OK, all BS aside, which ferrule is the triple nuts?

B

Big C

Deep in the heart of TX.
Silver Member
I need your unbiased, expert opinions on which ferrule will "play" the best. I know there are those that swear by ivory as the end-all, be-all. Then there is the old micarta following that says there is nothing better, before or since they stopped making any more of it. I have a 2006 Schon STL3 with a stock shaft. The ferrule is not ivory, so I am guessing that it is Ivorine III,IV. I remember playing with a Schon about 20 years ago that just blew me away. It just felt so solid and it could really juice the ball. Anyone ever seen that draw shot that Corey made? You know the one where Billy creamed his tweenkie over? I could pull that shot off with that cue. I don't know if it had the old micarta ferrule, but I'm guessing that it did. Back to my current cue. I like the hit/sound and feel, but it deflects too much when using more than one tip of side-spin. Please help me decide.

Thanks
 
Which material is best is relative to what you are trying to acheive. You will get no meaningful answer to this question without further describing how you would like the resulting hit to feel (still relative), the deflection, the sound, the ability to apply spin, the material's ability to polish well but not hold chalk, etc.

For example, I may think that a 3" solid steel ferrule is best, but it's going to deflect like a son of a gun, and probably won't help you move the cue ball with much control, but maybe I like it because it's nice and shiny. ;)

Mr H
 
The ferrules you get from the eye teeth of double virgin elephantelkmoose after an early spring rain are the absolute best.
 
Paul Dayton said:
The ferrules you get from the eye teeth of double virgin elephantelkmoose after an early spring rain are the absolute best.
Click to expand...
That's true, as long as someone can snag one before you've had a chance to de-flower them. ;)
 
Unfortunately, "the nuts" for one player will be total crap to another.
There is no short cut ... you must try them and see which material is best suited for what you call "the nuts".

Porper ferrules are a relitively soft material but players that say they like harder material (ivorine) often will like the "hit" they provide.
Dont let the cost of the ferrule give you any preconceived ideas.
 
Paul Dayton said:
The ferrules you get from the eye teeth of double virgin elephantelkmoose after an early spring rain are the absolute best.
Click to expand...


ANY material that is no longer available will provide the best "hit" of all (think Yellow Micarta) and of course be the most expensive.
These rare materials will greatly improve your shooting skill with out any effort on your part.
I predict that LBM will become the most sought after and highly praised ferrule material in the coming years.

We need some testomony folks!
Any C player that became a B player just because he found the magic cue , tip, ferrule, or wrap, please step up and testify.
 
I have a friend that plays with only a hard pad and triger tip on his shaft. shaft is about 13.3 mm. I hit some shots with it and it hit great. But as for me I want a short ferrule (3/4". Ivory is the best.
 
Wowsa I used to shoot with a PVC ferrule and then I switched to a LBM and my game SKYROCKETED! Not really... Its the Indian not the arrow or what kind of tip is on the arrow :D.
 
All in all linen based melamine ferrules are hard to beat, IMO. Lightweight, stays clean, strong, machines nicely, plays real good, and is relatively low cost. For my playing cue, I prefer 1" ivory. The quality of the shaftwood, taper, tip, and forearm strength will also contribute to any perception of hit. This is an area that is easy to overthink!

Martin



Big C said:
I need your unbiased, expert opinions on which ferrule will "play" the best. I know there are those that swear by ivory as the end-all, be-all. Then there is the old micarta following that says there is nothing better, before or since they stopped making any more of it. I have a 2006 Schon STL3 with a stock shaft. The ferrule is not ivory, so I am guessing that it is Ivorine III,IV. I remember playing with a Schon about 20 years ago that just blew me away. It just felt so solid and it could really juice the ball. Anyone ever seen that draw shot that Corey made? You know the one where Billy creamed his tweenkie over? I could pull that shot off with that cue. I don't know if it had the old micarta ferrule, but I'm guessing that it did. Back to my current cue. I like the hit/sound and feel, but it deflects too much when using more than one tip of side-spin. Please help me decide.

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
I'll try a different approach. So, speaking as a player. A good player. I come to you, the cuemaker. A good cuemaker. I tell you that I want a ferrule that is efficient in terms of producing lots of spin when applying english, but doesn't deflect like a piece of steel. I almost always use the natural angle to get position for the next shot, but that's not always possible. If I have to manufacture the angle, I will use follow, then draw, then side spin as a last resort. If I have to use side spin, I don't want to have to aim differently to compensate for deflection. Which ferrule would you recommend?
 
Honest reply.

I cannot tell you what will work best for you, nor can anyone else. But I asked a similar question awhile back, and the answers were varied, but honest opinions/preferences. The combination I chose to go with was Ivor-X ferrules, with an Everest tip, and I will say I'm loving them both! The Ivor-X ferrule does require a little elbow grease to get a nice luster, but once polished it is virtually impervious to chalk residue, and provides the hit/feel I was looking for. Thank you Dave Sutton for the advice, it's def. working for me!! The Everest tip, "I will never use anything else period!" If you are interested in the Ivor-X ferrule, I am sure someone around here has Kerry Zylr's contact info, I think I got it from Joeyincali. Thanks again to everyone who responded. Also, in the future you might try using the search feature. The same advice was given to me when I first came aboard here, and it has saved me alot of time, and postings.
Regards. :thumbup:
 
You should consider the purpose of the ferrule before putting so much stock in how it should perform. A ferrule is installed with the idea that it keeps the end of the shaft from being damaged from impact. With no ferrule, the shaft is subject to mushrooming, cracking, breaking, etc. The ferrule is a reinforcing component, not an acting one. That said, not all are created equal.

Some are solid & unforgiving while others compress & absorb energy. Some are heavy, some are light. But in the end nothing about a ferrule is more important than how it was installed. My experience is that most are 1" long, 5/16-18 threaded onto the tenon with roughly 1/8" solid cap that the tip glues to. This is a pretty standard, accepted way to install ferrules. This also leaves much dependence on the material type to influence the feel & overall playability. Another accepted way but less common is a 3/8" unthreaded tenon with a ferrule pressed on & the tip glues directly to the end of the shaft wood. In other words, it's a thin sleeve that does minimal beyond reinforcing the end of the wood. This will put all of the playability & feel aspects on the rest of the cue to determine, no matter what material is used, within reason. There are as many install techniques as there are materials to use. It's a science all in itself. I'm not sure how many people actually experiment & form their own technique or how many simply just follow suite & do things the way they think everybody else does, but it's a very critical area of the cue. So my point is, there's no good answer to the question unless you sincerely consider all factors.

I'll not go into how I do mine, but high grade, very hard LBM is my choice. Even though I love the stuff, I can use an old school cotton fiber ferrule & my cues still feel & play the same. I have even tried PVC just see what happens, and still no change. But I will say that when I was using 5/16-18 capped ferrules I had to be very choosy which material I used because it made a difference. Now I choose ferrule material based on how thin it can get & still be trustfully durable.

Just my thoughts. Again, you should consider all factors before assuming. There's far more to the ferrule science than just material.
 
Big C said:
I'll try a different approach. So, speaking as a player. A good player. I come to you, the cuemaker. A good cuemaker. I tell you that I want a ferrule that is efficient in terms of producing lots of spin when applying english, but doesn't deflect like a piece of steel. I almost always use the natural angle to get position for the next shot, but that's not always possible. If I have to manufacture the angle, I will use follow, then draw, then side spin as a last resort. If I have to use side spin, I don't want to have to aim differently to compensate for deflection. Which ferrule would you recommend?
Click to expand...

Herein lies the problem:

"I don't want to have to aim differently to compensate..."

IMHO - I am a better cuemaker than I am a player, but I can play 'a little'.
So, speaking as a player, this is not possible.

Moooochie started all this BS decades ago about 'zero deflection'.
the term now used is squirt.

You simply can not ever use sidespin and not adjust your aim.
Some shaft/ferrule combinations require less compensation than
others - but ALL require some amount of adjustment. Sorry...

HTH
Dale
 
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i have some new yellow micarta which looks similar to the old and has that same med/soft hit.the good news is that it is lighter and definitely has lower deflection properties.

i have tried the old stuff and loved the hit,but always thought LBM played better b/c the deflection was lower.i just couldn't get used to the high deflection of the old yellow.it is as bad or worse as 1" ivory ferruels.

this stuff is the same weight as LBM or maybe a hair lighter,and is very nice and extremely low deflection.i put it on all my cues now.
 
j2pac said:
I cannot tell you what will work best for you, nor can anyone else. But I asked a similar question awhile back, and the answers were varied, but honest opinions/preferences. The combination I chose to go with was Ivor-X ferrules, with an Everest tip, and I will say I'm loving them both!
Click to expand...

For what it is worth, I also like the IvorX ferrule but have found they do need a fiber pad to protect the edge.
I like the five layer 5th ave tip on them. (go figure)
IMHO they do have a nice feel and do polish up and resist chalk much like real ivory.
 
expensive, not so good hit

here's a photo of the ferrule i used on the cue with 3 oz of gold in it. very expensive, weights almost 1/3 oz and has a very low deflection, NOT. chuck
 

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qbilder said:
You should consider the purpose of the ferrule before putting so much stock in how it should perform. A ferrule is installed with the idea that it keeps the end of the shaft from being damaged from impact. With no ferrule, the shaft is subject to mushrooming, cracking, breaking, etc. The ferrule is a reinforcing component, not an acting one. That said, not all are created equal.
Click to expand...

I have a few shafts out here with NO ferrule ... just a tip and pad.
As long as they dont break with them I see no real problem and it would be very easy to add a ferrule later if problems did develop.
The players that have them say they are the nuts so that just reinforces that everyone has their own personal preferences as to how a cue should play.

Try one without a ferrule ... you might like it!
 
desi2960 said:
here's a photo of the ferrule i used on the cue with 3 oz of gold in it. very expensive, weights almost 1/3 oz and has a very low deflection, NOT. chuck
Click to expand...


Chuck, you got way too much pocket money ... :thumbup:
 
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