Recent content by hunger strike

My set of Aramith IPT Tour balls have raised, veryws palpable numbers on over half the set including the cueball. I was told that these were a demo set but who knows. I bought them as an investment. Like buying a rare flawed stamp or coin.

$1.50 for a whole box of tips. Oh yes, times have changed... I have never tried Royal Oak, anyone here use them? Thoughts?

I like more natural veg tan leather like on the instroke cowboy cases. The kind of leather that is a bit self-healing. My friend said that oiliness hurts glue adherence. It reminds me of soft tips.

Chrome tanned tips are blue, vegetable tanned leather is not. Vegetable tanned leather, according to my leather craftsman buddy, does not adhere well with glue. I wonder if that explains the ubiquity of Elk Masters on house cues. Fewer popped off.

Elk Master used to be better. Now you have to look for one or two good tips on house cues. A cuemaker told me he dumps a box of 50 into a bowl of water and uses only the 3 or 4 that do not float. But that is hearsay.

This Wikipedia article references Bennett from 1899. Jack Carr page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Carr_(billiards_player) Francois Mingaud page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Mingaud - I had to edit my above error where I said John Carr rather than the correct Jack Carr...

Skip at Tweeten says Le Pro are water buffalo. He did not comment on Elk Master, etc. Maybe the chrome tanned types are cow. Old French tip boxes hint at tips made of leather from the head of calves, and they have graphics with cow head images. "Tete de veau."

Bob...what are the chances that Carr's Twisting Chalk preceeded the leather tip? History says Jack Carr, it says Bath, England, it says Bartley's Billiard Room. But I have never seen a date or date range.

Mike Betts, from Tulsa, looked for "new old stock" Le Pro tips to put on - and these extra-thick Le Pro tips hit like a dream. Skip, who owns Tweeten and makes the Le Pro says that water buffalo get skinned for fried snacks before they get old enough to have thick leather as in the past. Think...

You are a trusted source, but I hope you can remember the source regarding players spinning the ball before Mingaud. Maybe it was in the Thurston's translation, I bought a reprint recently so this will give me a reason to read it. Regarding the hardness of leather, I had to restore an...

Bob, if you remember the crossed mace implements above my billiard room door, one of them is the highest quality maces I ever saw, very whippy wood, bone ferrule, silver monogram, maker's mark too. But the other is the real treasure. It was given to me as a gift from a French billiard...

I have. I own a website that I am building to document this and more. But I broke 7 ribs and being out of work is costing me a fortune, so the project is on hold.

If anyone has noticed eBay sellers listing photos that allegedly feature the "father of American billiards," Michael Phelan, then buyer beware. I own two original 1800's photos of Phelan. One photo is part of a group of ten player photos which were matted and framed together by Byron...

Does anyone have contact info for Boxcar?