Black ferrule

[The Doctor]

The core style that mike uses is very similar to the one mentioned by Terry
I offer 2 different types.
1 is simply a standard ferrule style instead of brass and the other is one that I've worked in for a while.
The ferrule is half drilled and fitted similar to a crown on a tooth.
I decided recently to try one on my own cue as I would be able to tell the difference in deflection between the two.
I was stunned to find that the black ferrule reduced deflection by an incredible amount
The thing to remember here is any ferrule will still produce spin but its the initial deflection that is mostly affected by these different materials.
One might like the way the cue ball comes off these ferrules but might not like that sound.
At the end of the day as with most things to do with your cue, there is no right or wrong but only what you prefer.

[trevs1]

I haven't got a clue how low deflection materials work, but from what I can gather even everyday nylon or fibre ferrules deflect less than brass ones(only going by others testimony) could it be possible with these being softer than brass there is some type of shock absorption happening , reducing the throw, so with a full ferrule even more so? There are a lot of clever people on here who know a lot about how materials work, hopefully one will come on and tell us.

It's a simple issue of end mass and has little to do with the actual material itself.

Because cues are so massively variable anyway in terms of how they perform, there is simply no way at all to determine whether a ferrule made of anything is going to improve or be detrimental to its performance. It's a case of "suck it and see"

There are no doubt some who have changed the ferrules on their cues and had good results, but likewise, there will be some who have done so and had a far more negative experience from doing so.

A player who uses a cue with either a black ferrule, a red ferrule, a brass ferrule or a ferrule made of bread and jam, can have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA as to how well that same cue would perform with an alternative ferrule, unless they have tried it.

They would be basing their judgement purely on assumption. That has no credibility and is not a valid way to assess anything.

[trevs1]

I know someone who made a 147 break, last week. (With Mikes black legend). maybe he can tell us more about black FRL. (He is a member of this forum).

Yes, but I used to play in the same team as two guys, both had made several maximums. one used a £40 Terry Griffiths catalogue cue and the other bought his for a fiver from a local snooker club. both maple one piece cues with cheapo brown timber butts.

What does any of this prove.?....nothing.

[trevs1]

Indeed mate. Willie Smith was the first player to use a brass ferrule, this old article mentions the reasons for its invention and the hostile reception it received... until he broke records and won the World Champs on both occasions he entered and the whole world eventually followed suit!
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspap...3-1.2.150.aspx

Yes but before that ferrules weren't the norm at all. It's clear why they were needed.

[bradwight]

Yes but before that ferrules weren't the norm at all. It's clear why they were needed.

Aye that's what I meant, maybe shouldn't have specified brass!

[luke-h]

More "Gimmicks" to drain people of their money. so far in the last few weeks we have had siteright, R.O.S Elkmasters, Black ferrules.
The only thing i can see this doing is giving you a placebo type effect, spend the money on the table down the club it's better spent that way and it improves how you play, great huh?

[mythman69]

More "Gimmicks" to drain people of their money. so far in the last few weeks we have had siteright, R.O.S Elkmasters, Black ferrules.
The only thing i can see this doing is giving you a placebo type effect, spend the money on the table down the club it's better spent that way and it improves how you play, great huh?

But our tables are free to use so we have plenty of money to spend on gimmicks such as beer.

[luke-h]

But our tables are free to use so we have plenty of money to spend on gimmicks such as beer.

Beer is 100pc fine lol in actual fact i'd say it was a necessity

[cueman]

More "Gimmicks" to drain people of their money. so far in the last few weeks we have had siteright, R.O.S Elkmasters, Black ferrules.
The only thing i can see this doing is giving you a placebo type effect, spend the money on the table down the club it's better spent that way and it improves how you play, great huh?

absolutely right, snooker is becoming more like golf with lots of innovative, yet gimmicky products entering the market and aimed purely at making money. If these things were so ground breaking and more importantly work as well as they market these things to do, surely we'd see most top pros jumping onto this because anything that can give you an edge or a slight advantage would not be overlooked.

Lets just take siteright for a moment, their biggest ambassador has just had an awful performance in the WC, missing some absolute straightforward sitters. I thought the whole point of this so called concept was to make sure players were lined up properly and eradicating these kinds of misses or mistakes from their game. Bingham has the siteright thing on his cue so there is no excuse for saying anything, as proven today it has no benefit to your game whatsoever.

[itsnoteasy]

It's a simple issue of end mass and has little to do with the actual material itself.

Because cues are so massively variable anyway in terms of how they perform, there is simply no way at all to determine whether a ferrule made of anything is going to improve or be detrimental to its performance. It's a case of "suck it and see"

There are no doubt some who have changed the ferrules on their cues and had good results, but likewise, there will be some who have done so and had a far more negative experience from doing so.

A player who uses a cue with either a black ferrule, a red ferrule, a brass ferrule or a ferrule made of bread and jam, can have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA as to how well that same cue would perform with an alternative ferrule, unless they have tried it.

They would be basing their judgement purely on assumption. That has no credibility and is not a valid way to assess anything.

Never even thought of that Trevs1,. It's repeated time and time again ,no two cues play the same so it's reasonable to say no two cues will throw the same.

[golferson123]

absolutely right, snooker is becoming more like golf with lots of innovative, yet gimmicky products entering the market and aimed purely at making money. If these things were so ground breaking and more importantly work as well as they market these things to do, surely we'd see most top pros jumping onto this because anything that can give you an edge or a slight advantage would not be overlooked.

Lets just take siteright for a moment, their biggest ambassador has just had an awful performance in the WC, missing some absolute straightforward sitters. I thought the whole point of this so called concept was to make sure players were lined up properly and eradicating these kinds of misses or mistakes from their game. Bingham has the siteright thing on his cue so there is no excuse for saying anything, as proven today it has no benefit to your game whatsoever.

difference being that golf pro`s use these so called gimmiks, don't see bubba using a persimmon driver. also I would love snooker to emulate the status of golf of . most snooker players would choose golf as a living if they could

[The Doctor]

Trevor is 100% correct in that its down to end mass and every cue will have different playing characteristics.
That is why I used a standard brass ferrule on my cue as normal and then tried a nylon ferrule.
The difference in the deflection is quire a lot.
It is not a gimmick and I would fit whatever ferrule type my client wanted so it makes no financial difference to me.
If anyone knows anything about 9 ball cues then the difference with how a z2 shaft or a universal smart shaft deflects the ball compared with a standard shaft on say a joss cue for example, is enormous.
Granted the balls are heavier but it shows how a change in materials and/or manufacturing can make a cue play very different.
That all being said, someone might still prefer how a cue plays with a brass ferrule but there can surely be nothing wrong with another option that might suit an individual more.
For many years elk master and blue diamond were standard option for almost every pro snooker player. Now some will still use that option but a lot of others prefer the laminated tips.
Its all down to individual choice and preference at end of day

[itsnoteasy]

Does that mean a ten mill tip will throw more than an eight mill one as there has to be more end mass.

[golferson123]

no .mass equal weight, its poss for a eight mm to weigh more than a 10mm but an eight mm req less cue ball side aim than a ten mm so less throw.

[itsnoteasy]

Why don't we play with eight mill tips at snooker then? If they throw less it would make it easier