ARIEL CARMELI
"HOPPE" STYLE FOUR POINT
WITH FLAME VENEERS
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As I've said many times, Ariel Carmeli makes some of the best playing and best looking cues around, especially for the modest price. His cues always hit great, they look beautiful, and his work is top-notch. Here is another good example.
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This is an ebony on ebony cue (nose and points), with a "Hoppe" style butt sleeve of ebony with the traditional Hoppe ring. For fans of ebony, you can't ask for more than this.
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This is a slick cue that's all business, and it has a deadly look. The orange, flame veneers give it a lot of flash, while maintaining its classy, serious look. At the base of each point, he inlays a stylized, notched diamond of white LBM.
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It has the classic "Hoppe" style butt sleeve, with a white ring just above the butt cap. Carmeli always has the highest quality woods, whether it be cocobolo, bicote, ash burls, or in this case, ebony. It is pure and black, black, black.
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The veneer colors, individually, are light maple, orange and red. However, at a glance, or at arms-length, the overwhelming effect is bright orange. And they look superb against this sheer black background. This cue, while not being overdone, still quickly catches the eye of everyone around.
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Ebony is one of the most dense woods around, and one of the heaviest, so it's a little tricky making an all ebony cue and keeping the weight down into the ranges most players want today. And although ebony is getting expensive these days, the best quality is still available, and for those who appreciate the feel and hit of an all ebony cue, it is still worth the small extra cost.
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The points are long, sharp and even. The veneer work is exceptional - the kind of work you only get from the best, most meticulous cue makers.
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And, always with Ariel's cues, the finish is the perfect final touch. It is always flawless and shines like the finish on a new Corvette. Plus, it is super hard and resists dings better than most.
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He wraps the handle with a very nice black Spanish bull leather. This is one of my favorites. It looks good, feels good in the hand, and wears well. Plus, it's nice and soft from the get-go.
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| At the joint, and on the ring collars of the shafts, he adds a simple double silver ring with a circle of black ebony and white LBM rectangles in between. It's a very classy ring design and look absolutely great on this cue.
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As usual, he personally signs and dates the cue - this time on the white Hoppe ring at the butt cap.
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He adds a white LBM joint, which adds to the solid hit, and looks superb on this black cue.
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He builds it with his 3/8X10 stainless steel pin in a flat-faced joint. You can always count on his cues to be consistent and have a nice solid, firm and semi-stiff hit.
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This cue comes with two of Ariel's premium hard maple shafts with LBM Melamine ferrules and Triangle medium tips. It weighs 18.3 ounces, and is 58 inches long. (It is also built with a female extension bolt so that an extension can be screwed in directly through the rubber bumper. That way, if you decide to add one later, you don't have to send the cue back to be retrofitted.)
PRICE: $2500 PLUS SHIPPING (A bargain for an all ebony cue!)
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