Most underrated cuemakers?

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Players. More than good enough for the vast majority of pool players.
Pretty sure the OP was asking about custom makers. Players are mass-produced in China. I do agree,however, that they are a lot of cue for the $ spent. Same factory makes Predator, Lucasi and Universal.
 

Type79

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am certainly happy with the 2 Jim Pierce cues that I had custom made a while back.

Kevin

I second this. My Pierce that Jim made for me in 2014 is an example of perfection and would easily compare to cues selling for double or triple it's price.
 

pwd72s

recreational banger
Silver Member
i feel really good about the maker i now use that i stumbled upon by accident really

my cues directly titliest conversion is machined very well, NO rolls and a hell of a quality for the price compared to others
plays really good imo, so much that its cured my cue addiction and his is all i will use

i cant say enough about davids work as well as what a swell guy he is to know

Coming from you, this is one hell of a recommendation!

https://www.cuesdirectly.com/
 

PhilosopherKing

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Second this ^^

hard to still call him "under-rated" when his cues are selling for close to triple what they were going for 6 or so years ago.
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.
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if you know the specs and components that suit you, there are tons of guys who can make you something that you'll love.
 

Bob Farr

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Jeff Olney
John (Jack) Madden
Garten Bierbower

Beautifully crafted, Play great, Ridiculously under priced.
 
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fathomblue

Rusty Shackleford
Silver Member
Gary Johnson from Flippin, Arkansas. He's the nicest, most accommodating guy in the world. It's tough to beat his price for the amount of cue that you get as well.

Something that I really love about his stuff is the consistency in hit. If you pick up any player that he has made, they all feel extremely, extremely close to the same. It makes it easy for me to load up any Gary player that I have at any given moment and know that it's going to feel like slipping into my favorite, comfortable pair of shoes.
 

Jon Manning

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
John K. Bender.
I have a couple cues from him with a third being built now. The cues play as good as anything I have played with, which is important to me but even more importantly I don’t have to worry about the maker! He does what he says he will do, period, an absolute pleasure to deal with! I can’t recommend a better cuemaker or person to deal with, you will not be disappointed.
 

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Bob Owen.....just cannot say enough about the balance, workmanship and the tactile feel of your stroke.
I have the urge to do another cue with him because he never disappoints & always puts in extra effort.
That would be my 3rd cue & the biggest compliment you can pay any cue-maker is do repeat business.

Matt B.
 

Kickin' Chicken

Kick Shot Aficionado
Gold Member
Silver Member
I will also suggest Jeff Olney and Jensen Cues (Mike Johnson).

"Under-rated" is a tough call though because anyone who's played with these maker's cues rates them very high.

Maybe better term would be under-valued.

You will get a whole lotta cue for the money with either guy.

Olney cues are about like getting a SW for 1/4th the cost and Mike Johnson makes his Jensen cues following Gus Szamboti's build methods including installing a buzz ring.

I've heard a lot of good things about Joey (Bautista) Cues and I really would like to try one of these, as well.

best,
brian kc
 

Buster8001

Did you say shrubberies?
Silver Member
I will also suggest Jeff Olney and Jensen Cues (Mike Johnson).

"Under-rated" is a tough call though because anyone who's played with these maker's cues rates them very high.

Maybe better term would be under-valued.

You will get a whole lotta cue for the money with either guy.

Olney cues are about like getting a SW for 1/4th the cost and Mike Johnson makes his Jensen cues following Gus Szamboti's build methods including installing a buzz ring.

I've heard a lot of good things about Joey (Bautista) Cues and I really would like to try one of these, as well.

best,
brian kc

My Jensen has the buzz ring, and moves the rock!

I actually had an offer of double the price of my Joey the first time I took it to the pool room. It shoots that well.
 

measureman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I never hear much about Ernie Martinez from Colorado on this forum.
Once in awhile one of his cues come up for sale.
He makes a terrific cue if you can get him to make one.
 

brilliance

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
hi

BCM makes such a beautiful cues, never played with one but he made me shaft of very high quality.
Also DZ Cues makes outstanding cues!
 

PhilosopherKing

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The two guys from Alaska:

I like the way Benders play, and the design and workmanship can stand-up to anyone's. For some reason, their prices on the secondary market haven't gone up much, and, in some cases, have dropped.

You also don't hear much about the playability of Thomas Wayne's cues, but his big titanium pin cues play great, especially the ones with maple forearms.
 

$TAKE HOR$E

champagne - campaign
Silver Member
To define underrated it must first be determined if it’s for playability or resale. I’ve got $800 cues that play better than $7000 cues I’ve had, imo...but does that mean the 7 skin cue was way overrated? It’s like cars, at the Mecum auction this past weekend a Porsche spider brought almost 2 million and a Ford GT went for around $300K...no way the Porsche is 1.7 million better performance wise. Theres only two ways to underrate something, that’s being knocked or not well known. Usually people consider dealer opinion when thinking about the “underrating” of a cue, but how many dealers are great or even real good players? Ask a player what cues play good and ask a dealer what cues sell good. The response you get from a dealer will fetch you an underrated player, the response you get from a player may be the opposite. It’s what-make-a the cue world go round...😁
 

3kushn

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
To define underrated it must first be determined if it’s for playability or resale. I’ve got $800 cues that play better than $7000 cues I’ve had, imo...but does that mean the 7 skin cue was way overrated? It’s like cars, at the Mecum auction this past weekend a Porsche spider brought almost 2 million and a Ford GT went for around $300K...no way the Porsche is 1.7 million better performance wise. Theres only two ways to underrate something, that’s being knocked or not well known. Usually people consider dealer opinion when thinking about the “underrating” of a cue, but how many dealers are great or even real good players? Ask a player what cues play good and ask a dealer what cues sell good. The response you get from a dealer will fetch you an underrated player, the response you get from a player may be the opposite. It’s what-make-a the cue world go round...��

Underrated or Under Unknown by the general population.
Most of the Builders on this thread are well known. IMO, If you're looking of a custom cue.

If you're looking for a sort of unknown that builds incredible pool cues.

Josh Treadway Treadway Cues

Those in the know, know. He's not underrated. He's just not known by those not having the time to know, or the money or desire for that kind of quality.
 
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