Thoughts on Japanese Cues...

Flakeandrun

Flakeandrun

Well-known member
Boron/Hayakawa, 9Hearts, ILC etc...

As you know from my other posting I am looking for a wrapless stick in the near future... I see a fair few beauties from the following brands on selling apps where I am situated as I look for inspiration for the cue... Just curious what they are like in terms of materials, what it is like to order with any of the above directly, lead times and any additional thoughts welcomed from anyone who has one of the above brands...

I am likely to go Zen for a custom at present, as I have a friend who has the connection and language skills to complete the process with me... (though I am considering a Zeus to recondition in the meantime which Is a real good price on Xianyu)

Having seen some very beautiful (and very custom) cues from the above Japanese brands, I was hoping to go for a little fish for further info. Thanks in advance for help :) And please keep adding to the wrapless inspo thread. One of the best threads I have started on here!
 
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You are knocking on the wrong door with that, here.

America thinks America is the only player in the cue game.
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Only Japanese cues to most people is Mezz and the Musashi hi-end ADAM cues. Never heard of the cues you mention.
 
A minor tweak for you, Azen Chen (Zen Cues) is in Taiwan, not Japan.
And yes, he makes cues that both look and play great.
American collectors have been plugged in to Zen for about ten years.
He was one of the two that got caught up with Ginacue in the overseas issue.

Will Prout
 
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FN thing was attached to a badass mofo's arm at the 3 cushion place!

I played him 4 sets over the last week. I go to 24, he to 40.
Won one, lost one 40-23 and lost the other two 40-12ish.

He's a bad dude.

Here's another one.
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ibuycues said:
Lots of great cuemakers not in USA. Arthur Cues (Marcus Dienst), M. Vollmer, Mezz Exceed, Azen Chen (Zen),
North Demon, and on and on. Some of the world’s very best.
p.s., not talking about shafts.

Will Prout
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And those are only the big boys.

Like America, Asia and Europe have many smaller makers.

Esbee!
 
Black-Balled said:
You are knocking on the wrong door with that, here.

America thinks America is the only player in the cue game.
Click to expand...
Yes, I tried searching the for sale, but only really see the production line brands mentioned (with the occasional nod to a custom builder)

Hopefully someone has some wisdom to offer.

ibuycues said:
A minor tweak for you, Azen Chen (Zen Cues) is in Taiwan, not Japan.
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Yes, I know he is in Taiwan, he sells a lot of cues here in China, and sponsors many events in Shanghai. A friend is connected, hence why I thought to have one made with them. But then I came across the above brands often bought and sold on platforms here (Can add Kieth Andy to the above list)
ibuycues said:
And yes, he makes cues that both look and play great.
American collectors have been plugged in to Zen for about ten years.
Click to expand...
Are there many Zen cues floating around the US? Someone posted a Zeus (SW style), which was a brother/sister company of Zen. There's also another Taiwanese brand called CBZ making nice cues (not sure if they are still in operation)
ibuycues said:
He was one of the two that got caught up with Ginacue in the overseas issue.
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ooooooooooo Please elaborate (here or DM)
Thanks Will!
 
ibuycues said:
Lots of great cuemakers not in USA. Arthur Cues (Marcus Dienst), M. Vollmer, Mezz Exceed, Azen Chen (Zen),
North Demon, and on and on. Some of the world’s very best.
p.s., not talking about shafts.
Click to expand...
Have seen the odd Arthur cue on APPS here, but they are big money here. Exceed cues are a little cold and uninteresting I've found (maybe just not come across one I like yet), Only seen one North Demon on the APP I use for browsing.

There's a brand called 'Far East Cues' That make some wild designs.

Hayakawa/Boron seem to have some real crazy custom cues with all kinds of materials used (in cue, shaft, joint and ferrule)
 
ibuycues said:
A minor tweak for you, Azen Chen (Zen Cues) is in Taiwan, not Japan.
And yes, he makes cues that both look and play great.
American collectors have been plugged in to Zen for about ten years.
He was one of the two that got caught up with Ginacue in the overseas issue.

Will Prout
Click to expand...
I’ve spoke with Aquaman of Zen,
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the maker of the Ko brothers cues. Their cues are all very ornate, and I’m confident they hit well😉
 
Chicagoplayer said:
the maker of the Ko brothers cues. Their cues are all very ornate, and I’m confident they hit well😉
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Yes, I met them once or twice in Shanghai, and in Lushan had a good snoop at many players cues (Phillipino, Taiwanese and some others). The cue big Ko uses is next level nuts! Way too pretty for me... but a work of art for sure. There are a couple $10k+ Zen cues listed on Xianyu that are mind blowing to consider the time and effort it would have taken to produce by hand.

I like their more simple designs. There's one 6 points with red and yellow veneers that looks so nice, with a wrap split into three sections. If It was wrapless, I'd probably close my eyes, apologise to my wallet and click 'buy' already 🤣

A guy at my local hall has a blue version of very similar to big Ko's cue, inlaid with loads of silver. Also, a local pro (Zhu Xi He) has a ridiculously nice one. Some other players have them here, but are not using as playing cues due to other sponsor obligations. It seems like the thing for players here to simply own one... People like collecting things in this culture, and as a result, I have seen some insane cues from makers the world over... Most of them I can simply admire for the beauty without regarding the insane value or collectibility factor

Thanks for sharing :D
 
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