I recently purchased a vintage Viking Cue here on our For Sale section. The cue struck me for several reasons: I never owned a Viking Cue among 150+ cues over the years, it was a late 80s/ early 90s very nice looking six pointer, the cue looked to be in terrific original condition at a good price point - so I bought it.
Receiving this cue, it was straight, in great condition, played fantastic, the points and butt sleeve are Bolivian Rosewood, highly figured BEM forearm, 3/8 10 pin, white solid implex or delrin joint.
What really caught my eye, though was the red/white/ red veneers were definitely Wico type vinyl veneers and the wrap appears and feels to be Cortland linen.
The plain Viking name in the oval logo on the buttcap without the U.S.A lettering pointed to N series Viking 89-92 timeframe - but their N series catalog does not show this cue- did I have something special?
Well , yes, to me very special - calls and emails to Viking's longest tenured employee reveals this cue to be a one off, special order, non catalog 89-92 cue. It is referred to as a VCO- Viking Collection Original Cue!
Vinyl veneering was perfected by Bob Meucci , used on some cues by both Balabushka and Gus Szamboti, as well as other well known makers, and taught to Gordi Hart of Viking by Bob- whereas Viking used vinyl veneers on some cues mostly in the 70s but also into the 80s.
Viking stated that they had no other records of six point inter- locking vinyl veneer cues - this one with overlapping veneers was the only one seen or known - and records that I could find of any other cue maker using vinyl veneers under the Wico name could not find another six pointer with vinyl veneers.
Do I have the only six pointer ever produced with inter- locking vinyl veneers? I don't know for sure- but I cannot find any indication of others in existence- would anyone here know otherwise? Being a VCO would almost be secondary to having a One- of a Kind - EVER produced!
In any event I am posing a few photos, I love this cue and thankful that I was able to buy it here from a very nice guy in the transaction and I thought this story would interest other cue guys from a historical perspective.
Receiving this cue, it was straight, in great condition, played fantastic, the points and butt sleeve are Bolivian Rosewood, highly figured BEM forearm, 3/8 10 pin, white solid implex or delrin joint.
What really caught my eye, though was the red/white/ red veneers were definitely Wico type vinyl veneers and the wrap appears and feels to be Cortland linen.
The plain Viking name in the oval logo on the buttcap without the U.S.A lettering pointed to N series Viking 89-92 timeframe - but their N series catalog does not show this cue- did I have something special?
Well , yes, to me very special - calls and emails to Viking's longest tenured employee reveals this cue to be a one off, special order, non catalog 89-92 cue. It is referred to as a VCO- Viking Collection Original Cue!
Vinyl veneering was perfected by Bob Meucci , used on some cues by both Balabushka and Gus Szamboti, as well as other well known makers, and taught to Gordi Hart of Viking by Bob- whereas Viking used vinyl veneers on some cues mostly in the 70s but also into the 80s.
Viking stated that they had no other records of six point inter- locking vinyl veneer cues - this one with overlapping veneers was the only one seen or known - and records that I could find of any other cue maker using vinyl veneers under the Wico name could not find another six pointer with vinyl veneers.
Do I have the only six pointer ever produced with inter- locking vinyl veneers? I don't know for sure- but I cannot find any indication of others in existence- would anyone here know otherwise? Being a VCO would almost be secondary to having a One- of a Kind - EVER produced!
In any event I am posing a few photos, I love this cue and thankful that I was able to buy it here from a very nice guy in the transaction and I thought this story would interest other cue guys from a historical perspective.
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