What do you hate and love in the design of a cue?

jlrowe

jlrowe

Billiards,Boxing & Babes
Silver Member
Well, first of all i hate floating points, box style cues, and bumperless cues and dont like lot of oval or round shapes. What I love is nice veneers, veneered windows in butt and light colored points in a dark forearm.
 
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cool thread. I also really like light points into a darker forearm. My current player isn't that way (ebony points into a natural birdseye forearm), but I picked it for one of your other reasons - the veneers. :cool:

as for your dislikes....I have seen SOME floating points I like, and a number of box cues I liked as well.

I wouldn't say HATE, but I don't find inlays on each side of the wrap (mirrored) very attractive - like, no points at all, and just 4 diamonds (or some other design) above and 4 below the wrap....I'd rather see it as a merry widow with a nice set of rings instead of that design.
 
What do I like?

Simple 4 point/3 veneered cues with lil to no collar and ring work, less cuts the better. SS, ivory or brass joints and no bumper.

What do I hate?

G-10 pins, Points capped off with a abalone dot or an arrowhead. Clear coating over wraps and cocobolo wood.

Voo~~~best I can do at 3:30AM
 
Rounded points and inlays are the worst imo. It just screams laziness when there are a million other cuemakers out there that make them sharp. I too find floating points unnatractive especially when its overly busy and heaven forbid its made out of malachite. Blech :barf:
 
Rusty I definitely agee on the just 4 diamond above and below wrap. What voodoo you dont like cocobolo:eek:. and you hit the nail on the head about malachite floating points. That would screw up a wet dream with shanelle loriane:grin:
 
I don't like floating points or tuxedo style cues. I love old school style cues. I do have an appreciation for fancy cues, but I wouldn't buy one. I absolutely love Dennis Searing cues. His style is everything that I want in a cue....too bad I don't have the money to have one of his cues.
 
Dont sweat it rusty Ive seen a few cues that had small malachite inlays that looked good. But Ive seen some malachite that looked like pebble stone. But still dont like malachite floating points.
 
I agree... Good thread.

I don't like spliced points. They remind me of splintered wood. That stuff hurts when you accidentally get stabbed with it!!

I'm okay with floating points, because they don't look like a splintered accident.

I don't like wraps. Not Irish Linen, not leather, ostrich, snake, alligator, AZB'er hides.... I like the use of fancy woods to decorate the handle area, whether inlayed, or not.

I don't care for inlays, unless the main woods are really plain.

I used to love stainless joint collars. Now, I can't hardly play with them. I prefer the feel of wood-to-wood or wood-to-phenolic.

I don't like stained woods. If I want my wood a different color, don't let any wood grain show and paint the cue yellow! :cool:

I LOVE butterfly cues.

I LOVE a big, fat bumper on the bottom of my cue, just in case I accidentally drop it butt-first.

I LOVE wildly decorated woods that grew that way.

I LOVE wood or dark ferrules. They help me line up my shot without being as distracting as one might assume.

All of the above-stated preferences are subject to change without prior notice. :)
 
don't like:

floating points
lots of inlays (I like simple cues i.e. plain janes and sneakies)
big signatures (I don't mind signatures, as long as they are not big)
 
Will add more as I think about it :)

I dislike:

Floating points,
Zillion-billion point cues,
STAINED WOOD,
Inlays not lining up,
Raised finish/rings,
Huge bumper cues,
Stupid coloured wraps,
Tulipwood and Bocote (99% of the time),
Flame veneers,
Ugly and large signatures,
Scrimshaw done bad,
Inlays between points,
Inlays at the end of the points (Most of the time but can be nice nevertheless),
When the shafts are sanded more than the ferrule above...

I like:
Bumperless,
Hoppe with long plain butt sleeve,
4-6-8 point,
Veneers,
Cortland,
Windows and scrimmed windows, Barbells, Split diamonds, propellers, Bushka-rings,
Box cues,
Ivory joint,
Scrimshaw done nicely,
Chicago-style,
Rosewood-on-Rosewood and Ebony-on-Ebony (these are a sweet spot for me)
Segmented handles
 
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Add me to the anti-malachite group as well. There are many things I do not like in a cue.

Here are a few of the dislikes
-don't like rounded points
-don't like solid ivory diamond inlays (not notched diamonds, the solid diamond)
-don't like when the inlays in the butt sleeve are not even between the butt cap and wrap. Bushka and Gus did this and many others later on, mostly with maple boxes
-don't like ivory joints. i had a scruggs titlist once and I was afraid of the ivory joint lol like i had to be extra careful with it
-don't like any type of leather wrap, only linen for me
-don't like fancy cues with a bunch of busy and crowded inlays
-don't like butterfly cues
-don't like reversed points in the butt sleeve
-don't like any tyoe of inlay material besides ivory or mother of pearl
-don't like when I go to buy a beauty of a cue only to find out it has been butchered by someone other than the original builder

Here are a couple things I do like in a cue
-I like old school cues
-I like a 5/16x14 piloted steel joint only
-I like four pointed four veneer cues only
-I like a white with whatever speck linen wrap
-I like for the veneers to be black, natural, black natural on an ebony cue and black, orange, green, white on a rosewood cue
-I like brazilian rosewood
-I like either a bumperless rambo style or a delrin butt cap
-I like the cue to be 59 inches
-I like for the cue to have "old school" veneers like notched diamonds or propellors
-I like maple windows in the butt sleeve
-I like "bushka rings"
-I like for the cue to be 100% original, never touched by anyone but the original builder

Those are just a few things I could think of off the top of my head.
 
Ok now I am seeing more things I don't like

I do not like:
-Ivory.....just a moral decision.
-Leather - I do like stacked leather, but other than that I just don't like leather wraps. I will say that I do love Outlaw Cues stacked leather wraps.
-Abalone - I just don't like it....it's too gaudy for me
-Turquoise - Again too gaudy
-Floating points - Sorry, but I just don't like floating points at all
-Tuxedo Cues - I just don't like em

I like old school cues simple cues. I do like checked wrings in the points, but I don't like dots with them. If a cue has special wrings they need to be all the way through with special exception to the joint. I don't like anything too fancy in the butt, but that is something while I may not like I do still like and appreciate.
 
jlrowe said:
Dont sweat it rusty Ive seen a few cues that had small malachite inlays that looked good. But Ive seen some malachite that looked like pebble stone. But still dont like malachite floating points.
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ah, malachite for the points...never seen that. mine (which can be seen in the link in my sig) are not that. I could see where malachite could EASILY become TOO MUCH. :cool:
 
Funny nobody seems to mention it so far, but... what I like primarily is a cue designed to play well. The rest is secondary. I might buy an ugly cue if it feels better than a nice-looking one.

This said, visually I prefer very simple cues made of 2 or 3 woods, without points, rings or inlays, with an ivory ferrule, and the signature of the cuemaker somewhere discreet.
 
i am not a big fan of "Gambler" cues. ya know the ones that have Playing Cards or Dice. it seems that every cue maker has made one !

i do like, every cue that Tikkler has posted in the Cue Gallery. this man has one insane collection !!!

Steve
 
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I'm glad someone finally asked that question. I hate the fact that the little end is were it is, and the big end is where it is. Totally insane. They should be reversed, just like it was in the old days (1700's).
I believe it would forever solve the problem of 'miscues'. A curse that plagues us all. :wink:
 
To me rounded inlays just ruin a cue and i'm not crazy about thin veneers. I love sharp inlays, nice trim rings at a,b,c,d, &e, and sharp colorful veneers......

James
 
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