Linen, leather, exotic or wrapless what do you prefer

BWColeman

BWColeman

BWC
Silver Member
I guess I tend to be a bit biased but Leather and exotic wraps on cues seem to take alot away from a cue for me.

I see some absolutely gorgeous cues out there but then these leather and exotic wraps seem to cheapen the appearence for me

I have only played with one Leather wrap cue in my 27 years of playing and it was on my first cue an ultra cheap K-Mart special with a screw on tip , the wrap was actually like those old steering wheel cover covers you buy at auto-zone. So I am sure this is where my personal predudice against leather wraps comes from

My personal preference is a wrapless, but I do not have anything against Irish Linen wraps

Is there a diffrence in feel and play with a leather or exotic leather wrap , looking for opinions

Thanks
 
Wrapless.

The only wraps I've tried that I liked were linen wraps and I'd say over 80% of the ones I've felt didn't feel right.

Not sure what different steps are taken in installing them or finishing them / pressing the linen but a friend of mines South West has the best feeling linen wrap I've ever felt.

There were a couple other SW's I held that had the same feeling to them and an old block letter Joss had the same feeling to it.


Some linen wraps felt "wirey" and had a little snagging feeling to them almost.

I didn't like that at all.



I DO plan on snagging a linen wrapped cue sooner than later. Hopefully later this year I'll find a Tad that calls to me to fill that void.
 
The best wrap I've ever felt...

The best wrap I've ever used was a wrap I designed in the style of tsukamaki...

Tsukamaki is the art of wrapping the handle of a Katana.

I have made swords in the past so I took my knowledge of tsukamaki to pool cues and even tried my knowledge of pool cues at doing tsukamaki.

I tried irish linen on a sword (it's ok, but not great), and tried tsukamaki on a cue.

I'm actually working on a line of cues that are samurai themed using the technique I developed for using tsukamaki on cues.

I router flat each side of the handle and then use traditional tsukamaki techniques to wrap the handle in silk. I have messed around in tsukamaki using different exotic leathers and really like aligator under the wrap.

It gives a perfect grip on the cue without having to hold it too tight.

I don't have to router the handle flat on each side, but the wrap will otherwise protrude from the handle wider than the cue and make it difficult for the butt to fit in most cases.

I'm pretty sure if you do a search on the site, you can see where I had done this on my mcdermott cue of the year (not routed it flat, but did tsukamaki over the leather wrap)

Jaden

edit: I went and found the link. It is post number 55.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=166550&highlight=tsukamaki&page=4
 
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I'm currently using lizzard...

dr9ball said:
I prefer a lizard or nice leather over anything else.
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If not the tsukamaki wrap, I prefer lizard or a nice exotic leather. Aligator and ostrich are probably the best looking with a good texture to them.

JAden
 
skin

dr9ball said:
I prefer a lizard or nice leather over anything else.
Click to expand...

I've heard that dog and cat skin is really good, too. And there was a fella in Wisconsin fifty years ago who found all kinds of uses for human skin.

Personally, I don't care for pressed linen...too slippery. And I still don't understand makers who put finish over a wrap...well, I guess I do...it apparently is easier than not doing so.

I like the amount of grip I get with a wrapless cue, but I also like the grip that you get with the old Cortland fishing line...
 
I've got a black stacked leather wrap on my GB2. To me, it makes the cue look better than the white green speckle that was stock. It was put on right.

It did change the feel of the cue some what. The leather is heavier than the linen so that change the balance a little and the hit.

It is hard for me to describe the difference in feel in my hand, but here goes. My feel I am refer the difference of based on the texture of linen and stack leather.

Best I can do is with the leather, I feel more of the hit of the cue than with linen because the texture of the linen. The leather has more grip to it so I do not need to hold the cue as tight with my grip.

It's been on there for about 3 maybe 4 years and still is in good shape.
 
I prefer a linen wrap. Maybe because that is what I started with and it just feels right. I can also do wrapless but I don't care for leather wraps when I've tried them, though I've never owned one and spent significant time with one.
 
BWColeman said:
I guess I tend to be a bit biased but Leather and exotic wraps on cues seem to take alot away from a cue for me.
Click to expand...

I used to have leather on my playing cue, but I switched back to Irish Linen. To each his own. I've always liked pressed Irish Linen.

Freddie
 
Cortland for me. I can live with leather as long as it is smooth. I think the exotic wraps are for investment cues. It looks great, but, not for me on a player.
 
Wrapless in WV

Wrapless is the ultimate IMHO although a couple of my cues have smooth leather wraps and are quite playable
 
Np wrap. I like to see the wood and I also get more feel with no wrap. and no need to clean the wrap.
 
For cue esthetics and artistry, a leather wrap can't be beaten.......for feel and playability, Cortland Linen whenever you can find "any" or
purchase a cue already with that as its cue wrap......and if and when you can't find any, then go with a high grade Irish Linen like Hurlbert.
 
Linen is my favorite.

The others look okay, but for playability linen is the nutz for me.

I like it very, very tightly pressed.

Ken
 
I like Cork, Bison or genuine lizard belly.
I tend to like the softer feeling leather wrap.
The Predator Sort Grip on the BK "S" has a great feel to it also.
 
Wrapless is my preference. More feedback, more wood to look at.
I can play with linen or leather, but I really dislike the look of black with white specks linen.
 
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