Who makes the best hurls?
Ive seen alot of kids using kilkenny stars recently also known as dowlings, also plenty using brian walsh sticks.
Just wondering who is regarded as the best hurl maker today? Kids due new ones but find the torpey sticks in oneills garbage and bourkes hurls far too heavy. These are the shops selling hurls close to me in belfast, heard a fella saying juvenile hurls the ash wont be great no matter who the maker is, not sure how true this rings though.
Star Dowling Conahy
Brian Walsh Enniscorthy
John Ryan Littleton
Ash dieback the big problem ahead!
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Chalara_ash_dieback_-_symptoms_-_39.jpg)
I have a hurl belonging to Colin Fennelly, I see he uses "the star" Hurley Kilkenny. So that's a man who has two all stars and 9 all Ireland senior medals between club and county, two national leagues so that might be an endorsement right there.
In all my years hurling, and that was up to my mid to late 40's I've only ever bought 2 new sticks, one broke in the first game in front of the hurly maker ;D I let him know what I felt about the stick at the time
The other hurls I 'bought' were second hand fixed hurls from lads that left them with someone who would have fixed hurls and never came back for them!
The stick had matured and seasoned, having been fixed it was stronger actually in the place were it was fixed so it generally never broke again in that area
If you are a bad stick man you'll break plenty sticks, hurls are a personal choice so if Fennelly uses a 'star' hurl its because the lad that makes it uses a copy or replica and shapes his new hurl accordingly and ensures the weight is were he wants it..
He'll not go to a bag of hurls and just take one cause it feels right, the top players have to have it the same otherwise they'll not strike the ball as they are used too.
Can you get Brian Walsh hurls in the 6 counties ?
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 01:19:07 PM
Can you get Brian Walsh hurls in the 6 counties ?
There is a northern agent for them i think they work out of dunloy but i havent been able to get in touch with them.
A shop local to me does the star, declan barron and used to have canning before they stopped, i dont like the declan barron hurls the shaft feels very rounded to me on any ive lifted.
Quote from: Upandover on September 27, 2022, 01:54:54 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 01:19:07 PM
Can you get Brian Walsh hurls in the 6 counties ?
There is a northern agent for them i think they work out of dunloy but i havent been able to get in touch with them.
A shop local to me does the star, declan barron and used to have canning before they stopped, i dont like the declan barron hurls the shaft feels very rounded to me on any ive lifted.
His number is 07517 253589
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 02:07:54 PM
Quote from: Upandover on September 27, 2022, 01:54:54 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 01:19:07 PM
Can you get Brian Walsh hurls in the 6 counties ?
There is a northern agent for them i think they work out of dunloy but i havent been able to get in touch with them.
A shop local to me does the star, declan barron and used to have canning before they stopped, i dont like the declan barron hurls the shaft feels very rounded to me on any ive lifted.
His number is 07517 253589
Thanks kidder, ive tried it a few times and left msgs to no avail.
Quote from: Upandover on September 27, 2022, 02:18:02 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 02:07:54 PM
Quote from: Upandover on September 27, 2022, 01:54:54 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 01:19:07 PM
Can you get Brian Walsh hurls in the 6 counties :-\ ?
There is a northern agent for them i think they work out of dunloy but i havent been able to get in touch with them.
A shop local to me does the star, declan barron and used to have canning before they stopped, i dont like the declan barron hurls the shaft feels very rounded to me on any ive lifted.
His number is 07517 253589
Thanks kidder, ive tried it a few times and left msgs to no avail.
That's a strange business model :-\
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 01:19:07 PM
Can you get Brian Walsh hurls in the 6 counties ?
Yeah boy doing them in rasharkin and Derry City
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 02:39:16 PM
Quote from: Upandover on September 27, 2022, 02:18:02 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 02:07:54 PM
Quote from: Upandover on September 27, 2022, 01:54:54 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 01:19:07 PM
Can you get Brian Walsh hurls in the 6 counties :-\ ?
There is a northern agent for them i think they work out of dunloy but i havent been able to get in touch with them.
A shop local to me does the star, declan barron and used to have canning before they stopped, i dont like the declan barron hurls the shaft feels very rounded to me on any ive lifted.
His number is 07517 253589
Thanks kidder, ive tried it a few times and left msgs to no avail.
That's a strange business model :-\
is that not how all business' operate now.
As for ASH Die back ive been hearing about for about 30 years now are any Hurleys made from Irish ash now?
Quote from: rosnarun on September 27, 2022, 06:00:42 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 02:39:16 PM
Quote from: Upandover on September 27, 2022, 02:18:02 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 02:07:54 PM
Quote from: Upandover on September 27, 2022, 01:54:54 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 01:19:07 PM
Can you get Brian Walsh hurls in the 6 counties :-\ ?
There is a northern agent for them i think they work out of dunloy but i havent been able to get in touch with them.
A shop local to me does the star, declan barron and used to have canning before they stopped, i dont like the declan barron hurls the shaft feels very rounded to me on any ive lifted.
His number is 07517 253589
Thanks kidder, ive tried it a few times and left msgs to no avail.
That's a strange business model :-\
is that not how all business' operate now.
As for ASH Die back ive been hearing about for about 30 years now are any Hurleys made from Irish ash now?
Did Canning hurls not recently stop production because of the difficulty I'm obtaining Ash?
Years ago they were getting it from Poland if I can remember right?
Quote from: Jeepers Creepers on September 27, 2022, 06:13:00 PM
Quote from: rosnarun on September 27, 2022, 06:00:42 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 02:39:16 PM
Quote from: Upandover on September 27, 2022, 02:18:02 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 02:07:54 PM
Quote from: Upandover on September 27, 2022, 01:54:54 PM
Quote from: Kidder81 on September 27, 2022, 01:19:07 PM
Can you get Brian Walsh hurls in the 6 counties :-\ ?
There is a northern agent for them i think they work out of dunloy but i havent been able to get in touch with them.
A shop local to me does the star, declan barron and used to have canning before they stopped, i dont like the declan barron hurls the shaft feels very rounded to me on any ive lifted.
His number is 07517 253589
Thanks kidder, ive tried it a few times and left msgs to no avail.
That's a strange business model :-\
is that not how all business' operate now.
As for ASH Die back ive been hearing about for about 30 years now are any Hurleys made from Irish ash now?
Did Canning hurls not recently stop production because of the difficulty I'm obtaining Ash?
Yip, canning no longer making hurls. Ive seen another hurl recently where its ash but not the root and then a coating over it, sand quartz on the bàs to apparently improve grip and striking, an eco hurl i think it was called, did see a pic once if a keeper with a sanding disc attached to his bàs lol.
Those ecohurls are manufactured in Monaghan. There are bamboo sticks out there too and various composites.
I made a good one about 21 months ago
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on September 27, 2022, 12:17:02 PM
In all my years hurling, and that was up to my mid to late 40's I've only ever bought 2 new sticks, one broke in the first game in front of the hurly maker ;D I let him know what I felt about the stick at the time
The other hurls I 'bought' were second hand fixed hurls from lads that left them with someone who would have fixed hurls and never came back for them!
The stick had matured and seasoned, having been fixed it was stronger actually in the place were it was fixed so it generally never broke again in that area
If you are a bad stick man you'll break plenty sticks, hurls are a personal choice so if Fennelly uses a 'star' hurl its because the lad that makes it uses a copy or replica and shapes his new hurl accordingly and ensures the weight is were he wants it..
He'll not go to a bag of hurls and just take one cause it feels right, the top players have to have it the same otherwise they'll not strike the ball as they are used too.
Bake any ash hurl in an oven on low heat for 24 hours and it will never break no matter the challenge...
Quote from: OrchardOrange on October 16, 2022, 01:48:54 AM
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on September 27, 2022, 12:17:02 PM
In all my years hurling, and that was up to my mid to late 40's I've only ever bought 2 new sticks, one broke in the first game in front of the hurly maker ;D I let him know what I felt about the stick at the time
The other hurls I 'bought' were second hand fixed hurls from lads that left them with someone who would have fixed hurls and never came back for them!
The stick had matured and seasoned, having been fixed it was stronger actually in the place were it was fixed so it generally never broke again in that area
If you are a bad stick man you'll break plenty sticks, hurls are a personal choice so if Fennelly uses a 'star' hurl its because the lad that makes it uses a copy or replica and shapes his new hurl accordingly and ensures the weight is were he wants it..
He'll not go to a bag of hurls and just take one cause it feels right, the top players have to have it the same otherwise they'll not strike the ball as they are used too.
Bake any ash hurl in an oven on low heat for 24 hours and it will never break no matter the challenge...
What size of an oven do you have in your house?
Remember being down at the Crokes 7's and in the corner of their main field was a lad selling hurlings, could have been Delaneys of Kilkenny (the 5 star hurl) and a few of us sauntered over, old lad sitting behind the counter smoking a pipe, the younger fella was doing all the selling, got talking to us about ash and the likes and he asked if any of the lads were farmers and there was, told them to take the new hurl and bury it in the dung midden at the start of winter, take it out in spring, give it a bit of a clean and "it'll be like a whip"... ;D