Black Ferrules

Hightower, Cue man here at AZB sells buffalo horn ferrules that are black, but have some lighter streaks in some of them, natural inclusions I’d guess it could be described as.

I let my repair guy talk me into it when replacing a badly cracked ivory ferrule recently as he no longer uses ivory. He said it plays similar, and I was truly surprised when it did. It plays very well. It took an adjustment to get used to the color but I’ve grown to like it.
 
The black ferrules you used to see on all the house cues and such were made of a material called fibre, it was a blend of cellulose and cotton fibers. This is the same material that McDermott used for years and years in a white version. It's a little soft but extremely tough. I don't remember ever seeing a cracked fibre ferrule. You can also make ferrules from black LB rod or you can always make a phenolic ferrule from an old 8-ball.
 
I used to mark my shaft on the top side so that I always had my shaft oriented the same.

Shafts flex and deflect the cue ball differently based upon which way they are oriented.
I bet most of the younger players wouldn't notice this or play with a shaft long enough to figure out how it hits on orientation. Good tip!;
 
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