Burton Spain Unfinished Butterfly Blank

I was fortunate to have been the receiver of this very special gift. This blank was made by none other than the blank maker himself, Burton Spain. I had met Mr. Spain on several occasions and was even lucky enough to see the inside of his shop and his storage garage.

Butterfly splices are rarely seen on Mr. Spain's cues, although, it is sort of the precursor of what was to come. Note the nice straight-grained maple front, and the simple clean lines that Mr. Spain was famous for making. I am especially amazed at how sharp the veneers are as they usually chatter a bit under the blade at the tips of the flames. Spain knew what he was doing, and I can't decide whether I like having the blank instead of seeing the final product with finish on it. The age in unknown.

3cushion.com is a leading source on the game of billiards. This site is devoted to sharing credible knowledge and displaying collectible-grade artifacts ranging from billiard and pool tournament memorabilia, custom cue sticks for pool, billiards, and snooker, custom made cue stick cases, fine antiquarian books and other reading material related to billiards and pocket billiards, and much more. All content, including photos, Copyright 2006 Deno J. Andrews for 3cushion.com, unless otherwise noted. Use of content on this web site without permission is in violation of National and International Copyright laws. Permission to use content herein can be asked for by contacting us.