*Inquiry* Best Playing Ferrule Material

U

ulam1

Registered
All,

I'm just getting into the technology aspect of the game, and am in awe regarding the sheer amount of different materials and techniques that go into making a cue. I noticed many quality cues have recently shortened the ferrule size to reduce deflection, so my question is two-fold:

1) Of the following material, what plays the best? Juma/Ivor-X/XTC/Ivorine 4
2) Since the mass of the material reduces deflection, is it safe to assume the material type also affects #1? If so, and if different, what is the order of which the materials listed above deflect the least?

Please advise, as I cannot seem to find concrete info on this with either the search function or Google.

Many thanks in advance
 
Bump, still curious, anyone with the know how to answer this?

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
 
The weight of the material does not tell the whole story. Juma was listed even in weight with LBM and yet plays much softer. Ivorine 4 and Ivory are the two hardest feeling materials as far as sound and hit goes. So they hold true to the heaviest is the hardest feel.
But saying soft, hard and medium feel still does not say which is best. Hard feels best to some and soft feels best to others. So there is no right answer. I guess only the Robots can decide which one shoots the ball the straightest. But then there are side spin, draw, follow and stun shots. The robots have not tested these shots enough to say which one does the best on each of those. So it is a trade off on all ferrule materials. I have found the ferrules that shoot the straightest are some of the softest and there is a line that they become too soft and your draw and follow shots are reduced.
I am not answering questions about specific materials as I have found manufacturers get mad at you if you say their product gets out performed in areas by other materials.
For example: A ferrule was given to me as a sample and it was said that it was impossible for it to stain, get dirty or hold chalk. So I said thank you and put it in my pocket. I had another cuemaker come up to me weeks later at a show telling me the same thing about that ferrule brand. I am not sure why I still had it in my pocket, but I pulled it out and we looked at it and it was dirty. A few hours later the manufacturer of the material was standing in my booth wanting to see the ferrule and wanting to know why I was showing it to everyone. I had only shown it to one person, so I know who went and told the manufacturer. I will say that material is one of the most chalk resistant materials out there, but it was over sold on that aspect. It was also said to hit exactly like Ivory. Again that was another statement that was not true. So far I have played with no man made material that hits exactly like Ivory. If the salesman had said "very stain resistant and plays similar to Ivory" then they might have had a leg to stand on.
 
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I wrote this regarding tips, so here it is reworded for ferrules.

So, what is the best ferrule Joe?

This has been a long asked question which no one can seem to answer but I am going to definitively answer this question to satisfy all who have ever asked it. The absolute best hitting ferrule is..... Drum roll please..... The ferrule that you play best with.

There is no answer to this question as we all play differently. If I play best with a Melamine, that doesn't mean that you will. You may play best with a Micarta or Titan ferrule and that's fine. Charlie may play best with a Ivorine and Mark with a Ivory or Juma. There are many ferrules on the market and most are excellent ferrules otherwise they wouldn't be offered.

The trick is to not listen to anyone, try as many different ferrules on your cue as you can afford and you'll find your best hitting ferrule. Now remember, when you do find it, stick with it. If you change cues, that ferrule may not be the best ferrule for you any longer. It's all trial and error. Your best ferrule will be the ferrule that you play best with.

And remember this too, just because you like the ferrule on your buddies cue doesn't necessarily mean you'll like it on your cue.

And lastly, what about the tip! You can have a Ivory ferrule with a XYZ tip and it hits great but if you change the tip to an ABC tip it may hit like crap. Is it the ferrule or the tip? Let's say you have a Melamine ferrule with a ABC tip that hits great and you change it to a XYZ and it may hit lousy. The combinations are endless. This can go on for a month.

My suggestion - stop reading all the crap out there and go practice. When I played pool in the 70's we didn't have all this so-called technology and we played just fine without it. Mosconi played with a broomstick (based on today's "technology"). Personally, it's all hype and crap. if you want the best hitting cue with the best hitting ferrule and the best hitting tip - go get a decent cue (custom not production) with a melamine ferrule and Moori tip or some other such combination. Then hit the table and practice, practice, practice. However, don't just practice - you have to do perfect practice. That's the best technology.
 
Joe Barringer said:
I wrote this regarding tips, so here it is reworded for ferrules.

So, what is the best ferrule Joe?

This has been a long asked question which no one can seem to answer but I am going to definitively answer this question to satisfy all who have ever asked it. The absolute best hitting ferrule is..... Drum roll please..... The ferrule that you play best with.

There is no answer to this question as we all play differently. If I play best with a Melamine, that doesn't mean that you will. You may play best with a Micarta or Titan ferrule and that's fine. Charlie may play best with a Ivorine and Mark with a Ivory or Juma. There are many ferrules on the market and most are excellent ferrules otherwise they wouldn't be offered.

The trick is to not listen to anyone, try as many different ferrules on your cue as you can afford and you'll find your best hitting ferrule. Now remember, when you do find it, stick with it. If you change cues, that ferrule may not be the best ferrule for you any longer. It's all trial and error. Your best ferrule will be the ferrule that you play best with.

And remember this too, just because you like the ferrule on your buddies cue doesn't necessarily mean you'll like it on your cue.

And lastly, what about the tip! You can have a Ivory ferrule with a XYZ tip and it hits great but if you change the tip to an ABC tip it may hit like crap. Is it the ferrule or the tip? Let's say you have a Melamine ferrule with a ABC tip that hits great and you change it to a XYZ and it may hit lousy. The combinations are endless. This can go on for a month.

My suggestion - stop reading all the crap out there and go practice. When I played pool in the 70's we didn't have all this so-called technology and we played just fine without it. Mosconi played with a broomstick (based on today's "technology"). Personally, it's all hype and crap. if you want the best hitting cue with the best hitting ferrule and the best hitting tip - go get a decent cue (custom not production) with a melamine ferrule and Moori tip or some other such combination. Then hit the table and practice, practice, practice. However, don't just practice - you have to do perfect practice. That's the best technology.
Click to expand...

DING DING DING Good answer! Good answer!
 
Just about the best answer to That question I've heard! I agree totally, Joe, in my humble opinion, you are absolutely, unequivocally on to something here my friend!
 
My only question here is...why is the f*&* is Joe Barringer not still banned? He's a fricken lying POS.

Send me and AZ another cease and desist letter from your internet attorney why don't you Joe?
 
pescadoman said:
My only question here is...why is the f*&* is Joe Barringer not still banned? He's a fricken lying POS.

Send me and AZ another cease and desist letter from your internet attorney why don't you Joe?
Click to expand...

He`s reply is from 2013...
 
My humble opinion,...Joe has already been a couple of times in the past, and, IMHO, should always be,... banned....for the reasons already known by many here. Now, back to the OP's questions...
First off, I prefer fully capped, screwed and glued ferrules. I feel that gives the most constant performance and almost zero chance of a tip popping off due to a humidity spike or drop. Sleeved ferrules, in my experience, even threaded ones, tend to have tips fall off when the humidty changes. Just My experiences.
I like Juma for the softer hitting players, and LBM for the hard hitters, or breakers. Titan is good, just wish it was available in solid rod form. Warther's LBM is good, easily machined for such a hard material, I like it better than the Aegis II that I've tried.
Isoplast is what I use as a replacement on any Predator or LD shaft when a replacement is needed when it isn't a warrantee repair. It is as close to OEM for Predator as I've seen, and actually holds up better, and still maintains LD qualities.
I like the Tomahawk material, seems to have a good, solid hit, but a lot of waste when cutting from .625 down to ,515. would be nice to pay less and have less waste. Seems like a solid hitter otherwise. I do carry some sleeved materials for bar cues like topek and the fiber from muellers, more so for the bar cues that I service that don't want to pay for a capped or non capped, but threaded ferrule replacement. I believe all ferrules should be at least threaded and glued...that would cure 60-70% of the repair issues.
Dave
 
Dave38 said:
My humble opinion,...Joe has already been a couple of times in the past, and, IMHO, should always be,... banned....for the reasons already known by many here. Now, back to the OP's questions...
First off, I prefer fully capped, screwed and glued ferrules. I feel that gives the most constant performance and almost zero chance of a tip popping off due to a humidity spike or drop. Sleeved ferrules, in my experience, even threaded ones, tend to have tips fall off when the humidty changes. Just My experiences.
I like Juma for the softer hitting players, and LBM for the hard hitters, or breakers. Titan is good, just wish it was available in solid rod form. Warther's LBM is good, easily machined for such a hard material, I like it better than the Aegis II that I've tried.
Isoplast is what I use as a replacement on any Predator or LD shaft when a replacement is needed when it isn't a warrantee repair. It is as close to OEM for Predator as I've seen, and actually holds up better, and still maintains LD qualities.
I like the Tomahawk material, seems to have a good, solid hit, but a lot of waste when cutting from .625 down to ,515. would be nice to pay less and have less waste. Seems like a solid hitter otherwise. I do carry some sleeved materials for bar cues like topek and the fiber from muellers, more so for the bar cues that I service that don't want to pay for a capped or non capped, but threaded ferrule replacement. I believe all ferrules should be at least threaded and glued...that would cure 60-70% of the repair issues.
Dave
Click to expand...


Dave,
Thank you sincerely for your kind words regarding my Tomahawk. I can assure you that I share your pain, with regards to the lack of closer finished size. It is currently just not available to me. The folks that make the material, do not make the material in either 9/16, or 14/15mm, as it's designed purpose was for something somewhat different than a cue ferrule. ;) I have, and will continue to push for it, but as of now, their answer is still the same...a resounding no. IF they were to make the material in the specialty size that I want, in essence, I would have to agree to buy thousands of feet at an even higher cost than I pay now, for the 3/4 inch rod, as they seem to have no desire to retool their entire operation for one niche customer. This would obviously translate in higher cost for the folks I sell to, and I just don't want to add even more cost to the product. I currently pay in the double digits a foot for this material myself, and when you factor in that I absorb shipping, PayPal fees, packaging materials, cutting materials, my time, etc...It is currently nearly a break even endeavor that is honestly more of a labor of love than anything else. :cool: As I see lower pricing adjustments from my supplier, I have vowed to pass those savings onto the folks that buy it from me. So, to make a short story long, the option of the 3/4 inch rod, is honestly the cheapest way to go, and still offer it to all the wonderful folks, including yourself, at a reasonable cost. I hope this clarifies things a bit to all of the cue-makers, and repair people out there, and it is an issue that I probably should have addressed a while ago. Thank you again Dave for your kind words and many contributions to these forums. :) :cool:
Best regards.
Joe P
 
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