there are only two kinds of cues to own.

mikemosconi said:
No way to tell if a cue has very light play - any new tip can be cleaned to look new if it only has a few hours play -
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Sadly, I've seen guys say that a cue is new and unplayed only to look closely at the tip they've tried to grind down and see chalk hiding down in the leather.
I can't have an axe I don't eventually break out and play with. I've tried to keep one or two in mint, unused condition, but that little voice creeps in my head saying "Play me!!"
Another one bites the dust.😉
 
ive sold every single cue that didnt play the way i wanted. kept ones that did. still have a bunch and can pick any up and play just fine after a dozen shots with it.

none were bought as collectable although a couple now some would drool over.
 
Bavafongoul said:
Your dilemma is owning more cues than you have available time to play pool unless you just took the cue out for a quick test drive. That’s no where near as much fun as playing with it until after you drove a lot of laps with it and then switched cues.
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I occasionally get 6 to 12 cues out to play. I enjoy it. Couldn't sample such a variety if I didn't own them.

My goal is to have a large room, lined with display cases, with 9 foot GC. We are house hunting. It's a goal. Big house in the middle of 10 acres with my pool room.
 
One thing for sure - you never know how any cue will play until you get it on the table. I’ve had $40 Imperial cues out play customs and that is a fact- sometimes everything just comes up right and sometimes it comes up wrong.
 
maha said:
one== is playing cues. cues you play with because they give you the hit or results you like best. and sell when they lose that function for you.

two== collector cues that you dont play with but want to look at or own for whatever personal reasons.
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Players and Queens.....
2kinds of cues..... Frye and Rich
 
mikemosconi said:
One thing for sure - you never know how any cue will play until you get it on the table. I’ve had $40 Imperial cues out play customs and that is a fact- sometimes everything just comes up right and sometimes it comes up wrong.
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Very true. I have some "cheap" cues that play very well.

For those that take an old school piloted 14 pin, I can just screw on a Joss, JW, or Scruggs shaft and all of a sudden I have a "sleeper", no conversion or any kind of work needed. I have a few like that.
 
yea i basically kept only cues that took and fit the same shafts, so all my cues can interchange shafts.
except for two old ones that take the 18 thread. and a stroud joss with big threads.
 
maha said:
yea i basically kept only cues that took and fit the same shafts, so all my cues can interchange shafts.
except for two old ones that take the 18 thread. and a stroud joss with big threads.
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I have a number of 18 pin cues as well, and good shafts for them too.

It's just mostly the real antiques that are different.

All of my real playing cues have pretty good playing shafts anyway, but for the 14, 18, and 10 pins, I have truly excellent shafts that can screw on.

I really like having 2 shafts for a cue as well. So, sometimes when I get a "good" cue with one shaft I put a lot of work into finding a second original shaft. I have a really nice Karl Mayer like that right now. It has a very fat shaft/tip (I have not measured it). It plays astonishingly well but the low deflection crowd would go psychotic trying to play with it. LOL! . But it came with one shaft. I found a second shaft for it but sadly didn't get it. It was an auction, and I guess someone else knew what it was and outbid me. I have been outbid 4x recently, once on that shaft and 3x on cues. I was stunned really, I feel like I lost my edge.

This is the Mayer I snagged on eBay, not really cheap but a respectable deal from a seller that had no idea what it was. I have another Mayer that I got NOS, and yes, I chalked an played it. This one was darn near new condition when I got it.

20250413_135917.jpg


I have around 200 cues at this point. Pulling a few out to compare and contrast how they play is a fascinating adventure.

I can imagine what it is like to be Jay Leno. He has a lot of amazing cars. Sure, many of them he has not driven in some time, but he can take any of them out that he wants to at any time. And he does.

If I had one, or two, or ten cues, I could never have the experience of directly comparing such a diverse sample of cues side by side whenever I want. It really is a pleasure. I walked away from really serious playing over 30 years ago when I entered medical school. But I can still enjoy the sport and really dig getting into the nuances of the cues.

No, I don't have some of the "big" maker cues, but I do have some cues that I don't show here and likely never will. I have fun posting Cobra and Mizerak cues once is a while to temper the discussions. I have fun with it when people look at a cue and say it can't be made in Taiwan, the splices are too nice...it's just good fun.

Right now I am thinking about stopping with the hunt and buying. I have a number of cues I want to get refinished and/or shafts made. I was intending on completing the Gandy catalog, but I am losing enthusiasm. I may shift to just getting the work done I want on the cues I have. There is one particular amazing cue that requires restoration that I would really love to get done.

We shall see.

In the mean time, I do enjoy what I have. For a very long time all I had was my Joss and the McDermott D-2 I used for breaking. About 2004 I started collecting. It started with a Meucci Original, and I have never bought another. I don't like them. I buy what I like and don't care what is popular or need what others like.

So how many types of cues are there to own? For me there is one. The cues I like for whatever reason pleases me. I will never buy a cue that I will not play. I do respect museum pieces, but they are not for me. If I landed something like Mizerak's or Mosconi's Balabushka, I would play it.
 
maha said:
one== is playing cues. cues you play with because they give you the hit or results you like best. and sell when they lose that function for you.

two== collector cues that you dont play with but want to look at or own for whatever personal reasons.
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Yes. Competition and collectors.

Potato and tomato.

Girlfriend and wife.
 
mikemosconi said:
One thing for sure - you never know how any cue will play until you get it on the table. I’ve had $40 Imperial cues out play customs and that is a fact- sometimes everything just comes up right and sometimes it comes up wrong.
Click to expand...
I had this old broomstick once...😂😂
 
Chopdoc said:
I have a number of 18 pin cues as well, and good shafts for them too.

It's just mostly the real antiques that are different.

All of my real playing cues have pretty good playing shafts anyway, but for the 14, 18, and 10 pins, I have truly excellent shafts that can screw on.

I really like having 2 shafts for a cue as well. So, sometimes when I get a "good" cue with one shaft I put a lot of work into finding a second original shaft. I have a really nice Karl Mayer like that right now. It has a very fat shaft/tip (I have not measured it). It plays astonishingly well but the low deflection crowd would go psychotic trying to play with it. LOL! . But it came with one shaft. I found a second shaft for it but sadly didn't get it. It was an auction, and I guess someone else knew what it was and outbid me. I have been outbid 4x recently, once on that shaft and 3x on cues. I was stunned really, I feel like I lost my edge.

This is the Mayer I snagged on eBay, not really cheap but a respectable deal from a seller that had no idea what it was. I have another Mayer that I got NOS, and yes, I chalked an played it. This one was darn near new condition when I got it.

View attachment 829034

I have around 200 cues at this point. Pulling a few out to compare and contrast how they play is a fascinating adventure.

I can imagine what it is like to be Jay Leno. He has a lot of amazing cars. Sure, many of them he has not driven in some time, but he can take any of them out that he wants to at any time. And he does.

If I had one, or two, or ten cues, I could never have the experience of directly comparing such a diverse sample of cues side by side whenever I want. It really is a pleasure. I walked away from really serious playing over 30 years ago when I entered medical school. But I can still enjoy the sport and really dig getting into the nuances of the cues.

No, I don't have some of the "big" maker cues, but I do have some cues that I don't show here and likely never will. I have fun posting Cobra and Mizerak cues once is a while to temper the discussions. I have fun with it when people look at a cue and say it can't be made in Taiwan, the splices are too nice...it's just good fun.

Right now I am thinking about stopping with the hunt and buying. I have a number of cues I want to get refinished and/or shafts made. I was intending on completing the Gandy catalog, but I am losing enthusiasm. I may shift to just getting the work done I want on the cues I have. There is one particular amazing cue that requires restoration that I would really love to get done.

We shall see.

In the mean time, I do enjoy what I have. For a very long time all I had was my Joss and the McDermott D-2 I used for breaking. About 2004 I started collecting. It started with a Meucci Original, and I have never bought another. I don't like them. I buy what I like and don't care what is popular or need what others like.

So how many types of cues are there to own? For me there is one. The cues I like for whatever reason pleases me. I will never buy a cue that I will not play. I do respect museum pieces, but they are not for me. If I landed something like Mizerak's or Mosconi's Balabushka, I would play it.
Click to expand...
Without a doubt!! Race ya to the hall Doc!!!
 
I liked the experience of working with a cuemaker to make an idea come to life. Some of those cues didn't play the way I wanted but they are
still beautiful to me and have been a good investment. I will find someone that can appreciate them or just sell them when I feel the time has come.
 
Frosty said:
I’ve owned hundreds of cues over the years from a great number of cue makers. Not to collect them, more like a search for the holy grail, to find what I felt to be the best playing cue for me. I finally stopped searching some years ago and retained 2 I felt met my needs. I do appreciate collectors though, those like Denny Glenn and our own Will Prout amongst others. I feel like they’ve helped preserve the history of our sport and the artisans that hand crafted the cues we play it with. My hats off to them.
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Denny Glenns collection is jaw dropping. If I could i’d visit his collection weekly and just browse for hours.

 
I have a collection of around 10ish cues with more on the way - some of which are fancy and expensive (and the ones on the way are fancier, and more expensive yet) and all of which I play with. 🤷‍♂️

I've never kept a cue that didn't have a good hit or feel. I only keep cues I'd play with, even if they don't get a lot of table time.
 
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