JB Case Highly Tooled Case

[John Barton]

I thought I'd brag a little bit and show off the first case I have for sale. I put it up in the for sale section but they have such a high volume of posts that it gets buried really quickly.

It's not one of my customs but is a hybrid of my old scallop pattern that I designed for Instroke and the insane talents of one of my new tooling artists.

If you love Whitten and Justis then don't bother looking at this case because it will blow you way with the tooling on it. The only instruction I gave the tooler was that I wanted it in the Sheridan style of carving and tooling and I wanted 100% of the case tooled. I think he only did 95% but it's plenty.

See the full details here: http://www.jbcases.com/cases/spring.html

First come - first serve - thank you.

To my customers from this board - your cases are coming soon as well. Lots of irons in the fire but finally getting something to the market.

Well, thanks for letting me brag a bit

 

[watchez]

Gorgeous case.

Good luck selling $1250 cases.

 

[John Barton]

Thanks. The cases are priced based on the amount of work in them. My prices start at $400 and go up. Obviously on this one most of the work is involved in the tooling. This is an example of nearly 100% tooling.

On a case that would be similar to a Justis or a Swift the amount of tooling would be around 25% of the surface area so the price would be a lot lower.

Most of my cases will be in the $4-600 range. I will make a few of the higher dollar ones per month because it would be a shame to not create these works of art. But I know they aren't for everyone and really I just enjoy making cases that are unique and aren't for an order.

Back when I started Instroke - before we went production, I would always make at least two cases a week just to stretch my creativity. Then I would go to shows with my cases and take orders for custom ones. I don't really care if this case sells because it fills the purpose of satsifying my creative drive and will stand as an attractive piece of art in it's own right.

Now I have the freedom to create without a bunch of bean counters telling me what the market will bear, the cost of re-tooling for a new pattern, and anything else that gets in the way of just getting the ideas out of my head and into the world as real things.

Jim Murnak seems to be doing all right selling $1000 cases with "less" decorative work than this case and Whittens regularly top the $1000 mark. So I don't think the price is out of line and as I said it's reflective of the amount of work and cost that went into making it. This case will find a new home eventually, probably sooner rather than later judging by the emails I am receiving about it.

I did not do this tooling but I am just as proud of it as if I had done it myself. Why? Because this case would not exist if I didn't put all the pieces together and impress my vision on all the people who worked on it. Just as a Porsche is a collaboration so is a JB Case. Porsches follow the inertia and vision of Fernidand Porsche as JB Cases are born of my dreams.

Anyway, thanks for looking.

John

 

[Nick B]

John,
How about you show a little restraint here and put this in the "Wanted/For Sale" section.

Nick

 

[Mystick Cue Fan]

Case is well worth the price and has some sick tooling in it. Keep up the good work bud.


Tony

 

[watchez]

Honestly, I didn't realize that Whitten, Murnak & others are selling $1000 cases. If so, there is obviously a market for them. I assume yours are made of leather. Not being smart, but where do the Chinese get the raw material?

Also, and Craig from CueNCushion who posts here can attest to this. They used to have this $35,000 (I believe that was the price) hand carved pool table in their showroom as soon as you walked in the door. It was sitting there for as long as I could remember. I asked his father one day, "Bob, you ever gonna sell this table?" His reply was, "I hope not, Vince Coleman almost bought it once but do you realize how many $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $4,000 tables that has helped me sell". His point was that it is easy for a customer to see a $35k table and then be walked into the back and feel comfortable plunking down $1-$4k for a 'regular' table. I used this same philosophy when I had my own business a few years later. I would always show the customer the biggest, most expensive product first. Sometimes, I would be shocked & they would buy it, but mostly it made it real easy to 'sell down' to the lower ticketed item.

 

[John Barton]

John,
How about you show a little restraint here and put this in the "Wanted/For Sale" section.

Nick

How about reading the first line before you go off on me?

I did put it there before I put it here. I put it here to show it off. Sorry if that offends you man. It's also why I took out the price. I am just happy to be getting stuff done and look forward to sharing more with my community. That's ok isn't it? Thanks for looking though, I guess if you didn't want to see the case you wouldn't have clicked on the thread would you?

 

[John Barton]

Watchez, we get the raw material from the same place that everyone else does, from cows

Seriously though, leather is sourced from tanneries and distributors all over the world. I go to the large leather markets and select the hides for cases like this one from distributors. My volume of leather won't ever be high enough to buy directly from tanneries so I buy from distributors who do buy direct. And I buy from wholesalers who get leftovers from large volume users such as furniture manufacturers. This allows me a lot of choice and also the opportunity to come across some really interesting stuff.

I really enjoyed doing the Limiteds cases back when I owned Instroke. It was because I chose the leathers and I chose the combinations that made the cases. it was always great to go and spend all day buying leather and seeing the vision of what cases could come out of a piece. I liken it to a cuemaker buying wood and imagining the cues he is going to make with it.

This case is made in China but I don't want you all to confuse it with the stereotype of mass production. If you could come here then you would appreciate that the Chinese have over 5000 years of experience in crafting great works of art. You name it and they have done it. On top of that Chinese have always been known as fantastic learners who are enthusiastic to learn how to do new things, especially craft and artistic ones.

Come to the museums here and see inlaid furniture and boxes of wood, gold, jade, ivory, whatever you can think of. They do ivory carving here that is incredibly detailed. I don't know if you know what a lacquer painting is but I will tell you. It's a painting that is done on many layers of lacquer. Paint a scene, lacquer over it and paint more of the scene, lacquer and paint, and this goes on for many many many layers. The resulting piece is incredible in depth and artistry.

So while China is huge machine for low priced goods of varying quality levels - it is also a land full of history and craftsmanship that equals or exceeds anything found in the rest of the world. These cases are reflective of the continuation of that history.

 

[I rack balls]

I really, REALLY love that case. I figured it would be priced higher, keep em comin!

Eric.

 

[smokeandapancak]

That case is ....mehhh....

the leatherwork is obviously something to behold... TONS of time devoted to that, and is looks like quality work.


BUT...
It's a little too much for me ...gawdy......I am still holding out hope that JB will post some new and inovative designs...
And a cold stack of 12 c-notes for a case is about as retarded as 5K for a cue..... not my style.......

 

[Methodman201]

It Looks Great John! Your Tooler sure is an Artist.
Cool Beans Dude
-Vincent
BTW: The links you gave me helped soo much, I owe you.

 

[catscradle]

I thought I'd brag a little bit and show off the first case I have for sale. I put it up in the for sale section but they have such a high volume of posts that it gets buried really quickly....

Funny John, that is one of those things where I recognize the artistry and skill that it takes to do that kind of work, but wouldn't want to own it on a bet. It is beautiful, just doesn't appeal to my taste.

At any rate, the point of my post. I really love the basic Instroke interior design which, from the little I could see in the pictures, you're emulating here. The only problem is I literally get a sore shoulder from toting around that 3x5, are your new cases any ligher? I think that has been a huge selling point for Jack and think it would be for you too.

Steve.

 

[Bigjohn]

this case is busy!

Good Luck at $1250.

 

[ibuycues]

Sheridan In Spring Case

I thought I'd brag a little bit and show off the first case I have for sale. I put it up in the for sale section but they have such a high volume of posts that it gets buried really quickly.

It's not one of my customs but is a hybrid of my old scallop pattern that I designed for Instroke and the insane talents of one of my new tooling artists.

If you love Whitten and Justis then don't bother looking at this case because it will blow you way with the tooling on it. The only instruction I gave the tooler was that I wanted it in the Sheridan style of carving and tooling and I wanted 100% of the case tooled. I think he only did 95% but it's plenty.

See the full details here: http://www.jbcases.com/cases/spring.html

First come - first serve - thank you.

To my customers from this board - your cases are coming soon as well. Lots of irons in the fire but finally getting something to the market.

Well, thanks for letting me brag a bit

John, Your "bragging" is well deserved !! The case is awesome, and I appreciate you doing the tooling so fully, to give an idea what can be done. I have a large cue collection, but also a large case collection, and will be in touch. By the way, what is the maximum length that can be stored in a case, including long protectors, and can you make a case slightly longer than standard?

Thanks!

Will

 

[ibuycues]

Thanks For Displaying The Case

John,
How about you show a little restraint here and put this in the "Wanted/For Sale" section.

Nick

John,

I am glad you displayed here as well. You are right, the other thread got "lost" in the wanted/for sale section, and I missed it. Also, there are a lot of people that enjoy just looking at such a nice case.

Will

 

[NYC cue dude]

That case is ....mehhh....

I am still holding out hope that JB will post some new and inovative designs...
QUOTE]

Unfortunately, there have been no innovative cue case designs in ages. Although instroke was at the forefront of that design "era", this new case is nothing more than an instroke with tooling. I sure hope it is hand tooled, not laser engraved.

Murnak is doing the most original designs on the planet. he designed a case for me, recreating by hand, the exact duplicate image of my gina cue, with internal pockets (much like the NYcase company used to do), and real inlays. Also, the first case ive seen with a hidden hinge. All handsown, and handpainted. took 6 months to build, and costs almost 4k, but i love it. If interested, you can see it on his custom page at his website.

rg

 

[John Barton]

That case is ....mehhh....

I am still holding out hope that JB will post some new and inovative designs...
QUOTE]

Unfortunately, there have been no innovative cue case designs in ages. Although instroke was at the forefront of that design "era", this new case is nothing more than an instroke with tooling. I sure hope it is hand tooled, not laser engraved.

Murnak is doing the most original designs on the planet. he designed a case for me, recreating by hand, the exact duplicate image of my gina cue, with internal pockets (much like the NYcase company used to do), and real inlays. Also, the first case ive seen with a hidden hinge. All handsown, and handpainted. took 6 months to build, and costs almost 4k, but i love it. If interested, you can see it on his custom page at his website.

rg

You're right about Murnak. He is truly the leader at this point in "custom" cases. He follows my definition of custom to a tee. And kudos on that case - it is a masterpiece for sure.

As for this case being "nothing more than an Instroke with tooling" I'd say that this is like saying a Mclaren Mercedes is nothing more than a stock Benz with highly advanced custom modifications. The Instroke case that I designed is still a damn good base to build on. Pound for pound it will stack up against anyone else's for protection and ease of use. Since you might not have read the story on this case you probably didn't see the reason I chose to use the scallop pattern. I could just as easily have done this using any pattern I wanted to but I chose the scallop for a specific reason.

Nice backhand slap Randy with the "hope it's not laser engraved" comment. I guess you didn't bother to read the story on it. All the work you see is hand carved and tooled, hand painted, and custom dyed.

I saw the Gina cue case earlier today on Jim's site and it inspired me to build one. I have always liked the NY Case idea of pockets inside and actually had drawn some up with Allan McCarty from Predator one time. So I decided today to see if I could duplicate the case you have just to see what we can do. When I am done it will be fun to compare them side by side. Have a great day.

For anyone that still doesn't know Jim Murnak's work - check it out here - http://www.fist-inc.com/general leather/customcuemenu.htm

It's some really great work and really inspiring to see a casemaker who doesn't get stuck in one pattern.

 

[John Barton]

Funny John, that is one of those things where I recognize the artistry and skill that it takes to do that kind of work, but wouldn't want to own it on a bet. It is beautiful, just doesn't appeal to my taste.

At any rate, the point of my post. I really love the basic Instroke interior design which, from the little I could see in the pictures, you're emulating here. The only problem is I literally get a sore shoulder from toting around that 3x5, are your new cases any ligher? I think that has been a huge selling point for Jack and think it would be for you too.

Steve.

I agree. I wouldn't want to carry it either as it is too much for me. This is what I get when I ask for 100% tooling. The ones coming down the pipe will be less involved and also cost less. I have another one being finished that is really sweet and shows more of a customer driven theme.

I chose to use the Instroke pattern and interior because I think it's a good jumping off point to transition into the customs. I spent 14 years involved with Instroke and I don't want to lose sight of the great construction I designed there in favor of pure looks. Also the pattern is a bit of a challenge for the toolers to "fit" their work into pre-cut pieces.

For the weight, this one has the same tube construction as the Instrokes but it can be changed to a lighter version. I am now also building cases which have a pvc shell and interior cloth sleeves that are moveable so the user can adjust the interior configuration to suit their needs. The case pictured weighs 6.6lbs. A 3x6 size by comparison with the new interior weighs about 4.4lbs. So the answer is yes, the weight can come down significantly without sacrificing protection.

John

 

[John Barton]

John, Your "bragging" is well deserved !! The case is awesome, and I appreciate you doing the tooling so fully, to give an idea what can be done. I have a large cue collection, but also a large case collection, and will be in touch. By the way, what is the maximum length that can be stored in a case, including long protectors, and can you make a case slightly longer than standard?

Thanks!

Will

Thank you. The max length in this case is 32 inches. I can make you a case to fit any length you require. I have various techniques for this and will discuss with you which one best fits your needs and desire.

John

 

[John Barton]

That case is ....mehhh....

the leatherwork is obviously something to behold... TONS of time devoted to that, and is looks like quality work.


BUT...
It's a little too much for me ...gawdy......I am still holding out hope that JB will post some new and inovative designs...
And a cold stack of 12 c-notes for a case is about as retarded as 5K for a cue..... not my style.......

Keep the faith brother! The really cool stuff is on the way. I am totally stoked to be "back in the saddle" so to speak. I have been working on a lot of new things on the interiors, some ergonomic stuff, and other little things that mean a lot.

Yup it's a lot of money for a case but you and I know that when it gets to this point it's not about being a cue case it's about making a statement. Damn good cue cases can be had for $50 as well as cues good enough for a world beater to beat the world with for another $50. Things like this and $5000 cues are well beyond the merely functional.

John