PoolSynergy - What's in the Case?

First, before I get started, I want to thank Samm Diep for the invitation to contribute to PoolSynergy. I’ve enjoyed reading the collective blog’s over the past 9 months or so, as it’s a wealth of information. It’s also very appropriate that Samm is hosting this month's topic, “What’s in the case”, as this is a bit that she’s been doing for InsidePOOL video for sometime now. You can see the rest of the "What's in the case" blog’s from PoolSynergy here:

Samm's Pool Tip Jar - PoolSynergy: What's in the Case?

When I saw Samm’s recent post on the Pool Tip Jar regarding opening up PoolSynergy to other bloggers and what they have in their cases, I was actually a little disappointed. Not in the subject matter, because it’s something that is very much of interest to me. But I was disappointed that I was going to have a hard time participating. For those of you who do not know, I’m a Soldier in the U.S. Army, and currently deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. It goes without being said that my pool and billiards equipment is not here in country with me, so going through my case and explaining the reasoning behind everything is a little difficult.

For someone who is not OCD.

Fortunately I am a little OCD, (or a lot, depending on the circumstance. Keep the skittles away from me please.) I actually believe that each person who has gotten hooked on this wonderful game is at least a little OCD in their own way. With that being said, I do know what I have in my case. And I mean everything that I have in my case and everything that is hanging off of it as well.


The Case


So first things first, have to talk about the case first. I carry a 3X6 Vintage Line Jim Murnak case. It’s black on top and bottom, fading to a medium brown leather in the middle. The lettering up top, “Dagz” refers to my online handle that I use on the discussion forums, “Dagwoodz”. All of the metal work on it is silver instead of the normal brass.






There are a few things that I absolutely love about this case, and the way it’s designed.
- The back pack straps make carrying this case in a crowded venue extremely convenient.
- The pocket layout which Mr. Murnak uses in his vintage line cases is quite remarkable. There is a side pouch for a jump cue butt, another side pouch for papers and whatnot, the two main pockets which have an amazing amount of room, the middle pocket for various nick-knacks, and the top pouch for chalk and joint protectors.
- The leather used is very durable, and the stitch work is very sturdy.
- The interior uses Kydex tubing to protect your cues and shafts. This is the same material which is used to create gun holsters.

I keep a towel hanging off of my case because I’ve got notoriously sweaty hands. Of course, it's a Masters towel, because when I'm back in the states, I live in Augusta, GA...the home of The Masters PGA tournament.

The Cues

I shoot with a Barry Cameron Custom Cue. I’ve been shooting with Barry’s cues for about 10 years now, and love the way they play. This particular cue is one I had made for my previous deployment to Afghanistan. Veneers aside, all the wood is natural colors, no stain. There really isn’t any specific meaning to anything in the cue, but it’s a design that I worked very closely with Barry on and I LOVE the way it came out. The forearm is made of curly Hawaiian Koa, with Ebony points with ivory spears centered. The veneers are blue, yellow, and green. In the butt sleeve, are four ovals of Curly Hawaiian Koa cut into ebony. Centered in each oval is an ivory diamond. Everything white is Ivory as well. It uses a 3/8 10 pin for the joint, weighs in at 19.45 lbs., and has matching ring work to the veneers. Along with this I have three shafts, one which belonged to a previous cue of his I owned, so the ring work does not match this cue. The two shafts which came with this cue have straight taper, ivory ferules with Kamui Black (S) tips, 13.125mm. I tried out the Medium Kamui Blacks, and found that they were just a little too hard for my liking. My playing shaft is different from others, in that it is a curly maple shaft. It provides a unique hit, especially when combined with the ivory ferule and joint.








Right now I’m not carrying a break cue, as I just break with my playing cue. But I do have a jump cue. It’s a cored Purple Heart handle, phenolic tip break cue by Woodworth Q’s. It is ultra light and can get the cue ball up in a hurry. I’ve been able to perform the 2mm jump with this cue. (Granted, it took many, many attempts)



Ok, now to check out what I carry in the contents of my case's pockets.

Top pocket:



I carry my chalk in here. It’s pre-flag masters chalk. When my supply of this runs out, I will possibly try the Blue Diamond chalk, but we’ll see. I’ll most likely try and find some more pre-flag Master chalk.


I also keep my tip tools in this pocket. I carry both the normal Willard tip tool, (nickel radius), and the Ultimate Tip Tool. If I ever need to shape a phenolic tip, that’s what I have the normal Willard tip tool for. The Ultimate Tip Tool gets used for everything else.




Middle Pocket:


I tend to keep this pocket relatively empty, as this is where my cell phone, iPod, or various other items might get stowed during play. Some of the things that do get kept in here however, are two bottles of Cue Silk and some Goody’s Orange powder packs. I’ll explain the Cue Silk later on. As far as the Goody’s, it’s the absolute nuts for headaches.




Main Pockets:

Ok, these get pretty full. In them I have:

One Pro Justa Bridge












A World Cup Measle Ball













Nick’s Edge burnishing papers













Super glue and usually 5-6 folded paper towels.

Sorry, not going to get a picture for the last two .

The bridge and cue ball is pretty self explanatory. The Nick’s Edge burnishing papers however, I’ve found are ideal when cleaning the shaft of your cue. I’ll take you through a quick cleaning.

Using three paper towels, I’ll wet one of them with water. Not so that it is dripping, but completely wet. I will go and first take some of the higher grit content burnishing papers out and start going over the shaft. (White, blue, green, yellow; roughest to finest). After I’ve addressed any problem areas on the shaft, (small dings etc…), I take the first wet towel and start wiping the shaft down. Then take one of the dry towels and dry the shaft off. Once again, I’ll go over with a medium grit burnishing paper, then fine. Once again, clean the shaft with the wet towel, then dry. Once this has taken place twice, and the shaft has dried off, I will seal the shaft with the Cue Silk. In the third paper towel, drop 3-5 drops, (until a penny sized puddle is formed), and begin coating the shaft. Take a good minute or two to ensure that there is equal coverage along the entirety of the shaft.

DO NOT GET THE CUE SILK ON YOUR TIP!!

After I have finished with the shaft, I will carefully clean off the ferule with the wet towel, making sure that I do not touch the shaft wood. Then, using either water or a little saliva, wet the outside of your tip. Using the smooth side of one of the burnishing papers wrapped in multiple layers of paper towels or clothing, wrap around the tip, pinch, and rapidly twist the shaft until it becomes hot to the touch. When you take it off, it should be a nicely burnished tip. Re-scuff your tip lightly, and your shaft will be ready to go!

In the side pockets, I keep a couple of things. Of course, in the pocket designed for the jump cue butt, I keep my Woodworth Jump Cue. In the other however, I keep three things:

- 60 grit emery cloth for emergency tip maintenance









- a bottle of Advil for body aches, (and hangover prevention)












- The notes and drills which were given to me by Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant. It’s an invaluable tool to fall back on for me when things just don’t feel right. But I’m not going to divulge what he taught me just yet.


And that’s what I carry around when I go to the pool hall. Nothing too crazy. I hope that you enjoyed the tour through my cue case. Until next time…