I am beginning to think you are looking for a vacation.
Maybe you should find some other thing to talk about.
Besides beating something to death.
I agree.
He is like a kid on the playground, trying to impress the older kids.
I bought a Dale Perry online once for $139, but I didn't buy it until I called Dale directly and talked to him. He was a real nice guy to me, but some people don't like him for some reason. He kept me on the phone BSing for about an hour. I didn't keep him from his work, like a lot of cue makers complain about. He was keeping me. Maybe he was bored and sitting around and watching all his machines do the work.
I don't know how much of what I've heard is correct, but I've heard that Dale was one of the first makers to get really high-tech computerized machinery where he didn't have to spend all day doing things by hand. I think I heard he imported a lot of machinery from Germany. Somebody else can correct that or, add to it, if you know something.
Whatever the case, Dale was able to "whip out" cues at a much faster rate than most other people. That allowed him to reduce his prices and make his income off of quantity and not having to worry about making 25 hand-made cues in a year. He could make more money letting his machines crank the stuff out.
That is when the people who bought the custom cues that he had made before started b1tching, because his name was now associated with cheap, mass production cues, instead of high dollar customs.
Dale doesn't give a shit what anybody thinks. He makes quality cues for the money and he sells enough to maintain his lifestyle, whatever that is.
When I was going to have him convert a cue for me years ago, he gave me a lot of advice on having it done and told me where to have it done and what to watch out for. So, I have no problem with Dale or his cues.
I banged around with the cue I got from him and then sold it for exactly what I paid for it to a guy who wanted it. It was still new and I was just wanting to see how they were built and played.
I really liked the butt of the cue, the wrap, and the balance, but the shaft wasn't the best of woods. The taper was good, but the wood felt a bit grainy and I could never sand it down to get it as slick as my other shafts. It had a bit of deflection, too. But, for $139, it was a good deal.
I know a couple of guys who use Dale Perry butts with REVOs and they play as good as any other butt on a REVO.