Do you use IVORY ferrule?

[8onthebreak]

Every thread regarding preference has to have at least one obligatory "Indian not arrow" post even if its completely out if context.

I think its some kind of unwritten law.

Thank you guys...I'm about to lose my mind here, you cant ever have a conversation about anything on this forum without someone stating that "whatever it is wont fix your game"...lets start here...my game aint broke!!!!

I could pick up a bar cue and compete with anyone, maybe win, maybe lose. But I didnt spend thousands of dollars on cues hoping to find a way to win.

I still have questions about peoples preferences and their experiences. Those who know everything will never know anything in my opinion.

Indian not the arrow posts, make it difficult to have an open conversation about real things...

Someone should start an INDIAN NOT THE ARROW thread, lets make the forum the most user friendly it can be.

Thanks for the great input on Ivory ferules...still appears from the above inputs, that it would add more deflection, and since i'm used to low deflection shafts, I'm concerned that it would take me even further from my natural baseline of deflection...since the shafts being made are standard maple and obviously probably higher in deflection in the first place than what im used to...

Can anyone actually describe the difference in feel, and or hit?

seemed like easy cleaning and aesthetics were the more prominent reasons for people using Ivory, I'd like to hear from some avid users of Ivory that can vouch for the HIT, and DESCRIBE it in their own words, and yes I know its subjective but still helps.

 

[RRfireblade]

Its suble. I have ivory ferules and joints on most all my players and in my opinion, the combination has a firm and very lively feel. The feedback it provides is very smooth. It seems to filter out any harshness without any loss of connection with the CB. Its not the determining factor in the hit but more like tuning the hit to a precise fine degree.

 

[bflgvs]

As white as Ivory

I also prefer ivory ferrules. Deflection isn't an issue for me either probably because I've been playing since well before deflection was invented. :grin: I've just adjusted a long time ago I suppose, and really don't have to put any conscious thought into potential squirt. I've never blamed a miss on an unexpected amount of deflection.

I like the look,feel and hit of ivory. And as Fats said, it is real easy to maintain and keep clean and I like a clean ferrule.

Yup, me too!!!!!!!! I had Tad put on ivory ferrules on both shafts when I purchased a cue from him back '79. In '93 I purchased my current player and it also has ivory ferrules. Since that was pretty much before deflection or squirt was invented I guess I like them for the appearance and the easy maintenance. They make my cues look even more 'purddier'..lol. Oh and they play o.k. also, the cues that is. ===>:yeah:


Gerry S

 

[RAMIII]

Ivory has a "tink"

I prefer the hit of ivory to other materials because there is a distinct "tink" or "ping" feeling in the cue when you hit the ball. Instead of a hollow "thump" that you may feel with an LD shaft or a soft tip, you'll have a ping.

I don't share the opinions of some of the other people here (e.g. LD shafts don't make a difference). I am transitioning from an LD shaft to an ivory ferrule and the deflection difference is substantial. Your game will change, and as long as you expect this and are patient, then you'll get use to the ivory. Jeremy Jones shoots at the pool hall I frequent and I saw him try an LD shaft and he couldn't make a ball to save his life. He kept scratching his head wondering why the balls wouldn't fall. Then he picks up his own cue with a standard shaft and starts running the balls out right and left. Since moving over from an LD shaft my game has dropped by about half and I've started to slowly get an understanding of the aiming difference that I have to compensate for with an ivory ferrule.
Hope this helps.
-Ryan

Thank you guys...I'm about to lose my mind here, you cant ever have a conversation about anything on this forum without someone stating that "whatever it is wont fix your game"...lets start here...my game aint broke!!!!

I could pick up a bar cue and compete with anyone, maybe win, maybe lose. But I didnt spend thousands of dollars on cues hoping to find a way to win.

I still have questions about peoples preferences and their experiences. Those who know everything will never know anything in my opinion.

Indian not the arrow posts, make it difficult to have an open conversation about real things...

Someone should start an INDIAN NOT THE ARROW thread, lets make the forum the most user friendly it can be.

Thanks for the great input on Ivory ferules...still appears from the above inputs, that it would add more deflection, and since i'm used to low deflection shafts, I'm concerned that it would take me even further from my natural baseline of deflection...since the shafts being made are standard maple and obviously probably higher in deflection in the first place than what im used to...

Can anyone actually describe the difference in feel, and or hit?

seemed like easy cleaning and aesthetics were the more prominent reasons for people using Ivory, I'd like to hear from some avid users of Ivory that can vouch for the HIT, and DESCRIBE it in their own words, and yes I know its subjective but still helps.

 

[Sealegs50]

If you want to try a superb hitting cue with a big 1.25" ivory ferrule, go for a Schick. Bill's cues can do just about anything with that ferrule... I guess there is a lot more to deflection control than simple mass on a shaft.

I have owned 6 of Bill's shafts and still own 5 of them. The ferrules are all 1.1" (or within a couple hundredths). I completely agree with your opinion about how his cues play.

 

[qbilder]

I'm not a fan of ivory. I personally prefer a good melamine. It's harder & stronger than ivory, and more suitable for cues, IMO. That said, not all melamine is created equal. Only two I can think of that are harder than ivory. For that matter, not all ivory is created equal, either. It varies in hardness & strength more than any man made material.

To me, ivory has a medium hit. It's actually a softer, quieter hit than the melamine I use. One thing I love about ivory is that it's always pristine, pretty white. Doesn't matter how nasty blue the shaft gets, the ferrule is always white. The thing I hate about ivory is that it's sometimes very unstable, and the cost does not relate to quality. It's expensive because it's ivory, not because it's a good material. Aside from that, I have no complaints about ivory. It hits & plays just fine, is a good material to work with. It's also not better than any other material. To me it's just another material. I only install them if asked to do so. When somebody wants a particular hit, ivory never really comes to mind. There's a broad range of man made materials that go from rather soft to rock hard and everything between.

As for deflection, if it is such a big deal to you that it dictates what ferrule you choose, then IMO your game has bigger issues than cue materials. Better forget the cue & spend the money on lessons, gambling, & table time. I believe more than anything, table time & personal experience with different things is the only way to know for sure what you really like in a cue.

 

[336Robin]

several things withe deflection/squirt

Deflection seems to be caused by end mass...I've always wanted to use ivory ferrule but have tried some and am experiencing a lot of deflection...

I assume ivory is heavier than phenolic, and I'm wondering if it adds any significant amount of deflection???

Maybe it's just the shafts I've got?

Other than the obvious aesthetics, is there any benefit or reason to be using ivory for the ferrule?

I also understand that ivory is softer than most. Phenolics, and while most folks are out for that hard hit...???

I would like to hear from some folks with experience on the matter, as I'm currently having a couple cues built and need to make some decisions soon on ferrule material.

As in anything pool there are always several things that can affect squirt.

I have 12.80 stiff maple shafts 15in Pro Taper with a plastic ferrule that play awesome.

Its equal in Ivory as far as squirt is a 12.55 mm shaft, 15 in taper that when stroke hard I feel bends just a bit more than I like and that changes how it plays when making squirt allowances.

I have not played with the short ferrule yet but if I were going with Ivory thats they way I would go and I would make sure I had around 12.75 shafts at the thinnest.

I have a number of 13mm Ivory and Plastic ferruled shafts and they impart almost twice of the squirt of the 12.80 shafts in plastic. Yes they hit sweet but so does Juma for a lot less squirt.

With the new Ivory bans and the extinction of animals that produce Ivory I think its time to let it go not only from a ecological and moral standpoint but less is better in terms of squirt in my opinion. Although I will say this much. There are ways of coping with that if you want to build your game that way and many do. I love the feel and hit of Ivory but I dont love the squirt.

 

[ddadams]

I have played with maple and LD shafts for the last couple years back and forth and have improved my game a lot.

I had an 11.3 MM maple shaft from Keith Hanssen I threw on any 3x8/10 cue I had because it played so well. Then switched to an 11.4 MM OB Pro+ after I had it retapered.

It played fantastic.

When I got my Danny Tibbitts I couldn't throw the OB on there because everyone bragged about his shafts. I've never really been able to play terribly well with a big big shaft. But I tried the 12.9 MM ivory ferruled maple shaft out and I just gave my OB + to my girlfriend.

I've had more break and runs with this cue than any other I've had and have had very, very little issues with deflection. I feel like this shaft has very little deflection, even with the huge diameter and 1" ivory ferrule.


Maybe those who are worrying so much about deflection need to use less spin and more stroke. A lot of players use maximum english when they can use a half a tip and get where they need to go. You don't get much deflection when you only move out half a tip or one tip.


Danny is building me another shaft as we speak. I asked if he would use phenolic because I like to break and play with one cue if at all possible but he doesn't really like going away from ivory. He asked me how I was playing and if I still wanted phenolic the other day and I said no.

I just take a lot off the break and haven't had an issue. I only break 8 ball really hard anyways and don't play it much. So I'll just borrow a cue or break softer if I don't have my BK2.


I'm going to move away from other cuemakers except Danny and 2 others. Going to primarily try to get one Tibbitts a year for a while. All with ivory ferrules.


I doubt I'll ever go back to a "LD" shaft.

 

[jazznpool]

The absolute state of the custom craft right now is to use 5/8" or less uncapped ivory or fossil ivory with carbon fiber pad. Even better when front of shaft has been "preditorozed" and compensating weight (heavier wood or phenolic preferred) has been added to joint thread area. A few cuemakers I know are doing this by custom request. Just my opinion of course. I like lbm ferrules too. Uncapped.

 

[Black-Balled]

I have a lot of shafts for my cue and and the two I prefer the most both have I of ferrules.

And that is odd, coz I cannot stand the feel of an ivory jointed cue.

 

[Tony_in_MD]

I have ivory ferrules on all of my playing cues. I prefer shafts between 12.75 and 13.00 mm.

I like the look, feel, sound, and squirt of these ferrules. I like my ferrules to be long, capped, clean and white, on dirty shafts.

They are all that I have ever played with, and I suspect if I ever switched to a LD shaft, I would not be able to make a ball.

 

[Bavafongoul]

It's Ivory......

Switched 15 years ago and will never use anything but ivory for my ferrules and cue joints.
In the intervening years, had several cues but kept trading cues until I found some that are just the best.

 

[yally]

I love ivory ferrules...but use mammoth ivory. Same play, less dead elephants.

 

[Nuts4Tascarellas]

ferrules

IVORY for me. Nothing plays like it. The sound it makes when you hit the ball correctly is addictive.

 

[AK-Stick]

I prefer Ivory and its also easier to keep clean

 

[JoeyA]

JUst another opinion.

You make some good points.

The difference between some LD shafts and some non-LD shafts is minute. Some people will say that LD shafts feel dead or less lively.

When it comes to cues, I have, over time, trained myself to not think about subjective things like "feel", "hit" or "looks" and pay attention to how the cue performs. It hasn't been easy and I find myself still appreciating how a cue feels, hits and looks but I defer to how the cue performs over anything subjective.

My current playing cue does not have an IVORY ferrule. I have shafts that have IVORY ferrules but most of them are rather long ferrules and I lean toward shorter ferrules, even if they don't clean up very well.

As to how IVORY ferrules hit feels, it has been too long since I used one but I would suggest that it makes little difference how something feels to someone else but how it feels to you. I notice that some people pick up on things (feel/hit etc) differently than I do. I have a slight hearing impediment and don't hear the same distinct pitch/sound as others and that is probably fuel for my desire to pay more attention to how the cue makes the cue ball perform when you use it.

If you forced me to choose a cue between how it sounds/feels/looks and how it performs, I would choose performance every time but that's just me.

Interesting thread.

JoeyA

Thank you guys...I'm about to lose my mind here, you cant ever have a conversation about anything on this forum without someone stating that "whatever it is wont fix your game"...lets start here...my game aint broke!!!!

I could pick up a bar cue and compete with anyone, maybe win, maybe lose. But I didnt spend thousands of dollars on cues hoping to find a way to win.

I still have questions about peoples preferences and their experiences. Those who know everything will never know anything in my opinion.

Indian not the arrow posts, make it difficult to have an open conversation about real things...

Someone should start an INDIAN NOT THE ARROW thread, lets make the forum the most user friendly it can be.

Thanks for the great input on Ivory ferules...still appears from the above inputs, that it would add more deflection, and since i'm used to low deflection shafts, I'm concerned that it would take me even further from my natural baseline of deflection...since the shafts being made are standard maple and obviously probably higher in deflection in the first place than what im used to...

Can anyone actually describe the difference in feel, and or hit?

seemed like easy cleaning and aesthetics were the more prominent reasons for people using Ivory, I'd like to hear from some avid users of Ivory that can vouch for the HIT, and DESCRIBE it in their own words, and yes I know its subjective but still helps.

 

[Sealegs50]

Theoretically speaking, more mass will deflect more...as will natural grained materials vs man made. The deflection is not a problem in my opinion though. One learns to adjust until it is second nature. The issue, for me, isn't how much a shaft/ferrule deflects, but how consistent it deflects. Ivory feels right to me, shoots where I aim and in my hands plays fair...in a better player's hands, watch out.

More recently, I've enjoyed playing with John Showman and Bob Manzino low deflection ferrules. They're shorter and with the reduced weight, deflect very little. This design doesn't have to be expensive. Steve Dunkel offers a short ferrule on a great hitting cue for $350-$450.

If you want to try a superb hitting cue with a big 1.25" ivory ferrule, go for a Schick. Bill's cues can do just about anything with that ferrule... I guess there is a lot more to deflection control than simple mass on a shaft.

Great post that made it unnecessary to post the same things.

 

[SWN99]

I like the aegis ferules that came with my scruggs in the late 90's.

 

[Colonel]

I played ivory ferrules for a long time. Easy to keep clean & I never thought about deflection. That seems to be an overworked subject with the advent of LD shafts which I don't like or understand at all, I believe if you understand it, deflection can be your friend. Many years ago I desired a ferrule that offered more contrast against the cue ball, so after some experimenting I started having my ferrules made of black linen micarta. It offered the contrast I wanted against a white cue ball, easy to keep clean & I love the contribution it makes to the hit of the cue, it's been my ferrule material of choice ever since.

 

[Straightpool_99]

..............