Our most detailed cue · Built in 10 to 14 days · Free to ask, no deposit to talk
Our Cues / The Inlay Collection
THE INLAY COLLECTION · OUR MOST DETAILED CUE
Abalone
Real shell, cut and seated by hand. It changes colour as you turn it, and no photograph has ever done it justice.
This is the one we are proudest of. The shell work takes longer than anything else we build, and it is the cue we hand to people who come by the shop. Quoted individually, because the inlay pattern changes the hours.
19 oz standard · 10 to 14 days · Free engraving · Ships worldwide
Real abalone shell
Not printed, not a sticker, not resin pretending to be shell. Cut from the real thing, which is why it shifts colour as you turn it.
Every line cut by hand
The white veneers running the length are separate strips of wood, not paint. Each one is laid in and sanded flush.
Numbered and registered
A serial cut into the joint and written in our book beside your name.
Yours will differ
Shell is a natural material. No two pieces carry the same colour, so no two of these cues look alike.
Abalone is the slowest thing we do, and the reason is boring: shell does not behave like wood.
It is brittle, it chips if you rush it, and it has to be cut to fit a cavity that was routed for it and nothing else. Get the fit wrong by a hair and you can see the gap forever. So it is done slowly, one piece at a time, and there is no version of this that a machine does better.
The shell sits in a dark ebony forearm with fine white veneer lines running the full length, which is what makes the colour jump when the light moves. Bone white collar, stainless pin, and a full grain leather wrap stitched by hand.
If you want a different pattern in the shell, say so when you write to us. That is the part people usually want to change, and it is the part we most enjoy doing.
Look closer
The shell. Blue, green and pink all sit in the same piece. Turn the cue and the colour moves.
The butt. Bone white collar against black, with the veneer lines running right to the end.
The wrap. Full grain leather, stretched and stitched by hand. No machine seam anywhere on it.
REAL ABALONE SHELL · CUT AND SEATED BY HAND · NUMBERED AND REGISTERED · MADE IN HANOI · REAL ABALONE SHELL · CUT AND SEATED BY HAND · NUMBERED AND REGISTERED · MADE IN HANOI
Specification and policies
Full specification
- Inlay real abalone shell, cut and seated by hand into a routed cavity
- Forearm and butt sleeve ebony with fine white veneer lines running full length
- Wrap full grain black leather, hand stitched
- Collar and butt cap bone white with stainless rings
- Weight 19 oz standard, 18 to 21 oz on request
- Build time 10 to 14 days, the longest of anything we make
- Engraving up to 16 characters on the butt cap, no charge
Shaft diameter, joint pin and tip are being confirmed with the workshop and will be listed here shortly.
Lead time and shipping
Ten to fourteen days to build, then ten to fourteen days in transit depending on where you are. We ship worldwide from Hanoi, tracked, with a signature on delivery. You will get photographs of the shell work before it goes on, because that is the part people most want to see.
Looking after shell inlay
The shell sits under lacquer, flush with the wood, so day to day you treat it exactly like any other cue. Dry cloth after playing, out of hot cars, stored flat or hanging. The one thing to avoid is knocking the forearm against a rail or a table edge, because shell chips where wood would only dent.
If something is wrong when it arrives
Write to support@murakicustomcues.com with a photograph and we will sort it out. A cue that arrives damaged or not matching what we agreed is our problem, not yours.
Shell colour varies from piece to piece. Yours will not look identical to the photographs above, and that is the point of buying real shell.
WHAT CUSTOMERS SAY
Messages we did not expect
These are screenshots, not typed-out quotes. We asked each person before putting their words here. Nothing has been edited except cropping out phone keyboards and one message about pricing that was nobody else’s business.
“The inlay work is insane. Pics don’t even do it justice. Already got a buddy who wants one, I’m sending him your way.”
Jake M.
“You are an artist man. Omg I’m in love with you man.”
Ali A.
“I received it. It’s really good. The packaging is also very good. I tried it too, it’s awesome.”
Yaeyang
We have been selling to players in Vietnam for years. Shipping abroad is the new part, so these are the first customers overseas to write back. More will go up here as they come, good and otherwise, and we will not be quietly deleting the bad ones.
Want one with shell?
Tell us the weight you play with and whether you want the same shell pattern or something of your own. Send a picture if you have one in mind. Nothing to pay to ask.