CORY BARNHART
FANCY EAST INDIAN ROSEWOOD
SIX POINT RECUT CUE
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Cory Barnhart is truly a player's cuemaker. Although his cues are always attractive - nice wood choices and classy rings - he doesn't make a lot of fancy cues. He generally focuses on solid players - merry widows, basic four points, etc. But when he does make a higher end stick, it is always special. This cue is a good example.
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This is a very classy and pretty six-point cue of east Indian rosewood and ebony. The nose of rosewood has had six maple points laid in, with six ebony points recut into those. Cory loves doing recut points and his technique is second to noone's.
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The ebony buttsleeve complements the ebony points and serves as the canvas for a beautiful inlay pattern featuring maple ovals surrounding a field of ebony with Tiffany diamonds (curved sides) of ivory, with smaller diamonds of mother-of-pearl inlaid within those. There are six ovals - three small and three large, corresponding with the three short and three long points.
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| At the top and bottom of the butt sleeve, he wraps rings of sterling silver dots - 48 in all, with another 24 forming an identical ring above the wrap. He also signs the cue - very subtly - under the finish just above the solid ivory butt cap.
One of the things about Cory's cues that I really like is the way he always puts a phenolic ring, or layer, at the bottom of the butt cap to protect it from wear over time. In this case he uses black phenolic, which contrasts with the ivory and adds another aesthetic feature.
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In each of the six points he inlays the same Tiffany diamond pattern used in the butt sleeve.
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These points look great. The light maple from the first layer forms a pretty veneer that shows very well against the dark east Indian rosewood nose.
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He builds this cue with a solid ivory joint with a stainless steel radial pin, and then below the joint, and on the shaft ring collars, he adds a black phenolic ring with a 20 sterling silver dots circling the cue and shafts - 60 in all.
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| He finishes the cue with a black textured buffalo hide wrap that looks good and feels great - nice and soft to the touch.
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This stick is accompanied by a really nice set of custom joint protectors made by Cory. Each one is made from east Indian rosewood, and the actual pin protector is also ringed with black phenolic at the bottom, a thin layer of black at the top, and then they are all capped with a beautiful layer of richly grained ivory. The pin protector is engraved with Cory's name, and the shaft protectors are engraved with a single diamond and a double diamond, respectively, so the shafts can be easily distinquished.
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This cue was made in 2015, and when I got it, as I frequently do, I took it out to hit a few balls so I could comment on the hit. I liked it so much I took it out of my inventory and it became my daily player. Since then it won many tournaments, and could have won many more in the hands of a better player. It is a phenomenal hitting cue.
Recently I was ready for a change, and although it agonizes me to sell this one, I'm putting it back in inventory. The butt shows some wear, but nothing significant. At first glance it still looks new, but if you hold it up in the light you can see the wear of everyday play. It comes with three shafts; all are about 12.8 mm and have a pro taper. Two are still new and unplayed, with Tiger Everest tips. The third shows lots of play, but is still smooth as silk. It has had the tip changed to a Precision medium. It is still, literally, one of the straightest cues I've ever seen.
It weighs 18.9 ounces. It has Juma ferrules with Tiger Everest tips.
PRICE: $3800 PLUS SHIPPING
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