I recently received the first dozen sample blanks produced by John Davis in his new operation. After many discussions with John, I am very excited to announce that he has decided to make full splice blanks available in very limited quanities.
For those who may not be familiar with John's work, if you pick up a Balabushka cue with a Burton Spain forearm, John probably made the blank. Burton Spain provided high quality full-splice blanks to many of the top cue makers in the 1960's and 1970's, eventually turning over his business to Joel Hercek. John was Burton's partner and bought out his business (and sold it back to Burton) for a while in the early 1970's. He also built many of the machines Burton used.
The world may not need another cue-maker, but the talents of John Davis are definitely in demand by other cue-makers. Making full splice blanks of this caliber is simply impractical for most cue makers, but John is a true pro and he is back into the fold, once again producing championship full splice balnks and cues using time honored techniques.
Although I am not involved with his business, I have set up a web page for John, and I am helping him to get the word out. You will have to contact him directly for ordering information, prices, etc. because he is just getting started with this, but expect roughly $350 per blank. You may then have your own preferred cue maker use this as a basis for your custom.
Since John's work is hand done, unique, and is steeped in tradition, I would think these blanks will be in high demand.
For more information, including how to contact John, please visit the web page I set up for him:
http://www.palmercollector.com/JohnDavis.html
Chris
Ps. The handles are full length.
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