Looking for a Adam Japan made Balabushka

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Looks like that Shooters place is done. Was up for sale and no answer to call or email and FB page is gone. I was just curious. Would never pay $950(or more) for one. I'd spend a little more and have Garten Bierbower make me a cue. His stuff is classic old-school and built like a tank.

I tried to call that website before, too, and never got an answer. I think I e-mailed them, too.
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
You go to Brian's? Is it still a good a spot? Never been out there but was just wondering.

I play at Brian's every Sunday.

There are only two real pool halls that I know of and Brian's is the best in my opinion.

Most of their tables are Gold Crowns in fair-good condition...not perfect.

The other place has newer Diamonds, but I don't like the atmosphere and it is more like a recreation center type than a pool hall. They don't sell alcohol and they don't have table lights. They use ceiling lights and it just isn't the same. It is bright enough, but I don't like it.

Also, parking is worse there than it is at Brian's, but parking at Brian's sucks, too.
 

Thunder Thighs

I'm your Huckleberry
Silver Member
That cue is NOT made by ADAM Japan.

Do you see the cheap plastic rings at the top and bottom of the wrap?

The ADAM Japan cues do NOT have those rings.

Do you see the "Hall of Fame" etching in the butt cap?

The ADAM Japan cues do NOT have that.

Do you see the "thin" silver rings in the joint collars?

The ADAM Japan cues do not have thin silver rings.

That's good to know. Thanks for the education.
 
Those may have been made in Japan and be NOS.

They look legit, or somebody did a very good "copy" of a "replica".

:)

All the BS on ebay about "certificates" with those cues can't be trusted, etiher. The Chinese will make a certificate for anything.

99% of all the ADAM HOF and Balabushka cues you see on ebay are BS made in China.

This is kind of off topic, but I see that the Adam / Japan website (https://www.adam-japan.com/) promotes the Universal line of cues, so I assume that that might mean that the Universal line of cues are made in the same factory that the Adam cues are now made. If that is the case, then I am sure that the Adam cues from China are very high quality, and the Signature series Balabushka cues are also very high quality production cues.

I would like to add that the inlays on the Chinese made Adam cues are probably much more precise then the older Adam cues that were made in Japan.

Cues from China have been very high quality for many years. Predator, Lucasi, Universal, Adam, Fury, and many others that are probably made in the same factory.

I think that Mezz is probably the only company that builds a higher quality production cue, other then cue makers such as Schon, Joss, Pechauer, Jacoby, Mcdermott.

My point is just that the newer Balabushka cues are probably top of the line, when it comes to production cues, and at least on par with many of the other well known production cues out there.
 
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Brookeland Bill

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello ,

I posted in the want section but no to much traffic there , was hoping someone would have or know were a Adam Japan made Balabushka would be for sale. I had to sell mine years ago and liked it . I am looking for Another one , I don't know to enough about the new China made version's to get. I really like that look and design and The one I had played really good. Thanks for any help

I have one that I bought over 20 years ago. Want to talk. Send me a Private Message.
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This is kind of off topic, but I see that the Adam / Japan website (https://www.adam-japan.com/) promotes the Universal line of cues, so I assume that that might mean that the Universal line of cues are made in the same factory that the Adam cues are now made. If that is the case, then I am sure that the Adam cues from China are very high quality, and the Signature series Balabushka cues are also very high quality production cues.

I would like to add that the inlays on the Chinese made Adam cues are probably much more precise then the older Adam cues that were made in Japan.

Cues from China have been very high quality for many years. Predator, Lucasi, Universal, Adam, Fury, and many others that are probably made in the same factory.

I think that Mezz is probably the only company that builds a higher quality production cue, other then cue makers such as Schon, Joss, Pechauer, Jacoby, Mcdermott.

My point is just that the newer Balabushka cues are probably top of the line, when it comes to production cues, and at least on par with many of the other well known production cues out there.

From what I understand, ADAM-Japan has nothing to do with the new line of Balabushka cues. I don't know if any ADAM cues that are made in China are made in the same factory as the Balabushka line of cues.

The ADAM-Japan Balabushkas were made in the same factory as Mezz.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
From what I understand, ADAM-Japan has nothing to do with the new line of Balabushka cues. I don't know if any ADAM cues that are made in China are made in the same factory as the Balabushka line of cues.

The ADAM-Japan Balabushkas were made in the same factory as Mezz.
The ADAM plant in Sayama is still open making the hi-end Musashi line. All other ADAM cues are now made by Hamson/Universal in China. After leaving ADAM in '95ish Miki built his own plant for making Mezz cues. The current Balabushka cues are made in China. What factory i don't know. Could very well be Universal also. That plant makes ADAM,Predator, Lucasi,Players, Buffalo, Riley, Dufferin just to name a few.
 
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PoolFan101

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If they come from the same plant as. Predator and Lucasi then they are bound to be a pretty decent Cue. Who knows the new ones may be better than the old Japan version’s , Technology has come a lot further than 10-15 years ago. On the Balabushka website it says that Richard Helmsetter is still involved so I would like to see one and take a few shots with it. Other than the smaller rings I don’t see any other Difference in them. Yes that Meucci style bumper does make one Wonder as all the Japan versions I have seen had the original style Balabushka bumper, I have also seen them called Schon bumpers as well.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If they come from the same plant as. Predator and Lucasi then they are bound to be a pretty decent Cue. Who knows the new ones may be better than the old Japan version’s , Technology has come a lot further than 10-15 years ago. On the Balabushka website it says that Richard Helmsetter is still involved so I would like to see one and take a few shots with it. Other than the smaller rings I don’t see any other Difference in them. Yes that Meucci style bumper does make one Wonder as all the Japan versions I have seen had the original style Balabushka bumper, I have also seen them called Schon bumpers as well.
Read the way that's worded. Says nothing about now. Once he went full-time at CallawayGolf he was done with cues afaik. Helmstetter was only involved while he was at ADAM. They quit making the HOF series about 10yrs ago. I'm sure the Chinese made ones play ok but you're paying a LOT just to have that name on it. For what they ask for them i'd buy a Mezz or a Schon ANY day. Also, if you buy one you better like it. The re-sale on them is not too good. A friend bought the top current model off OBM for 275bux.
 
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garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Read the way that's worded. Says nothing about now. Once he went full-time at CallawayGolf he was done with cues afaik. Helmstetter was only involved while he was at ADAM. They quit making the HOF series about 10yrs ago. I'm sure the Chinese made ones play ok but you're paying a LOT just to have that name on it. For what they ask for them i'd buy a Mezz or a Schon ANY day. Also, if you buy one you better like it. The re-sale on them is not too good. A friend bought the top current model off OBM for 275bux.
Here's what a real-deal full-on ADAM Musashi looks like: https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/cue-shop/item/964157m/ Workmanship is outstanding. For 4grand its yours. ;)
 
The ADAM plant in Sayama is still open making the hi-end Musashi line. All other ADAM cues are now made by Hamson/Universal in China. After leaving ADAM in '95ish Miki built his own plant for making Mezz cues. The current Balabushka cues are made in China. What factory i don't know. Could very well be Universal also. That plant makes ADAM,Predator, Lucasi,Players, Buffalo, Riley, Dufferin just to name a few.

That is very interesting information.

I know from experience that those Universal cues are super nice, and high quality. For some reason, very rarely ever see them for sale on the used market.
 

PoolFan101

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Read the way that's worded. Says nothing about now. Once he went full-time at CallawayGolf he was done with cues afaik. Helmstetter was only involved while he was at ADAM. They quit making the HOF series about 10yrs ago. I'm sure the Chinese made ones play ok but you're paying a LOT just to have that name on it. For what they ask for them i'd buy a Mezz or a Schon ANY day. Also, if you buy one you better like it. The re-sale on them is not too good. A friend bought the top current model off OBM for 275bux.


Ok , what is OBM and 275 Bux sounds like he got a good deal , 2 what makes that Mushashi worth so much ? what would make a cue worth 4,000 ?
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ok , what is OBM and 275 Bux sounds like he got a good deal , 2 what makes that Mushashi worth so much ? what would make a cue worth 4,000 ?
OpenBilliardMarket on Facebook. That Musashi is a hand-made cue from the ADAM shop. Lots of cues cost that much. Price just about any custom with that much inlay/detail and you'll spend that much or more. That Universal plant in China makes over THIRTY THOUSAND cues a month. Some people like having nicer, craft-built cues and don't mind the cost or the wait. Check these out. And yes, they do sell them. http://www.new2youqs.com/
 
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PoolFan101

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks for the info , Wow 30 Tho a month . It is impressive no doubt. I did not know they made custom cues.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks for the info , Wow 30 Tho a month . It is impressive no doubt. I did not know they made custom cues.
That plant in China is just that, a factory. If you wanted to start your own line you could and they'd make them. They are capable of making cues from really inexpensive stuff to hi-end like the fancy Predators, Lucasi's and ADAM Mugen models. They don't really do custom one-off's like American custom makers. I know some of the Predator and Lucasi pros have gotten customs before but they don't offer them to public. That link i put up to New2YouQ's are not Chinese cues. Those are all super hi-end US stuff.
 

PoolFan101

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Cool Thanks , I Apperciate the info and that website sure does have some nice ones. I just love the look of the Balabushka design but cannot afford a real one so the replica's are for me. I am not a Pro player just a used to be good player from back in the pool room days. Thanks for the help and Info.
 
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