Wrap Material

Bavafongoul

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
After many years of deliberating, which truthfully was more procrastination on my part than anything else, I am having a custom cue built. I sketched the design and I've decided that I do not want to have a leather wrap. All my main playing cues have Cortland Linen (Schon, Scruggs & Mottey cues). I was thinking of switching to leather principally because I wanted to achieve the best appearance on my cue design.

Well, I tried playing with 3 different cues with leather wraps just before I has rotator cuff surgery earlier this month. I really didn't care for any and I recognize that my limited playing experience with leather grips did not include different types of leather like Spanish Bull, Elephant Ear, etc. Nonetheless, I'm not going to be playing pool again until next year and that's when my cue-maker estimated he'd have my cue completed (Feb. 2014).

Cortland Linen availability is pretty scarce and obviously,any variety to select from is an academic issue......lucky to find any. Previously, I was advised to contact Joe Pechauer as he might have some Cortland Linen. I have not contacted him but I intend to do so shortly. My thread is respectfully presented to this Forum for advice, comments or suggestions. I have a BEM cue (darker stain forearm) with 6 ebony points with 5 veneers (black/red/blue/orange/green over ebony pt). The butt sleeve is ebony with ivory/ebony stiched Bushka collars above and below the wrap and another just above the ivory butt cap. There's also 3 double boxed red veneers in the butt sleeve and well over 50 ivory inlays in the forearm & butt sleeve......and of course, flat ivory joint, ferrules, etc.

The above description is intended to furnish the reader with a better idea of my cue's design. I am not looking for a critique of my design as I'm pretty set on it but I'm at a loss as to what to specify as the wrap. As I mentioned, I'm not going to be playing pool again until next year and the cue will be completed shortly thereafter. My cue-maker is looking to me to furnish Cortland Linen if that's what I really want on my cue. I'm sure he could accommodate any leather wrap I'd specify but Cortland is what I want. If I can't get a nice Cortland that compliments my cue's overall appearance, then I need to select a Irish Linen instead and that's where I can use advice.

The only Cortland I've seen around was #9 and I don't even know that's available. I am not so steadfast about having Cortland that I'd install any color available that I might be able to find. I have little hope of finding a selection of Cortland Linen to choose from, However, there is a much broader variety of Irish Linen wraps available to choose from. I have limited knowledge of what's available in an Irish Line wrap but figured this Forum was an excellent place to ask for opinions or advice.

What color Irish Linen would look best on a cue with my design? Black (alone), black with red or white specks, gray, brown specks, etc. I get one shot at this and I don't know how to approach this and just don't want to default to something standard if a different linen wrap would have accentuated the cue's overall design better. I'm sure later this year, or early next year, I'll receive some progress photos of the build to share which I appreciate would help commenting about the cue's wrap. But in the interim, I hope my description (dark stain BEM forearm w/ 6 ebony pts & ebony butt sleeve with ivory Bushka collars above and below the wrap & another above the ivory cap). If that helps anyone envision what the cue looks like, again I'm sorry I cannot offer pictures at this time, I'd appreciate your comments or suggestions.

I am not circumventing my cue-maker in any way as he isn't even starting my cue build until later this year or early next year. This thread is for my edification and if I can't make up my mind, I've asked my cue-maker to install any linen wrap he thinks looks best. However, I also let him know I'd be looking for Cortland Linen for him to use if I could locate what I wanted. Thank you for contemplating the description of my cue and if you're so inclined, sharing your comments about the type of wrap I should consider. Again, my knowledge of cue wraps is very scant and I've always relied upon the cue-maker to select the wrap. However, this cue was my masterpiece design and now is not the time for me to become lazy or indifferent about the wrap. Playability of the cue is the #1 requirement and #2 is appearance.......since I already like the feel of Cortland on my cues, playability isn't an issue.............any suggestions or thoughts about the type of wrap I should consider for #2, appearance?

Thanks,
 
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^^^
Wraps are easy to change for the sake of color
Also half the price of leather,
It if you use elephant ear more like 1/6 the price
 
Thanks EightballJunkie & cuejo and as you pointed out changing the wrap is an option and pretty easy to get done. I guess I'm a perfectionist and if I did change the wrap, I'd want it to be done by my cue-maker even though others are qualified to do it. I'm just a stickler for keeping everything original and I guess my ego wants to get it right the first time.

And the thought of having to send my cue in for a new wrap, even though I've got other great cues to play with, just doesn't sit right with me. I'll probably have time to specify the wrap before my cue is completed and after I've seen some progress photos of the build, maybe something will jump out after I view some photos. At this moment, I'm leaning towards a double white spec Irish Linen Wrap unless I can score some Cortland or someone comes along suggests something else.

And I definitely agree that what looks best definitely will vary from person to person. In hindsight, my question isn't one that can be answered with any reliability or consistency. I mean I think my cue is going to be handsome & classy but it might be viewed as another ho hum design by lots of people, or maybe too gauche. I probably can't go wrong if I had to leave the wrap selection to the cue-maker; he's been just great about trying to stick to my cue design.

Thanks for your comments.
 
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Wraps

Remember that a linen wrap that has a very light base color and dark specs will lighten the hue of a dark cue. It will bring out (pop) the smaller brighter inlays. A darker base color linen with light color specs will darken the overall hue and subdue them. Think about what you want to be prominent when viewing the cue and from how far away. Do you want details to stand out from far away or do you want the details to be seen and appreciated better up close?

All this is personal and, as said in other responses, it is easily changed if you don't like your initial choice.
Tom Gedris, Triple Cross Cues:cool:
 
Cortland would look fine on that cue, so that would probably be your best choice since that is what you really like the feel of.
 
Thanks to all repliers......great comments and suggestions.

I'm getting excited even though my cue is many months away. My cue-maker just let me know he's completed the 5 veneers yesterday. I can't play pool again until next year as I just had rotator cuff surgery 10/1. So learning that the veneers were glued surprised me quite a bit since the cue still won't be finished until Feb or March '14.

I've seen videos of cue-making but I really did not understand or fully appreciate how long it actually takes to make a custom cue but I'm not in a hurry to get my cue because it would be even more frustrating to have it right now and not be able to play with it. Nonetheless, it came as a big surprise to me that the veneers were completed yesterday which was much earlier on the calendar than I would have otherwise imagined.

The veneers colors and stacking order are black/red/blue/orange/green over ebony points (3 hi & 3 lo).
So here I sit and wait and rest assured, as I am updated about further progress by the cue-maker on my cue, my excitement level will understandably be increasing.......5/1/2 mths and counting down.

Thank you again for the replies, comments and suggestions.
 
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I was fortunate to locate some Cortland Linen #9 and thanks to Steve @ Pechauer Custom Cues who interceded on my behalf when he spoke to Joe P., I was able to purchase some Cortland Linen #9 from Mr. Pechauer's limited inventory. It was very gracious of him to accommodate my needs since he hasn't any skin in my cue game so to speak of.

My cue is still on target for next year and I am still very interested in buying some Cortland Linen #12 (white with black speck). If I'm able to do that before my cue is completed, I'd return the #9 to Mr. Pechauer for free if he wanted it back. He was great just to help me out in the first place. Anyway, if anyone happens to come across any lead source where I can purchase a 50 yard roll of Cortland Linen #12, I would very much be in your debt.

Thanks for reading this update/bump.

Matt
 
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