Lowell said:

I think linen wraps look and feel much better.

I dislike the trend of overly textured leather wraps on premium cues these days.

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I have played 95% of my games in the 40 years I’ve been playing with Cortland Irish linen wraps. I’ve had two other cues with generic linen wraps, one was so-so and one was great until the builder decided to smooth it out, sold it after that. I’ve also had only one leather wrap I liked, it was elephant ear I believe.

Point being, I agree with you.

How could this list miss Richard Black in Texas?

Add in the ones I can think of off the top of my head:

Scott Gilmore
Kevin McClain / Gold Rush cues
Eddie O'Bryan / Studiotronics
Shelby Williams
Mark Lund / Alamo
Roberto Franco

Any more offers… bring me cash. I have another project to fund.

OP, We've spoken briefly on reddit before. Excellent work.

As I am sure you are aware, the demographics for AZ Billiards and Reddit are different, which is good because both together give you a broad range of customer representation. Reddit users are younger (teens to 40) and more progressive with less pool experience while AZ users are older (average age now is 50 or 60) and more conservative with more pool experience.

You are going to find a lot more laggards here in general because older people are historically and statistically adverse to new technology. The laggards from Reddit are probably going to be driven more by disinterest in pool or less chance of owning their own table, which is not the case on AZ. However I support your "built your own kit" model even if it doesn't appeal to the traditional "turn-key product solution" that older people on here grew up with and still expect. The reason is that you have two major differentiators going for you:

1. Your product is highly integrated and polished compared to the competition
2. Your software cost is very affordable compared to the competition

In order to keep the hardware costs low (as well as electronic waste) it is attractive to reuse available hardware or buy used/low cost options that are affordable to them. You already have tools and resources that you've created that allow customers to figure out their best options. As technology improves users will not be tied to a single supported family of hardware options, and you aren't chained to supporting hardware that you didn't design. It is worth trading some of your early adapters that only want a boxed solution, for software agility and reduced burden of hardware support.

I think it is a good model for what you are doing.

trob said:

I used to have some beautiful customs but I play at bars and it was more of a worry then it was worth. It’s like having a classic car that you’re always worried about taking it out because something will happen to it. So one year before a big Vegas trip that I was worried about taking my Timmy Scruggs on I switched to a cheap predator and played with that ever since.

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I'm just backwards from you when,i,came back to playing pool I restarted with a predator sneaky Pete then a predator BK 2 to a Mike Gulyassy playing cue and a sledgehammer I still rotate between them from time to time .

I would almost say that Savannah is my favorite player. She just looks like she loves the game- even if just for the game

bamadog said:

Have any of you guys owned or played with one of Wayne's Northwest cues?
I found this very interesting story and analysis on Google AI.
Thomas Wayne's "Northwest" cues are exceptionally close to South West cues in both appearance and structural physics, as they were explicitly engineered by Wayne to mimic and rival them. The line was born from a legendary 1990s American Cuemakers Association (ACA) gathering where South West founder Jerry Franklin allegedly boasted, "Nobody can make a cue like I can," to which Alaska-based master cuemaker Thomas Wayne famously responded, "I can." To prove his point, Wayne created the "Northwest" series.Thomas Wayne cloned the visual signature of South West cues with extreme precision: The "Bottle Nose" Taper: Northwest cues feature the highly distinct, thick forward flare (bottle-nose taper) on the forearm that is synonymous with South West. Points and Veneers: They feature the traditional South West style 6-point layout (often 3 high, 3 low) with razor-sharp colored veneer miters. Ring Work: They replicate the Southwestern theme decorative ring blocks and accent bands. The Aesthetic Difference: While a South West cue focuses heavily on a raw, satin-finished "player" vibe, Thomas Wayne is an American Cuemakers Hall of Fame master known for flawless, glass-like high-gloss finishes and microscopically tight tolerances. Side-by-side, the Northwest cue often looks slightly more "refined" or cleanly finished than a standard South West.

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Google AI is Gemini. I would be interested to see the citations, where it got this information.

It can hallucinate. Yesterday that same AI said Operation Absolute Resolve never happened.

Like any resource, check the references and citations.