When to retire a cue?

calboy8686

calboy8686

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey All,

Someone had asked a similar question a while back. I'm asking it again with a little bit of a spin. Almost every time I watch the pro's on TV they change cues. So I suppose this leads me to a two part question;

1. When to retire a cue?

2. I'm going to assume most people here have multiple cues, both custom collectable, and your regular player/players. How often are you supposed to "rotate" playing cues? - Is it a "mood thing" or are you actually supposed to rotate playing cues just to get them out of the case to "breath" some and hit balls?

I know there are cues to buy and hold on to those collector items (Gus, Balabushka, etc) that have had well known owners in the past, so we will exclude those.

For those with Ivory handled and VERY ornate/expensive cues - Ever take them out to play with or do you just leave them locked up?

Just curious to see what kind of feedback this gets. Please share any and all opinions.

I don't think I would ever retire the Gina that's my usual player, I have a "bond" with that cue, but I have another Gina in the works along with a Prewitt and I figured that I would have to take the other two out and play with them at the very least on occasion.
 
mamono

mamono

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think the "need" to retire needs to be defined first. Why would a cue need to be retired, then you'll have the answer. From my perspective, when the value (either monetary or sentimental) exceeds the acceptable potential loss (stolen, damaged, or destroyed). That's just my perspective...
 
R

ridinda9

AKA: Sandy Bagger
Silver Member
retire your cue on it's 65th birthday , or when it can no longer perform it's job . . .
 
Drawman623

Drawman623

Box Cue lover
Silver Member
Some successful players like Kim Davenport (Szamboti) Mark Maryo (Szamboti) or Mark Jarvis (Kersenbrock) used their cues throughout their carreer.

Others have changed cues based upon sponsorship. Mika was a Capone player for many tournament wins before Mezz came along. Larry Nevel was an Omen player before Tiger sponsored him. John Schmidt was a Bobby Hunter player until OB made a deal with him. These are great one-man-shop cues that were replaced by larger production companies. Sponsor bucks had to come into play somehow. (No disrespect to the sponsors, we've all seen these guys do amazing things with their new products)

Rodney Morris used a Barry Szamboti owned by Hawaiian Brian before Fury began providing his cues...but even then, Rodney was quoted to say Barry does all of his work. Oh what a difference a tip or a shaft taper make if done by the right person.

Lastly, some pros change cues because they sell what they have. Cues can be donated to top players, or sold at profound discount. The expectation is that the top player will be seen using the cue by others. They "retire them" when they need traval cash or perhaps find the right deal from a fan/collector.

I have quite a few cues and I play with all but for a few that have never been chalked. Some get put aside but never forgotten. Like JUNKBOX said, they go in the box when I go in the box.
 
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calboy8686

calboy8686

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey Drawman,

What you said not only makes a lot of sense, but that was the kind of answer I was looking for. I have to agree, I will have a few cues myself (one or two for special occasion/own collection) and a few to play with. But they will all be "permanently retired" when I go in a box/ground. LOL!! I plan on always playing with either a Gina or a Prewitt. Although I would love to have a Gus (probably never play with it), I don't think I can afford one any time soon. LOL!!

Thank you very much for your answer.
 
D

deanoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
when i was playing stakes pool actively i would sell any cue that lost money i didn't want to play with a cue that dogged it or was a loser.
i found this to be a good way of making my cues bring in the money one way or the other

at one time i ran into a bunch of cues that played worse every time i played high.

i am currently looking for a cue that plays good when the bet is raised

i hope this helps

dean
 
Gramps

Gramps

Pool Room Owner
Silver Member
When to retire a cue ?

I have to admit that I have owned some cues that I wish I had back in my hands today for keepsakes only. But, in my opinion, I think that once a man finds a cue that feels and works for him, he should stick with it. Why would you change? I have two playing cues that I had made by Richard Black and have been playing with them for almost thirty years. One is a copy of a Szamboti and the other is a copy of a Balabushka. I had both made sixty inches long, both 18.5 oz., and both have shafts with the same identical tapers. The Szamboti, four point copy is rather plain Jane and the Buska copy is a more elaborate, Buska silver and ivory rings, mother of pearl inlays and four diamonds in the butt cap. But, if I close my eyes and my wife hands me either cue, I can't tell any difference in the weight or balance from one to the other. I don't know what my wife will do with these cues when I die or who will end up with them but I do know that is when they will be retired from my use.

As a side note, I do know of some pro players that have been paid substancial amounts of money to advertise and play with their cues and then turned around and had special shafts made by a custom cue maker before they played with the cue.
 
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