Ok,I'm fairly new to really looking into cues,and keep getting confused by references,and what they mean.I figured out that a "Bushka" refers to a cue made to look like a Balabushka,but what exactly are the other styles? and how are they defined? I often see references to "hoppe," "widow," merry widow," etc. can someone school me on this?
Question about cue "styles"
- Thread starter leto1776
- Start date
"Hoppe" - Generally used to refer to cues with a white band just above the short butt-cap. The design is in reference to the Hoppe line of cues by Brunswick(?).
Merry Widow - typically a cue with a plain forearm and plain buttsleeve. I think it can be either linen or leather wrapped.
Southwest style - cues looking like a SW. All wood, 6 hi-lo points, stitched rings, and a SW band of wood above a short buttcap.
Blackboar style - the more recent ones will typically have ebony points and buttsleeve, no veneers, maple forearm, 6 points. Ivory (sleeved with SS) or SS joint. Signature sculpted ivory butt-cap.
Harvey Martin style- plain maple with wrap and long delrin buttcap. SS pin (referred to as big-pin) into maple shaft without inserts. White with green speck linen or cork (?) wrap. Similar to what a 'merry-widow' looks like.
Tad style - derivative of Harvey martin style. Typically maple forearm with ebony points, mostly without veneers. Typically 6 points, but can be point-less or 4 points. Signature intricate buttsleeve inlays that is only done by Tad. Best to look at one of his cues to get a feel of what that means.
Joe Gold (Cognoscenti) style - floating points of exotic wood or ivory into maple, ebony, or cocobolo forearm/sleeve. The inlayed points are typically sword shaped, or something that looks similar. Signature silver dashed wrings. Very similar designs by Hunter and some other cuemakers.
Gambler style - pretty much any cue with gaming inlays such as dice, cards, card suits. For traditional gamblers look up Gambler style cues by Szamboti, Bill Schick, Tascarella.
East coast style - broad category referring to cues made by makers coming out of the East Coast. Typically a SS joint, points, delrin cap. Szamboti and Balabushka were some of the initiators of the style. More recent examples are Scruggs, Dan Janes (JOSS), and Cochran. Quite a broad category.
Ginacue style- hard to describe them as they are distinctive to the eye. Probably the designer of the most number of distinctive designs ever. Check cues like Rasputin. There are many design elements (rings, points, etc) that are instantly recognizable as Gina.
Butterfly cues - instead of straight and sharp points, the points are rounded. The points are made using a different technique. Can be veneered as well. Example is BHQ.
Full-spliced vs. short-spliced: generally speaking, short-spliced points are inserted into the forearm individually and separately. Whereas long-spliced points is achieved by joining 2 pieces of spliced wood together.
there are a lot more styles out there. Can't claim all the above info to be correct. I stand to be corrected.
Merry Widow - typically a cue with a plain forearm and plain buttsleeve. I think it can be either linen or leather wrapped.
Southwest style - cues looking like a SW. All wood, 6 hi-lo points, stitched rings, and a SW band of wood above a short buttcap.
Blackboar style - the more recent ones will typically have ebony points and buttsleeve, no veneers, maple forearm, 6 points. Ivory (sleeved with SS) or SS joint. Signature sculpted ivory butt-cap.
Harvey Martin style- plain maple with wrap and long delrin buttcap. SS pin (referred to as big-pin) into maple shaft without inserts. White with green speck linen or cork (?) wrap. Similar to what a 'merry-widow' looks like.
Tad style - derivative of Harvey martin style. Typically maple forearm with ebony points, mostly without veneers. Typically 6 points, but can be point-less or 4 points. Signature intricate buttsleeve inlays that is only done by Tad. Best to look at one of his cues to get a feel of what that means.
Joe Gold (Cognoscenti) style - floating points of exotic wood or ivory into maple, ebony, or cocobolo forearm/sleeve. The inlayed points are typically sword shaped, or something that looks similar. Signature silver dashed wrings. Very similar designs by Hunter and some other cuemakers.
Gambler style - pretty much any cue with gaming inlays such as dice, cards, card suits. For traditional gamblers look up Gambler style cues by Szamboti, Bill Schick, Tascarella.
East coast style - broad category referring to cues made by makers coming out of the East Coast. Typically a SS joint, points, delrin cap. Szamboti and Balabushka were some of the initiators of the style. More recent examples are Scruggs, Dan Janes (JOSS), and Cochran. Quite a broad category.
Ginacue style- hard to describe them as they are distinctive to the eye. Probably the designer of the most number of distinctive designs ever. Check cues like Rasputin. There are many design elements (rings, points, etc) that are instantly recognizable as Gina.
Butterfly cues - instead of straight and sharp points, the points are rounded. The points are made using a different technique. Can be veneered as well. Example is BHQ.
Full-spliced vs. short-spliced: generally speaking, short-spliced points are inserted into the forearm individually and separately. Whereas long-spliced points is achieved by joining 2 pieces of spliced wood together.
there are a lot more styles out there. Can't claim all the above info to be correct. I stand to be corrected.
LifeAt35mm
Registered
Great explanation.
Plain Jane - see merry widow
Window Cue - cue with rectangular inlays of wood or ivory (typically) in butt sleeve
Box Cue - long rectangular inlays in forearm in lieu of points
Conversion Cue - cue made from another cue, typically full-spliced. Common versions are Titleist (Willie Hoppe Titleist by Brunswick) and Dufferin conversions
Re-Cut Points - where multiple levels of points are cut in to give the look of veneers. Two main benefits of this method are no glue lines and the figure/color of the actual wood.
Piloted - the joint has a male and female part (male typically on shaft and female on butt)
Cored - forearm wood cored out and replaced with a different wood. Some use solid cores and some use laminated cores. This is typically done to reduce the chance of warpage or to obtain a specific, or consistent, hit or feel.
Reverse Points - downward facing points in the butt sleeve.
Window Cue - cue with rectangular inlays of wood or ivory (typically) in butt sleeve
Box Cue - long rectangular inlays in forearm in lieu of points
Conversion Cue - cue made from another cue, typically full-spliced. Common versions are Titleist (Willie Hoppe Titleist by Brunswick) and Dufferin conversions
Re-Cut Points - where multiple levels of points are cut in to give the look of veneers. Two main benefits of this method are no glue lines and the figure/color of the actual wood.
Piloted - the joint has a male and female part (male typically on shaft and female on butt)
Cored - forearm wood cored out and replaced with a different wood. Some use solid cores and some use laminated cores. This is typically done to reduce the chance of warpage or to obtain a specific, or consistent, hit or feel.
Reverse Points - downward facing points in the butt sleeve.
Last edited:
Thanks! :thumbup: I was in a real rush and didn't have time to get that typed out.
I'll add that a window cue can also be a cue with a clear acrylic (or other) winow, most often in the butt sleeve, that will have the makers name and/or owners name visible through the window. There can also be no writing at all in the window and some decorative material instead such as a pearlized plastic or something like that.
Also, reverse points can also mean points extending from the joint rearward into the forearm instead of points extending from the wrap forward into the forearm. These are quite unusual but occasionally seen.
.
The earlier Hoppe Professional cues have the white ivory ring. The later cues do not.
.
My two cents..
There's a difference between a plain Jane and a merry widow.
A Jane has no points, inlays or decorations except for the stain or wrap color. They are typically designed for the low end customer, but their stains are generally always consistent throughout.
A widow however is generally a cue made with left over parts of other cues, still no inlays or decorations, but not consistent colors or consistent wood grain. If you love a different than typical look, a widow would be a great choice.
I own a few widows, I love the various patterns in the forearm which would be too inconsistent for points or inlays.
There's a difference between a plain Jane and a merry widow.
A Jane has no points, inlays or decorations except for the stain or wrap color. They are typically designed for the low end customer, but their stains are generally always consistent throughout.
A widow however is generally a cue made with left over parts of other cues, still no inlays or decorations, but not consistent colors or consistent wood grain. If you love a different than typical look, a widow would be a great choice.
I own a few widows, I love the various patterns in the forearm which would be too inconsistent for points or inlays.
FWIW, Ray Schuler described his simplest cues, which used only one piece of wood for the butt, as merry widows. As I understand it, a PJ typically has no inlays, but may use a different wood in the wrap and occasionally uses simple decorative rings.
Another term OP may be interested in learning is 'bridged veneer points'. A search would be much easier than writing it out. It is well worth seeing.
Also, a typical piloted joint has a threaded insert in the shaft. The insert recesses into the butt at the face of the joint. An excellent example would be found in Ray Schuler's cues. It has nothing to do with which part has the male pin. Burton Spain is the only reputable cuemaker I can think of that installed the pin in the shaft. As a newbie OP, should look up both of those names as they both brought many great design features to cue production.
Another term OP may be interested in learning is 'bridged veneer points'. A search would be much easier than writing it out. It is well worth seeing.
Also, a typical piloted joint has a threaded insert in the shaft. The insert recesses into the butt at the face of the joint. An excellent example would be found in Ray Schuler's cues. It has nothing to do with which part has the male pin. Burton Spain is the only reputable cuemaker I can think of that installed the pin in the shaft. As a newbie OP, should look up both of those names as they both brought many great design features to cue production.
Last edited: