New Mezz, very slippery butt.

randallt6

randallt6

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey everyone, just received my new Mezz z802. I find the irish linen VERY slippery, i have to hold it firmly just so it doesnt slip out of my hands during a shot. does anyone know how to get rid of this or will it just become a bit stickier and not as slippery and smooth in time?

thanks
 
There's a joke in your thread title somewhere but I'll let it go. It should tack up a little as it gets dirty.

Pooladdiction~~< in his worst Austin Powers impersonation, "yeah baby"
 
pooladdiction said:
There's a joke in your thread title somewhere but I'll let it go. It should tack up a little as it gets dirty.

Pooladdiction~~< in his worst Austin Powers impersonation, "yeah baby"
Click to expand...
get your head outta the gutter will ya'


lol yeah, realized right after I posted it, haha.
 
I have seen so many comments like this about linen since returning to pool and am frankly amazed.

Linen is pressed, in the old days it was not. It took time for linen to break in back in the day. I believe that pressing was developed as a method of accelerating the break in period, it got rid of the rough feeling right away. But it still has a break in period when pressed. Even still, IMHO, it should not be slick or slippery.

I'm not sure if it is how they are pressing it (what they use on it) or if it's the linen.....but something has changed.

IMHO linen is, bar none, the most superior cue grip. Linen has very unique properties that lend itself to the task. But something has changed.

You want it sticky? Rub it hard with waxed paper, hard enough to get warm. It will get sticky. Rub more, more sticky. It will also attract grime. But linen will do that over time anyway.

You can also rough it up with some very fine grit paper. Then use your hand to rub it down. The heat and oils from your hand will give a nice grippy quality to it.

This is how my linen looks on my JOSS, it is probably pushing 35 years old, maybe more. I wipe it off, but I never have cleaned it any more than that. I don't want to. IMHO it is exactly how it is supposed to be. Perfect as a cue grip IMHO.

IMG_0194.JPG
 
I will add one thing.

Although I am a linen fan there is another very good alternative. Cork. Another one of the traditional and very old types of wrap. Older than linen actually.

It can be colored black for a more modern look.

Probably not appealing to somebody who would pick a Mezz cue though....quite a "modern" selection I think, while the cork is very traditional. But I must mention it.
 
Linen is always much more slippery than any other grip. But of course there are sure installed linen-grips that are feeling a bit better than others.
Furthermore there are great differences in the quality of the linen, too!
I would post this question in the cuemaker section- they can help your for sure.
 
Chopdoc said:
I have seen so many comments like this about linen since returning to pool and am frankly amazed.

Linen is pressed, in the old days it was not. It took time for linen to break in back in the day. I believe that pressing was developed as a method of accelerating the break in period, it got rid of the rough feeling right away. But it still has a break in period when pressed. Even still, IMHO, it should not be slick or slippery.

I'm not sure if it is how they are pressing it (what they use on it) or if it's the linen.....but something has changed.


This is how my linen looks on my JOSS, it is probably pushing 35 years old, maybe more. I wipe it off, but I never have cleaned it any more than that. I don't want to. IMHO it is exactly how it is supposed to be. Perfect as a cue grip IMHO.
Click to expand...

When I started playing in the early '70s pressed Irish Linen was standard on most custom cues that I saw. I have an early/mid '70s Adam with what was known at the time as "Natural Linen" as in it wasn't pressed. I never cared for the feel of it, however. I watched Dan Dishaw press the linen on my Dishaw cue using a tool designed for just that. I've seen many production cues over the years claiming Irish Linen wraps but not claiming they were pressed. I've seen custom cues that were supposedly pressed but did not feel the same as any of my personal wraps. I've stated many, many times on AZ that I've never had a slippery linen wrap and a lot of people for some reason refuse to believe it. I personally think there is a bid difference in how it's done.
I've recently switched to a wrap-less cue and like it a lot!
 
You can tell if the wrap has been pressed or not. Look carefully at the threads, if not pressed they will still appear round, if pressed they will appear flat. I've seen linen wraps that were not pressed that were slippery.
 
I also find pressed linen feels very slick. Wax paper helps. I've even tried wax over the whole wrap. Eventually, over time, it gets less slick, but it's still somewhat slippery.

I finally solved the problem on my Southwest, though. I had Mike Gulyassy put an elephant ear wrap on it. OMG, it is the NUTS! It feels incredible--firm, yet soft; textured, without calling attention; grippy, without being sticky. It's just right. I can't say enough about elephant ear.
 
looks like I'll try a bit of wax paper.

haven't had a new cue for about 8 years, so just wasn't sure if there was a break in period or not for the linen, but looks like there is. thanks everyone for your input.
 
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