I bought this cue from Patrick because I was wanting a player, the price was reasonable, and the maple to maple splice appealed to me as it is reminiscent of the Palmer 3rd Catalog Model 10. Patrick had done some judicious cleaning of the butt cap and joint before he sent it to me, so it is more presentable than it appears in these pictures.
It's a nice player indeed and I had Paul Drexler aka PFD Studios make two gorgeous matching shafts which he delivered with very straight and very tight grain.
Whether this butt and original shaft is something made in a back alley or is in fact an Adam, or indeed a Palmer prototype makes no difference to me but I AM still curious who exactly made it.
After I acquired the cue, there was a discussion here on AZ with pictures of an identical cue to this one but with the name "RICH" stamped on the butt cap.
So does anyone have any further opinions or input on this? Better still, does anyone have any copies of catalogs?