Herman Rambow
- Thread starter vijesh
- Start date
The secrets died with him
Rambow made cues into his 90's. I had many of them. I also spent a lot of time talking to the old man. Rambow was very paranoid about his helpers ever discovering his secrets, taking them, and going out on their own. He only allowed his help to work on certain projects. When it came to balancing a cue, he would go in the back, lock the door, and do the balancing in secrecy. All I could ever get out of him was that he used no metal to balance a cue, only different woods. There are no lead weights in the butt of an original Rambow cue.
the Beard
Rambow made cues into his 90's. I had many of them. I also spent a lot of time talking to the old man. Rambow was very paranoid about his helpers ever discovering his secrets, taking them, and going out on their own. He only allowed his help to work on certain projects. When it came to balancing a cue, he would go in the back, lock the door, and do the balancing in secrecy. All I could ever get out of him was that he used no metal to balance a cue, only different woods. There are no lead weights in the butt of an original Rambow cue.
the Beard
vijesh said:
Nothing today at all. The cues were short, fat, heavy, stiff, strong tapered and dense, with weight being further back in the cue.
Come to think of it, this is exactly the opposite of todays longer, thinner, lighter, forward weighted, less tapered cues.
The shape, the weight, the full splice construction, brass joint, and ivory ferrules pretty much give these cues their signature.
If you want a "less expensive" Rambow, pick up a Brunswick Willie Hoppe Professional two piece and have a cue maker tweak it to Rambow specs. They would turn it down a little in the butt and and maybe make a new shaft for it from premium wood.
Chris
Rambows
I have 3 of them, the butts are like baseball bats
but they still hit great after 80+ years. I would say that a good Titilist conversion with a 5/6-14 piloted joint would be the closest thing to the old Rambows as most of them were the original Titilist cues. Rambow sold his Titilist design to Brunswick in 1925 then worked for them untill 1950
Thanks
Ted
I have 3 of them, the butts are like baseball bats
but they still hit great after 80+ years. I would say that a good Titilist conversion with a 5/6-14 piloted joint would be the closest thing to the old Rambows as most of them were the original Titilist cues. Rambow sold his Titilist design to Brunswick in 1925 then worked for them untill 1950
Thanks
Ted
Hi Vijesh,
The others answered your question I think, but I'll give you another slant on it. I had an orginal Rambow cue back in the day, and played with quite a few more. That having been said, I think the good cuemakers of today make a more playable product.
I was away from pool altogether for 25 years, and since I returned in February I've bought or commissioned 12 cues. The nicest by far, nicer than my JossWest, is a Rambow style cue by Paul Dayton. It's not true to the originals because Paul believes in making the cue as strong and playable as modern cuemaking will allow. He likes to core his forend and use a Radial pin for example, but he loves the Rambow style cues and makes a player that you'll never sell at a reasonable price. His veneers are nicer than the originals. The balance is better. The hit is WAY better, and Paul chooses his wood very carefully.
You should be able to get a truly deluxe Rambow cue with 4 points, 4 sharp veneers, some ivory inlays and an ivory joint if desired, with two shafts with ivory ferrules and a leather wrap for about $1300, give or take. I highly recommend him. Here's the website. The cues look better in person than the pics indicate...Tom
http://daytoncues.com/index.htm
The others answered your question I think, but I'll give you another slant on it. I had an orginal Rambow cue back in the day, and played with quite a few more. That having been said, I think the good cuemakers of today make a more playable product.
I was away from pool altogether for 25 years, and since I returned in February I've bought or commissioned 12 cues. The nicest by far, nicer than my JossWest, is a Rambow style cue by Paul Dayton. It's not true to the originals because Paul believes in making the cue as strong and playable as modern cuemaking will allow. He likes to core his forend and use a Radial pin for example, but he loves the Rambow style cues and makes a player that you'll never sell at a reasonable price. His veneers are nicer than the originals. The balance is better. The hit is WAY better, and Paul chooses his wood very carefully.
You should be able to get a truly deluxe Rambow cue with 4 points, 4 sharp veneers, some ivory inlays and an ivory joint if desired, with two shafts with ivory ferrules and a leather wrap for about $1300, give or take. I highly recommend him. Here's the website. The cues look better in person than the pics indicate...Tom
http://daytoncues.com/index.htm
Schuler legacy cues claims to continue the cuemaking tradition that Ray Schuler learned from Herman Rambow as an apprentice. I have no idea if the hit of schuler cues are comparable to that of a rambow but they seem to think so..
www.schulercue.com
www.schulercue.com