Turquoise, Ebony, how to tell real VS fake in cue??

[Orlando]

Hello all and the best wishes to everyone of you through this very joyous time of year!!!

This is my first post here at AZbilliards and I hope I explain myself well enough so you all may understand what I'm trying to express.

(Alittle background about me) I have been shooting pool since I was able to see over the pool table. I purchased my first cue about 13-15 years ago at the age of 16-17 and it was a Viking. Now I am 31 and I have bought my second cue.

My question is,, can a person tell the differance by looking closely at the material/inlays in thier pool cue to tell if the materials are real or something which may be "re-constituted" or "fake". My questions are about Turquoise and Ebony.

I have looked closely at the "Ebony" points in my cue and I see no grain in this material. But when I look VERY close with a bright flashlight at any specific area of the ebony I can see tons of tiny little flecks of white/beige covering the "ebony" within my cue. These flecks are below the clear finish of the cue. The flecks are as small or smaller than the tip of a pin. It almost looks like dust???? I just do not understand if this is common with black ebony or not.

Also,, Is there a way to look closely at the turquoise inlays within a cue to tell if the Turquoise is "real" or "re-constituted" and such? I know that real turquoise is very hard to machine because it is brittle/hard and eats up tooling. Is it common for a custom/semi-custom pool cue maker to use a un-natural man-made turquoise so as to allow easier machining of the turquoise itself ?

Thank-you all at AZbilliards because I have found this to be a very informative pool forum. I appreciate your replys>>> Orlando.

 

[Purdman]

Most, if not all cuemakers use the re-constituted materials. Turquoise and Malichite. There are differant kinds of Ebony. There is Gaboon, which is black and others that show some lighter grain. Some of it is painted black.
Purdman

 

[Jack Madden]

Real turquoise is a rock - that is polished. Navajo's in AZ and NM use it in the rock form (round-irregular shape) in the old pawn jewelry and high end jewelry. New cheaper stuff is re-constituted.
Jack
www.johnmaddencues.com

 

[Jack Madden]

Real turquoise is a rock - that is polished. Navajo's in AZ and NM use it in the rock form (round-irregular shape) in the old pawn jewelry and high end jewelry. Newer stuff is re-constituted.
Jack
www.johnmaddencues.com

 

[Orlando]

Thanks for the replys

If you were to look at the ebony points/inlays in a cue as close as you could with your eyes using a bright flashlight, would you see the grain of the ebony?? I am only talking about ebony which is jet black like gaboon or mabey ???african blackwood????. I was told that the black points/inlays in my cue are ebony though.

I still do not understand the tiny little white flecks/dots which I see atop my ebony in my cue. The flecks/dots are beneath the clearcote on my cue.I have pasted my explanation of this from my earlier post>>>>>>>>

QUOTE>>>>>> " I have looked closely at the "Ebony" points in my cue and I see no grain in this material. But when I look VERY close with a bright flashlight at any specific area of the ebony I can see tons of tiny little flecks of white/beige covering the "ebony" within my cue. These flecks are below the clear finish of the cue. The flecks are as small or smaller than the tip of a pin. It almost looks like dust???? I just do not understand if this is common with black ebony or not."

I am just trying to figure out if it is normal for ebony to have these tiny white flecks/spots on or within the structure of the wood. Thank-you for your response,,,Orlando.

 

[merylane]

Real turquoise is a rock - that is polished. Navajo's in AZ and NM use it in the rock form (round-irregular shape) in the old pawn jewelry and high end jewelry. Newer stuff is re-constituted.
Jack
www.johnmaddencues.com

hey is there an echo in here?

 

[Penrose Cues]

Dear Orlando,

It is not unusual to find little dust parts in "black ebony". Some of it is wood dust (black) and some of it is white. The white dust are just minerals (mostly salt) wich are stocked in the hartwood by the tree when it grows in very dry areas. You'll see this in Purpleheart aswell...

If I told you there are over seven species of Ebony, you'll understand that not all "Black ebony" is really jet black.

Ebony from Togo is harder than the rest and grows in very dry areas. The wood often has mineral deposits wich can even form white streaks in the grain.
Ebony from Madagascar is more moist and is the "blackest" of all...

Anyway, the costs to make reconstituted ebony is more expensive than the real stuff. So, don't worry, in most cases (90% of the cues wich cost more than $300) the ebony is real.

With my very best regards,

Tom Penrose

Thanks for the replys

If you were to look at the ebony points/inlays in a cue as close as you could with your eyes using a bright flashlight, would you see the grain of the ebony?? I am only talking about ebony which is jet black like gaboon or mabey ???african blackwood????. I was told that the black points/inlays in my cue are ebony though.

I still do not understand the tiny little white flecks/dots which I see atop my ebony in my cue. The flecks/dots are beneath the clearcote on my cue.I have pasted my explanation of this from my earlier post>>>>>>>>

QUOTE>>>>>> " I have looked closely at the "Ebony" points in my cue and I see no grain in this material. But when I look VERY close with a bright flashlight at any specific area of the ebony I can see tons of tiny little flecks of white/beige covering the "ebony" within my cue. These flecks are below the clear finish of the cue. The flecks are as small or smaller than the tip of a pin. It almost looks like dust???? I just do not understand if this is common with black ebony or not."

I am just trying to figure out if it is normal for ebony to have these tiny white flecks/spots on or within the structure of the wood. Thank-you for your response,,,Orlando.