Ivory Joint Question

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kentucky1pocket

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am getting ready to purchase a fancy custom cue from a well known cuemaker. I am going to spend quite a bit and I am considering getting an ivory joint.

The cuemaker uses a piloted ivory joint with a phenolic inner wall. How well do these generally hold up? Should I go with a piloted stainless steel joint? Since this a rather expensive cue I want it to last a long time.

Also, what is the general lifespan of an ivory joint like the one I discribed?

Thanks!
 
kentucky1pocket said:
I am getting ready to purchase a fancy custom cue from a well known cuemaker. I am going to spend quite a bit and I am considering getting an ivory joint.

The cuemaker uses a piloted ivory joint with a phenolic inner wall. How well do these generally hold up? Should I go with a piloted stainless steel joint? Since this a rather expensive cue I want it to last a long time.

Also, what is the general lifespan of an ivory joint like the one I discribed?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


Do you plan on using it as your primary playing cue or will it be more for collecting? I think more than..."how well does it hold up and what is the general lifespan" you should be asking yourself, what do I want and like in a cue? A SS joint and Ivory hit and feel quite different. If you've never hit with ivory, you might want to give it a try first. You'll have more forward balance in a SS joint than ivory, unless you get a heavier shaft to front load it. Depends on what you like and want. Personally, I like the feel of both, but do prefer one over the other when I'm in the heat of battle. I ain't sayin' though......
 
drivermaker said:
Do you plan on using it as your primary playing cue or will it be more for collecting? I think more than..."how well does it hold up and what is the general lifespan" you should be asking yourself, what do I want and like in a cue? A SS joint and Ivory hit and feel quite different. If you've never hit with ivory, you might want to give it a try first. You'll have more forward balance in a SS joint than ivory, unless you get a heavier shaft to front load it. Depends on what you like and want. Personally, I like the feel of both, but do prefer one over the other when I'm in the heat of battle. I ain't sayin' though......
Click to expand...

I will use it as a playing cue. Thats why I want durability.

Thanks!
 
My opinion

is that nothing beats a SS joint - period. Plays better, last longer, and is
maintenance free unless you elect to have it inscribed with a design like
some people will do for you.
 
drivermaker said:
Do you plan on using it as your primary playing cue or will it be more for collecting? I think more than..."how well does it hold up and what is the general lifespan" you should be asking yourself, what do I want and like in a cue? A SS joint and Ivory hit and feel quite different. If you've never hit with ivory, you might want to give it a try first. You'll have more forward balance in a SS joint than ivory, unless you get a heavier shaft to front load it. Depends on what you like and want. Personally, I like the feel of both, but do prefer one over the other when I'm in the heat of battle. I ain't sayin' though......
Click to expand...

If it's stainless I suppose I could be talked into taking your ivory jointed Hercek off your hands...lol.
 
kentucky1pocket said:
I am getting ready to purchase a fancy custom cue from a well known cuemaker. I am going to spend quite a bit and I am considering getting an ivory joint.

The cuemaker uses a piloted ivory joint with a phenolic inner wall. How well do these generally hold up? Should I go with a piloted stainless steel joint? Since this a rather expensive cue I want it to last a long time.

Also, what is the general lifespan of an ivory joint like the one I discribed?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I left this same post in your thread under Ask the Cue Maker

I have a cue made 25 years ago by a well known cue maker. It has a piloted solid ivory joint and it is still in great shape. I even broke with it for years, before I got smarter!

When I say it is solid ivory, I mean that the screw comes up through the ivory versus being an ivory sleeve that sits on a wood tenon from the forearm (where you would see wood around the screw). I believe that the ivory joint still sits on a tenon, but I don't know if it has any type of sleeve between the tenon and the ivory.

I like the feel of ivory, but only slightly more than a good stainless steel joint.
 
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Who is the cue maker, if you don't want to leave a public post PM me with the info. What type of joint are you playing with now? What cues have you played with in the past.
 
I prefer an ivory joint. Just like anything else, if you take care of it properly it should last forever.

FWIW,

Jim
 
cbi1000 said:
Who is the cue maker, if you don't want to leave a public post PM me with the info. What type of joint are you playing with now? What cues have you played with in the past.
Click to expand...
The one I referred to above was made by Richard Black and I have always loved its feel/hit. I have also played with ivory-jointed Josswest (flat-faced solid), Diveney (flate-faced sleeved), Stacey (flat-faced solid) and Petree (flat-faced sleeved) cues.

I just got a steel-jointed Hercek that feels great also. It reminds me of my steel-jointed Josswest and Scruggs, but different. :D
 
kentucky1pocket said:
Thanks for all of the input guys. A custom cue is a big investment. I dont want to screw it up.
Click to expand...
Do you mind saying who is making your cue? PM if you don't want to post it. I'm just curious. Thanks.
 
kentucky1pocket said:
I am getting ready to purchase a fancy custom cue from a well known cuemaker. I am going to spend quite a bit and I am considering getting an ivory joint.

The cuemaker uses a piloted ivory joint with a phenolic inner wall. How well do these generally hold up? Should I go with a piloted stainless steel joint? Since this a rather expensive cue I want it to last a long time.

Also, what is the general lifespan of an ivory joint like the one I discribed?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I think people are missing something here.
From what you said this is a "Thin-Wall" Ivory Joint.
thinwallivory_large.jpg

If it is like the above (Used without permission from Tedharris.com :p , sorry ted, you're site was the first one that came to my mind :)) then it won't hit like a solid ivory joint.
It should hit like a piloted phenolic joint.

HTH, FWIW
 
ivory joint, so sweet

I have a solid ivory jointed titlest conversion that i play with all the time.The only thing is , if you live where there is cold weather, make sure your cue warms to room temp before hitting with it.My first joint cracked in the winter due to my stupidity of not being patient. Living in Fla i had no problem. But my stupid journey back to the wintery sw PA brought my cue a nice cracked joint.
 
Picture of the Ivory Joint

Here is a picture of the type of joint I am talking about. As you can see it is a "real" piloted joint. If you look inside the ivory collar you can see a black linen or phenolic that forms an inner wall.
 

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