My Case Collection - Part of it

JB Cases

JB Cases

www.jbcases.com
Silver Member
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From left to right:

Fellini
QSter
Instroke
Brunswick
Justis - Prolite 2006
OnQ - Garth Bair
Murnak
Joe Porper
Brian Bonner
Instroke - Embroidered by ME personally
McKernan
Jay Flowers - this one does NOT have Nora Van Horn's maker's stamp
McDermott Super Mac - HEAVY case
It's George vinyl
It's George soft
It's George Leather
Engles
Ron Thomas

Ran out of room along the table. Will update with pix from the rest later. Sadly I only own one JB Case and it's in the car.

Hopefully this time those with negative intent will stay away.
 
Nice cases John, I'm glad this thread got started again after the last one was hijacked.

I know you've dissected different cases over the years, do you have any pics to offer that would shed some insight as to how certain ones were constructed?

I'm really interested in seeing how a Whitten is put together, but if you feel it's too revealing then I understand.

Thanks, Brandon.
 
branpureza said:
Nice cases John, I'm glad this thread got started again after the last one was hijacked.

I know you've dissected different cases over the years, do you have any pics to offer that would shed some insight as to how certain ones were constructed?

I'm really interested in seeing how a Whitten is put together, but if you feel it's too revealing then I understand.

Thanks, Brandon.
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I would prefer not to show this. I know intimately how Whittens are made. The two reasons I do not want to show this is because Dan and Joe are my friends and I respect them and there is really nothing I care to criticize on their cases that requires a teardown. Showing how their cases are made would only help the many who are attempting to knock them off.

I can tell you that Whitten's construction is impressive and the cases are difficult to take apart. They had to figure out how to engineer the construction to solve several problems inherent with using the type of leather they do. In order to get to the sleek look a Whitten is famous for they had invent a few ways to build cases which are not found in other cases and certainly not in the knockoffs.

I'd be happy to discuss with you in private on this topic but not on the public forum. I won't send you the blueprints but I can tell you a few things about their cases which I am sure you would find to be impressive.
 
JB Cases said:
I would prefer not to show this. I know intimately how Whittens are made. The two reasons I do not want to show this is because Dan and Joe are my friends and I respect them and there is really nothing I care to criticize on their cases that requires a teardown. Showing how their cases are made would only help the many who are attempting to knock them off.

I can tell you that Whitten's construction is impressive and the cases are difficult to take apart. They had to figure out how to engineer the construction to solve several problems inherent with using the type of leather they do. In order to get to the sleek look a Whitten is famous for they had invent a few ways to build cases which are not found in other cases and certainly not in the knockoffs.

I'd be happy to discuss with you in private on this topic but not on the public forum. I won't send you the blueprints but I can tell you a few things about their cases which I am sure you would find to be impressive.
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Very understandable, Whitten cases are definitely among my favorites, which is why I was curious as to how they were designed.. I've had about 7 of them over the years and they were all built very solidly. Joe is making me one at the moment as a matter of fact.

I have seen a bunch of Whitten knockoffs lately... made from vinyl and other cheap materials. They probably last a few months before starting to warp and fall apart.

I am very interested in cue and case construction as well as leatherwork and wouldn't mind a pm about the details if you don't mind.

Thanks again for the insight.. I appreciate it.
 
John, do you have a "Mat Case"....Marc Turcasso?.....if not i think your collection would benefit from having one.......
 
skins said:
John, do you have a "Mat Case"....Marc Turcasso?.....if not i think your collection would benefit from having one.......
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It's on my bucket list. At some point I want to have a showroom where all the cases are displayed with historical information. When that happens then there will be a special place for Marc's case, Rusty Melton's, Rex Goulet, Al King, Del W., Phil Eastwood, Marcel Merkowitz and the rest of the current case makers.

You know people don't really appreciate the level of variety and awesomeness that we have in cue case making. There is really not any other sport or activity with as much diversity in cases and as much artistry as cue cases. Truly there isn't. Not in knife cases, not in archery, not in cell phone cases. I spend too much time studying cases and I rarely run across any other genre with as many different approaches and styles.

And the best is that in the whole world there are maybe 20 active case makers doing custom work. Compare that to 700 cue makers.

Marc's work is off the charts. For those that understand leather work it's clear how good Marc's cases are. That doesn't have anything to do with the freaky designs he comes with. That's on even another level. I don't usually order cases from other makers for the obvious reason but I very much doubt that any of Marc's cases will show up on the market presenting me with an opportunity to get it. So I probably will have to break down and get on his list.

All this to say, I agree. You and I still have some business to conclude and I haven't forgotten. So when done at least you will have the Turcasso and ours in your collection. With that in mind I think it's time to revisit the information you provided and see where it takes me. :-)
 
Hey JB why don't you have a custom cue made just for you ? I would love too see what you can build for yourself ...
 
Do you have any information on King Kustom Kases from Tennessee. There is one pictured in the Billiard Encyclopedia with a Rambow cue, and one was used in the Baltimore Bullet movie. I picked one up about 20 years ago with a Schmelke cue. It is VERY rough, but it is really cool. Also have an Ann Gore. Also, do you know of anyone who made a tube style case and marked them JH inside a triangle?. Thanks.
 
cuenut said:
Do you have any information on King Kustom Kases from Tennessee. There is one pictured in the Billiard Encyclopedia with a Rambow cue, and one was used in the Baltimore Bullet movie. I picked one up about 20 years ago with a Schmelke cue. It is VERY rough, but it is really cool. Also have an Ann Gore. Also, do you know of anyone who made a tube style case and marked them JH inside a triangle?. Thanks.
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I don't have any information on them. Putt-Putt on here sent me one to restore that had some kind of surface damage. We are still working on it and I have to put it back together. I built a replica of it for Alan. I managed to make a low quality jpeg out of the image in the last scene from the Baltimore Bullet where Nick Casey and his partner are driving down the highway and the case is sticking up in the back of the convertible.

I have had a few Ann Gore cases. They are just like Fellini. Some day I would like to learn the Fellini/Ann Gore - Centennial story. What I know of it is that Bob Hemphill owned Fellini and a few others worked with him including Ann. Later Ann went off on her own and started Manx cases. The reason I include Centennial is because they used the same type of slip-cover style and were located in the same area. In fact most of the slip-cover case makers using the Fellini size tubing were located in the same area which is East Texas/West Louisiana. These include Fellini, Gore, Centennial, It's George, Ron Thomas, Kelli and Engles.

Never heard of the JH cases. I have a thread here on case history and I will look it up and post the link. You are welcome to post pictures and see if anyone has any information.
 
Realizm said:
Hey JB why don't you have a custom cue made just for you ? I would love too see what you can build for yourself ...
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I can't afford to build a case for myself. :-)

Actually I did build one and it's in the car. It's a hybrid of the Sterling Wave case and the case we built for Marcel

Marcel-aF.jpg


and the one we built for JG Cues

jg-a-front.jpg


And I use sleeves inside instead of a dedicated interior

jg-s-interior1.jpg


I will take it in and make a picture later. It's really plain as I am not to flashy. Karen is rocking some new designs though and I think I might like to make a tooled case with a lot of color.

Once upon a time way way back when I was making Instrokes by hand I did a case with an embroidered abstract 9-ball design that I drew. I drew it and embroidered it myself. Unfortunately I went bust one night and gambled it away in Germany. So I need to re-create that one someday.
 
Thanks for the info JB. I am living between Texas and Louisiana with work and currently don't have the King Kustom with me. it was stamped on the inside of the lid/flap with the address, etc. I will take a few pics of it when I get back to Louisiana and post them on this thread if I don't forget.
 
More pix:

This one is pretty much the rest of it. I had a lot more in 2003 when I sold off everything. We have foam core cases and various soft cases.

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From left to right:

Instroke knockoff
Jack Justis - 2006 ProLite (same case as above)
Justis knockoff in vinyl by J&J - "tooling" is embroidered.
GTF - Celtic Knot embossed (this was a goof that is now mine)
JB Case - My personal one.
Freightliner
Huebler
Unknown Make Shotgun case reconfigured for cues.
Snooker Case
Whitten knockoff with carved pockets
John Hager Sr.
GTF - First one we made.
GTF - Hoppe band with Tascarella in it. (I messed it up and had to make another. Someday I will change the band to something else and redo the other part I screwed up)
King Kustoms Kase REPLICA (made for Alan Ende and not to be confused with King Cases/Al Kinghorn)

This is the Justis and it's embroidered knockoff. They even knocked off the coat of arms Justis puts on some of his cases.

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My personal case
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I experiment on myself - this case lives in the car and inside lives an $1800 Mike Stacey, a $1200 Jensen, and a Steve Lomax custom Bunjee Break/Jump cue. Each cue is in removable sleeves.

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The JB Cases logo on my case has no date of birth. :-)

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This is part of our experiment wall. It's where all the things we try go to stay for our reference. Any time myself or anyone else has an idea we try it out and put it on the experiment wall.

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Wouldn't you other case makers like to have this assortment?
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Actually you really wouldn't want to use most of these as they are not suited for cue cases. Great for purses though.

My Desk with Dean's Texas Case on the screen:

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My List of Shame - all the people so patiently waiting for cases - My Instroke sign tooled by Chas Clements hangs there to remind me to build quality dependable work. Also you can see the tooling desk where I have two apprentices using Ron Ross' book to practice from. Best to use information from a master to learn from.

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That's it - no more cases. If I acquire more I will update the thread.

One idea I am going to steal from Richard Black and Bill Schick is to do a few cases for my daughter Jessie each year. Richard and Bill both do a cue for their wives and so over the years their wives have the biggest collections of their cues in the world. Of course cases aren't as sexy as cues but I think Jessie will have a nice collection anyhow.
 
Hi John great Idea making a case each year for your daughter.
I can't read the board of people waiting, is my name there?
Anxiously awaiting my case.

Regards
Andrew
 
I like that one it like something you would have as your own .. can when you get time let do a case for you i I have something in mind...



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QUOTE=JB Cases;3154954]I can't afford to build a case for myself. :-)

Actually I did build one and it's in the car. It's a hybrid of the Sterling Wave case and the case we built for Marcel

Marcel-aF.jpg


and the one we built for JG Cues

jg-a-front.jpg


And I use sleeves inside instead of a dedicated interior

jg-s-interior1.jpg


I will take it in and make a picture later. It's really plain as I am not to flashy. Karen is rocking some new designs though and I think I might like to make a tooled case with a lot of color.

Once upon a time way way back when I was making Instrokes by hand I did a case with an embroidered abstract 9-ball design that I drew. I drew it and embroidered it myself. Unfortunately I went bust one night and gambled it away in Germany. So I need to re-create that one someday.[/QUOTE]
 
The case on the left of the case you are using is really nice, is that a Ron Thomas?
 
Kim Bye said:
The case on the left of the case you are using is really nice, is that a Ron Thomas?
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No. It is a GTF that we did as an experiment in stamp embossing. Here is the original thread where I discuss the technique - http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=160766&highlight=celtic+knot

The reason I have kept this one is because we messed it up trying to personalize it for a customer. The "oops" cases end up in my collection. Somehow I don't think that they will be come as valuable as misprinted stamps.

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Beat me to it JB

That's a GTF(?I believe designed by John?) with the Celctic knotwork....
Thanks for sharing all the photos JB...There is no doubt about the amount of thought and work that goes into each of your cases. Nice collection too...
Clint <----Wonders how much you have invested in tearing cases apart LOL...
<----Hopes to see something in the works soon :embarrassed2:
<----Also wants on the gunslinger list too....Wyatt Earp taken yet :grin:?
 
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