Unknown Cue on Ebay

TATE said:
It looks like a Balabushka to me. Don't go to the bank on it. There are a lot of copies.

Chris
Click to expand...

If they are original shafts the inserts are wrong for a Balabushka. It certainly has the look though.
 
This may sound strange, but that cue looks too clean and well taken care of to be a Balabushka that has gotten lost in the shuffle.

However, all talk of Balabushka aside, it looks like a well executed cue.
 
I know nothing about old cues. But if the bid of $911.00 is real then somebody knows something about this cue. Or they have money to burn and are taking a shot.
 
just what i was thinking also, hope its real and we can find out who made it.
 
Last edited:
measureman said:
I know nothing about old cues. But if the bid of $911.00 is real then somebody knows something about this cue. Or they have money to burn and are taking a shot.
Click to expand...

From what I've seen of eBay, The people who know wait until the last seconds of the auction to bid. The people who think they know tend to bid early on.

I'd like to see somebody sleep a winner on this cue. Unfortunately, if somebody bites big hoping for a Balabushka, they probably won't like the taste...

Been there. Done that.
 
i have seen those points on many palmers -i dont know what years but i have seen them more than a few times
i know the pin doesnt look right for a palmer
 
scttybee said:
i have seen those points on many palmers -i dont know what years but i have seen them more than a few times
i know the pin doesnt look right for a palmer
Click to expand...

I find it odd that the seller can't come up with some info on this cue.

It's a Titlist forearm - Palmer used them all though the 1960's and so did Balabushka before he started using Spain/Davis forearms. This is a 5/16 X 14 joint which Balabushka used. The joint itself looks like a thick, stainless latter day version.

I believe this is a Balabushka look alike. Like Mac Guy pointed out, and hje knows, the inserts are wrong - looks like somebody messed with the shafts -- like they were fitted to this cue.

Interesting story - I don't know much about Balabushka's but I'm pretty good with the parts that were used in the 1960's. The cue makers used what was available, so a lot of Palmer parts were used by the other makers so I can spot similarities.

Anyway, a friend comes in with a cue that was sold many years ago as a Balabushka. I looked at it and it looked like a Szamboti forearmed Bushka. The joint pin had the dimple, it had the brown bumper, etc. It all looked like the right parts. So he shipped the cue off to Tascarella for authentication.

Pete said it was made from Balabushka parts alright - but not by George. My friend let Pete take the joint apart, and sure enough, it wasn't assembled the way George did it. He had the cue x-rayed, and it was held together by a simple screw in the front at the A joint. That's like finding a wind-up spring in a 17 jewel watch.

Anyway, there are a lot of cues out there made by Richard Black and many others that can easily be confused with Balabushka's.

Chris
 
macguy said:
If they are original shafts the inserts are wrong for a Balabushka. It certainly has the look though.
Click to expand...

MacGuy,

Good eye. Look at the blowup pictures of the shaft inserts. I think the shaft tenons were turned down because the joint was changed. Looks like this might have had a thinner wall joint then they changed it to 1/2" inside diameter and took the shafts down to fit.

I think it's a cue that was built to be passed as a copy. It has too many similarities to a real Balabushka to be a coincidence.

Chris
 
Last edited:
Interesting looking cue. Some parts look like a Bushka and some don't. Makes me think of the some of the Bushka knockoffs that surfaced in the 80's and 90's. I played with two Bushka's that I owned in the 70's. Neither one was very heavy, 19 oz. or just under. And both were only 57" long, but I'm no expert. I'd like to know how long that cue is.

People don't remember but George made very good playing cues, the best IMO. I sold my last Bushka in Dayton in 1975 for $200 (I went broke getting 8-7 and the break from Joey Spaeth). I always did much better when I avoided the top players. :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
ahh good call on the Horn, wasn't Bushka coping one of his specialities?
9oo isn't much to through at a possible buska, btw.
Although since you posted this thread, no one is going to get a bargain now.
Like anything else on Ebay now, if it's a sweet deal, someone has their sniper program on it, I got tired of lossing evey auction by 50 cents with one second left,lol
 
TATE said:
It looks like a Balabushka to me. Don't go to the bank on it. There are a lot of copies.

Chris
Click to expand...

Balabushka styling,
BUT I thought the Bushka cues had shorter AND THICKER Butt sleeves
AND The brass inserts in the shafts look smooth inside...
Usually the threads start sooner , those inserts are smooth , like a quick-release joint"
I think maybe a Horn Cue
OR
A Jim Ingram, who makes His cues in the stylings of both Bushka And Szamboti'
 
A Balabuska on a no reserve auction... even if there was a chance... nope. The guy knows what he has.
 
Ingram stamps all of his custom cues. The Hornybushka thought is very good. Ingram would certainly know what if it is. He's worked on as many Horn cues as just about anybody.

Duane Remick said:
Balabushka styling,
BUT I thought the Bushka cues had shorter AND THICKER Butt sleeves
AND The brass inserts in the shafts look smooth inside...
Usually the threads start sooner , those inserts are smooth , like a quick-release joint"
I think maybe a Horn Cue
OR
A Jim Ingram, who makes His cues in the stylings of both Bushka And Szamboti'
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top