Was Richard Helmstetter still with Adam cues after they moved manufacturing to China?

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thescorpion1972

Banned
I understand that Richard Helmstetter ran Adam Custom cues, in Japan, from the early 70's, until an unknown time, when Adam moved most of their production to China, other then their high end Musashi line of cues.

Were Helmstetter cues made after the move to China though, and was Helmstetter still apart of the Adam cue company after they moved their production to China?

Keep in mind, I am talking about Helmstetter cues, that were signed / stamped Helmstetter in the forearm, not the Adam cues with the Lion logo.

It is true that Richard Helmstetter ran the cue shop, in Japan, for Adam cues for at least 25 years, or at least up until the time when Adam moved their production to China, right?

Question is, when did Adam cues leave Japan, and move to China, and did Richard Helmstetter also move to China to help run the cue manufacturing in China? And, were the Helmstetter line of cues still being made after Adam's move to China?
 
T

thescorpion1972

Banned
HNTFSH said:
What was the question again?
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Ignore my entire post. This is my question.

Was Richard Helmstetter still with Adam cues after they moved manufacturing to China?

Would also like to learn when Adam moved to China, and if any Helmstetter cues were ever made in China.
 
T

thescorpion1972

Banned
thescorpion1972 said:
Ignore my entire post. This is my question.

Was Richard Helmstetter still with Adam cues after they moved manufacturing to China?

Would also like to learn when Adam moved to China, and if any Helmstetter cues were ever made in China.
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Here is a Hercules cue that may have been made by Adam, but I do not believe that it was made in Japan, and I doubt that Helmstetter had anything to do with these Hercules cues.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hercules-Cue-By-Helmstetter/373179212754
 
G

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
No. He was designing golf clubs at Callaway(he helped design the Big Bertha and it came out in '91) by then. ADAM started making cues in China in about '95. Kinda hard to pin down exact dates. The last price list i saw for Japanese Helm's was in '92. Miki Mezz's contact to build ADAM stuff ran-out and he started Mezz about that time. A few Mugens and the hi-end Musashi's are still made in Japan. All the rest are made in same factory that makes Lucasi, Predator, Players and others.
 
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Z

Z-Nole

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
thescorpion1972 said:
I understand that Richard Helmstetter ran Adam Custom cues, in Japan, from the early 70's, until an unknown time, when Adam moved most of their production to China, other then their high end Musashi line of cues.

Were Helmstetter cues made after the move to China though, and was Helmstetter still apart of the Adam cue company after they moved their production to China?

Keep in mind, I am talking about Helmstetter cues, that were signed / stamped Helmstetter in the forearm, not the Adam cues with the Lion logo.

It is true that Richard Helmstetter ran the cue shop, in Japan, for Adam cues for at least 25 years, or at least up until the time when Adam moved their production to China, right?

Question is, when did Adam cues leave Japan, and move to China, and did Richard Helmstetter also move to China to help run the cue manufacturing in China? And, were the Helmstetter line of cues still being made after Adam's move to China?
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Any chance you taught economics at FSU in the late 80's? This is exactly how the T/A explained things. Lol
 
Thunder Thighs

Thunder Thighs

I'm your Huckleberry
Silver Member
thescorpion1972 said:
Keep in mind, I am talking about Helmstetter cues, that were signed / stamped Helmstetter in the forearm, not the Adam cues with the Lion logo.
Click to expand...

Some had both

20200902_165855_resize_35.jpg
 
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A

axejunkie

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Is this Justin B again? There seems to be many similarities in the writing style and interest in Adam cues.
 
Brookeland Bill

Brookeland Bill

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
thescorpion1972 said:
I understand that Richard Helmstetter ran Adam Custom cues, in Japan, from the early 70's, until an unknown time, when Adam moved most of their production to China, other then their high end Musashi line of cues.

Were Helmstetter cues made after the move to China though, and was Helmstetter still apart of the Adam cue company after they moved their production to China?

Keep in mind, I am talking about Helmstetter cues, that were signed / stamped Helmstetter in the forearm, not the Adam cues with the Lion logo.

It is true that Richard Helmstetter ran the cue shop, in Japan, for Adam cues for at least 25 years, or at least up until the time when Adam moved their production to China, right?


Question is, when did Adam cues leave Japan, and move to China, and did Richard Helmstetter also move to China to help run the cue manufacturing in China? And, were the Helmstetter line of cues still being made after Adam's move to China?
Click to expand...

Obviously written by a Liberty University graduate.
 
justnum

justnum

Billiards Improvement Research Projects Associate
Silver Member
thescorpion1972 said:
That is cool. Lion logo in the forearm, with the Made by Helmstetter next to it.
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also looks easy to counterfeit

did the cuemakers put hidden authenticity markers to distinguish their cues from reproductions?
 
G

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
thescorpion1972 said:
Not a Helm though, right? If made in China, then Helmstetter had nothing to do with them.
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Of course not. Look, Helmstetter by 1986 was Callaway Golf's chief designer. So even Japanese Helm's made after '85-'86 probably had little-to-no direct input by RCH. He most likely had some design input on the later Helm's/VIP's but all building was overseen by Miki Mezz.
 
jay helfert

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
garczar said:
No. He was designing golf clubs at Callaway(he helped design the Big Bertha and it came out in '91) by then. ADAM started making cues in China in about '95. Kinda hard to pin down exact dates. The last price list i saw for Japanese Helm's was in '92. Miki Mezz's contact to build ADAM stuff ran-out and he started Mezz about that time. A few Mugens and the hi-end Musashi's are still made in Japan. All the rest are made in same factory that makes Lucasi, Predator, Players and others.
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YOU are the authority on the history of cue making and the individuals who populated that world! How you know all this is beyond me. I have trouble just keeping up with myself and where I've been and what I've done. :wink:

Dick Helmstetter played a huge part in making Callaway what it is today. I believe he is still with the company in some major capacity. He's been in the San Diego area for decades now. I had a chance to buy his classic Mercedes convertible from him about twenty years ago and regret passing on it now. That pristine car would be worth near 100 grand now. He bought my first book and was nice enough to write to me and tell me how much he enjoyed it. Dick Helmstetter is a class act in my book! :thumbup2:
 
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garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
jay helfert said:
YOU are the authority on the history of cue making and the individuals who populated that world! How you know all this is beyond me. I have trouble just keeping up with myself and where I've been and what I've done. :wink:

Dick Helmstetter played a huge part in making Calloway what it is today. I believe he is still with the company in some major capacity. He's been in the San Diego area for decades now. I had a chance to buy his classic Mercedes convertible from him about twenty years ago and regret passing on it now. That pristine car would be worth near 100 grand now. He bought my first book and was nice enough to write to me and tell me how much he enjoyed it. Dick Helmstetter is a class act in my book! :thumbup2:
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He retired and got a uber$$$ retirement set-up from what i've been told. As far as the cues go i just start diggin' and usually find it. I've been interested in them since i started playin' in '78-'79. Really got into it because Billy was making JOSS's here in Tulsa. A little sidebar about RCH and this was told to me by a Callaway rep. When Ely Callaway took over Hickory Sticks they were having trouble boring holes through the wood shafts prior to putting in the steel-shaft cores. They brought in Dick as a consultant to help on this and then he was hired as lead designer. Don't know exactly how they found Helmstetter but boy did it work out in the long run.
 
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