Balabushka on ebay

I have a blank exactly like this one. 5 veneers, same exact colors black,orange,maple, green, maple. The black colored in points are above the wrap. It is exactly the same except mine is Rosewood, not ebony. I think one of the inlays could have been added later but who knows.

I have been told by some knowledgeable guys it is a Spain 5 veneer blank which is somewhat rare in itself. Another point is the aluminum inserts in the shafts. It looks like aluminum with a ss joint. I wonder if this joint has been pinned? It has a strong resemblance to my MF cue. The original shaft had alumnum around a brass insert in the shaft, just like the shafts pictured. A good pic of the weight bolt/screw my reveal even more. MF used a very large bolt (1/2") it would be interesting to see. I don't think that butt cap is original but once again who knows. Just a few thoughts for you. BTW my mop inlays are the same except I have a large diamond instead of the snow flake inlay.

I'll add a couple of photos of my MF cue, note the aluminum shaft insert.

Rod
 

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Rod said:
I have a blank exactly like this one. 5 veneers, same exact colors black,orange,maple, green, maple. The black colored in points are above the wrap. It is exactly the same except mine is Rosewood, not ebony. I think one of the inlays could have been added later but who knows.

I have been told by some knowledgeable guys it is a Spain 5 veneer blank which is somewhat rare in itself. Another point is the aluminum inserts in the shafts. It looks like aluminum with a ss joint. I wonder if this joint has been pinned? It has a strong resemblance to my MF cue. The original shaft had alumnum around a brass insert in the shaft, just like the shafts pictured. A good pic of the weight bolt/screw my reveal even more. MF used a very large bolt (1/2") it would be interesting to see. I don't think that butt cap is original but once again who knows. Just a few thoughts for you. BTW my mop inlays are the same except I have a large diamond instead of the snow flake inlay.

I'll add a couple of photos of my MF cue, note the aluminum shaft insert.

Rod
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I am 99.9% sure the cue you have pictured is an adams circa 1970.
 
jayman said:
I am 99.9% sure the cue you have pictured is an adams circa 1970.
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Hello,
Mike Fedunka would be an excellent guess...
He worked with Frank Paradice and the inlay work would be consistant..
Authenticating would be a must from Pete..
Best,
Ken
Highendcues
 
jayman said:
I am 99.9% sure the cue you have pictured is an adams circa 1970.
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Nope, It was a 1 year old cue I bought from the pool room that originally sold the cue. He told me it was an MF cue. He also sent the cue to MF and had 2 more shafts made.

My cue isn't in question, its the Bushka in this thread.

Rod
 
Since nobody here seems to think it is a Balabushka, I was a little surprised to receive an e-mail from a very experienced and I consider very knowledgeable collector/dealer stating that he thought the cue was indeed a Balabushka. I told him what I thought didn't jive, dates, etc., but he thought the cue had been re-worked somewhere along the line.

One thing is for sure: no two people are in agreement on this cue! The suspense builds. Hopefully Jon will send the cue off and update us...

Chris
 
jayman said:
I am 99.9% sure the cue you have pictured is an adams circa 1970.
Click to expand...

Jay,

The Spain forearms and Adam forearms are almost induistinguishable. But, I ask you because I don't know, did Adam ever make a 5 veneer forearm? I know for sure Spain did. Both Paradise and Balabushka used them.

Chris
 
From the butt up to the front of the wrap screams Balabushka. I would like to see the end of the joint pin,and I still think it is obvious the inlay were added at a later point. I have never seen a 5 veneer example of Balabushka's work,or Paradise's either. Since I have not seen one,that meens that they probally do in fact,exist.I stil maintain the joint looks to be Nickel Silver,not S/S. Any comments?
 
hangemhigh said:
From the butt up to the front of the wrap screams Balabushka. I would like to see the end of the joint pin,and I still think it is obvious the inlay were added at a later point. I have never seen a 5 veneer example of Balabushka's work,or Paradise's either. Since I have not seen one,that meens that they probally do in fact,exist.I stil maintain the joint looks to be Nickel Silver,not S/S. Any comments?
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I agree, the inlays were probably added and whoever did it should have been doing something else! Most cuemakers would work within the ebony because it's too hard to hide the filler on the maple overlap.

If you look in the billiards encyclopedia, there is a 5 veneer Spain blanked Paradise closeup on page 308.

The joint looks to me like it could be aluminum in the pic. Paradise used aluminum on some cues (Palmer didn't, I don't know if Balabushka did). The butt for sure is not Paradise. Hence, the mystery deepens.

Chris
 
the two things that i question about the cue is

1) that round inlay. only palmer or paradise. never seen a bushka with that inlay. that beind said there might have been a split diamond there and it was replaced with that round. i think the dots were there before bc all inlays would have been centered around that round inlay and it would have been placed better if it was original. also seems out of place in the forearm and not in the buttsleeve

2) the total area of the buttsleeve looks too long to me. ive studied that area on alot of cuemakers bc i live that classic look. g.s. used 3 inches of wood in the buttsleeve where g.b. only used around 2.5 inches. i borrowed some pics from mark and joe. look at the sizes close up
http://www.classiccues.com/cues/balabushka.htm

that joint also looks like aluminum to me. even dull ss joint is shinnier than that and nickel has that light rainbow tone to it... i love nickel joints
 
TATE said:
Jay,

The Spain forearms and Adam forearms are almost induistinguishable. But, I ask you because I don't know, did Adam ever make a 5 veneer forearm? I know for sure Spain did. Both Paradise and Balabushka used them.

Chris
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Chris,

No, they sure didn't. they were either one, two three or four.

Jayman.
 
Update....

TATE said:
I just received this e-mail:


Chris;

I've read alot of good comments on azbilliards.com reference the pool cue I have for sale on ebay. Not sure I agree with them all, but want to give everybody a fair shake. I've even signed up so as to answer questions as fairly for everyone; alot of experts out there and everyone seems to have their own expertise in areas. By no means is this sale a scam or intended to be. I am a highly decorated Army Major with three tours of combat and aviation commands behind me. My good friend Joe "Jackie Gleason" Martino is a great person and as I recently rumaged through all his pool hall trophies and personalized pictures from all the greats it just added more value to the listing. I am an avid player as well and own a nice new brunswick, but am not an expert in the field. Joe's story is valid; and when I met with him this weekend and showed him all the negative publicity, it really put him down. He tells me that George use to come into his shop and fix the cue tips for folks and personnally made this for him. What a great history, in fact I told him that i would like to do a right up on him as well for all the pool enthusiasts to read personnally; great history and a true same to see a man get this old and have to part with a treasured piece. I'm convinced that it is an original and one of his first pieces. I have asked him to take it down, we will go to get it authenticated, because I think this to be a true original and with only 1200 made; would be a shame to see it sell to someone for this amount who really didn't appreciate it. It should be in a museum for all to treasure. I've got one email from a gentleman and even offered to pay his hotel here in vegas for him if he wanted to come look at it. If you have a contact with Pete Tascarella or Bill Schick, i'd drive it out to them to look at as well; or let them know as this is no scam. Pass the word, and if ya want I've signed up under aceduece (my call sign in combat aviation) and would be happy to answer questions to the best of my ability. I will probably pul
l it down as some auction houses have contacted me from Texas as well.
Appreciate your feedback and email me anytime. Would prefere you don't release my email address to all the flakes out there as well.
thanks and god bless..

Jon
aceduece


Jon,

You should call Pete Tascarella as soon as possible and send him the cue for authentication. Please keep us up to date during the authentication process. This should prove to be interesting, because the cue is a mystery.

Whatever it is, Pete should be able to shed some light on it.

Chris
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Just a little update: Jon, the E-bay seller (who was helping the cue's owner, Joe) , has been in touch with Pete Tascarella and the process seems to be moving forward for proper authentication. As it turns out, Pete knows something of the cue's owner and his colleagues.

I just want to say that I have found Jon both credible and quite polite to deal with. He has taken all of this very well and now is going through the necessary steps to bring this cue to market.

Jon also will help Joe sell an antique Brunswick table.

Let's wish him well and keep an open mind -the mystery of this cue may get solved after all!

Chris
 
TATE said:
Yes, once in a while they pop up. It's fun when a previously undiscovered Balabushka shows up.

There was one a few months ago where a gentleman in Washington sold one for his uncle's estate. He had sold me a few Palmer's -then he sent me a pic of this Balabushka - I almost fell off my chair. It was a rare Szamboti blank (it had a birdseye maple forearm). He kind of made me his advisor and I helped him get it authenticated and advertise it on E-Bay because he didn't know anything about cues. It was a nice cue. I thought he would get $12k - it went for over $16K.

here was the auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:11&item=220130170414

Chris
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Well, finally this cue has been authenticated and will go back up on E-Bay. The seller and his representative are legit. Turns out it's a Frank Paradise cue with a 5 veneer Spain blank, re-worked by Geroge Balabushka.

I've been told they have a letter from Tascarella. I'm a little hazy as to what the cue looked like but I remember it had Paradise/Palmer style rings and a nice 5 veneer blank, and inlays.

Anyway, let's keep an eye out for this cue - hopefully the price will allow some bidding.

Chris
 
TATE said:
Well, finally this cue has been authenticated and will go back up on E-Bay. The seller and his representative are legit. Turns out it's a Frank Paradise cue with a 5 veneer Spain blank, re-worked by Geroge Balabushka.

I've been told they have a letter from Tascarella. I'm a little hazy as to what the cue looked like but I remember it had Paradise/Palmer style rings and a nice 5 veneer blank, and inlays.

Anyway, let's keep an eye out for this cue - hopefully the price will allow some bidding.

Chris
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I love the 5 veneer Spain Bushkas, I have 2 of them and feel like the luckiest guy around, wonder how many 5 veneer ones were built. anyone know? thanks
 
Fatboy said:
I love the 5 veneer Spain Bushkas, I have 2 of them and feel like the luckiest guy around, wonder how many 5 veneer ones were built. anyone know? thanks
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Denny Glenn is probably as likely to know as anyone.

BTW - isn't this cue a Paradise, rather than a Bushka?

Dale
 
I just read the Ebay story and this thread- and damn! Jackie Gleason? Didn't he play Minnesota Fats in The Hustler or something?
 
The Cue is back

TATE said:
Well, finally this cue has been authenticated and will go back up on E-Bay. The seller and his representative are legit. Turns out it's a Frank Paradise cue with a 5 veneer Spain blank, re-worked by Geroge Balabushka.

I've been told they have a letter from Tascarella. I'm a little hazy as to what the cue looked like but I remember it had Paradise/Palmer style rings and a nice 5 veneer blank, and inlays.

Anyway, let's keep an eye out for this cue - hopefully the price will allow some bidding.

Chris
Click to expand...

The Paradise is back on Ebay. Here is the item number 170194728158 Starting at 9K!!
 
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