Three gorgeous Hercek cues.
What can be said about Joel's work what already isn't said.....Fantastic workmanship and amazingly tasteful. All three cues are beauties. Ebony one with Fleur de lis and white Abalones was designed by Joel an me and the Spain/Hercek is a really special cue.
Joel Hercek & Burton Spain
If you are looking for something really rare what is also important part of history in cue building, here it is.
Kind of collaboration between two cue makers who are considered as ones of the best ever.
I am proud and fortunate to owe a piece of history!
LETTER FROM JOEL HERCEK
In the late 60ās Burton Spain built a single batch of blanks for George Balabushka with 5 veneers, he normally built him 4 veneer blanks but decided to try something different this time. George turned a few of these blanks into cues. When I bought Burtās business back in 1994 along with the machinery and supplies there were several completed blanks and some unfinished handles still in the square form with the prongs already cut. I never built a cue with one of Burtās finished blanks however I did build two cues using these squared pronged handles, the same handles Burt built for George Balabushka.
In the mid-nineties I turned one of the squared pronged handles into a cue for a customer and in 2009 I built another. This letter pertains to the second one. This cue has four prongs of Brazilian Rosewood with black, blue, orange, green and white veneers going into a Birdseye maple nose. The cue has Ivory spears with Ebony borders at the end of each point and a notched Ivory diamond with an 18K gold diamond inlayed into each inlay. The Rosewood backend has four sets of Ivory ārazor bladeā windows with the same notched diamonds. Between these windows are four sets of the notched diamonds high and low with a split Ivory line and gold diamond between. Brown Elephant ear wrap with Ivory butt cap and joint. This is a full-length full splice cue meaning the prongs, handle and backend are a single piece of wood with no splices between. Most of my full splice cues have an extra butterfly splice in the handle area. This is the first time I ever inlayed gold into a notched Ivory diamond. Over the years I have learned new techniques and acquired new equipment for this type of inlay process, there is always a learning curve with new ideas. I have only built two cues with 5 veneers, no plans on a third especially on a full splice blank.
Joel Hercek
What can be said about Joel's work what already isn't said.....Fantastic workmanship and amazingly tasteful. All three cues are beauties. Ebony one with Fleur de lis and white Abalones was designed by Joel an me and the Spain/Hercek is a really special cue.
Joel Hercek & Burton Spain
If you are looking for something really rare what is also important part of history in cue building, here it is.
Kind of collaboration between two cue makers who are considered as ones of the best ever.
I am proud and fortunate to owe a piece of history!
LETTER FROM JOEL HERCEK
In the late 60ās Burton Spain built a single batch of blanks for George Balabushka with 5 veneers, he normally built him 4 veneer blanks but decided to try something different this time. George turned a few of these blanks into cues. When I bought Burtās business back in 1994 along with the machinery and supplies there were several completed blanks and some unfinished handles still in the square form with the prongs already cut. I never built a cue with one of Burtās finished blanks however I did build two cues using these squared pronged handles, the same handles Burt built for George Balabushka.
In the mid-nineties I turned one of the squared pronged handles into a cue for a customer and in 2009 I built another. This letter pertains to the second one. This cue has four prongs of Brazilian Rosewood with black, blue, orange, green and white veneers going into a Birdseye maple nose. The cue has Ivory spears with Ebony borders at the end of each point and a notched Ivory diamond with an 18K gold diamond inlayed into each inlay. The Rosewood backend has four sets of Ivory ārazor bladeā windows with the same notched diamonds. Between these windows are four sets of the notched diamonds high and low with a split Ivory line and gold diamond between. Brown Elephant ear wrap with Ivory butt cap and joint. This is a full-length full splice cue meaning the prongs, handle and backend are a single piece of wood with no splices between. Most of my full splice cues have an extra butterfly splice in the handle area. This is the first time I ever inlayed gold into a notched Ivory diamond. Over the years I have learned new techniques and acquired new equipment for this type of inlay process, there is always a learning curve with new ideas. I have only built two cues with 5 veneers, no plans on a third especially on a full splice blank.
Joel Hercek
