Being a fan of Cortland Irish Linen (my two players, Huebler's, have original Cortland wraps) I went down a rabbit hole a few years back. Although it's called "Irish" linen, it was actually made by the Cortland Line Company out of New York. It's made from the fibers of the Flax plant and spun in a 3x3 strand twist, current linen is spun in a 2x3 format, the 3x3, I'm assuming, is why it's called #9. The 3x3 makes a more round thread and creates a more rounded/smooth texture. I'm not sure why, but the original machinery to make the 3x3 was dismantled/destroyed - or otherwise - out of service. In the fishing world it is sometimes known as Cuttyhunk, you can occasionally find that for sale (example below) but I'm not sure what the difference is between the two. Link below is called "4 square", not sure what that means but it tells me it's not 3x3. Actually, since it's 54lb test I would guess it's spun 4x4 i.e. each strand is made up of 4 smaller strands, then 4 of those are spun to make the line.
Cuttyhunk:
More fun facts:
There are native flax plants in New Zealand that could/would be great for what we call Cortland Irish Linen. However, you need to learn how to spin it into thread, then you need the machine to twist it in a 3x3 format.
DuPont created synthetic line in 1938 which ultimately ended the flax linen reign.
The last time I saw an authentic roll of Cortland Irish Linen for a pool cue (and just enough for 1 cue) it was about $200, that was 6-8 years ago.
And on a side note: back in the late 80's my father gave me an Adam cue that had a two color wrap, bottom and top 2" (approximately) were white and the middle was black. I've often thought about finding old cues with torn up Cortland wrap and using the scraps to do the same thing. There's also no reason you couldn't find the same color to make a full wrap?
If you feel like making your own here are a couple of links on how to spin Flax.
