Taking another opportunity after a couple of years to post a review on yet another cue from Al Bautista of Black Pearl cues.
For this go-round, it will be a bit different as it is just a review of the African Blackwood I got from All about 2 years ago. I had it commissioned to play any 3/8x10 shafts I can get my hands on and boy did it not disappoint.
As most in-the-know would say, African Blackwood is more stable than any types of Ebony. Meaning it is less prone to warpage and movement. With this in mind I decided to get into a brainstorm with Al. He knew I've always wanted an all-black cue. No rings that can pop after 2+ years, no fancy wood combos, just plain blackness. So we set off to start the project with Jetblack (Gabon) ebony as our wood of choice, obvious for the request and cue style I wanted.
I guess it was a funny coincidence that Al sent me photos of his wood blanks so I can pick and choose which Ebony square he will make my cue. And in one corner of the photo, there they were, a couple of African Blackwood blanks. I know some about woods, and other than the impossible hard to get lignum vitae, I've always thought African Blackwood would be the best wood for me and you will find in the next paragraph why.
Needless to say, I told Al I would like to change woods. It never even crossed my mind to ask if he had AB but damn was I so glad he did. What's so special about a plain, black butt you ask? And the answer is, construction. You see this black cue is not just some heavy, solid piece of AB, this cue is cored by an 8-piece splice of straight grain, Canadian Hard-Rock maple. And not just any coring, the core runs the entire length of the cue as a single spliced unit. Yep, to those asking, the core is also the handle. This is so important for me as I know cues move over time, but this cue has no A-JOINT. It is a single piece butt, sleeved with African Blackwood. This is what I envisioned, a solid piece of equipment that will last for a very long time.
Two years on, the cue is still banging. The lizard belly skin has lines so straight you'd think it is just embossed leather. So straight that the lines line up at the seam. You need to look twice if you want to find the seam of the wrap. I'd say Blackboar and Vollmer league in terms of wrap (and this is not said lightly). As for playability, I am using a Mezz WX-900 and an LD from Mike Webb and I can say, the balance and weight of the butt is enough that you can put any 29" shaft and you will not notice balance point shift. Cue weight is controlled naturally by the coring and Blackwood. And oh yes how good this looks with the Revo, I have one modified and man playability aside, really is a killer, looks and play. And yeah, I wont dwell if it is still straight after 2 years. That is a question after 20 years with this cue.
Overall, Al and his Black Pearl cues can really cut it. He is really one of the underrated great cuemakers not in the states. Though his work is not cheap, I will say that it is worth it, and for comparison, his work is a lot better than most of contemporary cuemakers that you'd have to break the bank or offer the mortgage for. And his service is top-notch. Answers any questions even during ungodly hours and delivers on time.
If you want to know more, or offer me anything interesting, I will be mostly on tagatambol@yahoo.com. Hit me up and let's chat.
Pat
For this go-round, it will be a bit different as it is just a review of the African Blackwood I got from All about 2 years ago. I had it commissioned to play any 3/8x10 shafts I can get my hands on and boy did it not disappoint.
As most in-the-know would say, African Blackwood is more stable than any types of Ebony. Meaning it is less prone to warpage and movement. With this in mind I decided to get into a brainstorm with Al. He knew I've always wanted an all-black cue. No rings that can pop after 2+ years, no fancy wood combos, just plain blackness. So we set off to start the project with Jetblack (Gabon) ebony as our wood of choice, obvious for the request and cue style I wanted.
I guess it was a funny coincidence that Al sent me photos of his wood blanks so I can pick and choose which Ebony square he will make my cue. And in one corner of the photo, there they were, a couple of African Blackwood blanks. I know some about woods, and other than the impossible hard to get lignum vitae, I've always thought African Blackwood would be the best wood for me and you will find in the next paragraph why.
Needless to say, I told Al I would like to change woods. It never even crossed my mind to ask if he had AB but damn was I so glad he did. What's so special about a plain, black butt you ask? And the answer is, construction. You see this black cue is not just some heavy, solid piece of AB, this cue is cored by an 8-piece splice of straight grain, Canadian Hard-Rock maple. And not just any coring, the core runs the entire length of the cue as a single spliced unit. Yep, to those asking, the core is also the handle. This is so important for me as I know cues move over time, but this cue has no A-JOINT. It is a single piece butt, sleeved with African Blackwood. This is what I envisioned, a solid piece of equipment that will last for a very long time.
Two years on, the cue is still banging. The lizard belly skin has lines so straight you'd think it is just embossed leather. So straight that the lines line up at the seam. You need to look twice if you want to find the seam of the wrap. I'd say Blackboar and Vollmer league in terms of wrap (and this is not said lightly). As for playability, I am using a Mezz WX-900 and an LD from Mike Webb and I can say, the balance and weight of the butt is enough that you can put any 29" shaft and you will not notice balance point shift. Cue weight is controlled naturally by the coring and Blackwood. And oh yes how good this looks with the Revo, I have one modified and man playability aside, really is a killer, looks and play. And yeah, I wont dwell if it is still straight after 2 years. That is a question after 20 years with this cue.
Overall, Al and his Black Pearl cues can really cut it. He is really one of the underrated great cuemakers not in the states. Though his work is not cheap, I will say that it is worth it, and for comparison, his work is a lot better than most of contemporary cuemakers that you'd have to break the bank or offer the mortgage for. And his service is top-notch. Answers any questions even during ungodly hours and delivers on time.
If you want to know more, or offer me anything interesting, I will be mostly on tagatambol@yahoo.com. Hit me up and let's chat.
Pat
Attachments
Last edited: