BOB OWEN
EBONY BOX CUE
WITH BUCKEYE BURL BOXES
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For many years now Bob Owen has been quietly making cues in Wichita, Kansas. Today, he is one of cuemaking's best kept secrets. If you want to know why, just take a look at the pictures below. He is making some of the finest cues on the market.
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This is an ebony cue with multiple veneered boxes of stabilized buckeye burl cap and lots of intricate inlay work that makes it stand out from the crowd. As usual, all the work is meticulously completed and I challenge anyone to show me better veneered corners than Bob is doing.
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One of the many things I like about an Owen cue is the creative and fancy ring patterns he builds. This one is typical. The rings are creative, original, complicated and beautiful. Each ring contains 44 indiividual pieces of ebony, elforyn and abalone. He puts these in all the usual locations.
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This cue has so many delicate little inlays that it's almost impossible to describe them all. However, I've taken lots of pictures so you can begin to appreciate all the work in this stick.
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I especially like the large pieces of abalone that are centered between the burl cap boxes in the nose of the cue. Each one is framed with a thin border of elforyn, and the colors that emerge from the abalone provide a beautiful accent.
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Bob has become known for his high quality woods, much of which he stabilizes himself. In fact, for some years now he has been supplying a lot of this wood to other cuemakers. This cue again shows why. The quality of this burl is about as good as it gets.
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He finishes this cue with a gorgeous deep reddish-brown elephant ear wrap. It is an excellent choice for this stick.
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As good as Bob's cues look, they are far more than a beautiful and creative piece of work. They play extremely well, and Bob takes a lot of pride in just how well. He plays himself, and is the father of a U.S. Open champion (Gabe Owen), so he knows what he likes in a playing cue.
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In the way of general information, a "burl" or burl cap is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth in a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds.
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Every box is framed with four layers of ebony and white veneer, and the corners are as clean and crisp as you'll find anywhere.
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He builds this with an elforyn butt cap and an elforyn joint, with a 3/8X11 brass pin in a flat-faced configuration.
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The detail in this cue is incredible.
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A closer look at the
beautiful rings ...
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And of course, Bob builds a special matching set of custom joint protectors that go perfectly with this stick. These not only protect the joint, but add a lot of value to the cue.
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Although this cue has an elforyn joint, note that it is an elforyn sleeve over wood. This helps provide a solid and yet soft hit.
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This cue comes with two 13mm shafts of premium high-grade maple with Juma ferrules and Precision M tips. It weighs 18.9 ounces. This is an outstanding cue which is gorgeous and will make a great playing cue for some lucky buyer.
PRICE: $4550 PLUS SHIPPING
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