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Tonkin Silver Shark
Sorry, this cue is sold.
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This is a remarkable cue that I waited a complete year to receive. I ordered it at the Super Billiard Expo in 2010, went back and forth with Pete over a period of months exchanging sketches and computer simulations, and then waited for the outcome. He delivered it to me at this year's expo, and it was worth every day of the wait.
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I hardly know where to begin to describe this stick. Pete started with a nose of Brazilian Rosewood Burl with ebony points outlined with five layers of veneer - the last being .999 fine silver. Then, he reversed the design in the butt sleeve using the ebony as backgrond for four rosewood burl boxes with the same veneer pattern. That's just the beginning, and where the real work began.
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In addition to doing excellently mitred silver work in the extra long points and around the boxes, Pete held nothing back in his efforts with this cue. We found a "shark tooth" pattern we both liked, and he suggested not only doing them in silver, but then lining each "tooth" with a super fine .005 inch of ivory to accent them. There is a total of 16 "teeth" in each of the three rings. Then, to add to the incredible design, he added elongated, slotted diamonds of .999 silver in each point and box, and again, lined each one with the finest sliver of ivory. There are only a handful, perhaps two or three, cuemakers in the world who can do this intricate of work.
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The mitre work in this cue is outstanding, especially with the silver. The intricacy of the interlacing of the silver and ivory is amazing, and the way the thin ivory inlays around the silver catch the light when the cue moves in your hands makes all the work worthwhile.
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| This kind of work is only being done today by a few people, and Pete Tonkin has proven himself to be among them. It's no wonder that he won the People's Choice Award at the Valley Forge Super Billiard Expo two years in a row. He was also the only new cuemaker to be invited as a future exhibitor at the annual International Cue Collector Show.
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He finishes the cue with ivory and silver rings with an ivory flat faced joint with a radial pin. He wraps it with a glossy black lizard wrap that is the perfect final addition. He adds two nicely done 13mm shafts with ivory ferrules.
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Since I had considerable input into the design of this cue, I wouldn't mind holding onto it for awhile, but it is for sale. I'm asking $-sold- and I think it's worth every penny. Pete put a ton of work into this cue, and as his reputation as a premier cuemaker continues to rise, his work is not going to get any cheaper. Here's an opportunity to own something very high-end by him at the kind of price that won't last.
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