That's what can happen to ivory in a low-humidity environment

Vahmurka

Vahmurka

...and I get all da rolls
Silver Member
holly schmolly! :eek:
ivoryferr.jpg

That's a massive crack in the ferrule from top to bottom. Appeared just because it's VERY dry air during winter in this room where it is stored. Will have to replace it, and I doubt about ivory this time...

Guess what happens to hardwoods like ebony or macassar.
 
Are you sure it didn't get wet? I've never had an ivory ferrule crack from humidity. I took my cues from OH to AZ and that was a major humidity change, no crack. After 12 years, brought my cues back east again and still no cracking.

The only time I did have a crack, same as yours, is when I tossed my camelback in the corner and didn't realize my cue case was there. It ended up leaking and I found it too late. Next night I pull a shaft out and it's damp...all four shafts, all four ivory ferrules. As they dried, the ferrules cracked. I've also seen them crack on a lathe when applying too much heat while cleaning a shaft/burnishing a tip.
 
CHANGES CAN CAUSE SWELLING
BUT SOMETIMES IT CRACKS AND ONE JUST LIKE IT DOESN'T

who can explain things like this.it happens to everyone
it is not the cue maker,its mother nature

humidity,high,low,temperature

buy another one and keep playing

Bob Owen told me that pro players seldom use ivory because of this very problem
you don't know when,you don't know why
 
Ivory holds moisture and shrinks as it dries out, which is what causes the cracks. That's one of the reasons you cure or use aged ivory, as green ivory will be too wet and shrink and crack as it dries out. However, if the environ is dry enough (store your ivory cue in a storage facility in Las Vegas for example) and even the oldest ivory will shrink and cause problems.

Thanks

Kevin
 
Not to dispute your point, however, I've had ivory ferruled cues sit in the trunk of my car in -50 degree weather in Montana and 100+ degree weather in Sacramento. I've kept them in super dry conditions and unbelievably humid conditions too. And I've never had one crack like that.

It is worth noting that the ferrule pictured does not appear to have a fiber pad installed. That means, to me, that the ferrule may have been improperly machined when the tip was installed and/or the ferrule developed a hairline crack during play which, while stored, developed into a full-blown split.

The only time I have ever had a ferrule crack was when I neglected to have the mechanic install pads on three shafts with ivory ferrules. All three cracked. It was an expensive lesson. YMMV.

Lou Figueroa
 
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I feel this might be just luck of the draw...I've never had any pads on my ivory ferrules, never a crack or problem in 20 years. I don't think a pad is a necessity.
 
the only time mine cracked was when i was busting my balls to hard ... it's not what u think ...

tank69 said:
Are you sure it didn't get wet? I've never had an ivory ferrule crack from humidity. I took my cues from OH to AZ and that was a major humidity change, no crack. After 12 years, brought my cues back east again and still no cracking.

The only time I did have a crack, same as yours, is when I tossed my camelback in the corner and didn't realize my cue case was there. It ended up leaking and I found it too late. Next night I pull a shaft out and it's damp...all four shafts, all four ivory ferrules. As they dried, the ferrules cracked. I've also seen them crack on a lathe when applying too much heat while cleaning a shaft/burnishing a tip.
Click to expand...
 
the cue is good, and the one who made it is a top cuemaker. That's just a matter of where it is kept. I posted just to share an example of the process. Natural materials like wood or bone (ivory) give moisture away if it's too dry around.
Just for the reference, the humidity in this room during winter is as low as 5% :eek:
 
lfigueroa said:
Not to dispute your point, however, I've had ivory ferruled cues sit in the trunk of my car in -50 degree weather in Montana and 100+ degree weather in Sacramento. I've kept them in super dry conditions and unbelievably humid conditions too. And I've never had one crack like that.

It is worth noting that the ferrule pictured does not appear to have a fiber pad installed. That means, to me, that the ferrule may have been improperly machined when the tip was installed and/or the ferrule developed a hairline crack during play which, while stored, developed into a full-blown split.

The only time I have ever had a ferrule crack was when I neglected to have the mechanic install pads on three shafts with ivory ferrules. All three cracked. It was an expensive lesson. YMMV.

Lou Figueroa
Click to expand...

Same here.... I live in Cincinnati and have a schon I leave in the car at all times, one ivory ferrule one LBM and have never had a problem...
 
I'm no expert on cue ferrules, but I do know ivory can shrink and crack if the relative humidity gets too low. I once had a very rare and valuable antique flute develop a massive crack in the ivory head joint overnight.

It was about two hundred years old, so it had plenty of time to dry. What happened was that we had a severe cold snap come through my area, bringing bone-dry air along with it. I forgot to fill the humidifier tank before I closed the shop for the night. That's all it took. Several wooden musical instruments also suffered cracks, but I was able to repair them. The ivory flute, however, was a total loss.
 
I don't think any of the replies are meant to be a "you're wrong" or "you're right" deal. I think it goes to show that ivory, as we all know, can be very finicky! Some of us luck out, others don't.

I do know that the guy who does/did my ivory ferrules gets very high grade ivory. It's old, near perfect grain and a little expensive. I don't remember the name, but the guy is a very famous ivory sculptor..he's on YouTube and carving a large sail boat...all of ivory. It's amazing to say the least.
 
Maybe I have been lucky. I have ivory ferrules on all of my cues no pads either and have never had on crack. I think it is like dean said no way to tell it just happens.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.
 
I fall into the group that have had nearly zero problems like this.

I have one original Schon shaft with the ivory ferrule intact. The other original shaft has had the ferrule replaced twice in 22 years. The original ivory ferrule was hacked up by a guy I thought was a competent repairman/cuemaker,so it had to be replaced.

If I had gotten close enough to him,his head would have had to be replaced,;):rolleyes:

I had it's replacement crack on me because of an extreme draw shot in a tournament with no pad and a tip that had a sidewall about .050 thick,that one is on me.

The ivory ferrule on it now is still perfect.

I saw one one time where the owner left his cue case in his car while he was in a restaurant,etc,so the time in the cold was 2 hours MAX. It was about 20 degrees that night.

He screws it together,and when he hits his 2nd ball,the ivory ferrule on this South West exploded like a light tube,and left pieces all over the table small enough the only thing they could do was vacuum the cloth.

The picture showed is an extreme example. I know people that have ivory ferrules that have been cracked for 10 years or more and it never shows in playability. This one sure will.

That sucks,Tommy D.
 
Same here...only it was 120+ in Vegas (150+ inside the car). Never had any damage to my cues, under any conditions, in over 40 yrs.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

lfigueroa said:
Not to dispute your point, however, I've had ivory ferruled cues sit in the trunk of my car in -50 degree weather in Montana and 100+ degree weather in Sacramento. I've kept them in super dry conditions and unbelievably humid conditions too. And I've never had one crack like that.

Lou Figueroa
Click to expand...
 
Across the street from me is a high end antiques mall. All of the stores keep a small glass of water in their display cases that contain ivory items. Plenty of information can be found on the web about how ivory reacts to the environment. I have had many cues with ivory that had no problems and others that developed cracks with all kept in the same conditions. Kind of luck of the draw I'd say when it comes to a pool cue. Remember pool ball used to be made from ivory and I doubt that pool rooms were taking a lot of special care to monitor the humidity levels.
 
I also think no fibre backing might be part if the issue. I had one crack just like that but it was because I was breaking with it and it took about two years and its been to some extreme places like negative 40 in Alaska to 130 degree in Iraq and Kuwait.


I have been shooting with ivory since mid 90'S and that was the only one I ever had crack
 
On a side note I still shot with that deep gash on that ivory ferrule and it still would hit lights out I kept pushing it to see how far it can go well about 4 years total its still plays and break and run out a rack with it.

And by the way mine is a JOSS shaft
 
JoseV said:
On a side note I still shot with that deep gash on that ivory ferrule and it still would hit lights out I kept pushing it to see how far it can go well about 4 years total its still plays and break and run out a rack with it.

And by the way mine is a JOSS shaft
Click to expand...

I had the same experience with both ivory ferrules and joints. I just had my Scruggs fixed after many years of playing with it with a cracked joint. The cue played just fine as it was.
 
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