How much does the ferrule affect the hit?

C

Chris

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am currntly trying to decide what kind of ferrule to have put on my cue that is being built.

How much does a ferrule affect the hit? Does it play a major role or a minor one?

I am considering a thermoplastic ferrule (old Meucci material) instead of a thermoset plastic (Ivorine3) ferrule in order to get a softer hit. What would I be sacrificing by making such a choice?
 
Why would you want a softer hit?

I guess there'd be no disadvantage except it will have a softer hit.
The old Aegis and Ivor-X are the hardest I've tried besides the glass melamine which is no extinct as far as I know.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Why would you want a softer hit?
Click to expand...

Is a softer hit generally considered undesirable? I want my playing cue to not hit like a break cue, but I really am not sure how soft of a hit I like.

I have fairly recently played with:

Predator SP w/ 314 (felt soft)
Richard Black (felt soft)
Frey SP (mine, less soft than the two above)
Mike Webb (least soft of the four, but was fitted with a jump/break tip)

Unfortunately, four cues do not give me much of an idea of the hard hit-soft hit spectrum.
 
Chris said:
I am currntly trying to decide what kind of ferrule to have put on my cue that is being built.

How much does a ferrule affect the hit? Does it play a major role or a minor one?

I am considering a thermoplastic ferrule (old Meucci material) instead of a thermoset plastic (Ivorine3) ferrule in order to get a softer hit. What would I be sacrificing by making such a choice?
Click to expand...

I believe what most affects the "hit" of a cue is #1. Tip, #2 shaft taper, #3 ferrule.

Pluses: softer hit, easy to keep clean.
Minuses: softer hit, cracks easily.

Dick
 
major role???

The ferrule definately makes a huge difference in the way the cue hits...the type that's right for you depends on the hit you like...hard, medium or soft. There are materials that will make a cue hit any one of these and each cuemaker has their own opinion on what they think hits best. I like Aegis...machines nicely, stays pretty clean and hits pretty soft...which is what I like.
Mike
 
Chris said:
I am considering a thermoplastic ferrule (old Meucci material) instead of a thermoset plastic (Ivorine3) ferrule in order to get a softer hit. What would I be sacrificing by making such a choice?
Click to expand...


The ferrule plays a BIG role in the feel of a cue.

If you want a soft hit you should consider the threaded PVC ferrules that Chris Hightower sells. I think he calls them "High Action Ferrules".

I assume you will be installing a soft tip also.
 
rhncue said:
Pluses: softer hit, easy to keep clean.
Minuses: softer hit, cracks easily.
Dick
Click to expand...

Dick, have you tried the Ivor-X ferrule yet?
If so what are your opinions on it.
 
Pancerny said:
The ferrule definately makes a huge difference in the way the cue hits...the type that's right for you depends on the hit you like...hard, medium or soft. There are materials that will make a cue hit any one of these and each cuemaker has their own opinion on what they think hits best. I like Aegis...machines nicely, stays pretty clean and hits pretty soft...which is what I like.
Mike
Click to expand...


Is there more than one type of aegis ferrule out there? I was under the impression that aegis was one of the hardest hitting ferrules out there. If it's not, someone please clue me in. Thanks.
 
i tried ivor-x and was thoroughly unimpressed with playability.only upside to it is it stays clean.
 
masonh said:
i tried ivor-x and was thoroughly unimpressed with playability.only upside to it is it stays clean.
Click to expand...

I agree. I took an Ivory ferrule off of my Q & replaced it with an Ivor-x. It certainly wasn't like the Ivory & I can't say I liked the hit. It was more like it just didn't do ANYTHING, good or bad. I doubt that I will use it again...JER
 
Chris said:
I am currntly trying to decide what kind of ferrule to have put on my cue that is being built.

How much does a ferrule affect the hit? Does it play a major role or a minor one?

I am considering a thermoplastic ferrule (old Meucci material) instead of a thermoset plastic (Ivorine3) ferrule in order to get a softer hit. What would I be sacrificing by making such a choice?
Click to expand...
The ferrule makes a major difference. The ferrule you are considering putting on will give you more spin without having to hit the cueball so far off center and should increse your accuracy once you are used to it. Sometimes you will get too much cue ball action so you will have to learn how to control it.
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
 
masonh said:
i tried ivor-x and was thoroughly unimpressed with playability.only upside to it is it stays clean.
Click to expand...

Tap, Tap, I liked it so much I threw what I had left in the trash. I only tried it capped, then I tried it with a pad, that was enough.
 
WilleeCue said:
Dick, have you tried the Ivor-X ferrule yet?
If so what are your opinions on it.
Click to expand...

Yes and no. I have installed about 6 or 8 of the Ivor X ferrules on shafts when they were requested but no I have never hit a ball with one. Both of the people who have had me install them are very anal about clean white ferrules. They had read about them and asked me to get them so that they could try them out. I've had no complaints from either person and one fellow has had me install them on some other shafts other than the original two. At present I've got 10 or 12 in stock for anyone asking for one.

Dick
 
joey,

i am not sure if it was capped or threaded.it was a year or two ago and i can't remember the cue it was on,but it may be the worst ferrule material i have ever tried.i am anal about keeping the ferrule clean so i normally use ivory .75" to cut down on the seemingly inherent deflection of ivory.never have broken one by the way(no pad either).i like the linen based ferrules alot,good feel and action,but hard to keep clean and scratch free.if they were as clean and scratch resistant as ivory i would use them.i also bought Darrin Hill cue recently and he use the Titan ferrules.i was impressed.with that name i was expecting the worst but they play very well.one thing i will never use again is ivory-x though.
 
masonh said:
joey,

i am not sure if it was capped or threaded.it was a year or two ago and i can't remember the cue it was on,but it may be the worst ferrule material i have ever tried.i am anal about keeping the ferrule clean so i normally use ivory .75" to cut down on the seemingly inherent deflection of ivory.never have broken one by the way(no pad either).i like the linen based ferrules alot,good feel and action,but hard to keep clean and scratch free.if they were as clean and scratch resistant as ivory i would use them.i also bought Darrin Hill cue recently and he use the Titan ferrules.i was impressed.with that name i was expecting the worst but they play very well.one thing i will never use again is ivory-x though.
Click to expand...
Thnx.
Ivor-X comes threaded and capped. Some people bore them out and take the cap out to make them thinner and shorter. I have no clue why.
Ivor-X is harder the LBM but not quite as hard as the old glass melamine or ivory or buckhorn.
Several who's-who in the cuemaking world use Ivor-X as their synthetic ferrules ( Carmelli, Norris, Olivier etc ).
The inventor, Kerry Zeiler, of Zylr Handcrafted Cues, must make great hitting cues as his cues sell for over a grand without points b/c his cues are known to hit great.
I suggest getting one installed right in your spare shaft to try it, if you want a ferrule that stays clean and hits a little harder than LBM or Titan.
 
it came on the cue when i bought it.it might have been a zylr.i had one at one point.anyway i tried and it was the worst ferrule i have ever tried.wouldn't try it again if George Balabushka came back from the grave and put it on himself.
 
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