MIKE DURBIN
CHICAGO FRONT
FOUR POINT
QUILTED MAPLE, EBONY
AND CHECHEN
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Mike Durbin continues to build beautiful cues in all price ranges, although a lot of his cues are aimed at everyday players who want great playing cues that are very affordable. This one is a good example of building a sophisticated design into a cue that can still be used and carried everyday.
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It begins in the simplest way - four points with a linen wrap. But he adds a number of features that take it to a whole new level.
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It starts as a quilted maple cue with four Chechen points. Then he adds veneers, and then takes the same points and reverses them in the butt sleeve, extending them all the way to the ring just above the butt cap.
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Chechen is also known as "Caribbean Rosewood" or Black "Poisonwood." It is prized for its beautiful color and dramatic grain. It's exceptionally hard, more so than domestic hardwoods like oak or walnut. It works well, but requires the use of very sharp cutting tools. It is commonly used in fine furniture and musical instruments, but seldom seen in cue sticks.
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Then, to create the "Chicago front" look that was made famous by Bill Schick, he inlays long wedges of ebony between each of the points.
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He outlines the points with three layers of white veneer - a thin layer, thick layer, and another thin layer - and separates them with black paper to acccentuate the color.
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In the base of each point, going both up and down, he inlays an elongated star of white LBM. Each one is thinly outlined with ebony.
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Next he inlays white LBM barbells in the ebony between
all of the points.
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Then adds ebony "flowers" at the ends
of the ebony wedges ...
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A close-up look shows how meticulous and well-executed
all this work is.
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I love the way how well all this work comes together in an organized way. Sometimes cues with this much detail can start to look a little "busy", but not this one.
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He uses a very attractive linen wrap, and applies it perfectly. Not everyone can do a linen wrap as well as Mike does. And the color is perfect on this cue - a deep golden brown with black specks.
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The maple has the nice smoked effect that quilted maple has, and the Chechen shows exquisite grain.
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He adds a nice set of check rings using the same wood choices as in the rest of the cue, and then uses them at all locations - above the butt cap, below and above the handle, at the joint and on the ring collars of the shafts.
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And finally, he adds a white joint and matching butt cap, with the Durbin name engraved in the cap under the finish. Lots and lots of individual features in this stick and they all come together in an elegant way. This is a stunning cue.
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| It is built with a 3/8 X 11 steel pin and comes with two of Mike's premium, hand-selected maple shafts with LBM ferrules and LePro medium tips. It weighs either 19.0 or 19.1 ounces depending on which shaft is used (15.3, 3.7. 3.8) and is 58 inches long.
This is an outstanding cue and a chance to get a Durbin without a long wait. This one is ready to go and can be in your hands in a couple of days.
PRICE: $3350 PLUS SHIPPING
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