"Cognoscenti". Loosely it means those who know the difference. If you're going to collect cues or just trying to find a nice one for your next purchase, It's good to know some of the things that make the difference and help you determine one(s) of quality.
Many have asked me what I look for in cues to separate the good from the great and the OK to the, well, not so OK. Here are just a few of the things I look for when examining the aesthetics of a cue which most likely lead to how the rest of the cue has been constructed.
The first thing I notice is the overall finish of the cue THEN I look a little closer...
Lets start from the tip and work our way back:
Look for nicely done tip and ferrule work. The tip should be square to the ferrule and the sides nicely finished and look good in general. The ferrule should flow nicely to the shaft wood with no overly obvious glue line "connection" or ledge...
Here's what you DON'T want to see....
Here's what you DO want to see... BE VERY PICKY HERE...
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Next I look at the shaft collars, inside threads and pilots.... The collars should look consistent and nicely mated up to the adjoining wood or phenolic with no gaps, filler or glue lines. The threads should be machined cleanly and for 5/16 14 piloted shafts the same criteria should be used....
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Next is the wrap area. Whether it's linen or leather or whatever, you want there to be a smooth transition from wrap to finish. You don't want to feel an obvious edge or "step" from the ends of the wrap to the finish. For Linen you want it to be consistently pressed along it's entire length as well. Too many times you run into makers that press the middle and don't get the ends as well pressed. Some think that's just because they want to stay away from the finish area to not cause any damage but that's not the case. More often than not it's because they over cut the wrap groove and can't press the outside ends because the wrap will then be below the finish. I see this all the time... For leather the more "square" the cue and wrap "shoulders" are cut the better leather can transition. It is not as easy as it sounds. If the shoulders are not done correctly you can run into finish pop and that's not good. The second pic below is the ultimate in transition. The closer you get to a result like that the better IMO.
Here is an example of poor linen..... If you look to the right you can see where the wrap is pressed much more smoothly and on the left it's left a little more coarse. If this area would have been pressed like the middle area it would have been under the finish...
Here is what a GOOD wrap job looks like....
Perfect flow leather transition....
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These are just a few things to "look over" but if you take just a little time to examine these areas, the chances are how these areas are executed will most likely be how the rest cue will follow.... Remember, if you can see obvious imperfections such as in these examples just think of what you can't see.... I hope this comes of some help to you when evaluation cues...
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Many have asked me what I look for in cues to separate the good from the great and the OK to the, well, not so OK. Here are just a few of the things I look for when examining the aesthetics of a cue which most likely lead to how the rest of the cue has been constructed.
The first thing I notice is the overall finish of the cue THEN I look a little closer...
Lets start from the tip and work our way back:
Look for nicely done tip and ferrule work. The tip should be square to the ferrule and the sides nicely finished and look good in general. The ferrule should flow nicely to the shaft wood with no overly obvious glue line "connection" or ledge...
Here's what you DON'T want to see....
Here's what you DO want to see... BE VERY PICKY HERE...
......................................................................
......................................................................
Next I look at the shaft collars, inside threads and pilots.... The collars should look consistent and nicely mated up to the adjoining wood or phenolic with no gaps, filler or glue lines. The threads should be machined cleanly and for 5/16 14 piloted shafts the same criteria should be used....
..................................................................
..................................................................
Next is the wrap area. Whether it's linen or leather or whatever, you want there to be a smooth transition from wrap to finish. You don't want to feel an obvious edge or "step" from the ends of the wrap to the finish. For Linen you want it to be consistently pressed along it's entire length as well. Too many times you run into makers that press the middle and don't get the ends as well pressed. Some think that's just because they want to stay away from the finish area to not cause any damage but that's not the case. More often than not it's because they over cut the wrap groove and can't press the outside ends because the wrap will then be below the finish. I see this all the time... For leather the more "square" the cue and wrap "shoulders" are cut the better leather can transition. It is not as easy as it sounds. If the shoulders are not done correctly you can run into finish pop and that's not good. The second pic below is the ultimate in transition. The closer you get to a result like that the better IMO.
Here is an example of poor linen..... If you look to the right you can see where the wrap is pressed much more smoothly and on the left it's left a little more coarse. If this area would have been pressed like the middle area it would have been under the finish...
Here is what a GOOD wrap job looks like....
Perfect flow leather transition....
..............................................................
These are just a few things to "look over" but if you take just a little time to examine these areas, the chances are how these areas are executed will most likely be how the rest cue will follow.... Remember, if you can see obvious imperfections such as in these examples just think of what you can't see.... I hope this comes of some help to you when evaluation cues...
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