The cue Danny described with a warped shaft does indeed have a warped shaft. It was warped when it arrived & i'm very much surprised that nobody has noticed it until now, which brings questions to my mind about who's testing these cues & what they actually know about cues. I'm in no way trying to damper the testers or ridecule anybody testing the cues, so please do not take this the wrong way. I'm trying to point out that one of the things to be judged is quality of the cue, and until Danny, I have not seen any reviews that are even remotely in line with actuality as I seen the cues here as they came in. I went over them all & noted the construction and fit & finish of every cue.
I won't give any review, ever. That's not my place. However, I am beginning to question the true cue knowledge of the majority of testers. The citeria was for the cues to be built with LOW FIGURE birdseye maple and either purpleheart or maple handle, could be wrapped or not. Three of the cues fit this even most basic criteria. The others are fancier due to high figure and one is not even remotely close to meeting criteria. However, these "pretty" cues are the very cues being chosen as best by the testers up until now. That's my fault for allowing them, knowing they didn't fit. But to my defense, if I had rejected the cues that didn't fit, there would be three cues to test instead of 7. I didn't forsee the bias a cues aesthetics would sway the judging of actual quality.
My point is that I think people should be very cautious from here out to judge the cues not by how they look but instead go at it with a completely unbiased approach. Judge the criteria given such as fit and finish, overall construction, etc. I have yet, with the exception of Danny, seen an accurate assessment of the cues in terms of construction and fit & finish. I'm speaking only in terms of construction and fit & finish. Playability was not my job to judge & I will not input anything there. My point here was to ensure the builders followed the rules as well enough to actually enter a cue, even though only three did. And i'm attemtping to ensure the judges please also follow the rules. If you do not understand certain criteria being judged enough to make a judgment, then feel free to email me & i'll explain it.
It is unfair to the builders to read false reviews & as such read into it as healthy feedback. Another thing, the warped shaft does in no way deter how that cue plays or how well it's built. It's wood & it could happen to any of the cues being tested. That should not be a determining factor in how the cue is judged. Given the chance, i'm sure the builder would undoubtedly replace that shaft for anybody who bought it. So please do not equate the warped shaft with low quality. Keep in mind wood is organic & no matter how much the builder does to keep it straight, it can move at any moment. Chances are good it warped by coming here to the desert from a much more humid area. I think it's fair to assume it was straight when it left the builder's shop.
Once more, judges, please be more in tune with the actual criteria given to be judged than how the cue looks aesthetically. It'll be more fair & far better feedback for all builders involved. The intention of this test is to give players a feel for what varying cuemakers can do, with unbiased reviews because nobody knows who is who. It's also intended to give unbiased, healthy & accurate feedback to the builders involved. So please do your best to keep things on a professional level with the only personal grading being that of how the cue plays for you & feels in your hands. Thank you.
