Horn Joint

rookie · Mar 6, 2015

Iam ready to have a new cue built. Nothing over the top four point, Irish linen wrap just a nice solid player. My question have any of you guys owned or played with a horn jointed cue? What are your opinions on this material? I have a large piece of Axis deer horn that would work.
I was going to just do phenolic but have been kicking around this idea.

ceebee · Mar 6, 2015

rookie said:
Iam ready to have a new cue built. Nothing over the top four point, Irish linen wrap just a nice solid player. My question have any of you guys owned or played with a horn jointed cue? What are your opinions on this material? I have a large piece of Axis deer horn that would work.
I was going to just do phenolic but have been kicking around this idea.

Mr friendly cue maker, John Parker of Auerbach Custom Cues has mad a lot of cues with some kind of horn, antler, deer & whatever... stuff works good.

JoeyInCali · Mar 6, 2015

More work, but they are pretty and hit great .
They are harder than phenolic or melamine.
Your lathe bits and router bits will tell you.
They do need seasoning like wood and ivory.

336Robin · Mar 6, 2015

JoeyInCali said:
More work, but they are pretty and hit great .
They are harder than phenolic or melamine.
Your lathe bits and router bits will tell you.
They do need seasoning like wood and ivory.

Really I would have never thought it would harder than Phenolic

qbilder · Mar 6, 2015

Considering what the material is designed for, it's damn near perfect for pool cues. Unlike ivory, where the tusk is used to push around brush & tree limbs, antler is designed by nature to endure incredible impact. Antler is evolved over millions of years to endure constant, consecutive, tremendous impact. It's also lightweight. Better yet, it's sustainable, as most animals that produce it, shed them every spring & grow a new set over the summer.

hang-the-9 · Mar 6, 2015

rookie said:
Iam ready to have a new cue built. Nothing over the top four point, Irish linen wrap just a nice solid player. My question have any of you guys owned or played with a horn jointed cue? What are your opinions on this material? I have a large piece of Axis deer horn that would work.
I was going to just do phenolic but have been kicking around this idea.

My son's cue has a horn joint, it's a stiffer and more jarring hit than my cue with a wood to wood joint with a plastic collar even when using the exact same shaft. My cue and his has the same pin and we have tried different shafts on each to see how they felt.

Funny part is that a shaft I like on my cue, I don't like on his, and he is the opposite, likes my shafts on his cue but not on mine.

qbilder · Mar 6, 2015

hang-the-9 said:
My son's cue has a horn joint, it's a stiffer and more jarring hit than my cue with a wood to wood joint with a plastic collar even when using the exact same shaft. My cue and his has the same pin and we have tried different shafts on each to see how they felt.

Funny part is that a shaft I like on my cue, I don't like on his, and he is the opposite, likes my shafts on his cue but not on mine.

Anybody who says the butt of a cue doesn't matter, should experience what you have. Prime example of how much even minute, seemingly insignificant components can make very noticeable differences.

336Robin · Mar 6, 2015

Stiff Hit

hang-the-9 said:
My son's cue has a horn joint, it's a stiffer and more jarring hit than my cue with a wood to wood joint with a plastic collar even when using the exact same shaft. My cue and his has the same pin and we have tried different shafts on each to see how they felt.

Funny part is that a shaft I like on my cue, I don't like on his, and he is the opposite, likes my shafts on his cue but not on mine.

I hit once with a Southwest and I was not prepared for the stiff hit. I hit balls for about a half an hour and although stiff there was something different about the messages the cue was sending through my arm.

Later on I lent my road partner a cue of mine and he wanted to put a juma ferrule that was not capped on it and I said sure.

The resulting hit was a bit stiffer and he played the best position of his entire life with that cue. After I got it back when he was finished building his own I went back to playing with it and now I am doing the same.

I think that there is a certain type of vibration that is preferable with certain types of hits although they are definitely subjective.

Bavafongoul · Mar 6, 2015

I previously owned & subsequently sold a Richard Black cue with Cape Buffalo Horn for the joint material. He's a great cue-maker. Nonetheless, you don't
see that cue in my arsenal any longer, nor any other cues using horn rather than ivory. There's a reason why but try using horn and see for yourself. It's just
not the same despite what others may write.

Matt B.

JoeyInCali · Mar 6, 2015

336Robin said:
Really I would have never thought it would harder than Phenolic

If you replaced a moose's antlers with phenolic, he'd lose a lot of battles.

Phenolic is resin on linen or canvas or paper .
If you bounce a phenolic tube and antler tube of the same sizes , the antler will have a higher pitch and will be louder .

desi2960 · Mar 6, 2015

horn

i started using horn 7 - 8 years ago and, i did the elk, sambar stag, deer antler, but decided on moose for the most of my joint material.
it i believe is more durable than ivory, and has a better hit, as ivory is a bit more brittle.
2 draw backs, it is hard to find the really white horn, and the pieces i was buying for
5 - 7 bucks a few years ago are now costing 40 - 50.

JoeyInCali · Mar 6, 2015

desi2960 said:
i started using horn 7 - 8 years ago and, i did the elk, sambar stag, deer antler, but decided on moose for the most of my joint material.
it i believe is more durable than ivory, and has a better hit, as ivory is a bit more brittle.
2 draw backs, it is hard to find the really white horn, and the pieces i was buying for
5 - 7 bucks a few years ago are now costing 40 - 50.

Prices have gone nuts.
I'll have to charge $150 more per cue now with two shafts if they want the stag collars.
Finding the right kind so I can thread them is hard and expensive.
Buttplates are even harder to find .

Scott Lee · Mar 6, 2015

Jack Madden has used horn a number of times on his cues, including joints, ferrules and butt caps. He would be a great source of information.

rookie...please check your pm's.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

Cuebuddy · Mar 6, 2015

I have spent the last couple of hours turning joints, ferrules and butt caps out of Elk Mule deer and Coues deer. I like the Coues deer the best but the antlers are small. Small works for the cues I build. It is difficult to find sections of antler that will work because of its irregular shape and the Marrow area on the inside. Antler turns really well and there is almost no need for sanding.

In my opinion it is underused in pool cues.

336Robin · Mar 6, 2015

JoeyInCali said:
If you replaced a moose's antlers with phenolic, he'd lose a lot of battles.
Phenolic is resin on linen or canvas or paper .
If you bounce a phenolic tube and antler tube of the same sizes , the antler will have a higher pitch and will be louder .

Ha, Ha! That makes me wonder how it would be as a tip on Jump Cue!

JoeyInCali · Mar 6, 2015

Cuebuddy said:
I have spent the last couple of hours turning joints, ferrules and butt caps out of Elk Mule deer and Coues deer. I like the Coues deer the best but the antlers are small. Small works for the cues I build. It is difficult to find sections of antler that will work because of its irregular shape and the Marrow area on the inside. Antler turns really well and there is almost no need for sanding.

In my opinion it is underused in pool cues.

And they smell great!

Nothing smells better than drilling out the marrow.

Cuebuddy · Mar 6, 2015

JoeyInCali said:
And they smell great!
Nothing smells better than drilling out the marrow.

I have my vents on as we speak

HQueen · Mar 6, 2015

I have made several cues using deer antler. I personally love the hit and the look. In my hands it feels much like ivory but a little harder. A friend from Maine is going back home and is going to find me some Moose antlers. I'm eager to try that out on a cue.

MVPCues · Mar 6, 2015

Me like it for joint collars and caps also.

rookie · Mar 6, 2015

Thanks for all the comments and info guys. Do any of you have photos of butts and joints of finished cues using horn.

Horn Joint

AzB Silver Member

AzB Silver Member

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues

Multiverse Operative

slower than snails

AzB Silver Member

slower than snails

Multiverse Operative

AzB Silver Member

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues

AzB Silver Member

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues

AzB Silver Member

Mini cues

Multiverse Operative

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues

Mini cues

AzB Silver Member

AzB Silver Member

AzB Silver Member