Balabushka on Ebay

Maybe when George was working (almost nobody knows this) on the side for Palmer (2nd catalog) he made this cue (A) for them.

Kevin
 
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DEXTER said:
Thanks, good information. Sure looks like a Palmer.
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This is what Tate calls a Palmer Bar Cue (I think)......Balabuska did some conversions on cheaper blanks than Titlist.....he did them simple and kept them simple ...most for the Glenn family......
 
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I have no idea on the cue, but it looks flawless for a cue that is 42 years old. I don't see any wear on it at all.
 
kvinbrwr said:
Maybe when George was working (almost nobody knows this) on the side for Palmer (2nd catalog) he made this cue (A) for them.

Kevin
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It looks like it has an 18 screw and the bumper looks like who's knows what. Having said that, I don't believe in my heart of hearts it is a Balabushka. I knew people from the area who would go to his shop and Balabushka made them cues that were one of a kind in that he just made a cue. He may have never made another that looked like it. Although by the 70's he had pretty much established his brand and his cues followed a certain style that was easy to spot.
 
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macguy said:
It looks like it has an 18 screw. Having said that, I don't believe in my heart of hearts it is a Balabushka. I knew people from the area who would go to his shop and Balabushka made them cues that were one of a kind in that he just made a cue. He may have never made another that looked like it. Although by the 70's he had pretty much established his brand and his cues followed a certain style that was easy to spot time.
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Yeah this is no Balabuska. Its a Palmer bar cue.
 
classiccues said:
George worked for Palmer. :eek:

(only wraps)

JV
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Wanting to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, is it possible that Balabushka had some production cues from Palmer in his shop that he sold as well as his own cues? I know a lot of cue guys who sell production cues as well a their own cues for the player that just wants a cue today. He may even have made a shaft for it or a wrap and the guys brother when he says, "I got the cue from Balabushka" is not telling a lie.
 
Very unlikely since he made lower end cues on occasion. There are a few GB sneakys running around.

The other cue in question has a thinner ring above the wrap than the other ring in the rinset. They should be equal. Probably not a Bushka, but who knows.

JV
 
classiccues said:
The other cue in question has a thinner ring above the wrap than the other ring in the rinset. They should be equal. Probably not a Bushka, but who knows.

JV
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Did he ever place rings below the wrap? I was looking at that cue and that was the first thing that jumped out at me.

-Coach
 
macguy said:
Wanting to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, is it possible that Balabushka had some production cues from Palmer in his shop that he sold as well as his own cues? I know a lot of cue guys who sell production cues as well a their own cues for the player that just wants a cue today. He may even have made a shaft for it or a wrap and the guys brother when he says, "I got the cue from Balabushka" is not telling a lie.
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From the letters and photos I get on my website, I have come to the conclusion there was a lot of misrepresentation on cues being sold in pool rooms in the Eastern US during that time period. Since he got the year about right (1970) my assumption is the cue was represented as a Balabushka when it was sold.

Palmer didn't mark their cues (that didn't have a window label) until the 3rd catalog, around 1975.

Good eye on that joint screw!
 
I actually can't say for sure it's a balabushka as nobody can but take a look at the billiard encyclopedia there's a page with bushkas on it that has one that looks exactly and i mean exactly like that cue. So that's just my 2 cents on that scenario but extremely similar to the palmer that you guys are talking about as well. Either way $1000 is about right for a nice palmer i think the $450 was on the mysterious factor.
 
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