural/mahogany/turquoise/purple.

Let the pictures do the talking. I took closeups of the colors with and without flash, and you can really see that the titlist colors he has are excellent.

Also note he included matching pieces of wood for the butt sleeves of the second splice cues (top and bottom ones). And some pieces of veneer to make matching stich rings etc as needed.

I was only planning to keep one, but his sales tactic of sending several is quite good...

 

[shamadam]

Very nice! Its just that the points themselves look rounded. Is John
now cnc'ing the points in? Is this an option, or will they all be that
way from now on?

 

[CamposCues]

Points

Very nice! Its just that the points themselves look rounded. Is John
now cnc'ing the points in? Is this an option, or will they all be that
way from now on?

I think they are just oversized. Once they are turned down they will be sharp.

 

[Cue Guru]

Yep.

Blanks are way oversize, and just turned down to a manageable size to finish working on.

Points will be razor sharp (like the veneer tips) when it is turned down.

A ton of work went into these, and a ton more is needed to finish them!

PS I spoke to Barbara and she will have John verify the wood on the mystery blank he sent...

 

[Snapshot9]

Blanks

That 3rd one (bottom one) is the Nutz!!!

 

[Cue Guru]

They are all really nice... Old-school class baby.

No word yet on the wood in that third one... Wish I could keep them all!

 

[mdavis228]

So are these for sale. I'm not sure you're making the purpose of this thread clear...
If they're for sale - how much? - and why aren't they in the for sale section?
Thanks...

 

[Cue Guru]

No, these are not necessarily for sale; I was just posting them up for those interested in seeing them. John sells them for $350.00 plus shipping if you are interested. Whichever one I don't keep, John will get back and have available for sale. Or, you can buy it from me. Doesn't matter to me.

I am planning to keep one at least (one is already paid for) and the other two were for me to 'look at'.

I haven't decided which other one I will keep, but the ebony one will be a keeper for sure.

I heard back from Barbara, but John did not indicate which wood was used in that third blank... Have to ask again I guess...

 

[mdavis228]

Thanks for the info. That ebony is a peach, and he did do a wonderful job on the Titlist veneer colors, didn't he?
Best of luck w/ the conversion(s). I've got a Davis blank / $CASH$ cue coming real soon, and I'm looking forward to it. 20+ yr old Brazilian Rosewood...

 

[Cue Guru]

Sounds great!

When the 'raw product' looks this good, you know the final will be nothing short of perfection.

I heard back from Barbara again, but still nothing from John. I'm going to call him on the cell later tonight... It is possible you and I have wood from the same tree here. The titlist looks a lot like Brazilian to me, but as I said, pieces that nice are very rare these days. If he has/had a stash of the good stuff, then this may just be that.:thumbup:

I had some good contacts for wood about 10 years ago, and Brazilian like this was very rare THEN! It could quite possibly be something else, but whatever it is, it sure looks good!

 

[mdavis228]

The Brazilian & BEM used in my cue was sent to John from the aged stock in Bill McDaniel's old shop. The World Class & $CASH$ cues groups are former employees of his. Wood should have great tone.
Best to you!

 

[Cue Guru]

Thanks for that info!

Still nothing from John as of now; however Barbara warned me he was going out "with the boys" last night...

So, I'm not holding my breath until later today for sure!

 

[Cue Guru]

OK a long overdue update.

I am keeping the Ebony blank. The other two are going back.

And, the rosewood one (or so I thought) is the Cocobolo one (with second splice) which makes sense based on the weight.

The no second splice one is the mystery one...

The two I'm sending back have a very slight roll to them; the one I'm keeping is perfectly straight. I determined this by rolling them on a surface plate, not a table. I figured I'd take any advantage I can get, and I like the look of the maple on that one better as well. Very straight and darker than typical these days.

So, anyway, that's the story. If interested in getting blanks from John, he has them!:thumbup: