Moe Szyslak
Active member
Waiting for the posts three years down the line, "I drank the Koolaid on wood and now I'm back to carbon fiber..."
Traditional wood shafts making comeback?
- Thread starter Tmckean
- Start date
I'm all about value vs cost as well. So much so that I've never even ventured into the realm of low deflection shafts. I get the traditionalist angle, and the new tech CF angles as well. But my angle is that I can't seem to be burdened enough to care much either way, certainly not enough to make me pay more. Other than the taper, I had my cue built purely for the fun and artistry of it (sure, I had the cue maker do his thing with balance point etc, but that's his jam, not mine). The build process was fun too (Kelly with MVP is great). I do think my cue plays great. But I think a lot of cues play great too. Sure, some are pieces of lumber to be burned, I get that. But the spectrum of cues with which one can play great with is very forgiving, IMHO.
For what it's worth, the best looking CF cues that I have seen have been all CF. The mix and match combo is not aethetically pleaseing IMHO, but it really matters none to the game.
Moe Szyslak
Active member
huh?
billiards_watch
Well-known member
I do like all the funny sounds a carbon shaft makes though. The 'dink' 'thwump' 'tink'.
skiergd011013
Well-known member
What is souring my enjoyment of my cf shaft is having to use a glove. It takes away the feel of the shot for me. No slickening coating on the shaft lasts more than 30 mins or so of use, and ive tried many.
Actually, in the long run, a CF shaft is cheaper.
No need for maintenance products, no need to refinish for dings, no need to a new one when it warps.
Just wipe it down and continue shooting.
So if you are in the market for a cue or shaft, a $400 CF is cheaper than a $125 wood and where do you get a really good wooden shaft for $125?
Nothing feels better then the standard (non laminated) wood shaft that was made with the cue.
...but that doesnt mean nothing plays better.
...but that doesnt mean nothing plays better.
When revo made its appearance they were close to 500. A joss maple was around 125. Of course now maple cues cost more but revo has stayed the same
I have not seen any move back towards wood around me. Wood is still in use by mostly casual players and a few serious players here and there but that number seems to be dropping. Most players I see who are intermediate or above are playing carbon these days.
Small local tournament last weekend had about 25 players and I'd say probably 20 of them were playing carbon shafts for their playing cue (probably a few more than that for break cues, number of players play with a carbon shaft but still breaking with wood)
Small local tournament last weekend had about 25 players and I'd say probably 20 of them were playing carbon shafts for their playing cue (probably a few more than that for break cues, number of players play with a carbon shaft but still breaking with wood)
billiards_watch
Well-known member
I still like it that my friend has 40 year old blanks and I'm trying to convince him to let me send one of them to my cue maker.
The shaft would be as old as me. It's the romanticism I guess.
Buying a Johnny come lately synthetic shaft doesn't sound as cool.
Agree with this.
Best feeling cue I've ever played with is probably my South West Satin. The feel and feedback from that cue is amazing, I now "get" the South West thing and why they are so popular. But I also have been playing with carbon shafts lately and they do just make the game easier. Long shots with spin make the difference very noticeable.
I know if I play enough with the SW or any wood shafter cue I could mostly adapt, I've been there before, but I think the carbon shaft gives a greater margin for error on a lot of shots and that's a hard performance benefit to give up. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the pull to play with wood shafts a lot....my heart wants to, my head knows I should stick with the performance of carbon because I do play better with them.
billiards_watch
Well-known member
This.
If Tascarella or any other cue builder built and tested the cue, to how they felt shoots great then I take their word for it. It was built to the best of their knowledge and ability. I will learn to play with it.
Slapping on a carbon shaft would immediately eliminate the work they put into making it shoot well. Also it's not just as easy as slapping a carbon shaft on it. Not all of them play well just by putting a carbon shaft on them. I put a carbon on my Mezz and put a carbon on another full splice cue and they both shot completely different.
People are fooling themselves to think its that easy and assume it will shoot great just by a change of the shaft. Its very important to remember this.
Best feeling cue I have ever played with was my Timmy Scruggs. Steel joint piloted 5/16 14. Standard shafts with ivory ferrules. Ooof... still pull it off the wall and hit balls with it on occasion...
Deflects like a MFer, but feels awesome LOL.
billiards_watch
Well-known member
Zerksies
Well-known member
I'm using a CF shaft without a glove. A glove is not required.
nothing feels better than a cynergy with the sniper tip in that sweet spot
nothing
nothing
billiards_watch
Well-known member
This is the way.
Moe Szyslak
Active member
Leave it in a damp dark spot for six months or so, so it really warps. Put some real soul into it. You'll be able to shoot around corners with it, the way it was meant to be.
I get that, I do, and I have some nice shafts with some of my cues that are not really in use.
If you are a recreational player, then this will work. But if you compete, even just in a local league, you want to get any equipment advantage that you can.
I just returned to the game; when I quit, there were no CF shafts, and Predator LD shafts were still the kings. I have a bunch of 314-2 shafts; some are barely chalked... and yet I jumped on the CF shaft waggon because I wanted to see if they can give any kind of edge.
To be honest, in terms of playability, I don't see it yet, but just not having to care about dings, cleaning and such is a blessing.
I also got a new cue for league because I can't attach an extension to any of my other cues (except for the Jacoby, but that's a $200 extension); that's another tool that brings an edge to your play if you compete. I didn't think about it before getting CF shafts; to cues I can't attach an extension. I could have saved some money going with a brand new set of cues instead of trying to bring the other cues up to current speed.
And here lies another issue: just like you, I like my older cues more...
Back in the day, I would shoot a lot, 4-5 times a week, so I would take, every now and then, a different cue. Even with a regular shaft, I could jump from standard to LD with no issue. Today, I limit myself to twice a week, and one of those nights is league night, so I try to focus on one cue and one shaft, and all the other cues will have to wait until I get back to stroke (if ever...).
In the last league session I started to play well, but all of a sudden, I started to miss balls. I switched the CF to a 314-2 I brought as a backup, and I started to shoot well again... maybe it's psychological; maybe it's a thing of still needing to get used to CF shafts. I don't know... And yet I do believe that CF (or any other future composite) is the future, and I want it to work for me. The next day, I replaced the tip on that CF shaft and went out to shoot, and I was shooting well again (relatively).