Quote:
Originally Posted by Cornerman  What is/are the most difficult material(s) that you've ever worked with on a cue? |
Genuine stone (semi-precious minerals) are always the biggest challenge, due to the need for diamond tooling; I’ve only done a little of this; Dave and Jim at Samsara are the undisputed masters. More commonly, the most difficult materials are the exotic woods that are difficult to finish, either because of extreme porosity (Wenge, for example), oiliness (Ligna Vitae) or because of extreme fragility (certain burls).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cornerman If money or legalities were no issue, what material would you like to use in a cue? |
Leonard Bludworth’s bones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cornerman What is the oddest/strangest/worst theme for a cue have you been asked to do? Have there been themes that you refused? |
Most of my more unusual cues have been of my own design; Jimbo owns a couple of those.
A few years ago I received a faxed drawing of a design from a wealthy Japanese collector, along with a budget of $25,000. Now ordinarily I am not one to turn down such a hefty commission, but the design itself was horrid. Along with little understanding of proportion and/or the value of negative space, the collector had incorporated an obscene number of jewels (diamonds, mostly), which he intended to provide in addition to the $25K. Unwilling to put my signature on such a monstrosity, I made some modifications to the design and faxed it back, hoping the collector would value my input. He did not, as he already owned the precious stones and wanted a cue that he could brag about having designed himself.
Like all good cuemakers I am a whore, but there are
some things I just won’t do. One of them is put my signature on a cue that I can not be proud of. I declined the commission. A week or so later I got a call from another well-known cuemaker, bragging about the $25K commission he just got from Mr. Igotnotaste san. Apparently
some whores will do anything.
Thomas Wayne