Mike Wooldridge - *NEW* 'BlackSpin' Ferrule System

[x3dnd3x]

Mike,

When would the prototype for the tip tool be ready? Can't wait for your version.

[danam1]

His site is back up and runnin

Thanks for that prince.
The only trouble is that i now keep checking my bloody status again!!

[prince07799]

Thanks for that prince.
The only trouble is that i now keep checking my bloody status again!!

Yep, the waitin is a pain in the arse but what can you do!

[mng86]

My Legend is en route! Thank you Mike.

Marvin

[craigslater]

Mike Wooldridge - *NEW* 'BlackSpin' Ferrule System

Played a fee hours with my blackspin on thursday night, had a few tip problems with it being new it was a bit soft but after a couple of hours it bedded in ok, there a definate improvement in spin top and bottom, its a bit difficult to get used to at first because i was spinning all over the place and putting to much effort into getting the cueball were i wanted, it doesnt take long to adapt tho.
It definately gives a different noise on impact, crisper and firmer in a way.
I was a massive skeptic of this asking mike loads of questions and reading this thread over and over waiting for a bad reviev, but all is good, would take a lot for my to swap back to brass.
Anyone thinking about getting it done but was a bit dubious DO IT lol you wont regret it!
If anyone had any other questions please ask

[Terry Davidson]

FIFTY-SIX DAMNED PAGES IN THIS STRING!!! Who woulda believed?

However, after 3 years of hemming and hawing I finally got my custom MW cue with blackspin (lucky I waited the 3 years as I would have ended up with just a brass ferrule any earlier). Cue just arrived in this morning's post. So...what do I think of Mikes 'blackspin' (and my MW cue itself)?

Well, starting out, we all know Mike has no shortage of ego and confidence when he's talking about his cues and other products so I was a bit sceptical as I figured a cue was a cue and a good cue by any other of the good cuemakers should be roughly the same and it would be difficult to see any difference in the cues.

But, taking a chance and investing a fair bit of money I decided to finally take that step and invest in a custom MW with blackspin and boy, oh boy, am I glad I did. I just got the cue today and it was EXACTLY to my specs but I also gave Mike a challenge in that I wanted a very precise shaft flex which was a pure medium flex. Money well spent I feel and I was very happy Mike had the expertise to get that medium flex bang-on.

Now for the subject of this string, i.e. - the 'blackspin' ferrule system. Right away I found I had much more control of the cueball and in explanation...I started out shooting the spots and then graduated to trying the line-up. I found right away I was getting more spin on the cueball than with my playing cue. (A little aside here, Mike has been playing with tips and he fitted mine with one of his experimental playthings and I must say it is a dynamite tip, grips the cueball very well with no mis-cues).

I quickly adjusted and quit trying the line-up after 2 clearances and another ton and moved on to a normal frame. I found long ball potting and subsequent control of the cueball was MUCH better than with my previous cues and I believe this to be a combination of the lighter 'blackspin' ferrule system and also the tip Mike fitted for me.

For those considering either a new cue or else having the 'blackspin' installed on their playing cue, my recommendation is GO FOR IT! I believe you will find, as I did, that it's well worth it. (Now the problem will be Mike will be swamped with orders and you will face a long delay in getting either a custom cue or else the 'blackspin' on your present cue).

Terry

[snooks1000]

Good to hear Terry. Likely to stick with this as your playing cue?

[sharkster63]

Thanks Terry, Wish I had a budget to order one, spent my wad on a Parris, Peragon. Hope to see some pictures of your cue in the post picture page.
Cheers,

[MikeWooldridge]

Played a fee hours with my blackspin on thursday night, had a few tip problems with it being new it was a bit soft but after a couple of hours it bedded in ok, there a definate improvement in spin top and bottom, its a bit difficult to get used to at first because i was spinning all over the place and putting to much effort into getting the cueball were i wanted, it doesnt take long to adapt tho.
It definately gives a different noise on impact, crisper and firmer in a way.
I was a massive skeptic of this asking mike loads of questions and reading this thread over and over waiting for a bad reviev, but all is good, would take a lot for my to swap back to brass.
Anyone thinking about getting it done but was a bit dubious DO IT lol you wont regret it!
If anyone had any other questions please ask

yes, so many questions...

fair enough though. it's a big change. and people don't generally like change.

but nice to hear positive customer comments (especially from a sceptic), so thanks for sharing

FIFTY-SIX DAMNED PAGES IN THIS STRING!!! Who woulda believed?

However, after 3 years of hemming and hawing I finally got my custom MW cue with blackspin (lucky I waited the 3 years as I would have ended up with just a brass ferrule any earlier). Cue just arrived in this morning's post. So...what do I think of Mikes 'blackspin' (and my MW cue itself)?

Well, starting out, we all know Mike has no shortage of ego and confidence when he's talking about his cues and other products so I was a bit sceptical as I figured a cue was a cue and a good cue by any other of the good cuemakers should be roughly the same and it would be difficult to see any difference in the cues.

But, taking a chance and investing a fair bit of money I decided to finally take that step and invest in a custom MW with blackspin and boy, oh boy, am I glad I did. I just got the cue today and it was EXACTLY to my specs but I also gave Mike a challenge in that I wanted a very precise shaft flex which was a pure medium flex. Money well spent I feel and I was very happy Mike had the expertise to get that medium flex bang-on.

Now for the subject of this string, i.e. - the 'blackspin' ferrule system. Right away I found I had much more control of the cueball and in explanation...I started out shooting the spots and then graduated to trying the line-up. I found right away I was getting more spin on the cueball than with my playing cue. (A little aside here, Mike has been playing with tips and he fitted mine with one of his experimental playthings and I must say it is a dynamite tip, grips the cueball very well with no mis-cues).

I quickly adjusted and quit trying the line-up after 2 clearances and another ton and moved on to a normal frame. I found long ball potting and subsequent control of the cueball was MUCH better than with my previous cues and I believe this to be a combination of the lighter 'blackspin' ferrule system and also the tip Mike fitted for me.

For those considering either a new cue or else having the 'blackspin' installed on their playing cue, my recommendation is GO FOR IT! I believe you will find, as I did, that it's well worth it. (Now the problem will be Mike will be swamped with orders and you will face a long delay in getting either a custom cue or else the 'blackspin' on your present cue).

Terry

excellent! another 'real' person with 'real' experience. and another sceptic converted...

people who speak from genuine experience are so much more interesting and 'valuable' than those who do not, don't you all agree?

apart from the obvious positive comments about the BlackSpin system itself, and the bold claims i originally made being regularly 'proven' by other independent reviewers , there's one particular line in your comments that i would like to draw attention to:

I figured a cue was a cue and a good cue by any other of the good cuemakers should be roughly the same and it would be difficult to see any difference in the cues.

lol. at least you know better now...

on a serious note, this common misconception really irritates me. i get every other make of cue through my workshop for repairs/alterations, and can see what is and isn't done well.

there's quite a lot not done well.

and a lot of people who spent a lot of money on sub standard quality workmanship. imo...

anyway that's a different subject, now does anyone know where the smug smilie button is?

[craigslater]

Mike Wooldridge - *NEW* 'BlackSpin' Ferrule System

Credit were credits due mike its a top product which ACTUALLY does what it says on the tip, the amount of topspin i can generate is unreal!

[Terry Davidson]

snooks:

I have only played about 10 frames worth with the MW cue so far and in those frames I was really testing the cue and trying all sorts of stupid shots I wouldn't normally go for. So far all the signs have been good and I'm coming to the opinion that Mike really does make a superior cue (although the problem is he's aware of that so his prices reflect that quality...there just are no deals out there any more I guess).

I will be using this cue every day for the next 2 weeks and will likely use it in my first tournament and then I will make up my mind which right now looks like this MW cue will become my main playing cue as nothing else I have here compares to it.

My only problem is trying to figure out whether the quality I'm seeing is due to the 'blackspin', the special tip Mike installed or is it the shaft flex he got absolutely bang on to my needs. Only time will tell.

At some point the tip question will get answered when I have to change the tip though.

Terry

[narl]

Pic of your cue Terry?

[Terry Davidson]

narl:

Here are some photos of my new MW cue. As you can see I didn't go wild on the butt and kept it rather plain. What I was most interested in is for Mike to get the shaft flex exactly to my specs and also that the side grain was perfectly straight. The specs are 58", 9.2mm 'blackspin', 18.4oz, 28.5mm butt and balanced at 16.75" and it is a 3/4-butt although the joint is almost invisible and provides good outer contact.

Terry

[MikeWooldridge]

snooks:

I have only played about 10 frames worth with the MW cue so far and in those frames I was really testing the cue and trying all sorts of stupid shots I wouldn't normally go for. So far all the signs have been good and I'm coming to the opinion that Mike really does make a superior cue (although the problem is he's aware of that so his prices reflect that quality...there just are no deals out there any more I guess).

I will be using this cue every day for the next 2 weeks and will likely use it in my first tournament and then I will make up my mind which right now looks like this MW cue will become my main playing cue as nothing else I have here compares to it.

My only problem is trying to figure out whether the quality I'm seeing is due to the 'blackspin', the special tip Mike installed or is it the shaft flex he got absolutely bang on to my needs. Only time will tell.

At some point the tip question will get answered when I have to change the tip though.

Terry

although the shaft was selected and shaped according to my interpretation of your requirements, i can assure you the blackspin core/ferrule is a major contributor.

also, as i've said before, it appears to bring extremes of 'feel' closer to that sweet spot of a cue with a natural good 'spring'.

i.e. whippy cues stiffen up a bit, and stiff cues get a little springier. this in actual play, on contact, so it's not a case of hitting it with your hand and expecting to see a difference. that particular part of the flex you see comes from further down the shaft and remains the same/similar. it's just in the playing of it.

so, it's very much a case of overall 'feel' which is impossible to prove, quantify or demonstrate, but i know it is the case from my own observations during actual play.

to any doubters still out there, if you knew me better you would know to believe what i say, and that i would not risk my very hard earned reputation on a gimmick that does not work.

it works exactly as i said it does which is why, overnight, i threw old methods out the window and immediately made it my new standard.

as for the tip, it's simply a great tip. my first tests with blackspin were with my normal supertip. this was the benchmark.

my new tip experiments were carefully tested (when i say tested, i mean me playing shots and knowing what to expect compared to that benchmark), to hopefully produce a tip that holds it's shape better, similar to a laminated, yet retain the most important 'feel' and 'playability' factor of a really great pressed tip.

it sort of bridges the gap between pressed/laminated, combining the best of both worlds. the ultimate tip in other words.

personally, i absolutely love the way it holds the chalk. the surface scuffs up like a very fine suede. simply breeds confidence.

[danam1]

Mike Wooldridge - *NEW* 'BlackSpin' Ferrule System

How long before these tips are available mike?
I know you are putting one on my shark but when the R & D is done I would like to buy some spares.