And with custom cues, you could go broke…..I know and thank goodness there was an ivory ban or
I’d still be ordering custom cues.
By the way, to mark the 50th anniversary of CITES, today NPR broadcast a story on CITES.
Has been said they have the best finish in the business. Will post mine when I get a chance. Of the 2 I have one is a Remember Then edition I do not use. It's a gorgeous closet queen. The other is a beautiful great player.
I have the DEC1 with a leather wrap.
The DEC1 looks like a beautiful cue. I've never seen a Pechauer with sharp points before. Are the ends of the points even? Personally, I don't like any of the other Pechauer designs, and among their current designs I think their best looking cue is their cheapest merry widow cue.
At some point, I decided I liked fatter butts, and no production cues have fat butts, so I bought some customs. Then one day, someone on here mentioned that standard Viking butts are 1.295". What??! Now, I'm thinking about purchasing a Viking cue with a 6" mid cue extension to see how it compares to my custom cues. Speaking of not liking cue designs, Viking cues are the worst I've seen. Once again, I think their most tolerable design is their cheapest cue: a plain, unstained merry widow with a linen wrap.
I think the main reasons to go custom are:
1. Getting a spec you can't find in the production market, which might include:
........a. butt size
........b. length: longer than standard
........c. balance point: more forward than production cues. Production cues all seem to weigh 18oz, then you add weight bolts to get the weight ....................................you want, which means the cue gets more and more butt heavy.
2. Artistic beauty, e.g.:
......a. nicer woods
......b. sharp points and veneers with your choice of colors
......c. traditional diamond, propeller, barbell, clover, and other inlays made from white elforyn, mother of pearl (abalone), silver,
..........holly (ivory substitute), etc.
......d. a wide variety of custom ring work at the joint, butt cap, top of wrap, etc.
You may see things you like in one cue and other things you like in another cue, and with a custom cue you can combine your favorite things into one cue, or you can present the cue maker with a budget and let the cue maker go wild. As Bavafongoul wrote, customs can get addicting. He has some really nice cues!