Clear Ferrule Finally Installed

[Bavafongoul]

Aside from the sake of sheer novelty, a clear ferrule offers poor sight contrast highlighting the tip versus a ferrule that was
white or even black. And the scratches will only worsen with more play. It’s something to talk about but IMO, not very practical. Someone is always trying to come up with a new mouse trap design when spring trap already do a great job killing rats. Clear ferrules? What are the advantage it offers? Like I wrote, other than novelty, why bother even changing?

 

[nicksaint26]

Aside from the sake of sheer novelty, a clear ferrule offers poor sight contrast highlighting the tip versus a ferrule that was
white or even black. And the scratches will only worsen with more play. It’s something to talk about but IMO, not very practical. Someone is always trying to come up with a new mouse trap design when spring trap already do a great job killing rats. Clear ferrules? What are the advantage it offers? Like I wrote, other than novelty, why bother even changing?

Clear ferrules will help about the same as ivory joints do.

 

[Bavafongoul]

Clear ferrules will help about the same as ivory joints do.

Nice try……all the of greatest cue makers recognized ivory ferrules were the best to use.
The ivory ban changed that, unfortunately, despite the tons of legal ivory here in the USA.

You are getting confused with pool cue anatomy and the ferrules are at the tip of the shaft
as contrasted with a cue joint that’s in the middle. Regardless, ivory ferrules play the best.

But be that as it may, the law is the law and we have to comply or suffer the consequences.
I’m pretty sure clear ferrules won’t be popular & certainly never on the scale of ivory ferrules.

How many players use ferruleless cues? A couple of years from now, the question might be
how many players still use clear ferrules? Like I originally wrote, IMO, it’s more of a novelty.

 

[Sheldon]

Nice try……all the of greatest cue makers recognized ivory ferrules were the best to use.

And all the better modern cuemakers recognize it as nothing but a novelty, just like the clear ferrule is.
There are far superior materials available now.

 

[SeniorTom]

No functional gain. Purely a vanity thing.

Isn't that the case with the entire esthetic nature of cue sticks, including inlays, decals, wood grain, etc. We all fall into this same group, desiring a nice looking cue, but at the same time those looks don't help any of us shoot any better. We are all subject to vanity. Btw, I won all four games last night in my league play using my dragon cue.

Players DDRG Pool Cue

This Players pool cue stick features a golden dragon twisting up the forearm, and a smaller dragon at the sleeve. The oriental style is very elegant, and is complimented by a black and white double pressed Irish linen wrap.

www.pooldawg.com

 

[Bavafongoul]

And all the better modern cuemakers recognize it as nothing but a novelty, just like the clear ferrule is.
There are far superior materials available now.

Better modern….hogwash…….the best names stopped using ivory in 2020……simply to avoid needless headaches.
Yeah, the very best cue makers the last 75-85 years and they would still be using it if it hadn’t become so controversial.
Say what you will, believe what you want but both most knowledgeable pool players & all master cue makers disagree.

 

[BarenbruggeCues]

White, black, orange, red, pink, yellow the truth of the matter is every so often someone will came along and tout a new this or that to be the best or "better" than what is has already been a staple in past.
Around 30 years ago most everyone in my orbit laughed at me when I started putting shorter 5/8 inch ferrules on every shaft, for every cue, I built.
Look around the industry now! You never know which ones are gonna stick and which ones will wither with time.
Clear ferrules I suppose will wither with time.

 

[Bob Jewett]

.... Clear ferrules I suppose will wither with time.

I would describe clear ferrules as stillborn, but I'm an old fogey. And sometimes I've had no ferrule at all.

 

[Sheldon]

I would describe clear ferrules as stillborn, but I'm an old fogey. And sometimes I've had no ferrule at all.

I played with a ferrule-less shaft for years. With normal use, its main purpose is to keep the people that like to grind their chalk around and around the tip until they've drilled a hole deep enough that they start grinding the shaft (or ferrule) that's below it. I've seen hard ferrules turned hourglass shaped by this. It would go through wood 4x as fast.

 

[Sheldon]

Yeah, the very best cue makers the last 75-85 years and they would still be using it if it hadn’t become so controversial.

They used it because they could get very high prices for it. When it was readily available, you could get the material very affordably. Then, since people had been convinced that this heavy, high deflection material that was prone to cracking was somehow superior, they were able to make way more money off of them than almost any other material.

 

[Bavafongoul]

I have played with ivory ferrules since 1984 . I have never had any of the numerous ivory ferrules I own or played with ever crack, break or discolor. That’s 4 decades of play & none of my friends have had problems. Abuse your cue and it surely
will break. Don’t abuse your cue and it can still break. Nothing is 100% except death. Ivory ferrules really do play the best.

 

[sciarco]

Looks ugly period no thanks.

 

[Nick B]

With the Tenon in the shaft you probably added a bunch of end mass. It's your cue and your money. For me it's a HARD PASS.

 

[DeeDeeCues]

Nice try……all the of greatest cue makers recognized ivory ferrules were the best to use.
The ivory ban changed that, unfortunately, despite the tons of legal ivory here in the USA.

Maybe let the greatest cuemakers speak for themselves or show us citations where they are on the record saying that. Things published in the '50's and '60's carry no weight since most engineering plastics evolved after then.

 

[DeeDeeCues]

They used it because they could get very high prices for it. When it was readily available, you could get the material very affordably. Then, since people had been convinced that this heavy, high deflection material that was prone to cracking was somehow superior, they were able to make way more money off of them than almost any other material.

How dare you insinuate that cuemakers might like to make a profit!

BFG is convinced that tradition is a scientific proof. There was a time when ivory was about the best material for some things. That was before wide availability engineering plastics. It's the same with wood and leather. I am not a fan at all of CF shafts, it is superior to wood in some ways, but doesn't have the same warmth or feel. I am surprised that it has takes this long to develop a better tip than leather (but, leather is still readily available and cheap...seems like I just read that somewhere about something else).

I don't know why I don't have that guy on ignore. It's always just elitist bs about how he knows great cuemakers well enough to speak for them and that owyfint toof is the best material ever.

 

[Bavafongoul]

Please put me on your ignore list……..I would appreciate that and I’ll do likewise. We don’t agree ‘bout much at all.

Meanwhile, anyone with a cue being made by a noteworthy named cue maker with a track record, just ask them. One
can always substitute but it’s not the same. IMO, Juma is a good alternative to protect & preserve endangered species.

It is not the same but it doesn’t have to be. A good musician won’t fault their instrument when it’s played badly. They
accept it wasn’t their best performance and recommit to doing their best because they know what they’re capable of.

Ivory doesn’t do squat to make you become the player you aspire to be. But having a cue you love does makes it easier.

 

[nicksaint26]

Please put me on your ignore list……..I would appreciate that and I’ll do likewise. We don’t agree ‘bout much at all.

Meanwhile, anyone with a cue being made by a noteworthy named cue maker with a track record, just ask them. One
can always substitute but it’s not the same. IMO, Juma is a good alternative to protect & preserve endangered species.

It is not the same but it doesn’t have to be. A good musician won’t fault their instrument when it’s played badly. They
accept it wasn’t their best performance and recommit to doing their best because they know what they’re capable of.

Ivory doesn’t do squat to make you become the player you aspire to be. But having a cue you love does makes it easier.

Having something you like is one thing but to say it’s superior is another.

 

[BarenbruggeCues]

How dare you insinuate that cuemakers might like to make a profit!

And dang....for all these years I've been busting ass just for the love of it!

Before modern plastics evolved, it's pretty common knowledge that one of the main reasons ivory was used at the business end of the shaft was because of it resistance to staining and holding chalk dust. (with proper chalking technique, of course).
I don't believe it had squat to do with playability or deflection or squirt or any of the scientific studies that have evolved since the modern manmade materials have hit the market.
And it was readily available at a decent price.

 

[DeeDeeCues]

And dang....for all these years I've been busting ass just for the love of it!

Before modern plastics evolved, it's pretty common knowledge that one of the main reasons ivory was used at the business end of the shaft was because of it resistance to staining and holding chalk dust. (with proper chalking technique, of course).
I don't believe it had squat to do with playability or deflection or squirt or any of the scientific studies that have evolved since the modern manmade materials have hit the market.
And it was readily available at a decent price.

Amen, brother.

I'd add that ivory is a relatively uniform color, and is relatively easy to work with common tools/tooling. Really, in the '60's, what were the options? Aluminum? It oxidizes almost immediately. Brass? Don't tell the snooker players, but I'd be hard pressed to find a worse material for a ferrule. Micarta was about the only other real option outside of some vulcanized plastics. Micarta is great, but to your point, try to keep it clean....

The history of some of the luxury materials is pretty interesting. Jade, ebony, and ivory were historically most valuable more because of their ability to be carved with extremely fine detail combined with their color and durability. Rarity was only part of the value.

 

[BarenbruggeCues]

Never understood the brass thing! Maybe because the balls are smaller and lighter, the tips are usually between 11 and 12mm it doesn't effect as much?
I guess if installed correctly you'd never have to change it out for the life of your shaft?
So many questions....so few answers.