Are Brunswick Centennial Cues Any Good?

jviss

jviss

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
These are the ones that come with the Centennial play package. They list for $155, and retail for around $140.

I searched and found some older threads without a lot of info. I'd be curious to know who makes these, and where, are they any good, etc.

Thanks,

jv
 
jviss said:
These are the ones that come with the Centennial play package. They list for $155, and retail for around $140.

I searched and found some older threads without a lot of info. I'd be curious to know who makes these, and where, are they any good, etc.

Thanks,

jv
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Basic Asian import.
 
garczar said:
Basic Asian import.
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Well, I guess the the clue was when the package came with two won-tons and soy sauce. ;)

We don't know for sure the origin but there are a couple of large manufacturers in China who brand many thousands of inexpensive cues and that's a pretty good bet. You can search for them at www.alibaba.com .

A dark stained stright grain maple handle instead of another hardwood- well to me that's the sign of a cheap cue. That doesn't mean it can't be a decent playing cue. It probably is.
 

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TATE said:
Well, I guess the the clue was when the package came with two won-tons and soy sauce. ;)

We don't know for sure the origin but there are a couple of large manufacturers in China who brand many thousands of inexpensive cues and that's a pretty good bet. You can search for them at www.alibaba.com .

A dark stained stright grain maple handle instead of another hardwood- well to me that's the sign of a cheap cue. That doesn't mean it can't be a decent playing cue. It probably is.
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I've seen these for 115bux. For that i'd rather buy American-made Schmelke.
 
TATE said:
Well, I guess the the clue was when the package came with two won-tons and soy sauce. ;)

We don't know for sure the origin but there are a couple of large manufacturers in China who brand many thousands of inexpensive cues and that's a pretty good bet. You can search for them at www.alibaba.com .

A dark stained stright grain maple handle instead of another hardwood- well to me that's the sign of a cheap cue. That doesn't mean it can't be a decent playing cue. It probably is.
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My primary concern about those imports is whether they aged the wood properly and took their time making the shaft. I don't want a cue that's going to warp.
 
alstl said:
My primary concern about those imports is whether they aged the wood properly and took their time making the shaft. I don't want a cue that's going to warp.
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The better one's do. I've seen 15yr+ old Lucasi's that are still dead-straight. The bigger co's in China generally do a good job on shafts.
 
TATE said:
A dark stained stright grain maple handle instead of another hardwood- well to me that's the sign of a cheap cue.
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Schmelke US made cues, at the low end, are just so. I wouldn't call them "cheap."
 
I have some Brunswick Contender cues, which come in the cheaper Contender play package. The cues are fun to play with; but no two shafts are the same diameter, etc. They are decent inexpensive 2 piece cues. Some people would probably call them cheap junk, though.
 
Thanks!

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I found a set of three, 18, 19, and 20 oz., nearly-new, on eBay and bought them for $145; tax and shipping brings it to about $60 each.

I wanted some 'house cues.' My table came with four nice, one-piece house cues but they are short, 57". Probably doesn't matter for casual players, but, it bothered me. Plus since these are one-piece, I can't get them onto my lathe set-up to do any serious tip work, without making some new tooling (and I don't know that the butt will fit in he headstock bore, so maybe no-go on this 12x36" lathe, 'though I guess I could remove the tailstock and extend a rest to the left form the tool post).

It would be nice if Brunswick would tell us more about their accessories. I think it would only enhance their reputation to say "Centennial balls by Aramith," and "Centennial cues, American made by Schmelke." I can dream, can't I?

I wonder if these will have a country of origin sticker on them. I'll see when I get them. The pics in the auction showed the tips without chalk and never having been shaped, so maybe never used.
 
jviss said:
Schmelke US made cues, at the low end, are just so. I wouldn't call them "cheap."
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As I said, they are probably fine for playing and so forth. When I said "cheap" I don't mean junk. Hard maple, aka straight maple, rock maple, sugar maple is a great wood, ideal for cues in every way except for appearance. When a cue maker paints or stains maple to try to make it look like something else, it tells me they are saving a step or two of labor and materials in order to make an inexpensive cue. Why not just core the handle with maple and use mahogany, ebony, cocobolo or another hardwood for appearance? It's to save money. That's what I mean by cheap.
 
Made In Canada

This is interesting - each cue has a sticker near the but end that has the weight, and says "Made In Canada." Could be Dufferin? I know there are other Canadian cue makers, but this one jumps to mind first.
 
jviss said:
This is interesting - each cue has a sticker near the but end that has the weight, and says "Made In Canada." Could be Dufferin? I know there are other Canadian cue makers, but this one jumps to mind first.
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Dufferin made a lot of Brunswick cues over the years.
But if these cues are new, they may be Dufferin made in China.
 
jviss said:
This is interesting - each cue has a sticker near the but end that has the weight, and says "Made In Canada." Could be Dufferin? I know there are other Canadian cue makers, but this one jumps to mind first.
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Closer to solving the mystery. Most likely they are Falcon Cues.

http://www.falconcues.com/EN/views/home/about.php?i=13

Falcon Cues have an interesting history. Founded around 1990 in Ontario Canada (also known as KPS Billiards founded by Ernie Chen) they moved production from Canada to Taiwan around 2007. They made many lines for Brunswick and many other labels that were re-branded.

If they are Falcon, the made in Canada sticker indicates the cues were made before the Canadian factory was closed. Could well be modified version of the Falcon NF series cues. Also could be new old stock.

https://web.archive.org/web/20060507111746/http://www.falconcues.com/PDF/2005%20falcon%20catalogue%20email.pdf
 
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jviss said:
This is interesting - each cue has a sticker near the but end that has the weight, and says "Made In Canada." Could be Dufferin? I know there are other Canadian cue makers, but this one jumps to mind first.
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Can you post some pictures including the joint?
 
Another possibility is that the cues were made in China and just had the tips installed in Canada. That would allow "Made in Canada" to be put on them. Also possible they're Falcon-made depending on their age. IIRC Falcon left Can. around 2006-7.
 
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garczar said:
Another possibility is that the cues were made in China and just had the tips installed in Canada. That would allow "Made in Canada" to be put on them. Also possible they're Falcon-made depending on their age. IIRC Falcon left Can. around 2006-7.
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Really. I never would have thought that, that it could be a Chinese cue with a Canadian-installed tip and country of origin sticker. Is that really a thing?

I've asked the seller about the age. It's an estate sale, so I'm not sure I can get any more info.
 
jviss said:
Really. I never would have thought that, that it could be a Chinese cue with a Canadian-installed tip and country of origin sticker. Is that really a thing?

I've asked the seller about the age. It's an estate sale, so I'm not sure I can get any more info.
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Country of origin can be a vague deal. Brunswick GC's are just assembled here but they're marked "Made in USA". What's the difference??
 
Just because I like mysteries, going back through Brunswick's websites, I believe yours are pre 2005 cues and an educated guess is they were made by Falcon. I believe they are actually Brunswick Meridian cues that were bundled with the Centennial Ball Package. Here is a link to their older website:

https://web.archive.org/web/2002120...ucts/brunswick/cueproducts/cues/meridian.html

Then in 2005, they teamed with an "American manufacturer with over 35 years experience" to make the Centennial - here's the catalog ad:

https://web.archive.org/web/2005112...brunswick_collection/cues/centennial_cue.html

I now recall that Joss made them for a few years and I have seen them - but it's been a while but I recall discussing Joss made Brunswick's. Those dates coincide with Joss history as well. If your versions were made by Joss, they wouldn't have the Canadian sticker. Also, from the pics, compared to newer cues the shafts do look like they have patina so it makes sense they could be 15 years old.

Anyway, that was fun. I suggest searching the forum and google for Brunswick cues made by Joss.
 
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