As Tony puts it "the shaft is equivalent to the suspension system on a race car." Over 23 years, more thought has gone into shafts than you'd ever imagine.
Black Boar shafts have always been a premium item, such a precious commodity that even though a player may trade their Black Boar cue they’ve always been reluctant to give up their Black Boar shafts. What makes them special is their very stringent production schedule. First, the wood is taken from a very specific (50 square miles) piece of geography. There is currently only one location in the world that you can find wood of this caliber. The wood is true hard rock maple, cut at a very specific time of year and never subjected to extreme temperatures. It is always vacuumed dried (never air dried). Each shaft hand selected for its extremely tight grain, color and low resonant pitch. Tony produces many shafts but very few ever leave the shop, because only a few meet the requirements of Black Boar quality.
The Black Boar shop is carefully monitored for temperature and humidity, which can make a tremendous impact on shaft wood. Nevertheless, Tony finds that "you can't beat a good piece of shaft wood - a good piece cuts straight and always stays straight." Many are cut, but few are chosen.
