Tad Cue Wrap
- Thread starter HaroldWilson
- Start date
Thanks for the info 
PS: The boar is my daily player and hits lights out
PS: The boar is my daily player and hits lights out
Not to throw a wet blanket on the Cortland Craze, but, it's hard to tell by the picture. Just because it has light green specks, it doesn't mean it's Cortland. Blue Mountain linen, made in Asia, offers a light green speck that, at a distance, or photo, may look like Cortland, but isn't.
Cortland went out of business in the mid 80s. Unless Tad bought an incredible amount, I suspect the later cues aren't Cortland. Also, with a bit of patience, another linen can be made to look like Cortland with a bleach and water mix, wet sanding, and waxing.
There were a lot of Tad cues made from the mid 80s to present, all having light green speck linen. Are they all covered with Cortland linen? I don't think so, though there's always the possibility some examples are. But don't expect the newer examples to be, just because the specks are light green.
All the best,
WW
Cortland went out of business in the mid 80s. Unless Tad bought an incredible amount, I suspect the later cues aren't Cortland. Also, with a bit of patience, another linen can be made to look like Cortland with a bleach and water mix, wet sanding, and waxing.
There were a lot of Tad cues made from the mid 80s to present, all having light green speck linen. Are they all covered with Cortland linen? I don't think so, though there's always the possibility some examples are. But don't expect the newer examples to be, just because the specks are light green.
All the best,
WW
It's not Cortland.
More like impossible to tell.. From this picture at least
Even if you had the cue in your hands it'd be very difficult knowing what can easily be done with good ole green spec Irish to mimic the look... A better "tell" would be the date the cue was made...
Correct, and it would nice to have a nickel for every time someone thought some wrap was Cortland, when it was not the case...
All the best,
WW
Forgive my ignorance... But what is the significance, advantage, or desire of REAL Cortland?
Cortland linen, from the Cortland Line Company, is generally considered the best linen to have been put on pool cues. It was fishing line, spun and braided from flax, and went out of production when fishing line changed from linen to dacron. Cortland linen has a smoothness that other linens have had a hard time matching, and the old timers like the light green specks in Cortland, especially as it ages, giving it a nice old-patina look.
As I said above, Cortland linen stopped production somewhere in the mid 80s, though there are some cuemakers with a little of the valuable stuff around, but don't expect it to come cheap. Better yet, hope it's already on that old cue of yours.
Hope this helps. Other searches will give you plenty of other good info.
All the best,
WW
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So..... Aesthetics? Smoother and looks? Is there an actual advantage to it, such as whicks moisture better, wears longer, etc...?
It tends to finish better. If you ask Steve Klein, he much prefers it over the newer stuff. So yes, smoother, nicer to work with and looks.
JV
Aesthetics? A lot of players think so, especially the ones used to Cortland linen. But, you and others might prefer the more colorful darker specked modern linens. It's up to the individual.
Smoother? Definitely. I'm not aware of a linen that feels smoother than Cortland.
Whicks moisture? You mean wicks, right? No, linen doesn't wick moisture, which would be transferring moisture to the outside of a surface of something. It absorbs moisture, and having used several brands of linen, I wouldn't say any of them have a lock on moisture absorption, as long as there's not a finish applied to the outside of the linen.
Lasts longer? I have Cortland linen and other brands on cues regularly used since the 70s. Given proper care, I haven't had any problem with any of them, so I don't think any has an advantage with wear. I would say that Cortland feels smoother after long term usage, but that's up to the owner to determine whether that's an advantage. Some linens, such as Hurlburt, are known to be slightly rougher feeling, which is what some players prefer.
Hope that helps.
All the best,
WW
Thank you very much for the explanation! You're correct, wicks was the wrong word, but you answered my intended meaning. Lol.
The Cortland Line Company still seems to exist, just not producing linen line these days.
http://www.cortlandline.com/about/our-story
Yes but actually they stopped producing the linen line a while ago like WildWing said. The only difference is that it was actually discontinued in the mid 70's not 80's. I think WildWing miss spoke as I believe he meant mid 70's. That's when Gus Szamboti started using Penn linen because of Cortland linen no longer being readily available...
I had two early 70s, pre logo Tads refinished by Fred. I was concerned if they were Cortland and he said no. I also have a couple of high end Tads from the early nineties, and both of them do not have Cortland.
Tad's wraps are super flat and one of the best in the industry.:thumbup2::thumbup2:
Tad's wraps are super flat and one of the best in the industry.:thumbup2::thumbup2:
The thing about Cortland that makes it feel so superior is that the line was hand woven as opposed to machine twisted like all the other Cuttyhunk lines were made. This allowed the operator to feel the individual stands of linen and flax that were woven into the line.
The tactile feel of the operator's fingers would detect any irregularities in the strands and the operator would stop the machine to correct any issues. There was also greater care given to the diameter consistency of the flax strands being used and the operator could detect if there was any significant variations. The hand twisting process just rendered a fishing line that was more consistent and uniform whereas the machine twisting lines were less expensive to produce and quality was also a little lower. The operator was no longer in control of the fishing line production and thus inconsistencies in flax strands naturally went unnoticed by a machine versus a operator's hands that touched and felt the actual strands.
I prefer Cortland on my pool cues and #9 is all I have on my cues whereas there are some........ahem (ideologist).....blessed with a supply of Cortland #12 (white w/black speck).....which is damn rare nowadays.....Cortland Linen #12 is absolutely the scarcest pool cue wrap around that I know of, contemporaneously speaking.
The tactile feel of the operator's fingers would detect any irregularities in the strands and the operator would stop the machine to correct any issues. There was also greater care given to the diameter consistency of the flax strands being used and the operator could detect if there was any significant variations. The hand twisting process just rendered a fishing line that was more consistent and uniform whereas the machine twisting lines were less expensive to produce and quality was also a little lower. The operator was no longer in control of the fishing line production and thus inconsistencies in flax strands naturally went unnoticed by a machine versus a operator's hands that touched and felt the actual strands.
I prefer Cortland on my pool cues and #9 is all I have on my cues whereas there are some........ahem (ideologist).....blessed with a supply of Cortland #12 (white w/black speck).....which is damn rare nowadays.....Cortland Linen #12 is absolutely the scarcest pool cue wrap around that I know of, contemporaneously speaking.
Attachments
Yes, as I said, production of the linen stopped, not the entire company. And Skins is no doubt correct on the decade it stopped. It was generally available in the early 80s, with some cuemakers that had supplied themselves adequately. Guess we'd all like to go back to the 70s to buy some of the stuff. I believe Joe Van Buren (Classiccues) led a project recently with Hurlburt to try to come close to Cortland linen, but hard to do, as I recall.
All the best,
WW
