Willie Hoppe Cues - Why so sought after

PoolFan101

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Before the High Archy comes down I checked the search first and only seem to find thread's about selling these. I see them for sale on ebay and they seem to sell pretty high most of the time and certain examples with Braz rosewood and the like go pretty expensive to say the least. What is it about these Cues that make them worth that much other than they are hard to find. Is it a Collectors thing or do these Cues actually play decent. One would have to wonder that in todays world there is far better hitting cues then one from the 1940's -1960's . Do these Hoppe Cues play that well , or do people just collect them and never play with them and just display them in their collection. I would say that they are also bought and converted with a better shaft and then the game would change I would say. But trying to figure out what makes these cues worth the money. I have seen some nice ones on ebay in the 4-500 range.
 

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
Because they are pretty and rare.
I have one with Brazilian rosewood bottom/points.
I wouldn't sell it for $600 as is.

In the hands of a competent maker, they can play as good as any cue out there.
 

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nsafellow

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Cue makers still make cues and call them Hoppe cues. That has to do with the distinctive narrow band of white around the butt and usually no bumper on the cue. So it is called a Hoppe style cue and we will a know what it looks like.

So you need to be careful if your looking to buy on original Hoppe or one made in his style.

But any of the older well known cue makers are sought after.
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Before the High Archy comes down I checked the search first and only seem to find thread's about selling these. I see them for sale on ebay and they seem to sell pretty high most of the time and certain examples with Braz rosewood and the like go pretty expensive to say the least. What is it about these Cues that make them worth that much other than they are hard to find. Is it a Collectors thing or do these Cues actually play decent. One would have to wonder that in todays world there is far better hitting cues then one from the 1940's -1960's . Do these Hoppe Cues play that well , or do people just collect them and never play with them and just display them in their collection. I would say that they are also bought and converted with a better shaft and then the game would change I would say. But trying to figure out what makes these cues worth the money. I have seen some nice ones on ebay in the 4-500 range.

They are worth quite a bit of money because they are rare and many of them are made of woods that are expensive and hard to find, if not now banned for being an endangered species.

There is a difference in prices among them, based upon type of wood and condition of the cue. It is rare that you will find a one-piece that is still perfectly straight, but there are some out there. Most people, that I know, convert the old one-piece cues into two-piece cues, but they are only using the butt end and the shaft end is tossed.

How a cue is converted depends upon the cue. If it is thick enough (around .850) at 29" point on the joint end of the butt, it us thick enough to keep the butt as a full-splice all the way to the butt cap. If it is thinner, I think the joint is placed further down the butt towards the points where the cue is thicker. This makes the butt becomes shorter and then a handle is added and the bottom part of the butt is used to make a butt sleeve. Some makers just add an extension on the end made of some other type of wood and leave it full-spliced down to the extension without adding a handle in between.

I prefer full-spice and I have two conversion of that type. I have been told that George Balabuska preferred cutting the butt and adding a handle between the forearm and the butt sleeve. However, there are some of his that were left full-splice all the way to the butt cap. .

Any cue maker, or anyone who sees something I put that is incorrect, feel free to jump in and correct me or if you can provide some more information.

Aloha
 

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Before the High Archy comes down I checked the search first and only seem to find thread's about selling these. I see them for sale on ebay and they seem to sell pretty high most of the time and certain examples with Braz rosewood and the like go pretty expensive to say the least. What is it about these Cues that make them worth that much other than they are hard to find. Is it a Collectors thing or do these Cues actually play decent. One would have to wonder that in todays world there is far better hitting cues then one from the 1940's -1960's . Do these Hoppe Cues play that well , or do people just collect them and never play with them and just display them in their collection. I would say that they are also bought and converted with a better shaft and then the game would change I would say. But trying to figure out what makes these cues worth the money. I have seen some nice ones on ebay in the 4-500 range.


They are old wood.

They are old craftsmanship.

They are classic in design and colors.

They are a part of pool history.

And if you get the right guy to restore them they can be amazing.

Lou Figueroa
 

KRJ

Support UKRAINE
Silver Member
I love my completely restored 1940's Hoppe with an OB shaft. Old world meets new tech, what's not to like. Thing is 80 years old and straight as an arrow. And it looks cool to boot.

It's like having a 1953 Corvette. Sure, the newer models are faster, handle better, and more amenities , but there is something cool about the original :) And folks have just as much fun driving the 53 around town and to car shows ;)
 

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I had a really nice Willie Hoppe professional - the blue label with the ivory ring at the bottom- bought it around 2005 privately and it was almost mint condition and all original- the guy had 3 really nice shafts with it - and they were pristine. It came in a Palmer Custom Box case. Perfect leather wrap. I played with it quite a bit at home, along with a mint Brunswick Master Stroke that I owned- also all original. They played good- not great; but it was just enjoyable to play with them. I regret selling them, whoever owns them now are very fortunate guys. I miss those two cues every day!
 

PRED

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Not all Hoppe's are the same. The Ebony Hoppe can bring north of 1K for an original cue in good shape. That particular Hoppe is the holy grail for Titlest Hoppe cues.
 

Buster8001

Did you say shrubberies?
Silver Member
They're not rare; there were millions made. Ebay is flooded with them.

There are a few wood types that are harder to find than others - BR, Ebony, and Oak. Those tend to bring a premium. Straight, unmolested pieces are what's rare.

The price has everything to do with vintage items no longer made - once they're gone, they're gone. They are classic, and attractive when converted or cleaned up. Many builders view them as a, kind of a "right of passage", if you will. Every builder (that I know of) has made a Titlist conversion in the classic style, once their skills reach a certain point. You can't beat old wood. Couple that with sound construction, and you have a very nice blank from which a nice cue can be made.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
They're not rare; there were millions made. Ebay is flooded with them.

There are a few wood types that are harder to find than others - BR, Ebony, and Oak. Those tend to bring a premium. Straight, unmolested pieces are what's rare.

The price has everything to do with vintage items no longer made - once they're gone, they're gone. They are classic, and attractive when converted or cleaned up. Many builders view them as a, kind of a "right of passage", if you will. Every builder (that I know of) has made a Titlist conversion in the classic style, once their skills reach a certain point. You can't beat old wood. Couple that with sound construction, and you have a very nice blank from which a nice cue can be made.
"Flooded'???? Hardly. Just checked and there about twelve and some were conversions. I doubt B'wick made millions of them either.
 

Buster8001

Did you say shrubberies?
Silver Member
"Flooded'???? Hardly. Just checked and there about twelve and some were conversions. I doubt B'wick made millions of them either.

Point is, they're not hard to find. One piece, Hoppe Pros, Brunswick Personals; if someone wants one, it can be found easily.
 

deanoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have seen over 200 blanks that Tad had not long ago

he gave this many to rick Landsberg who gave me 20 or more

The good thing about these 58 inch long unfinished ones was that they could easily be made into conversions

Verl Horn ,in the 90s bought a lot ( 300 or more0of the willie hoppe 2 piece ,brass joint in the black cardboard tubes with booklets for about $20 each

At the time I didn't want any that he offered me,but since then they have attracted a small following

If they are popular,they are not popular with high end collectors

The conversions are popular, I had Jerry franklin,Barry Szamboti and Paul Mottey make me
a few each,but I personally preferred their own cues

The modern conversions that look like the Brunswicks are made better by Prather,
better glues, better points etc,so if you are offered a reallynice clean one it is a prather blank

As far as i know there is no premium for having an originalBrunswick( which were made by Schmelke for Brunswick )

Whether there were millions,I don't know,it would not surprise me. The person who said millions was just using hyperbole,but if i had to bet i would bet literaally millions

not that i have a record for winning,just talking

one of the big blanks i got from rick had black,white,black,white veneers
pal mottey made it into a wrapless cue with an ivory joint

this was by far my favorite,i though efren won with it,but then someone called last week and said he owned it
why are they so popular?

i hear they play good,but I can not tell the difference

I have no idea,my friend Denny Glenn had every cue maker in the world make him one and one for themself. then he bought their personal cues about a year later talk about an unusual collection
 

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Still crying about it, I see.
Too bad. Have a day.

Before the High Archy comes down I checked the search first and only seem to find thread's about selling these. I see them for sale on ebay and they seem to sell pretty high most of the time and certain examples with Braz rosewood and the like go pretty expensive to say the least. What is it about these Cues that make them worth that much other than they are hard to find. Is it a Collectors thing or do these Cues actually play decent. One would have to wonder that in todays world there is far better hitting cues then one from the 1940's -1960's . Do these Hoppe Cues play that well , or do people just collect them and never play with them and just display them in their collection. I would say that they are also bought and converted with a better shaft and then the game would change I would say. But trying to figure out what makes these cues worth the money. I have seen some nice ones on ebay in the 4-500 range.
 

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Buster8001

Did you say shrubberies?
Silver Member
I'm not going to quote the posts, as you're trying to interpret what I wrote.
I meant what I wrote. Over the forty-plus years these cues were available, I believe a million-plus were made. YMMV.
 

ideologist

I don't never exaggerate
Silver Member
Before the High Archy comes down I checked the search first and only seem to find thread's about selling these. I see them for sale on ebay and they seem to sell pretty high most of the time and certain examples with Braz rosewood and the like go pretty expensive to say the least. What is it about these Cues that make them worth that much other than they are hard to find. Is it a Collectors thing or do these Cues actually play decent. One would have to wonder that in todays world there is far better hitting cues then one from the 1940's -1960's . Do these Hoppe Cues play that well , or do people just collect them and never play with them and just display them in their collection. I would say that they are also bought and converted with a better shaft and then the game would change I would say. But trying to figure out what makes these cues worth the money. I have seen some nice ones on ebay in the 4-500 range.

I saw the Corvette answer and that's basically it

The different answer I will add is "there is no substitute for 75 years of seasoning"
 
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