Buttcap-Less Mystery Pool Cue!

11/19/2023 5:54:37 PM

Buttcap-Less Mystery Pool Cue!

So this little gem of a pool cue came to me from Newark Ohio. I could not see much about it in the pictures but that chunky radial pin almost always means goodness on a vintage cue!

When I got her the mystery deepened.

The cue features great wood, great build quality, and a wood butt with no cap or remaining bumper.

I've sent the cue off to get some refinishing and have something done to the butt and when the cue maker unwrapped the linen wrap he found a Letter "V" sitting on the maple handle section.

I figured I would post here first and see what this site thinks as to a possible maker.

It reminds me of a McDermott cue but I'm not sure if they had a period where they were making cues without logos like this. Then when we found the letter "V" I thought maybe it was a Gordon Hart made Viking cue but his early cues had chunky brass joints with piloted shafts and were not like this at all.

It looks and feels like it is from the late early 1970s to Mid 1970s and the construction and wrap were world-class with stunningly tight tolerances.

KCCC

Buttcap-Less Mystery Pool Cue!

Replies & Comments

KCCC on 12/14/2023 2:51:41 PM
So update...

I gave up trying to figure out who made the cue and decided to turn it into my new road cue that I take with me when traveling for business instead of my nice custom full-splice cue.

I sent it off to StudioTronics to have it refinished and a leather wrap put on in place of the linen already on it.

Man, I was wrong about every aspect of this cue. I thought it was Rosewood and I thought the joint and ferrule were phenolic and juma. It turns out that it was made from Puepleheart and Ivory on the joint, shaft collar and ferrule.

Since it was missing a bumper or any kind of butt cap, I had him finish it off in a bumper-less style (like a 1920s Albert Pick trophy cue I have) and could not be more pleased with the result.

billiardsforum on 12/15/2023 7:24:55 AM
It turned out beautifully—especially the butt cap detail you had done.

Did he have any insights on what the cue might have been originally?

Thanks for sharing the pictures!

KCCC on 12/15/2023 9:31:12 AM
He had no idea but felt the age of the pool cue was mid 60s.

I have always loved that 1930s/1940s bumperless Hoppe-style butt.

Buttcap-Less Mystery Pool Cue!

Title: Buttcap-Less Mystery Pool Cue!
Author: KCCC
Published: 11/19/2023 5:54:37 PM
Last Updated: 11/21/2023 6:13:41 AM
Last Updated By: billiardsforum (Billiards Forum)