Stay Out of China
i'm a recreational banger. Last year, I bought a beautiful Lucasi cue for $400. My wife thought I was crazy to pay THAT MUCH for a pool cue. Growing up on the west side of Cleveland, all the hustlers in the hall had Lucasi's, so naturally, I always assumed they were elite. I like my cue, but since joining this forum, I see you guys all talking about spending thousands of dollars for a cue. And almost "spitting " at the word "Lucasi". So my question: Is there really such a difference? And, if so, why is a $400 Lucasi considered junk? What am I missing here?
* The biggest thing is the value for the money. For $400 you get get a custom cue builders sneaky pete. It won't look as nice as a $400 Lucasi, but it will last longer, be worth more, and it was made in the USA. I know that China is not using the best wood, nor making enough cuts on shafts to ensure reliablity over the years. China has had problems with Drywall, baby food, dog food, childrens candy, etc. being recalled over the past 5 years. There is no quality control anymore. I'm not buying anything from China anymore. (or at least trying not to) This is is not an asian thing, I will still buy Toyotas and Hondas from Japan. It is strictly a China thing. Don't give them your business. You don't even have to buy American, there are plenty of fine cue makers in Italy, Germany, Phillipines, etc. Heck, we have many custom production cue makers that would be a much better deal than a Lucasi. One off the top of my head is Jacoby Cue in Wisconsin.
* Here is a perfect example buying quality first. I bought a used burton spain cue 35 years ago for $150. (lot of cash for a 15 year old) No points, and only a few micarta dots on the cue. Pretty basic, but it was made by a pro, a guy who sold cue blanks to Balabushka at one time. Now the cue is worth $2000 according to the blue book of cues. And is straight as an arrow. And it plays awesome. I'll bring it to DCC if anyone wants to give it a try. I just dropped it off at Joel Hercek's to completely refinish it. (yeah, I know that hurts the value a little but I"m never selling it and I want it to look nice again) And I'd rather have one great cue than 10 average ones.
In 10 years what will the $400 Lucasi be worth, how long will that shaft last? Heck, how long will the butt last?? It will be a throw away, that you will sell for a few bucks, or you will turn into a break cue so you can get a custom made cue. I'm going to leave my Spain, Hercek, and original Schuler cues to my kid one day and hopefully he leaves him to his kid as well !!!!!
I"m only trying to inform with some solid information. Of course, if you like your cue, by all means play with it, it is not crap, just not up to par with the quality of custom cues available today. And maybe consider some other options on your next cue purchase as well. I'm sure there were lots of people who drove Yugo's and Vega's in the day that realized for a few more bucks that could have gotten a lot better car.