Fellow Azers...........does trying to clean the wrap really seem that silly of a notion..."if"...... the wrap was Cortland Linen?
I have it Cortland on three cues (Scruggs, Mottey and Runde Schon) and as you've previously read on the Forum, I am searching high and low for some Cortland Linen #12(white with black speck) for a custom cue being built right now. Fortunately, I was able to buy some Cortland Linen #9 from Joe Pechauer's tiny supply so my new cue also will have a Cortland Linen wrap as well. In any event, Cortland is nearly impossible to locate and the world supply of Cortland Linen has dwindled down to where there's hardly any remaining Cortland Linen of any variety anywhere. I even reached out to my contacts at Craftsman Cues in Birmingham, England to no avail......there's none to be found in the British Isles either.
Consequently, while the cost of installing a new Irish Linen wrap would not be that great, it would never be the same feel of Cortland Linen. Consequently, I would never change the wraps on my cues. Instead, I clean the Cortland using a damp wash cloth (I have two for each of my cues). I rotate the cloth in the same direction as the Cortland is wrapped and wipe the Cortland til it is damp and you can see the sweat and dirt deposit on the wash cloth. I then let the wrap dry for a few hours but in between, I rub the wrap up and down the Cortland Linen wrap vertically with a beer mug glass. I choose the mug design because there's more round. smooth glass surface area on the mug design.
I rub the wraps using the quickest hand rubbing motion always pressing down very hard.....it's similar to burnishing your cues' shaft with leather.......you feel the heat build-up. You can touch the wrap after being rubbed very fast and actually feel the warmth created. It is like pressing the wrap and all the fine twists of Flax interwoven with the Cortland line for strength and durability that became raised by the washing of the wrap return to a flattened state. You can see the wrap assume a glossy shine/sheen again by rubbing. I probably spend a total of around 15 minutes rubbing the cue wrap over the course of 24 hours (one evening to the next).....probably friction rubbed the wrap 20 -25 times...........the Cortland Linen returns to a glorious state.....clean looking and perfectly smooth restoring the distinct feel of Cortland Linen that some of us tremendously favor over any other type of Irish Linen or leather wrap.
While I concur in general with Ken's post about just changing the Irish Linen wrap, it doesn't hold true.....certainly not in my opinion.......when the cue in question has a Cortland Linen wrap. If you remove it, you may never get to replace it with original Cortland Linen again. I realize that might not a important consideration for some but to those of us that genuinely prefer to play with Cortland Linen on our cues, nonetheless, it is stark reality that motivates us to preserve the Cortland wraps already on our cues.
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