Wrap Q

Flakeandrun

Flakeandrun

Well-known member
I noticed a little bit of give in the glue on the wrap near the bottom. It's causing a light crease in the leather/noticeable bump from time to time. I think the humidity here caused it to be honest.

I was thinking to change it with white/navy speckled Irish linen. I assume this might be a better option in the long run - easier to change, less glue etc? I am reluctant to change it, as I've been playing nicely lately, but I think it needs doing.

Any thoughts on an alternative good leather wrap style? Or shall I use Irish linen?

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pt109 said:
I prefer Irish linen….the only leather wraps I would use comes in strips installed like linen.
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I was a wrap-less person before. Coming from snooker, and also my last cue. I think Irish linen gives a similar feel.
I found that a leather wrap is nice in some occasions, but for a hot, humid climate like this. Unless the AC is on point, it's sweaty (and like I said, I think the conditions are what have cause a slight failure in the glue)

I guess Irish linen doesn't need glue, and would be easy enough to try and replace should it not be suitable.
 
For me, the main function of the grip area is to keep the hand from slipping. For me, no wrap at all is much better than either leather or linen. And infinitely better than rayon.
 
Bob Jewett said:
For me, the main function of the grip area is to keep the hand from slipping. For me, no wrap at all is much better than either leather or linen. And infinitely better than rayon.
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Agree with you. I actually got on with the grip more than I thought I would. Knew I took a risk when I picked it up the cue. But have no regrets whatsoever at the price I paid. Think I will try Irish Linen on this.

I am right in thinking that this is something relatively unproblematic to try out with regard to putting on the cue and removing/replacing should I wish to. Never had to change one before.
 
Flakeandrun said:
I noticed a little bit of give in the glue on the wrap near the bottom. It's causing a light crease in the leather/noticeable bump from time to time. I think the humidity here caused it to be honest.

I was thinking to change it with white/navy speckled Irish linen. I assume this might be a better option in the long run - easier to change, less glue etc? I am reluctant to change it, as I've been playing nicely lately, but I think it needs doing.

Any thoughts on an alternative good leather wrap style? Or shall I use Irish linen?

View attachment 822907
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If the wrap feels nice to you, then why not just leave it as is? I think it looks super nice on that cue. Is that a ZEN? Looks awesome. Love the ZEN ringwork.
 
Flakeandrun said:
I was a wrap-less person before. Coming from snooker, and also my last cue. I think Irish linen gives a similar feel.
I found that a leather wrap is nice in some occasions, but for a hot, humid climate like this. Unless the AC is on point, it's sweaty (and like I said, I think the conditions are what have cause a slight failure in the glue)

I guess Irish linen doesn't need glue, and would be easy enough to try and replace should it not be suitable.
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Have you ever seen a cue maker install a Linen wrap? They use glue to install them. I love the feel of a nice leather wrap. Really love the grippy feels, but it must be a real leather. The fake stuff does not feel good to me. I had the most awesome feeling wrap on this Espiritu cue that I had, and I miss the feel of that wrap so much. It was a really nice, and very grippy leather. No idea what type of Leather it was though.
 
vintagecollectibles831 said:
Have you ever seen a cue maker install a Linen wrap? They use glue to install them. I love the feel of a nice leather wrap. Really love the grippy feels, but it must be a real leather. The fake stuff does not feel good to me. I had the most awesome feeling wrap on this Espiritu cue that I had, and I miss the feel of that wrap so much. It was a really nice, and very grippy leather. No idea what type of Leather it was though.
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The wrap now is pretty good. Genuine leather. But In the humid conditions, it becomes less comfortable, it's never been 'unbearable'. I wouldn't change it, but the glue is failing a little at the bottom. Hence my thoughts about switching to Irish linen.

I have never seen one installed, I assumed it would just be wound and glued at either end. Would it be detrimental to replacing it with leather again in the future should I want to?

Sorry if these are daft questions, but new to me.
 
Flakeandrun said:
The wrap now is pretty good. Genuine leather. But In the humid conditions, it becomes less comfortable, it's never been 'unbearable'. I wouldn't change it, but the glue is failing a little at the bottom. Hence my thoughts about switching to Irish linen.

I have never seen one installed, I assumed it would just be wound and glued at either end. Would it be detrimental to replacing it with leather again in the future should I want to?

Sorry if these are daft questions, but new to me.
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Yeah, they use a brush to brush a glue onto the entire handle, after they sand it clean. It is a long process too, because then they use this tool to press it. I can understand why a lot of cue repair people do not like installing Linen wraps. I like the feel of Irish Linen, but I also love the look of a leather wrap.

Yeah, get a Linen wrap put on the cue, if you think you will like the look. I am surprised that a really good glue would fail to keep a leather wrap on the handle though. Maybe the person did not use a really good glue.

This would be a good question for the "Ask the Cuemaker" section of this forum. They would be able to give you some good answers.

Ask The Cuemaker

This is the place to post questions to any of the fine cuemakers who frequent our forums.
forums.azbilliards.com
 
Flakeandrun said:
I have never seen one installed, I assumed it would just be wound and glued at either end. Would it be detrimental to replacing it with leather again in the future should I want to?
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Best to ask a cue maker.

A linen wrap is glued to the handle, not just at the ends.

The channel for a leather wrap is generally cut deeper than the channel for linen. So to change to linen, the channel needs to be built up. To change from linen to leather, the channel needs turned deeper.

This is all lathe work.

And...I am not a cue maker. I have done a couple wraps in my life but that does not mean squat.

Proper adhesives today should not suffer from the humidity IMHO.


Oh, and if you want a wrap-less feel but the look of a wrap, any kind of wrap can be finished over. Again, talk to a cue maker.
 
Chopdoc said:
Best to ask a cue maker.

A linen wrap is glued to the handle, not just at the ends.

The channel for a leather wrap is generally cut deeper than the channel for linen. So to change to linen, the channel needs to be built up. To change from linen to leather, the channel needs turned deeper.

This is all lathe work.

And...I am not a cue maker. I have done a couple wraps in my life but that does not mean squat.

Proper adhesives today should not suffer from the humidity IMHO.


Oh, and if you want a wrap-less feel but the look of a wrap, any kind of wrap can be finished over. Again, talk to a cue maker.
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Oh yeah, great points. Leather wraps are usually a little thicker then Linen would be. I recall asking about this in the past, and was told that a deeper groove should not be cut into the handle, if needed, but I forget why they told me that. Just that it was not a good thing to do, for some reason.

So, original linen wraps should stay linen, and leather wraps should remain with leather replacements only.
 
Chopdoc said:
Best to ask a cue maker.

A linen wrap is glued to the handle, not just at the ends.

The channel for a leather wrap is generally cut deeper than the channel for linen. So to change to linen, the channel needs to be built up. To change from linen to leather, the channel needs turned deeper.
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Thank you, so from Leather to Linen is easier. No need to 'dig' anything. Build up linen can be sized and removed.
Chopdoc said:
This is all lathe work.

And...I am not a cue maker. I have done a couple wraps in my life but that does not mean squat.

Proper adhesives today should not suffer from the humidity IMHO.
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Yes, I am surprised, but don't think it's unusual. Gets a lot of play, and the conditions lately have gone from cold and dry to hot and humid in less than a month. Perhaps I was just heavy handed on the wrong day. It's only a minor crease, but I notice it enough for it to annoy me.
Chopdoc said:
Oh, and if you want a wrap-less feel but the look of a wrap, any kind of wrap can be finished over. Again, talk to a cue maker.
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I have heard of this before, and may consider it.

I am going to go for navy/white linen wrap, and a cue guy who I know well will source and change it for me (Zen offer a free recondition, but my friend recommended keeping the free reconditioning intact - which I will likely use prior to leaving the country in the future)
 
I have found that Leather wraps do not do a good job of sweat absorption and always prefer a very good, reasonably tacky feeling linen wrap. Some linen wraps are too slick and the wax paper trick is a very temporary fix for that. Some, NOT ALL, leather wrap cue handle channels are too deep to accommodate a new linen wrap without having to be "built up" by the cue maker prior to a linen wrap installation.

I found that elephant ear wraps solve the sweaty feeling that is sometimes felt in a normal leather wrap. I recommend Troy Downey who does the Mueller Recreational products cue repair work as the go to guy for linen wraps that have the very best non slick feel and tightest wrap install on the planet- hands down- IMO-- Mike Capone is also in that category if he is still doing cue work.
I will add that original Cortland line wrap is the softest wrap feel on a cue and is impossible to duplicate - expensive if you can find the true original stuff.
 
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I have heard good things here about both cork and stacked washers. Try a search or two, or post specific inquiries and maybe someone with actual knowledge/experience will help you out.
 
I have a Cognoscenti that Progressive changed from lizard to linen. They had to partially fill the channel with some kind of "plastic wood" (ask them to identify the exact substance). I am completely satisfied with the result and would recommend them highly.

Before getting it done, I was concerned but really did not like the lizard at all. Plus, Proficient assured me that they had done quite a few, and it was no big deal. They were right, again. Some folks will sell you anything you ask for, but IMHO, no reputable cue technician will do anything to impair a cue in any way.

On any "good" cue, I would only have it done by a widely recognized source. Misconception abounds (See #13 above) and if you ever need to, it will be to your benefit to be able to invoke the name of a technician in whom confidence is widely reposed.
 
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