SPECIAL EBONY, HOLLY MALACHITE
AND IVORY BOX CUE
BY HALL OF FAMER BILL SCHICK
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Here is a real stunner of a cue by one of the best, Bill Schick, an ACA Hall of Fame cuemaker. His cues are hard to find and always move quickly, and this is one of the nicest sticks I think he's made.
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This is a one-owner cue bought directly from Bill at the Park City, Utah, International Cue Collector Show in 2004. It has been kept in a private collection for nearly 20 years, unplayed.
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To say this design is unique is an understatement. Bill's cues always have a "look" about them, and are normally easy to recognize. This one has that "look", and something extra - a truly unusual design. I especially like the fact that the cue looks different from 90 degree different perspectives. Take a look at the two pictures below of the forearm ... one view, then rotate it 90 degrees and a different view.
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It's made from ebony, with large inlaid slabs of holly, and lots more inlay work in malachite, ivory and silver. There's a ton of work in this stick and it is definitely an eye-catcher.
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And again, the extraordinary butt sleeve design looks different from 90 degree perspectives. Take a look at the two pictures below.
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And when it is turned so that you can see both views at once, it is just an unbelievable design.
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Bill said he made this stick for himself to play with, but decided in the end to sell it. Bill doesn't actually sign a lot of his cues, and his tradition has been to only sign cues he's played with. So, although this cue appears to be unplayed, he may have played a bit with it. Either way, it looks new.
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A little closer look at all the meticulous work in this stick. He does just enough highlight work in the cue with the malachite to make it look good, without doing too much of it.
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He also does some silver work around the ivory dots - just enough to add an additional dimension of highlights.
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Then, when viewed as a whole, it all fits together - the real mark of a great design.
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It's wrapped with a black lizard leather, which contributes even more to the elegance of this gorgeous stick.
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One unusual feature of this stick ... the two shafts, both new and original from Bill, are slightly different lengths. There is a half inch difference in the two of them - one is 28-1/2, the other is 29. Perhaps an idiosyncrisy of Bill when he was making cues for his own use?
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As Bill frequently did on his very high end cues, he make a set of solid ivory joint caps. And, as usual, he leaves the butt cap open at the end so his pin shows through, capped in ivory with his logo.
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On his most expensive cues, he generally put a small point of ivory on the pin, with his logo engraved.
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On the shaft caps, he inlays a small diamond of malachite on the top of each, matching the diamonds in the cue. They look great on or off the cue.
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It is built with a 3/8X10 pin in a solid ivory joint, insuring the clean, crisp hit that Bill's cues are known for.
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This cue weighs either 21.0 or 21.4 ounces, depending on which shaft you are using. It's not a surprise considering it is ebony, all of the inlaid material in it, and the fact that it is an oversized (length) cue. It is 58 inches long with one shaft and 58-1/2 inches long with the other. (One shaft weighs 3.6 oz and the other 4.0 oz.) It has a weight bolt in it, and can probably be made lighter.
This is a truly amazing cue from one of the best ever, and also by one of the most sought-after, cuemakers. By comparison to most cuemakers, Bill didn't make a lot of cues. He was a player and backer much of his life, and in later years owned a pool room with a small shop in the back. He never dedicated his time totally to cue building, so many years he turned out only a few cues a year, and seldom more than 15-20, making each one more valuable as the years have passed. And this one is exceptional, and one of his real "monsters."
PRICE: $13,500 PLUS SHIPPING
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