Chris - This is why I like doing custom work.

[JB Cases]

I like doing custom work because it gives me a chance to play and explore new things and ways to do things.

On this case Chris wanted his signature, but very subdued, so we chose to tool it and inlay it in a circle matched to the radius of the middle pocket. Middle pocket? Well, Chris also wanted a pocket for his joint protectors so we added a small one with a magnetic flap and an expandable center section so the pieces can be inserted and removed easily. And a matching towel ring, of course We did a luggage tag, as requested, never knew those were so popular. For the logo we inlaid it on the back of the lid to match the inlaid signature on the front.

Chris also wanted it to be the oil tan combined with a rustic brown that was only a few shades apart. Took us a couple tries but we got there.

Oh, I almost forgot, we also made a custom plug that is easily removable for Chris' jump cue handle, and put in an extra divider in one of the butt compartments so that Chris can put both the butt and shaft of his break cue in the same compartment. Look closely at the left compartment of the interior.

Lastly he wanted something to keep the strap in place when it was not extended, so we did a little retainer with a snap.

Chris didn't opt for the lojack system Thanks for the order Chris - I appreciate the business AND the challenge.

This case came out very pretty and is another one that I would make for myself someday when I get around to making one for myself.

 

[JB Cases]

 

[JB Cases]

 

[JimS]

Very inventive John. Great work. You got the juices flowing with this assingment. :groucho:

This case is right up my alley. I like the plain brown tones a lot.

There's a Lojack system? I know that Cesar Millan is advertising a GPS dog collar for about $150 and $10 a month so you could imbed a chip in the handle or the lid.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

John I know I am going to P*** Off someone for saying what I am going to say, GREAT WORK, OUT OF THE BOX, NOT ANOTHER COOKIE CUTTER CASE. Keep em coming Bottom line is the Customer had a DREAM, you made it happen, Congrats!!!

 

[yuri_b17]

simple...yet cool...everything you needed in a case...loved the pockets for the JP's...great cases as always John...

 

[bob b.]

John,

I have seen this case personally, its the nuts! I love that soft interior...as you know, I just bought the 3x6 red/black prototype case, just got it yesterday, THANKS!


Chris,

See you thursday, great job on the case!


Bob B.

 

[sjb]

I've seen it too. It is a real beauty, and solid as a rock. Nice design and nice work.

 

[fsarfino]

Nice looking case John. I like the pocket for the joint protectors

 

[kvinbrwr]

John

Is that a leather ID tag I see?

Kevin

 

[Chris Byrne]

You made me another case! Thanks John.

 

[mamono]

Quite nice.

 

[Schlosser Cases]

Nice cases like the design:wink:

 

[mdavis228]

Thanks for the nice comments, everyone, and thanks for posting these great pics, John!
JB was very good to work with & he made it easy to get everything I wanted to incorporate into the case with great utility. The process was quick & smooth, and the delivery estimate was pretty much spot on. He sent me several pre-job mock ups for ensuring we were on the same page, and the color matching was exactly as I wished. I wanted a tone on tone effect with differing materials.
This case is top quality top to bottom. The very first impression when seeing it, and when touching & hefting it, is that you have the feel of excellence in your hands. This is some very serious leather! Not your thin, whimpy, brittle feeling, low end stuff.
Accessibility is very high & ranked with protection as my #1 priorities. Storage is of little use if you can't retrieve what you store. Everything in this case & the pockets is readily available - very easily at hand.
John & crew put this on the ground exactly as I envisioned it, and I'm very satisfied with the whole transaction & the end result.

John - I'll post a formal review in the new Case Review section for you in the next week.

 

[cuesblues]

JP Pocket

It doesn't get any better than having a special J/p pocket.
I've been talking about one for months.
Very cool design Chris.

 

[Realizm]

Dam man I like that cases .
Hey john towel ring . Hook me up .brass ring .

It doesn't get any better than having a special J/p pocket.
I've been talking about one for months.
Very cool design Chris.

 

[mdavis228]

Thanks for all the nice comments. This is a very high quality piece of equipment.
I've posted a review in the new "Case Review" area per John's request. I'm not big on the new review area myself, and I would have just posted it in the Cue Review section - which is where I think everyone looks, more so than not. But John wanted a review in this new area, so I was willing to oblige.
The review would be the same one place or the other...

 

[CMD]

Whenever you want to get rid of it, give me a call. We don't even have to change the name.

I am just kidding Chris. Mr. Barton did a wonderful job in executing your very specific request. He is truly on top of his game. I just got a GTF a few months ago, and love it.


Congratulations,
Chris

 

[Fatboy]

my thoughts....

I love that case, I'm not a brown case guy-but this aint about me, this case is very cool, and has some very useful gadgets(I mean that in a positive way). When I see new ideas on cases, I love it! I think about if I would like to have a case like that, would I use the gadget(I hate the word gadget cause it sounds cheap/trivial). Whats practiacal, or not practical for me.


JB,

I like your way of thinking and applieing new ideas to the cases you build, thats progress. Foward thinking-who cares if Mr. Flowers had his cases made in Mexico, thats history. Foward thinking is where all the action is at.

I was talking with Ralf after a match a while back and he is very meticolous about his chalk, he has a place for everything in his case with zero room to spare(thats a very German thing), I mentioned to him that I noticed how organized he is, I like my case and what I carry in it organized as well, but i'm not as organized as Ralf.

JA on the other hand likes to put 2 16oz bottles of Mountain Dew in his case, I think thats more important to him than his cue, I'm not kidding. then he has a huge pink Hagar extender he has to carry seperatly, which is a pain. He needs a pocket on the outside of his case to slip the extender in, and huge pockets for the Mountain Dew.


Two players, 2 totally different ways they use their case, most important reason to have a case is to protect what ever cue is in it(and I think that has been accomplished), second reason to have a case is to organize what ever a player needs, and that verys from player to player as noted above. I dont think there will ever be the "Perfect" case because different players have different needs. But the fun part along the way is solving those issure my adapting to what the market is asking for, not walking a hard line. This case right here is one of those cases that address someones needs. Speaking for myself-I like to play with a blue circle CB, So I stuff a CB into my case, you never realize just how big a CB is until you stuff it in your case.

 

[JB Cases]

I love that case, I'm not a brown case guy-but this aint about me, this case is very cool, and has some very useful gadgets(I mean that in a positive way). When I see new ideas on cases, I love it! I think about if I would like to have a case like that, would I use the gadget(I hate the word gadget cause it sounds cheap/trivial). Whats practiacal, or not practical for me.


JB,

I like your way of thinking and applieing new ideas to the cases you build, thats progress. Foward thinking-who cares if Mr. Flowers had his cases made in Mexico, thats history. Foward thinking is where all the action is at.

I was talking with Ralf after a match a while back and he is very meticolous about his chalk, he has a place for everything in his case with zero room to spare(thats a very German thing), I mentioned to him that I noticed how organized he is, I like my case and what I carry in it organized as well, but i'm not as organized as Ralf.

JA on the other hand likes to put 2 16oz bottles of Mountain Dew in his case, I think thats more important to him than his cue, I'm not kidding. then he has a huge pink Hagar extender he has to carry seperatly, which is a pain. He needs a pocket on the outside of his case to slip the extender in, and huge pockets for the Mountain Dew.


Two players, 2 totally different ways they use their case, most important reason to have a case is to protect what ever cue is in it(and I think that has been accomplished), second reason to have a case is to organize what ever a player needs, and that verys from player to player as noted above. I dont think there will ever be the "Perfect" case because different players have different needs. But the fun part along the way is solving those issure my adapting to what the market is asking for, not walking a hard line. This case right here is one of those cases that address someones needs. Speaking for myself-I like to play with a blue circle CB, So I stuff a CB into my case, you never realize just how big a CB is until you stuff it in your case.

I agree that there never will be such a thing as the perfect case.

I have so many ideas in progress and never seem to bring many of them to completion. If you approach case making like I do then it's never ending.

I do have sort of an admiration for case makers who make cases their way and no other. I think it takes a lot of fortitude to say that this is what I offer and nothing else. It's not my way and I take great pride in trying to come up with what the customer wants but I have definitely come to see the merit in limiting the amount of things one offers, as a business model.

And what turns one person on doesn't always work for another as you pointed out.

My thing is to compile all these things we do and try at some point to offer a menu for people to choose from. By being so flexible I get to learn a lot about what people really want and need in a cue case.

For example I have gotten lots of requests for pockets to hold cue balls. So far I have made such pockets in three different ways. So now when I talk to someone it's a lot easier to find the method that will work for them.

Or Chris' joint protector pocket. This is in itself not super innovative and the idea for the magnetic pocket done this way was taken from something that I saw on Cuemaster's cases. But where we got creative is to make it slightly flexible with the mesh and also elegantly designed.

I am always studying cases from other sports and endeavors to learn as much as I can and take the ideas that seem like they would work. A lot of those ideas find their way into our production lines.

Anyway, it's fun, sometimes frustrating and always interesting at parties to tell people what I do and get the blank look back in return.