Leather or Irish linen wrap?

AuntyDan

AuntyDan

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Silver Member
I got to try out a cue the other day with a very nicely done leather wrap (A
Capone). It felt nicer than the Irish linen wraps on cues I've played with
in the past, but I am worried how it would react if my hand started getting
very sweaty. This is not normally a problem for me but it can happen
sometimes, especially if playing in a room with bad air conditioning.

It seems to me I have not seen many Pros using leather wraps, is this
because the grip not stay consistent throughout long sessions or under TV
lights?
 
AuntyDan said:
I got to try out a cue the other day with a very nicely done leather wrap (A
Capone). It felt nicer than the Irish linen wraps on cues I've played with
in the past, but I am worried how it would react if my hand started getting
very sweaty. This is not normally a problem for me but it can happen
sometimes, especially if playing in a room with bad air conditioning.

It seems to me I have not seen many Pros using leather wraps, is this
because the grip not stay consistent throughout long sessions or under TV
lights?
Click to expand...


Maybe there hand sweats?? If you want a leather wrap better be sure that your hand doesnt sweat if it does it will be slick. I prefer no wrap. But have irish linen on my current cue I play with.
 
AuntyDan said:
I got to try out a cue the other day with a very nicely done leather wrap (A
Capone). It felt nicer than the Irish linen wraps on cues I've played with
in the past, but I am worried how it would react if my hand started getting
very sweaty. This is not normally a problem for me but it can happen
sometimes, especially if playing in a room with bad air conditioning.

It seems to me I have not seen many Pros using leather wraps, is this
because the grip not stay consistent throughout long sessions or under TV
lights?
Click to expand...

The leather just absorbs the sweat. Leather is a very effective and durable wrap. That's all I use.

Chris
 
Leather/linen has been a debate for a long time. It all comes down to the player though.

If you're long and lanky (or average build), most tend to play with linen.

If you're of the (full bodied) build, those tend to play with leather (cow, lizard, snake). Most full bodied individuals have a higher tolarence to sweaty palms, hense why they like a leather wrap (of a varient degree).

But to be honest, it truely relys on what the individual likes and is comfortable with (and used to).

Humans are a strange bread. Most don't want change and only like subtle changes, where others are acceptant to change and want the most divisified changes imaginable.

My advice, make changes slow. Learn the differences at the early stages. Then, make make a change to one (1) variable, but keep the others and adjust. If the Adjustment is to large, then dismiss the change entirely, and work onto the next change.
 
TATE said:
The leather just absorbs the sweat. Leather is a very effective and durable wrap. That's all I use.

Chris
Click to expand...


Once you have leather on a cue or two and get a feel for it, you won't want to go back to anything else. I have about 2 or 3 more cues of mine that are going to get leather installed over the next couple of months.
 
I have always been a linen man. But, I recently got a cue with an excellent smooth leather wrap and really like the way it feels. However, I haven't played with it long enough or in different situations to see if I like it better than linen in the long run.

I have one other cue with a textured leather that feels just ok to me. I guess I like the smoothness of a pressed (not too pressed - :p :rolleyes: ) linen or smooth leather. They both seem to absorb sweat about the same.
 
I have problems with the leather feeling sticky and especially if I haven't washed my hands before play in particular. This happens to me and maybe its something to think about before getting a leather wrap.
 
drivermaker said:
Once you have leather on a cue or two and get a feel for it, you won't want to go back to anything else. I have about 2 or 3 more cues of mine that are going to get leather installed over the next couple of months.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. Both my regular playing cues, a modified Meucci and a modified sneaky pete, have stack leather wraps I installed on them. They aren't perfectly smooth, nor do I want them to be. I like the variations in the grip.

If I'm playing in a normal environment, meaning the humidity is normal and not elevated, any wrap or no wrap is just fine. However, if the humidity level rises, my hands will perspire just a bit, and it's enough for a no-wrap cue to really start slipping, and even though I hold the cue really lightly, there are some shots where I want to plant a death grip on the butt. If it's slippery at all, there's a problem. The leather wrap absorbs most perspiration, and since it's not totally smooth, even if I dry off my hands after each shot and slipping is a possibility, the uneven surface helps control the cue better, in my opinion.

While linen is fine, and helps contol slipping when perspiring, if the humidity level is too dry, it tends to slip. Never happens with the leather I have on my cues. By the way, after I installed the stack leather, I polish it with black Kiwi shoe polish, then use WD-40 to remove the excess. The feel after doing this is not slippery at all, and grips just great. After playing with the cue for an hour or so, the feel of the leather approaces perfection...



Flex
 
I like linen personally. Have never been fond of leather for a wrap, don't know why, just know I don't care for it.

Smooth linen has always been my favorite, followed by no wrap.
 
I think it depends on whether your grip is more loose or firm, also. Personally, I prefer the look and feel of Irish linen.
 
Stacked

I like stacked leather.

I have a few cues in the collection with textured leather and linen, but like smooth stacked to play with.
 
personally i prefer linen wrap. however, it all depends on personal taste. i do not think one is any better or worse than the other.

i watched an exhibition with grady matthews for the induction of eddie taylor into the one pocket hall of fame. grady was using a cue with a wrap that is similar to the wrap that is on baseball bats. a few months later i watched a t.v. match where earl strickland was using a similar wrap. the butt of their cues looked like a baseball bat.

has anyone used this wrap? if so what advantage is to be gained from it?
 
mnorwood said:
...

i watched an exhibition with grady matthews for the induction of eddie taylor into the one pocket hall of fame. grady was using a cue with a wrap that is similar to the wrap that is on baseball bats. a few months later i watched a t.v. match where earl strickland was using a similar wrap. the butt of their cues looked like a baseball bat.

has anyone used this wrap? if so what advantage is to be gained from it?
Click to expand...

I had a cue with that kind of wrap. No slippage at all...
 
I played for over a decade with a linen wrap. Now, on my new Scruggs cue there is a pig skin leather wrap and it feels great ! I have quite sweaty hands but there hasn't been any problems with that. Actually, I adopted Nick van den Berg's way of wiping my shooting hand to the rail cloth before the shot if I feel the tiniest bit of moisture in my hand. And the sticky feel gives me more confidence. Sometimes the linen wrap is so smooth it tends to slip a bit, because my grip is very light.

Actually, I thought about changing a leather wrap on my JB Falcon, but there's no one around who could do it fast and effortless.
 
Just curious ...

If you go from linen to leather, do they have to turn the butt down any since
it is thicker?

I was just wondering if someone going to linen from leather would have
a problem or not ...
 
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