I can’t say with certainty which particular years were the best. Bob was obviously hands on involved buildung cues in their early years. I can state with certainty Bob built my cue. I met him at the Billiard Congress of America’s Inaugural Trade Show held in Fort Worth, TX. Schon was only in business a couple of years. Bob was exhibiting along with so many other cue makers since it was the first BCA Trade Show that grabbed everyone’s attention. We designed a cue using different R-Series models and he quoted a price estimate (to be confirmed after the show) and I gave him $300 deposit.
The cue was kind of pricey but still cost under a grand. Keep in mind that this was 1984 prices so for what I paid, I could have gotten a TAD, Joss West, Tim Scruggs, Richard Black or even Ernie but his cue was going to cost $1100.
The only reason this has any significance is I’m the only customer to ever reject a cue Bob built. I returned it insisting
the design was not what we agreed upon. But in truth, I was just being an arrogant jerk and my critique was picayune.
Like the gentleman he is, Bob offered me a generous discount to try and make things right. I responded saying build me a cue you said it would be. Make the ivory inlays jumbo size, bigger than any cues in the catalog you showed me. Bob built the cue again; of course, it was perfect. The 1st cue he made was probably close but I was unreasonable..
It was the first really expensive pool cue I ever bought and my first attempt at designing a cue. I should have quit then
and there. It would have saved me a lot of money that came out of my IRA over the years. Gosh, that money would have more than doubled…..like 200%. Goes to show you pool cues can be a lousy investment but I won’t learn that unless I sold them. Well, I never bought them as an investment. These are mementos for my kids & grandkids. I think it’s a cool item to inherit. If they care for then like I have, then maybe my great grandkids will get to play with them too.
Which period were the best Schon Cues built? I venture to say 1983-1989. The more Bob Runde was involved building the cues, generally the results were better. He was so precise and meticulous in his workmanship that he beamed with pride afterward. Bob left Schon in ‘92 but his hands on involvement building cues was winding down before that time.
Bob told me after he sent my cue and obviously I thanked and praised his workmanship saying the cue turned out perfect, he was going to quit building customer designed cues. He’d build a cue the way the customer asked but he needed flexibility on how it comes together. We parted ways disagreeing over what was originally agreed to but Bob always remained a gentleman whereas in retrospect, I was just an ass. Over the years, we mended fences and to this day, his gracious behavior stands as a reminder to me becoming angry only leads to worse outcomes than necessary.
