What so great about Westinghouse Micarta?
- Thread starter Belford
- Start date
same thing as ivory ferrules and joints
its better because its expensive
its better because its expensive
I don’t think Westinghouse Micarta was expensive. I may be now because it’s no longer manufactured and is hard to find.
It was the best micarta way back in the day compared to others.
It got expensive when they stopped making it. Like anything (cortland linen comes to mind)
Made with no environmental concessions prolly...
Well if it were Predator today offering Micarta for their ferrules I would imagine they would market it as a revolutionary ferrule material that assists the directional line of the cue ball to the desired aim point on the object ball - and add $100 to Micarta ferrule Predator cues
I still have a couple of sticks of Westinghouse micarta somewhere. Sometime I’ll put a mask
on and turn some down and see if it lives up to the hype.
Well if it were Predator today offering Micarta for their ferrules I would imagine they would market it as a revolutionary ferrule material that assists the directional line of the cue ball to the desired aim point on the object ball - and add $100 to Micarta ferrule Predator cues
Just $100?
none. a ferrule can NOT increase spin. i've had WM ferrules and they play fine but no better than other stuff. some people get all hot-n-bother'd over this minutia.
It hits and looks nice. And a lot of people tend to want things that are scarce and expensive. Nothing wrong with that. People can spend their money however they'd like. Hell, they can set it on fire as far as I'm concerned.
As far as more spin or whatever... I'd bet heavily against it. Any tried and true ferrule material will give you as much spin as your stroke can generate.
As far as more spin or whatever... I'd bet heavily against it. Any tried and true ferrule material will give you as much spin as your stroke can generate.
Ferrule has NOTHING to do with how much spin one can generate. Ferrule weight DOES have an effect on deflection and WM is pretty light so its good in that regard.
I agree. That's why I said I'd bet heavily against WM ferrules generating more spin than any other tried and true ferrule material. The only reason I won't say with 100% certainty that it doesn't is because I don't have any data in front of me stating that it doesn't.
Just for funsies, couldn't we all agree that there are materials out there that could reduce the amount of spin one could apply to the cue ball? I'd think this would be particularly true for a capped ferrule. Without getting completely crazy with something like molded rubber, let's say something like LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene)? It's softer than the majority of other thermoset plastics and would have to be less efficient at transferring energy. So wouldn't it make sense then that some ferrules transfer energy/spin more efficiently than others?
I realize this is complete and utter nonsense at worst and splitting hairs at best. But it's fun to joke around. Like I eluded to in my other post, one's stroke is a FAR more limiting factor to spin than any normal ferrule material is. And why is everyone wanting so much freaking spin??? Holy hell... Ya'll are gonna burn holes in your Simonis because your cue balls are spinning so fast.
Last edited:
I mean, there are still plenty of cues around with those ferrules. And barring any other issues with the cue, I'm sure they still play fine. Besides the yellowing or patina that material develops, which some people absolutely love and has no bearing that I'm aware of on its integrity, I'd say they're holding up just fine as well.
Like a lot of things, ferrules really come down to personal preference. Yeah, some of them are more durable or polish better than others. But unless it's on your break cue and your favorite thing to do is practice your break, most of them will do just fine. It just kind of depends on what you like.
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
Cuecomponents.com, under a new owner, has really nice micarta ferrules. Good service. Cuesmith.com has micarta ferrules. I've not tried them but I read somewhere they were the "mason's micarta." I'd imagine they are nice too.
I've never used the original Westinghouse stuff but I really like the cuecomponents one. I replaced an original McDermott full length ferrule with it as well as added a 1/2" ferrule to a cue that was originally just wood with a tip on it. I really like how both play, and they look really good and clean. There's a nice clean weave in the material, you don't really see it unless you're focusing really close at it in good lighting but I think it looks great.
At one time I wanted to try the original stuff but honestly as good as this plays I see no need.
Cue Components "Westinghouse" ferrules are not Westinghouse. They are most likely newer Chinese micarta. They don't look like Westinghouse and certainly don't machine like any Westinghouse micarta.
Westinghouse, and later International Paper micarta provide a firm hit and are easy to clean chalk dust off of unlike most other ferrule materials.
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
Agreed, I never called them Westinghouse. I called them micarta. I understand they are a different product.
Maybe my sentence structure didn't make a lot of sense.
I've never played with Westinghouse micarta. I have played with the cuecomponents micarta and I really like it.
Better?
What is the hit like and does it spin the ball better than other materials?