One way to tell if thee butt plate is ivory is to shine a blacklight on it. Ivory will show up white, whereas synthetic materials will have a blue or purple hue. You can buy a blacklight flashlight at a hardware store for around $10.
Both 5/16 X 14.
Possibly, but more likely someone added mother of pearl dots around the buttsleeve diamonds on the Adam GB 21 to make it look like Richard's. If so, poor attempt. If refinished, that would also explain the missing factory signature on the forearm.
ok i see that now although where is the closeup pic of the buttsleeve and what makes you think it was a poor attempt?
I owned one of the signature Balabushkas that I bought within a year of introduction. I also own a Richard Black. I also own an original Balabushka made in 1972. The joint on the Black and the real Balabushka are interchangeable. The signature Balabushka had a different thread.
Well done
No closeup pic needed, the first post of the thread shows the buttsleeve is not Richard's. If the cue was changed to make it look like Richard's, is was a poor attempt, because everything is different on Richards. Trim rings, veneer thickness, location of the trim rings on the buttsleeve, butt plate and bumper. All different. If on the other hand, someone was just wanting to make the cue look fancier, that's another thing.
You should be able to put the cues next to each other to see if the threads look similar. Two possibilities. One, you got a signature Balabushka that for some reason had a different pin. They've always been advertised as 5/16 X 14. Two, there is variation in sizes in 14 thread pins. My Richard Black has a slightly larger 14 thread pin than several Scruggs cues I have. Bill Stroud's 14 thread pin had a very tight fit, compared to most. I understand the Schon 14 thread in is unique as well. Also, there can be variations in the brass inserts the pin screws into. I think that's one reason aftermarket shafts such as Predator have some give in the brass insert, to be able to accommodate most if not all 14 thread pins.
What cues are you referring to as the “Adam Balabushka replica series” that came out ~2000?
It was Adam's first attempt at a Balabushka replica series. I could be off on the date, but I think give or take, about 2000. At that point, Dick Helmsetter was probably still affiliated with the company. They started with five or six models. Thicker trim ring in the joint collars, compared to the Balabushka series today. You're correct, the current doesn't say Adam, but I have to think it's a reincarnation of the same company, probably moved from Japan to somewhere else. After all, there is nobody named Balabushka making cues now.
My Adam Balabushka Signature cue has a full-size 5/16-14 thread. My original Balabushka has smaller thread diameters, but still considered a 5/16-14.
Ok. The Adam Balabushka line started in 1987, built in Adam Japan main OEM in Saitama. They started outsourcing to Universal in China around 10 years later. So that may or may not be the ~2000 marker you’re thinking. They were still considered “made in Japan,” as they would be “finished” in Japan. That could have meant adding a tip. Silly import rules.
Yes, started in Japan, thicker joint trim rings, moved to another country. I wonder if the license was sold to the current company? Not sure.
The Balabushka Cue Company own the license for the Balabushka cue name as well as Adam USA and Hemstetter. The Mallens purchased the rights from them owner Patty Vorillas (sp) who was David Forman’s right hand woman at Adam USA.
This isn’t quite right. Miki ran his shop. But the Saitama shop was the main Adam Japan. Miki unfortunately got roped into a contract such that any cue he sold had to be sold as an Adam cue. So Miki Cues was Adam Cues, but Adam Cues weren’t all Miki Cues. More appropriately, Miki was a sub-contractor for Adam Japan. Adam Japan themselves built many many of the cues.
That makes sense. It started as just Dick Helmstetter, then became Adam as well as a bunch of others, including Julio Stambolini, now it's the Balabushka Cue Company. Other than Dick Helmstetter actually starting in Washington DC, it quickly moved to Asia, and is still there.
The Balabushka Cue Company have nothing to do with Adam Japan. I know it’s all confusing. It’s not like Adam Cues moved from Washington to Japan to China to Taiwan. That’s definitely not what happened.
