I personally have changed where I was going to index points in a forearm to show the mineral spots and natural defects. I once had a birdseye forearm that I had planned to put ebony points into. While turning it down a streak showed up like yours and just kept getting bigger with every turning. The streak ended up about 4" long and I just left it like that to show it off. No points or anything. I think that kind of stuff reminds people it is still just wood. Like someone said earlier the defects show it is hand made and gives it character. I love the look of that stuff.
Flaws
- Thread starter qbilder
- Start date
Agreed. Wood is organic and flawed by nature.
The more flaws, the better, if you ask me.
Alot of people want snow white shafts and perfectly uniform wood grains.....in other words they want a wall hanger not a player. Anyone wanting a great playing shaft try one with some sugar/mineral spots or lines in it. A good cuemaker friend of mine has said many times that the shafts with spots or blemishes in the wood play better than the ones that look like the cuemaker went through 10K shafts before finding a perfect one. I have a jump break that has a "character filled" shaft and it plays better than most of the custom cues I have had. I have let people try it on their cue and they have all agreed.
I would be happy to own either cue in the original post, esp the top one.
I would be happy to own either cue in the original post, esp the top one.
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Thankfully, there is still a small segment of shooters who couldn't care less about sugar and mineral streaks.
Second that! The cue as a whole is so beautiful, but it's hard to believe the fascination of the handle wood alone. Wow!!
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________
„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
Always wondered what the makers did with cues that did not turn out. As long as it shoots good and is straight. Would it hurt not to sign it and sell very discounted maybe 30% over cost of materials? This would put custom cues in peoples hands that normaly would not buy one. Then who knows maybe they place a order later cause they like how it plays. Not trying to stir the pot just asking?
Eric...That Butterfly cue is AMAZING and like a few people already mentioned I'd definitely get in line for a cue like that with flaws like that. Shoot, for the quality workmanship you put in I'd be happy to take whatever you'd call a slightly sub-par cue or second off your hands as it'd be way over what some others may call perfect anyway.
Isn't burl wood basically a kind of a natural flaw caused by stresses or infestation? It's funny which flaws we like or don't like. I'd take sugar marks any day on a shaft if it's straight and hits right. I think too many people pass over the good stuff for the clean looking stuff. I also don't mind flaws in the wood in other parts of the cue as long as they are characteristic of the wood being used. We may like symmetry and balance but nature doesn't normally provide it.
Bravo for making the asymmetrical look symmetrical and balanced!
I also really like that you want to build a cue to extremely high standards but that you also respect your customers choice to appreciate the natural flaws and to still let them have that cue. I missed out on a beautiful cue years ago and the maker missed out on me coming back for the second build of the cue when he decided what I thought was beautiful was in his opinion garbage. I guess he somehow thought he was doing me a favor cutting the cue in half in front of me and disposing of it. He could have been building me another one right after if he just asked or cared if I was happy with what he produced.
Can't wait to see more of your work, flaws or not..
Thanks for sharing these.
Kevin
Isn't burl wood basically a kind of a natural flaw caused by stresses or infestation? It's funny which flaws we like or don't like. I'd take sugar marks any day on a shaft if it's straight and hits right. I think too many people pass over the good stuff for the clean looking stuff. I also don't mind flaws in the wood in other parts of the cue as long as they are characteristic of the wood being used. We may like symmetry and balance but nature doesn't normally provide it.
Bravo for making the asymmetrical look symmetrical and balanced!
I also really like that you want to build a cue to extremely high standards but that you also respect your customers choice to appreciate the natural flaws and to still let them have that cue. I missed out on a beautiful cue years ago and the maker missed out on me coming back for the second build of the cue when he decided what I thought was beautiful was in his opinion garbage. I guess he somehow thought he was doing me a favor cutting the cue in half in front of me and disposing of it. He could have been building me another one right after if he just asked or cared if I was happy with what he produced.
Can't wait to see more of your work, flaws or not..
Thanks for sharing these.
Kevin
I personally enjoy the flawed wood. For shafts, it is true that shafts with sugar & mineral play better, not because they show the aesthetic flaws but because those characteristics were apparent in the tree. I have always said that sugar maple without sugar is not right, not healthy. I don't know a single builder who doesn't note the difference of stability, rigidity, strength, & memory between clean white shafts & "dirty" shafts. But for at least a decade the trend has been white shafts, because that's what people want. Luckily the trend is coming to a close & it's becoming more acceptable for cue makers to use less than beautiful shaft wood again. Some players even ask for it.
As for butt woods, I don't mind the defects, personally. I enjoy the character. But with certain situations, like Brent's cue or the top cue I showed, the flaw breaks up the uniformity of the appearance. If there were several more of those marks, then it would be really cool. But the one mark on it's own looks out of place. I don't personally mind, but some buyers do. And I cannot fault them for it. So a new cue is a very viable option. In the case of a dealer cue, it's safer to just build a new cue than chance the end buyer not liking the mark.
I'm going to start using a lot of "character" woods. I have quite a collection of woods set aside that just don't look like the other stuff. It's not ugly, just has character. A rustic theme, for lack of better description.
As for butt woods, I don't mind the defects, personally. I enjoy the character. But with certain situations, like Brent's cue or the top cue I showed, the flaw breaks up the uniformity of the appearance. If there were several more of those marks, then it would be really cool. But the one mark on it's own looks out of place. I don't personally mind, but some buyers do. And I cannot fault them for it. So a new cue is a very viable option. In the case of a dealer cue, it's safer to just build a new cue than chance the end buyer not liking the mark.
I'm going to start using a lot of "character" woods. I have quite a collection of woods set aside that just don't look like the other stuff. It's not ugly, just has character. A rustic theme, for lack of better description.
To me, it matters if the purchaser is buying your cue as an investment or for playing. *Those are both great looking cues. *Whatever you do, don't destroy or hide them. *My '91 South West has a burn mark at the end of one of the maple points and my '93 Schick has a point that appears to have chipped during production and was filled in. *They are two of the best hitting cues I have ever played with. *Great thing they were not stuck in a closet or turned into joint caps. *
Let the buyer choose. *If they don't want it, sell it here with proper notification. *Neither will last long.
Let the buyer choose. *If they don't want it, sell it here with proper notification. *Neither will last long.
there's another viewpoint, in my opinion,
that no one has mentioned yet
cuemaker A can "get away" with some things that cuemaker B cant
i'm not referring to mistakes,
but to those little hiccups mother nature throws at us
in the end, all that matters is, is the person getting the cue satisfied.
if he opens up a package and the first thing that pops into his head,
is "oh shit, wtf is this"?
well, that isnt good.
first impressions go a long way.
it's going to bug the hell out of him everytime he plays.
he'll never be happy with the cue no matter how good it plays
it'll always be in his head
i wanna hear more about the buckshot
got any pictures of that
i had one that had a nail in it
i was able to dig it out
and now i cant remember which cue it was
Hi Eric..
please send me an email of your flaws cues....all i care is a playability...just in case you have another flaws cue. I really need it.. If your second cue is cost about 1500$...i will take it..but i guess i don't have that big luck...
a rosewood plain jane with your flame mikro ring work and elephant ear or bufallo wrap will make my day very very happy...:smile::thumbup:
By the way... please send me your old growth shaft.. i will buy it ...even i have to spent 200$+ ... i need a second shaft for my Sugartree
please send me an email of your flaws cues....all i care is a playability...just in case you have another flaws cue. I really need it.. If your second cue is cost about 1500$...i will take it..but i guess i don't have that big luck...
a rosewood plain jane with your flame mikro ring work and elephant ear or bufallo wrap will make my day very very happy...:smile::thumbup:
By the way... please send me your old growth shaft.. i will buy it ...even i have to spent 200$+ ... i need a second shaft for my Sugartree