BILL SCHICK
VINTAGE EBONY SIX POINT
WITH KOA AND IVORY INLAY
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Here is another nice cue from Hall of Fame cue maker, the late Bill Schick of Louisiana. He had a strong following for many years and his cues were always hard to find and easy to sell. Now that he's gone, that is even more so.
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This stick was built in 1995, 30 years ago. It still looks almost new, and is in exceptional condition. It's a six point design in an ebony cue - three long points of ivory and three shorter, "shadow" points of koa into a forearm and buttsleeve of black ebony.
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Bill loved to work in ivory. He was from a time when it was plentiful and not especially expensive, by today's standards anyway. (There is still quite a bit of legal ivory available today, but since most cuemakers are not using it at all, or only for sales within their own states, for the most part it's only available in vintage cues.) These long points of ivory are exquisite.
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All the points have spearheads of matching material at their tops. They are long and slender, giving this cue a very elegant appearance.
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Known for his engraving and scrimshaw work, Bill loved to work in ivory. There is no other material that was as good to work with, and he sometimes spent more time scrimshawing a cue than he did building the cue itself. This one is a fairly straight-forward engraving design, and it looks very nice on this cue.
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Bill was a true artist, and he always tried to be sure the forearm and butt sleeve of his sticks complemented each other. There was always a sincere effort that they worked together for the overall image of the cue, in colors, materials and design.
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In this cue, he uses the koa wood in both the shadow points and the long ovals in the butt sleeve.
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Then, he duplicates the split-arrowhead and spearhead design in a unique way. In the butt sleeve he actually inlays the pattern in ivory, while in the base of the points he engraves the same pattern. It's a very unusual design idea.
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He adds an ebony ring above and below the wrap, and builds in a brass ring as a highlight.
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He uses brass rings throughout the cue - above the butt cap, below and above the wrap, at the joint and on the ring collars of the joints.
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He also uses the spearhead pattern - with the rounded base - in various ways and locations throughout the design.
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Lots of ivory in this cue - in the inlays, the points, the joint and the ferrules.
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His work was always precise and meticulous. He didn't have the benefit of a lot of expensive machinery, but made up for it with creativity and time-consuming hard work. Most of his cues were built in the back room of his pool hall in Louisiana ... where he did his best thinking. He was a good player and knew how he wanted his cues to hit. (He also often played the role of stakehorse, often travelling with his two "horses", Buddy Hall and David Matlock. (He told me one time they'd play anybody in the country, Matlock on the small table or Hall on the big table - just step up.)
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As stated earlier, Bill loved ivory. When he made an ivory joint it was all ivory. And on his better cues he often put a tip of ivory on his bolt as his trademark, engraved with an "S" for his name, just in case there was any confusion.
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Bill's nicer cues almost always had leather wraps - the best quality he could find. This one has nicely textured black leather with a "lizard" print that has aged well.
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I bought this cue out of a private collection where it was well cared for all these years. It is built with his favorite steel pin with a 3/8 X 10 thread, and a solid ivory joint. He loved the feel of an ivory joint coupled with ivory ferrules. Thus, it comes with two premium old slow-growth maple shafts with tight grain, ivory ferrules and probably Le Pro tips. One is 13.0mm and the other is 12.5mm. Both appear to be unplayed.
It is 58 inches long, and weighs 19.9 ounces (16.2, 3.7, 3.7). The butt cap is engraved with the name Schick and the date of build, 1995.
PRICE: $6850 PLUS SHIPPING
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