What a nice idea. I've wondered why US Mfrs. haven't considered this and done something like Gil Castillo came up with. I happen to own two leather chalk pouches and I've played with them the past 2 yrs. It's really the handiest and least messy way to transport the chalk on your person while you patrol the table.
Drop in a piece of Blue Diamond Chalk like I carry in my leather pouch, and is shown in the photo, and you'll replace & reload a new piece of chalk maybe once a year unless you don't know how to apply chalk and instead wind up coring it like an apple........tsh, tsh, tsh........chalk should never have a foxhole in the center.
Anyway, I had to order both of my pouches through a company in England that I buy my pool shaft wax from. Since the brand leather pouches I wanted were also made in England, they gave me both pouches at no charge because I've been such a good, repeat customer. In any event, leather chalk pouches are much more popular in Europe, especially in England with its many professional snooker players. The two brands I have are Peradon and Master Cue; both pouches can hold two pieces chalk which is nice because I only carry one piece and drop in a small piece of sandpaper so I lightly scuff up my cue tip any time I see any glazing .....I play with Kamui Black (medium) Tips.
Gil's design looks really cool and the chalk looks like it will fit easily but still snugly with ample room for to carry a small piece of sandpaper like I do. I prefer to use 600 grit on the tip's top surface, but in my case I also carry strips of 600, 1000, 1200, 1500, & 2000 grit and even some Croakus cloth and a Tiger Leather Burnisher. So I can drop in any sandpaper version I want and I think that's a handy added feature instead of interrupting my play to go to my cue case to retrieve something to do the same thing that the small piece of sand paper equivalently does. I prefer a nickel shape on my cue tips so light sanding is pretty simple. I can tell you from the photos that the leather Gil uses is much higher quality than the leather in either of my chalk pouches. His pouch design also looks more like a drop shape, almost like a Buscadero holster, and my leather pouches have a more wide, envelope shape design.............gotta give a big two thumbs up to Gil Castillo's chalk pouch design.
Lastly, look at how Gil's chalk pouch design easily attaches to your belt, jeans, shorts, sweats..... it really doesn't matter.....and the grommet looks like it will allow it to move instead of being rigid and fixed in place like the pouches I wear that have to entirely repositioned if you needed to move the pouch even a little bit. In my opinion, Gil came up with a great design for a chalk pouch and it sounds like I'm gonna have to get me one.......and perhaps also try persuading Gil to make me some branded leather burnishers as gifts for the upcoming Holidays for my closest pool buddies. Mr. Castillo, as a connoisseur of leather chalk pouches, I have to say that you are the leader of the pack in my opinion. Indeed, you have a very nice design and well crafted product.
Matt B.
p.s I like using a leather burnisher for my cue shafts to render the shafts more smooth since I play with a closed bridge and never play with a glove. So naturally, body oil and dirt buildup can occur on your cue shaft regardless of how careful you are. Look at a pool table cloth....ever lay your cue across the surface? That table is hardly clean of grease, dust, dirt, powder and oils so trust me when I write that a leather burnisher comes in real handy.....heat/friction smooths the shaft right away and the leather does not result in wood wear.......It's a great item to carry in your case and make really nice gifts.
