My Linen Wrap Is Too Slippery

TwoRailDave

TwoRailDave

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just got a new Schon and ran into a familiar problem. The double pressed linen wrap is too slippery for my grip. In the past, I've sprayed a couple coats of polyurethane over it to give it more of a tacky feel. Has anyone found waxes or other methods successful? I'd rather not pay a bunch of money for a leather wrap.
 
TwoRailDave said:
Just got a new Schon and ran into a familiar problem. The double pressed linen wrap is too slippery for my grip. In the past, I've sprayed a couple coats of polyurethane over it to give it more of a tacky feel. Has anyone found waxes or other methods successful? I'd rather not pay a bunch of money for a leather wrap.
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Get a rubber roll-on grip. They cost about $3. Here's the link to the AZ Marketplace listing for these:http://www.azbmarketplace.com/products/Rubber_Pool_Cue_Grip-142-76.html
If there is a room that has carom tables in your town, they may have grips also. Pretty much every top 3-cushion player uses a rubber grip.
 
Probably not a good advice. But I actually got water on my old cue's linen wrap once, and it definitely wasn't smooth anymore ;).
 
Just be patient, it will get dirty after some time of use and will be more grippy.
However if you feel you could have a better grip with a leather wrap you should pay the extra cash for it, grip is one of the very important parts of anyone's game.
Usually players with hands getting wet easily during play prefer linen wraps and others leather ones, anyway above all it's a personal choice.
Petros
 
I've heard wax paper helps. I've found that a linen wrap is good for a slip stroke and horrible for an actual grip.
 
go to the home store and buy a wax ring for setting toilets.....about a buck. just rub some on your hands to get it warmed up, and rub it into the wrap.....done. I used to keep some in my case in a little jar.

G.
 
could try 'Tacky Finger' Better idea is a tennis racquet grip wrap. Any sports store has them and they come in different degrees of tackiness.

I'd stay away form any product that could get on balls, your bridge hand , the table, etc.,such as wax or resin type products.
 
I don't know if this is a good idea but I've done it before and found it helped. I took some 800 sandpaper and roughed it up and played with it for a bit and after a bunch of play it helped. Just a suggestion.
 
I find them too slippery also. If you get some wax paper rub the waxy side on the wrap until it warms up, you will shine the wrap and put a wax on the linen. It does help make it tacky without putting on too much wax. Another option is find a cue repair person that does a clear coat over the wrap like muecci does.
 
TwoRailDave said:
Just got a new Schon and ran into a familiar problem. The double pressed linen wrap is too slippery for my grip. In the past, I've sprayed a couple coats of polyurethane over it to give it more of a tacky feel. Has anyone found waxes or other methods successful? I'd rather not pay a bunch of money for a leather wrap.
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I just want to mention that if you find your lifelong player cue, you might want to spring for a stack leather wrap at some point. It feels like the difference between leather and wrapless. It can be refinished and properly cared for, will last many years.

Mine is at least 5 years old, gets a lot of play, and shows no signs of wear. I can have it finish coated to look and feel like new anytime I want. I used to go though leather wraps every year or two - but the stack is considerably more durable.

I don't like the feel of linen anymore, even broken in. Stack leather is smoother than wrapless but provides enough tack to completely control the cue.

Chris
 
buffalofloyd said:
I don't know if this is a good idea but I've done it before and found it helped. I took some 800 sandpaper and roughed it up and played with it for a bit and after a bunch of play it helped. Just a suggestion.
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You can lightly sand linen with no problem, especially after cleaning when the fibers rise. 600 is the usual, or 600 followed by 1000 if you want smoother. It doesn't hurt the linen, it just cuts down the loose fibers.

Wax paper is a good idea to follow up with - it works well on linen.

Chris
 
TATE said:
I just want to mention that if you find your lifelong player cue, you might want to spring for a stack leather wrap at some point. It feels like the difference between leather and wrapless. It can be refinished and properly cared for, will last many years.

Mine is at least 5 years old, gets a lot of play, and shows no signs of wear. I can have it finish coated to look and feel like new anytime I want. I used to go though leather wraps every year or two - but the stack is considerably more durable.

I don't like the feel of linen anymore, even broken in. Stack leather is smoother than wrapless but provides enough tack to completely control the cue.

Chris
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Chris:

A most excellent idea, that I also subscribe to. I've always been a fan of wrapless cues, and only *ever* like Irish Linen when I was in my slip-stroke days (days long gone the minute I started playing snooker and had to abandon the slip-stroke). Several years ago, I tried a friend's cue that had the "Penetration-style" stack leather wrap (it's spiral in appearance, sort of a leather version of a "barber's pole"). I couldn't believe how comfortable it was, simulated the feeling of a wrapless cue, but yet gave a bit of tackiness so subconsciously, you "know" the cue isn't going to slip out of your hand even with a light grip.

From that day forward, I'd been in the process of replacing the Irish Linen grips on my cues with stack leather (except the collector's cues or those of extreme sentimental value). I use the excuse of doing so every year at Super Billiards Expo, when I walk up to the Tiger Products booth, and greet the Armenian gentleman that does them (he's the guy behind the lathe at the Tiger Products booth). A very friendly fellow, and goes out of his way to ensure he does a good job for you -- a real craftsman of the trade. This past SBE, I purchased one of Allen Hopkins' Triniti Cues based on a really nice conversation I had with Allen. I bought the "Illuminati" model, which I'd intended to use as my main player in some of the traveling barbox leagues I play in. After buying it, I went right over to the Tiger booth and had the Armenian gentleman install an "Impression"-style stack leather wrap. It's black with red veins in it, and when installed, the grip actually looks like stone marble! No kidding -- you do a double-take when you see it -- "is that black marble with red veins"? This cue is a favorite of mine, and is my main player on those barbox leagues.

Stack leather wraps are not cheap, of course, but they are an investment. You buy them ONE TIME, and they last the life of the cue. (That is unless, the wrap gets damaged from abuse -- in which case it can be refinished as Chris mentions. And, Tiger guarantees them for the life of the cue -- refinishing is FREE.)

Back on topic with the Irish Linen, when it used to be my grip of choice (just after the now-abandoned days of the slip-stroke, when I was trying to adapt my newly-adopted "true" grip to the Irish Linen), I used to use a piece of butcher's paper (a very fine grade of wax paper) to rub on the Irish Linen. I'd rub it briskly until I felt the paper get hot in my hands. It did the trick in adding a bit of tackiness needed for a "true" grip.

If "slickness" bothers you with the Irish Linen, one thing I can share with you is to NEVER let your cue repairman "burnish" the Irish Linen by pressing a piece of Ash wood against the Irish Linen as he spins it on the lathe. This process is used for those that use a slip-stroke in their cue delivery, and the Ash-burnishing makes the Irish Linen extremely slick. If you ever decide to have the Irish Linen replaced (a relatively inexpensive procedure), make sure you tell him *NOT* to burnish, but rather to just pressure-press it with rollers.

I hope this is helpful,
-Sean
 
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I always carry parrafin/wax in my case for those times when I need more tack/but I also use a hair dryer to warm up and bleed the existing wax which brings back the tack. Hope this helps
 
TATE said:
I just want to mention that if you find your lifelong player cue, you might want to spring for a stack leather wrap at some point. It feels like the difference between leather and wrapless. It can be refinished and properly cared for, will last many years.

Mine is at least 5 years old, gets a lot of play, and shows no signs of wear. I can have it finish coated to look and feel like new anytime I want. I used to go though leather wraps every year or two - but the stack is considerably more durable.

I don't like the feel of linen anymore, even broken in. Stack leather is smoother than wrapless but provides enough tack to completely control the cue.

Chris
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Did you say Stack leather is smother than wrapless? So its smoother than a glass like finish? That seems highly unlikely. In any case, wrapless offers the best grip BY FAR in my opinion. I doubt I will ever own another cue with a wrap of any kind.

KMRUNOUT
 
KMRUNOUT said:
Did you say Stack leather is smother than wrapless? So its smoother than a glass like finish? That seems highly unlikely. In any case, wrapless offers the best grip BY FAR in my opinion. I doubt I will ever own another cue with a wrap of any kind.

KMRUNOUT
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KMRUNOUT:

I'm sure Chris will respond to this, but I hope you don't my input here as well. No, stack leather is NOT smoother than wrapless. It's "close" to being as smooth as wrapless, but don't forget -- it's still leather. It's porous, and even though it can be finished very smooth, it's still offers the qualities of leather. And, if you take a peek at Tiger's website, you'll see one of the finishing options they offer for the stack leather wrap is "satin" finish.

I agree with you about wrapless cues -- as mentioned in my previous post, I've always preferred wrapless cues, except in my slip-stroke heyday. To me, nothing exemplifies the art of cue building than a cue that "sports" the quality of wood used in it. No "hiding a bad/ugly/so-so piece of wood" by covering it up with a wrap.

It's just that, wrap-wise, the stack leather wrap is the next best thing to a wrapless cue. And it offers something that wrapless cues don't -- porosity, and the ability to deal with sweaty hands.

Hope this helps!
-Sean
 
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sfleinen said:
KMRUNOUT:

I'm sure Chris will respond to this, but I hope you don't my input here as well. No, stack leather is NOT smoother than wrapless. It's "close" to being as smooth as wrapless, but don't forget -- it's still leather. It's porous, and even though it can be finished very smooth, it's still offers the qualities of leather. And, if you take a peek at Tiger's website, you'll see one of the finishing options they offer for the stack leather wrap is "satin" finish.

I agree with you about wrapless cues -- as mentioned in my previous post, I've always preferred wrapless cues, except in my slip-stroke heyday. To me, nothing exemplifies the art of cue building than a cue that "sports" the quality of wood used in it. No "hiding a bad/ugly/so-so piece of wood" by covering it up with a wrap.

It's just that, wrap-wise, the stack leather wrap is the next best thing to a wrapless cue. And it offers something that wrapless cues don't -- porosity, and the ability to deal with sweaty hands.

Hope this helps!
-Sean
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Makes sense Sean. I do like the looks of certain wraps too...a nice leather wrap in the right color can really make a cue look awesome. I am thankful that I don't have to deal with sweaty hands. I used to long ago, but I somehow convinced my hands to behave differently...and they listened lol. Lots of hand washing perhaps, and awareness of what you put in your body. You'd be surprised how much what you eat and drink can effect your hand sweat production (and your weight and overall health, all factors that generally benefit the hand sweat issue). I actually find that even with sweaty hands the wrapless is still best, since you can simply wipe your hand and the cue and pretty much be back to standard grip in about 1.5 seconds.

In any case, thanks for the info on the stack leather. It sounds like a very good option for some people.

KMRUNOUT
 
KMRUNOUT said:
Did you say Stack leather is smother than wrapless? So its smoother than a glass like finish? That seems highly unlikely. In any case, wrapless offers the best grip BY FAR in my opinion. I doubt I will ever own another cue with a wrap of any kind.

KMRUNOUT
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What I mean is the hand can slide easier on the stack leather, so in the sense of adjusting hand position, it slides easier. Wrapless with a clear coat has some tack to it, especially if your hands get moist.

I like the stack I think a little better when the clear coat gets worn down. It also has a lot of tack when the clear is one it.

I would definitely go wrapless if I couldn't have the stack wrap.

Chris
 
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