Mystery is solved!
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Pretty cool cue.It just seems to lack patina for a 30 year old cue. Is the wood unfinished? it looks to me like it was wrapped before it was finished. I like the Burton Spain style points. May be a john Davis blank? the shafts look to be made quite a while apart judging from the color,I'd say someone was making a Bushka "tribute" Kind of odd but looks like a fun one! there are some indications that the maker had some nice stuff laying around..Wrap...ferules...blank....tips...bumper...All quite recognizable. Hell if i know.
Bumper screw?
Pretty cool cue.It just seems to lack patina for a 30 year old cue. Is the wood unfinished? it looks to me like it was wrapped before it was finished. I like the Burton Spain style points. May be a john Davis blank? the shafts look to be made quite a while apart judging from the color,I'd say someone was making a Bushka "tribute" Kind of odd but looks like a fun one! there are some indications that the maker had some nice stuff laying around..Wrap...ferules...blank....tips...bumper...All quite recognizable. Hell if i know.
It's one of the 8-32 socket head Allen screws
The only thing about that cue that looks anything near old is the shafts, but they have fresh looking pilots & the darker shaft is heartwood so it would be naturally brown, anyway. The dark mineral stain barely visible in one of the pics gives that away. Something I have never seen on an old cue is mineral stained shafts, not even on cheap old house cues. A maker from a bygone era who produced this cue would have used aesthetically better shaft wood.
Next is the discrepancy of the white forearm wood and dark shaft wood. The shafts appear well used, minus the fresh pilots, yet the butt of the cue appears to have never been touched or exposed much to UV. Add in the visible lines from sanding or single point cutting and it's obvious the cue was not scraped smooth, a staple technique until most recent times. The wrap is also an issue. It's clean & new looking except at the last inch where it appears to have been saturated with glue, picked up some dirt/dust, and pressed tighter than the rest of the handle. Last but not least, the steel joint is polished but has no ledge behind it for finish. It's flush to the cue, meaning a refinish is almost certainly not the reason the cue is unfinished.
Overall it's a neat take on a timeless design, but IMO is a very modern attempt at making the cue seem old. I have tinkered with countless old cues and built hundreds of new cues over a span approaching 20yrs. Things on that cue jump out blatantly, screaming inexperience with a motive. I recognize many flaws & mistakes, as well as the lack of things only time can do to a cue. Minor & insignificant as they may seem, they clearly indicate a new cue made to look old. It's a cool cue, beautiful and classic in design, but not old. I'm not knocking the cue, just giving my opinion on its age. The maker should claim the cue, put on a modern finish, and accept credit for a job well done. It's a nice cue. Old it is not.
The tearout in the phenolic made me think that, as well as the clean pilots. Interestingly, the pilots are not a compression fit. The wrap is a little grungy in spots, that's the strange part. If they bamboozled me, so be it. It plays sweet.
Last but not least, the steel joint is polished but has no ledge behind it for finish. It's flush to the cue, meaning a refinish is almost certainly not the reason the cue is unfinished.