Slippery Linen Wrap? Tennis Grip Solution?

~jj~

~jj~

3 ball ghost is strong
Silver Member
So, after searching on this topic, I have found that many people prefer a wrapless cue or at least a leather wrap over a linen wrap because they get more feel and can have a looser grip with less slippage.

In my quest to make my cue less slippery, I have called a couple places and been quoted $100-$200 for a leather wrap. I have thought about putting a resin over the wrap also, which means refinishing the entire cue.

I have also noticed the trend of going with a sportier grip by some cue-makers such as lucasi and predator's poison series.

So, since I had a $.99 tennis overgrip lying around I decided to throw it on (very earl stricklandesque, i know) and it feels pretty good to me. The only immediate downfalls I can think of are, that the grip is a little bit bigger and there is the spiral ridge where the grip lays overtop of itself as it goes up the cue.

I think the bright yellow really compliments my solid blue cue nicely.

So, my question is, has anyone else out there tried anything like this, or have any recommendations of what some good cost-effective means of getting a better grip on this cue could be?

Thanks,
~jj~
 
JJ:

Great post!

Like you, I very much dislike Linen (or any spiraled cord/thread) wrap, because of the slipperiness, and because of the drastic change in feel in your grip hand as you transition that grip hand on/off that wrap. (In other words, I find as I have to stretch for shots -- as I often do on 9-footers or snooker tables -- as I settle into the shot, I tend to "finagle" [inchworm] my grip hand backwards over the wrap to achieve the proper 90-degree angle between my forearm and the cue. When I do this, the drastic change in feel between the slippery "ridge-y" Linen, and the smooth [but "grippy"] wrapless butt of the cue, causes a "whoa, what's that new surface?" reaction in my mind, sometimes distracting me ever-so-slightly from the shot.)

So I prefer wrapless or leather wrap. In the case where I have to use a Linen wrap, I took a tip from a great 3-cushion player and found the following product to be *very* helpful (many 3-cushion players use this product):

Thin Rubber Cue Grip tube:
http://poolndarts.com/index.cfm?CFID=14751765&CFTOKEN=fb271c2c7b8a3f39-DDCDB388-D61C-4F06-B0890702906D9C65&Fuseaction=Catalog.Product&productID=4965

The only caveat is that yes, even though this is a thin rubber tube, there's still this little "step" in the transition between the gripping surface that the rubber tube is covering, and the wrapless butt of the cue. But the transition is not like going from a slippery "ridge-y" surface, to a smooth "grippy" surface. You're going from a "grippy" surface to another "grippy" surface, and other than the minor temperature change from the warm rubber to a cooler polyurethane (or other wood coating) on the butt of the cue, it's not that much of a distraction.

Anyways, that's my humble thoughts. Hope this is helpful!
-Sean

~jj~ said:
So, after searching on this topic, I have found that many people prefer a wrapless cue or at least a leather wrap over a linen wrap because they get more feel and can have a looser grip with less slippage.

In my quest to make my cue less slippery, I have called a couple places and been quoted $100-$200 for a leather wrap. I have thought about putting a resin over the wrap also, which means refinishing the entire cue.

I have also noticed the trend of going with a sportier grip by some cue-makers such as lucasi and predator's poison series.

So, since I had a $.99 tennis overgrip lying around I decided to throw it on (very earl stricklandesque, i know) and it feels pretty good to me. The only immediate downfalls I can think of are, that the grip is a little bit bigger and there is the spiral ridge where the grip lays overtop of itself as it goes up the cue.

I think the bright yellow really compliments my solid blue cue nicely.

So, my question is, has anyone else out there tried anything like this, or have any recommendations of what some good cost-effective means of getting a better grip on this cue could be?

Thanks,
~jj~
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the great read! I love wrapless cues!
I also love the feel of leather, too!

:)
 
~jj~ said:
In my quest to make my cue less slippery, I have called a couple places and been quoted $100-$200 for a leather wrap.
Click to expand...

There are cuemakers who post on AZ such as RATCUES or GRACIOCUES they will do a leatherwrap for under $100 (altough it might be around $100 after shipping cost). I think this is better long term solution.

Or if your cue needs refinish (and it's a keeper) then spraying over the wrap is another option.

I like rubber wraps on a break cue but not sure about playing with it.

I've tried the tennis wrap method but like you said, it requires at least two to wrap the grip area and the thickness and overlap bothered me.
 
~jj~ said:
So, after searching on this topic, I have found that many people prefer a wrapless cue or at least a leather wrap over a linen wrap because they get more feel and can have a looser grip with less slippage.

In my quest to make my cue less slippery, I have called a couple places and been quoted $100-$200 for a leather wrap. I have thought about putting a resin over the wrap also, which means refinishing the entire cue.

I have also noticed the trend of going with a sportier grip by some cue-makers such as lucasi and predator's poison series.

So, since I had a $.99 tennis overgrip lying around I decided to throw it on (very earl stricklandesque, i know) and it feels pretty good to me. The only immediate downfalls I can think of are, that the grip is a little bit bigger and there is the spiral ridge where the grip lays overtop of itself as it goes up the cue.

I think the bright yellow really compliments my solid blue cue nicely.

So, my question is, has anyone else out there tried anything like this, or have any recommendations of what some good cost-effective means of getting a better grip on this cue could be?

Thanks,
~jj~
Click to expand...

All you need to do is find a cuemaker/fixer who will wrap your cue the
old fashion way.

It takes lots of time and work to get linen wraps so smooth and slick -
but that is what the market prefers.

A minor irony is that one of the reasons Irish Linen originally gained so
much popularity, was, it was not as slick as leather.

Dale
 
Ah, the nostalgic good ol' days

pdcue said:
All you need to do is find a cuemaker/fixer who will wrap your cue the old fashion way.

It takes lots of time and work to get linen wraps so smooth and slick -
but that is what the market prefers.

A minor irony is that one of the reasons Irish Linen originally gained so
much popularity, was, it was not as slick as leather.

Dale
Click to expand...

Dale:

That is an irony indeed! Methinks the reason that Irish Linen became popular, was (at the time -- and this is key!) leather "curing" and finishing techniques aren't what they are today. Back in those days (George Balabushka's days?) leather was cured with very different chemicals, and the use of "saddle soap" was even advocated to maintain it (which, as you know today, saddle soap is very much a no-no, according to leather tanners of today). The old leather tanning/curing/finishing techniques tended to be oily and leave the leather slick as you noted. However, today's leather -- at least the leather used for grips on cues, tennis racquets, etc. -- is not slick at all, but rather is dry, porous ("breathes"), and absorbs perspiration from the hand. Today's leather grips are much better than yesteryear's leather grips, that's for sure.

In the establishment where I run a league, we happen to be blessed with the presence of a very talented cue luthier who does it for the love of the trade (he's not in it for business -- he'll only make cues for special request by his friends or people he knows). This cue luthier seems to also advocate Irish Linen wraps, precisely for the reason you outline -- that it takes TALENT and SKILL to properly install one. He takes great pride in his abilities to install a beautiful pressed Irish Linen wrap, and often shows-up on league nights bearing the latest fruits of his labor, happily showing it off to "oooos" and "ahhhhs" from the crowd. They are truly works of art.

However, he'll humbly admit the reason why he advocates Irish Linen, is *because* it takes great skill to install a good one, and he takes pride in his ability to do so. He humbly admits that today's leather wraps are just as good, but will quickly add, "but it takes more skill to install Irish Linen properly than a leather wrap! And see here? See how beautiful this Irish Linen on this particular cue is?" :-D Many of the folks who are lucky enough to have him craft a cue for them aren't as particular as some of us in terms of what the grip surface is (they are more interested in weight of the cue, diameter/taper of the shaft, ferrule and tip type, aesthetics of the forearm/butt design, what woods to use, etc.), but the grip is often either overlooked or just plain not spec'ed out by the customer. So Irish Linen "automatically gets put on" and he also occasionally claims this is what the market wants. Much to this luthier's chagrin, I've had him remove the Irish Linen wraps from a few of my "beater cues" (cues not made by him, that are more practical to me than they are beautiful) and replace it with a leather wrap. Of course he does a stellar job in doing so, and for a good price. These have become some of my favorite cues because they are so comfortable and practical.

Anyways, those are my humble thoughts on this. What think ye?
-Sean
 
Is your linen pressed?? Few do this today and it is one of the main reasons that linen is so slippery, IMO. I've used linen for years and only in recent years have I seen it so slippery that people don't like it. Most production cue makers don't do it and I haven't seen it on too many customs lately, either. My current cue came with a leather wrap {I bought second hand} and in less than six months, I had the cue maker replace it with Irish linen and never looked back. The same cue maker is one of the few that I know for a fact presses his linen wraps.
 
pdcue said:
All you need to do is find a cuemaker/fixer who will wrap your cue the
old fashion way.

It takes lots of time and work to get linen wraps so smooth and slick -
but that is what the market prefers.

A minor irony is that one of the reasons Irish Linen originally gained so
much popularity, was, it was not as slick as leather.
Dale
Click to expand...


That is some interesting trivia there...

Seems like today the slicker the linen wrap the better they think it is.

Not a fan of the slick linen wraps..
 
I guess I could have specified, it is a McDermott MG-01 that I got 3 years ago. I didn't really have problems until I had a lesson recently and was told to change my grip to something more relaxed.

thanks for all the input.

if someone knows of a magic clearcoat krylon spray that will go on smooth and look nice, I would really like that. :P
 
i only like wrapless pool cues but do not have a grip problem with them, i played a lot of tennis when i was younger and the tennis grip i'd use for a pool cue is called whatagrip i used to get it at walmart, it is a 1 piece grip that u pull over the butt cap with a plastic tool that comes with it, the only drawback is it's not as durable as an over grip, if it gets 1 hole in it it will get bigger an bigger until u have to replace it, with tennis is a big problem but pool shouldn't be as big a deal, also is much easier to put on than an over grip

http://www.amazon.com/Unique-WhatAGrip-Thin-Overgrip-Colors/dp/B000FGDJDO
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I am thinking if you put a tennis wrap on your cue it would be hard to fit it into a tube style case . Maybe if you have a butterfly style case that opens up you would be ok . Just a thought .
 
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