Two shafts with new cue… use both?

dogloose

dogloose

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Two shafts with new cue... use both?

What is considered best practice? What do you do with two shafts. Play with both... perhaps alternating to break them in equally? Or put one aside as a backup in case a tip breaks or to use if you send one off for repair... or even to hold if you maybe one day plan on selling your cue and want to maximize your sale? Just curious what others might do.... Thanks.
 
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Not sure but this is a good question...

That's a very good question.

But first, what does hellip mean?

OK, I would say depends on the shafts.

I have played most of my playing life with solid wood shafts but for a short period I experienced with OB-1's.

I feel this is less of an issue with the low deflection shafts since they seam to be more consistent shaft to shaft of the same model, tapper and diameter.

Regards to solid wood , I feel (for me) the older, darker, tighter grain and heaviest shafts are my preference. They seam to hit more stiffer than the opposite. But even if you match up these similar specs on two solid wood shafts they don't always feel the same like the LD shafts seam to.

I can tell you I have (5) shafts with my old Schon and they all feel very different and only one of them I like playing with now. My Toeboy has (3) shafts and all of them play different.

Also, I just bought (2) brand new shafts from Joe Gold for my Cog. One weighs 3.5 and one weighs 4.0. I like the 4.0. So in reality, I should have done a better job specifying my likeness to Joe since now I have a brand new $250 shaft I will never use.

I hope this helps but I am still confused..
So in conclusion,
 
Even if you get a cue made to your specs and order 4 shafts there's gonna be one or 2 that you like better than the others. If you know exactly what you want in a shaft, meaning all the specs .................... you might see 3 of the 4 that are acceptable for everyday play if you'r lucky. There's always gonna be that one favorite.

Extra shafts are mainly so you have something in case a tip pops off. Now that I think about it I haven't had a tip pop since the late 70's. So why??
 
I've almost always ordered cues with two shafts. I alternate them, one on odd days, the other on even. One may be a little better than the other but I try not to notice it. My Dishaw, which is the only playing cue I own at present has four shafts, all playable. I usually use the two newer ones but often revert to one of the two originals, depending on how my fingers feel. One thing I have never done is to keep one shaft unplayed for resale. Personally, if a cue has two shafts, one unplayed, I'll pass on it.
 
Thanks for the quick responses... the "hellip" thing was weird... I have edited my original post... apparently posting from my iPhone introduces some weird stuff... anyway... still interested in hearing more...
 
If you are lucky enough to have 2 shafts that feel very similar in play, then I suppose I would play both of them equally to extend their life, break them in at the same rate so they feel the same when you have to put a new tip on one, etc.

That being said, it's rare to have 2 shafts that feel exactly the same to me. Alternating between a shaft that I like the feel of more and have used more, feel more comfortable with, etc ... with the other shaft that I don't like as much ... just to keep the use of the 2 shafts the same, seems crazy to me. Why practice with your cue, get used to what you like, then switch it the very next day with something that feels different?

Especially in my case, with my playing cue I have one original shaft and one custom 314-2 shaft. Switching these 2 back and forth every other night would be an absolute nightmare!
 
PaulieB said:
If you are lucky enough to have 2 shafts that feel very similar in play, then I suppose I would play both of them equally to extend their life, break them in at the same rate so they feel the same when you have to put a new tip on one, etc.

That being said, it's rare to have 2 shafts that feel exactly the same to me. Alternating between a shaft that I like the feel of more and have used more, feel more comfortable with, etc ... with the other shaft that I don't like as much ... just to keep the use of the 2 shafts the same, seems crazy to me. Why practice with your cue, get used to what you like, then switch it the very next day with something that feels different?

Especially in my case, with my playing cue I have one original shaft and one custom 314-2 shaft. Switching these 2 back and forth every other night would be an absolute nightmare!
Click to expand...

My shafts have never played so dissimilar that I was uncomfortable with them. To have two shafts and not play with one seems crazy to me. I started playing when it was not uncommon to have a tip come off or a shaft get nicked in the middle of a tournament/money game. I've always kept an open mind about this sort of thing and it's never bothered me. If it did, I wouldn't do it.

Edit: I don't use low deflection shafts, I haven't found one I'd use for a tomato stake.
 
Two shafts that feel the same...

......

1.) More likely with LD shafts of the same specs

2.) Less likely with solid wood shafts of the same specs

Does anyone disagree?
 
I just bought a new Josie Sneaky. I got 2 hand selected shafts. Both are very close in ring count and so on. I have a medium Kamui on one and an Everest on the other. One for slower tables (Kamui) and one for faster tables (Everest). Works for me so far.

Mark Shuman
 
i tend to alternate.... i would hate to play with an untouched shaft if I did happen to lose a tip on my main player
 
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