THE
McWORTER "DECO"
IN EBONY AND MAPLE BURL
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Jerry McWorter continues to make some of the prettiest and best-playing cues on the market today. Always in demand in Asia, so many have been sold there through the years that you don't see many on the secondary market here. This specific cue is a rare find - it was taken on a trade, but was rarely played and Jerry completely refinished it. Everything is perfect. His striking designs and fine workmanship have always kept him on the "A-List."
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This design he calls "The Deco." Like all his designs, it relies on lots of fine silver work and beautiful woods for its elegance. In this stick, he used fine black ebony with bright Maple burl to complete the picture. And of course, it wouldn't be a fancy McWorter without the elegant silver work.
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It's difficult to exactly describe the points in this cue. They are basically long white, highly stylized points, interrupted with a spearhead along the way, and with a small curly maple point in the base of each. It's a very elaborate design, and just the kind of thing that Jerry has always been able to pull off.
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The picture above clearly shows why Jerry's silverwork is always a highlight of his cues.
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As always, Jerry's work is immaculate and meticulous, and every detail is handled with perfection. And his design is delicate in the details, but bold in overall scope.
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Just above and below the wrap he adds a wide, white elforyn ring that perfectly frames the black leather. Jerry's wraps are one of the best in the business - virtually seamless to the naked eye.
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At the bottom of the butt sleeve he engraves his name and the cue number. The ebony is very high quality - very black, and very expensive these days.
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This design is a bit of a palindrome - it's basically the same design going in both directions from the handle. The design in the butt sleeve is just a squeezed-down version of the design in the forearm.
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Of course, any description of a McWorter cue would be incomplete without a mention of their playability. I've always been a fan of the way McWorters play. They are very consistent. Almost every one hits virtually the same. He doesn't vary his construction. He is a very good player, he knows how he thinks a cue should hit, and he builds them that way. They are simply great playing cues.
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Even though this cue is pre-owned, both the butt and the shafts are perfect, recently and totally refinished by Jerry himself. The shaft wood has exceptionally nice color and grain.
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Although it almost take a magnifying glass and good light to see it, there is a black phenolic butt cap on the end of the ebony butt sleeve. This serves to take the abuse that portion of the cue often receives and will hold up well over time.
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On almost all of Jerry's cues, he uses the same ring set - two thin silver rings closely aligned to appear almost as one.
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He builds a custom ebony joint protector for the butt and includes his own delrin protectors for the shafts.
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He builds it with his 3/8X10 stainless steel pin in a flat-faced, wood-to-wood joint, as he does with every cue he makes.
The two shafts are 12.6 and 12.8mm and have ivory ferrules (a bonus!) with Kamui medium layered tips. It weighs about 19.2-19.3 ounces, depending on which shaft is used.
PRICE: $4900 plus shipping
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