AZ Buildoff Cues

Reviews - Day #1

I spent a number of hours this afternoon at Strokers in Palm Harbor. The following review summaries were done there except for one done by a friend at my home. I haven't voted yet.

I won't list all the names of the reviewers except for those you may be familiar with. Those include Randy Mobley, local cuemaker; Dan Whitten, case maker, and James Roberts, local short stop.

I'll post the written comments all together later, but here are the average scores for each of the cues. Not everyone voted in every category, but everyone did evaluate all 7 cues.

All categories are rated on a 1 - 10 scale, with 1=POOR and 10=PERFECT, except for Stiffness (1=Flimsy & 10=Solid) and Sound of Hit (1=Loud & 10=Soft).

I've also highlighted the highest scores in each category in Blue and the lowest in Red.

------------------- #1 ----#2 -----#3 ----#4 -----#5 ----#6 ----#7
Fit & Finish ----- 8.80 -- 7.60 -- 6.25 -- 6.20 -- 8.60 --8.40 -- 6.60
Wrap ----------- 9.00 -- 6.75 ----------- 5.75
Rolls Straight -- 7.60 -- 8.40 -- 5.80 -- 5.60 -- 9.20 -- 8.60 -- 4.80
Joint ------------ 8.00 -- 7.50 -- 4.00 -- 5.00 -- 8.25 -- 8.50 -- 6.00
Balance -------- 7.33 -- 8.00 -- 5.67 -- 5.67 -- 9.00 -- 8.00 -- 6.00
Feel ------------ 7.00 -- 8.00 -- 5.75 -- 6.00 -- 8.50 -- 7.80 -- 6.75
Feedback ------ 7.60 -- 7.00 -- 4.67 -- 5.75 -- 8.25 -- 7.80 -- 6.25
Gets Results --- 7.50 -- 7.75 -- 6.00 -- 5.00 -- 8.25 -- 6.75 -- 6.75

Stiffness ------- 6.20 -- 6.50 -- 5.00 -- 5.25 -- 7.50 -- 7.75 -- 7.75
Sound of Hit -- 5.80 -- 6.80 -- 6.80 -- 5.00 --- 7.60 -- 6.00 -- 5.40

Overall Rating - 7.60 -- 7.60 -- 5.00 -- 5.25 -- 8.75 -- 7.25 -- 6.25

Tomorrow I'll be back at Strokers from Noon - 6:00 PM and on Monday I'll be at Park Place Billiards as well as in Tampa with Beware of Dawg and his crew (sorry, don't remember the name of the hall).
 
John Biddle said:
I spent a number of hours this afternoon at Strokers in Palm Harbor. The following review summaries were done there except for one done by a friend at my home. I haven't voted yet.

I won't list all the names of the reviewers except for those you may be familiar with. Those include Randy Mobley, local cuemaker; Dan Whitten, case maker, and James Roberts, local short stop.

I'll post the written comments all together later, but here are the average scores for each of the cues. Not everyone voted in every category, but everyone did evaluate all 7 cues.

All categories are rated on a 1 - 10 scale, with 1=POOR and 10=PERFECT, except for Stiffness (1=Flimsy & 10=Solid) and Sound of Hit (1=Loud & 10=Soft).

I've also highlighted the highest scores in each category in Blue and the lowest in Red.

------------------- #1 ----#2 -----#3 ----#4 -----#5 ----#6 ----#7
Fit & Finish ----- 8.80 -- 7.60 -- 6.25 -- 6.20 -- 8.60 --8.40 -- 6.60
Wrap ----------- 9.00 -- 6.75 ----------- 5.75
Rolls Straight -- 7.60 -- 8.40 -- 5.80 -- 5.60 -- 9.20 -- 8.60 -- 4.80
Joint ------------ 8.00 -- 7.50 -- 4.00 -- 5.00 -- 8.25 -- 8.50 -- 6.00
Balance -------- 7.33 -- 8.00 -- 5.67 -- 5.67 -- 9.00 -- 8.00 -- 6.00
Feel ------------ 7.00 -- 8.00 -- 5.75 -- 6.00 -- 8.50 -- 7.80 -- 6.75
Feedback ------ 7.60 -- 7.00 -- 4.67 -- 5.75 -- 8.25 -- 7.80 -- 6.25
Gets Results --- 7.50 -- 7.75 -- 6.00 -- 5.00 -- 8.25 -- 6.75 -- 6.75

Stiffness ------- 6.20 -- 6.50 -- 5.00 -- 5.25 -- 7.50 -- 7.75 -- 7.75
Sound of Hit -- 5.80 -- 6.80 -- 6.80 -- 5.00 --- 7.60 -- 6.00 -- 5.40

Overall Rating - 7.60 -- 7.60 -- 5.00 -- 5.25 -- 8.75 -- 7.25 -- 6.25

Tomorrow I'll be back at Strokers from Noon - 6:00 PM and on Monday I'll be at Park Place Billiards as well as in Tampa with Beware of Dawg and his crew (sorry, don't remember the name of the hall).
Click to expand...

Thanks John..Alot of top level players have hit with these cues, and a great casemaker as well. When I first had the cues at Olathe a few top level players shot with them as well....lots of great feedback on these cues.

Cant wait to hear more
 
I put everybody's feedback together so that it is easy to compare what all of the different reviewers had to say about each cue.

The six cues!
BuildOff001.jpg




Cue #1
Cue1.jpg
John Morra and fellow Candian Jarrod Spence joint review
1. Balance of cue was very evenly distributed
2. The looks of the cue were simple but good enough
3. The quality of the work was very good considering how well it hit
4. The feel of the hit was soft and smooth, the tip felt good
5. The taper of the shaft was very good and the butt as well
6. Was very well balanced
7. Has a really smooth hit to it

Melissa Little
Balance good, looks alright.
Quality was plain had a soft hit and the taper was too fat.
Cue was ok

Unknown player at Olathe tournament
This cue had the second best hit of the 5 cues reviewed (did not review cue #6)
This cue was tied with #2 for least deflection

Rob Moore from Willard, Mo.
Solid but no draw

ftgokie
Cue looks good, it is plain and simple
The leather wrap is finished nicely, the seam is almost unnoticable
Cue hits good, has a nice hit to it
My confidence is high with this cue
I personally did not like the way the wrap felt in my hand, it felt cheap
Overall the cue is a really nice player, I rate this cue an 8

BENFICA
Never did submit his review for this cue

Safety
Never did submit his review for this cue

JoeyInCali
This cue and cue #7 were the best hitting cues.

Graciocues
Never did submit his review for this cue

Klink
Never did submit his review for this cue

SK Custom Cues
4 stars (on a 4 star scale?)
This cue was built in a superb manner.
This cue was tied with cue #6 for the most solid hit.

ugotactionTX
Overall comfort of feel rates a 9
Balance rates a 10
Weight of cue rates a 10
Feedback rates a 7
Stiffness rates a 10 (with 10 being highest maximum stiffness)
Feel of hit rates a 6
Sound quality rates a 8
Playability rates a 10

Cueballdg
Craftsmanship rating - 10
Feel and Playability to ME - 8
Rating - Top 2 of 6
Comments - Felt great in hands but did not like shaft taper

TWOFORPOOL
Craftsmanship: 10
Feel & Playability: 8.75
Overall: 9.375
RANKING: 3rd Place
Excellent leather wrap and craftsmanship. Hard noisy hit but played very well. I didn’t like the hard hit (personal preference) and balance as well but still a very good playing cue, but I would not buy it only because the hard hit and balance is not my preference.

asiasdad
This cue looks like a high school kid made it in wood shop for extra credit.
It may as well have been a McDermott pre-production test case.

HollyWood
Great shaft wood. The texture on the leather wrap is outstanding! I would say the whole cue is made from the same 30inch straight grained piece of wood. Nice fit and finish

John Biddle, Randy Mobley, Dan Whitten, James Roberts, and various other friend's scores (total of 15 people) all averaged together, followed by their various comments
Fit and finish rates a 8.07
Wrap rates a 8.43
Rolls Straight rates a 8.07
Joint rates a 8.25
Balance rates a 7.62
Feel rates a 7.80
Feedback rates a 7.20
Gets Results rates a 7.50
Stiffness rates a 6.67 (10 is maximum stiffness)
Sound of Hit rates a 4.20 (10 is maximum loudness)
Overall Rating is a 7.40
This cue scored the best out of the 6 cues in the "wrap" category.

I don’t like leather
Balance a little too far rear. Sound vibration too low.
Had to try harder for draw and spin shots. Cue is beautiful, I just didn’t like the solidness. A little back heavy.
Nice wrap. Prefer leather. Still slick. Clean. Basic. Nice shaft, reasonable deflection.
Had click and a little too much feedback.
I found the hit to be inconsistent at times, might have been the tip profile. Overall nice feel.
Good hitting stick.
Joint makeup very good, pro taper.
Joint was moderately loose right up to the end, but it was flush and smooth. Wrap seam nearly invisible, ends were flush with wood, very nice leather.
Cue has a small wobble. It has a nice z taper. There's a click sound when hit hard.
Cue weighs 19.25 oz, shaft = 3.375 or 17.53%, butt = 15.875




Cue #2
Cue2.jpg
John Morra and fellow Candian Jarrod Spence joint review
1 Balance of cue was good but felt a little heavy in the joint
2. Looks of the cue were plain but good but dont like black linen
3. Quality of work was fair
4. The feel of the hit was medium and smooth, good tip
5. Taper of the shaft was too thick and butt was a little thick but fair

Melissa Little
Balance was good, looks plain
Quality was better than #1
Taper was longer than #1
Overall was pretty plain

Unknown player at Olathe tournament
This cue had the best hit of the 5 cues reviewed (did not review cue #6)
This cue was tied with #1 for least deflection out of the five cues reviewed (did not review #6)
This cue was the most consistant of the 5 cues reviewed (did not review #6)

Rob Moore from Willard, Mo.
WOW, Great for controlling the cue ball. Seems like a L.D. Shaft

ftgokie
Nice clean simple cue..
It felt good in my hand, balance was real good
Shaft wobbles a little when rolled on edge of the table (shaft was immediately replaced by the cuemaker when he was later notified of the warp).
Has a good hit
Nice smoothe Irish Linen wrap
I rate this cue a 7

BENFICA
Never did submit his review for this cue

Safety
Never did submit his review for this cue

JoeyInCali
Never did submit his review for this cue

Graciocues
Never did submit his review for this cue

Klink
Never did submit his review for this cue

SK Custom Cues
3 stars (on a 4 star scale?)
This cue was built in a superb manner.

ugotactionTX
Overall comfort of feel rates a 9
Balance rates a 10
Weight of cue rates a 10
Feedback rates a 8
Stiffness rates a 10 (with 10 being highest maximum stiffness)
Feel of hit rates a 7
Sound quality rates a 8
Playability rates a 10

Cueballdg
Craftsmanship rating - 4
Feel and Playability - 6
Overall rating - 4
Comments - This cue felt great but the shaft was severely warped.
The feel was excellent but had a difficult time playing with warped shaft (shaft was immediately replaced by the cuemaker when he was later notified of the warp).

TWOFORPOOL
Craftsmanship: 7
Feel & Playability: 7
Overall: 7
RANKING: 5TH Place
Shaft warped, nice finish/wrap, hard hit but ok (shaft was immediately replaced by the cuemaker when he was later notified of the warp).
I would not buy this cue as it is just a regular cue that needs improvement.

asiasdad
This cue looks like a high school kid made it in wood shop for extra credit.
It may as well have been a McDermott pre-production test case.

HollyWood
Tightest grain count, linen wrap is tight. Wood is exceptional Birdseye. This cue plays very well-definitely a cue I would use hustling!!
This cue was tied with cues 5 and 7 as the most liked by my friends.

John Biddle, Randy Mobley, Dan Whitten, James Roberts, and various other friend's scores (total of 15 people) all averaged together, followed by their various comments
Fit and finish rates a 7.67
Wrap rates a 6.50
Rolls Straight rates a 8.67
Joint rates a 7.57
Balance rates a 8.00
Feel rates a 7.93
Feedback rates a 7.35
Gets Results rates a 7.64
Stiffness rates a 7.64 (10 is maximum stiffness)
Sound of Hit rates a 3.33 (10 is maximum loudness)
Overall Rating is a 7.70
This cue scored the second best out of the six cues in the "rolls straight," "balance," "feel," "gets results," and "overall rating" categories.
This cue scored the worst out of the six cues in the "wrap" category.

Better detail needed at joint and wrap ends. Rolls dead straight, great hit. I play with this one, I’d buy it.
Felt like it slightly throws the cue ball on long shots. Otherwise, great cue.
Deflection undesirable. Great feeling cue. Nice finish. High on visible quality, low performance.
I got a little excited over this cue. The only thing I want to know is who and how much?
Good hitting cue.
Loose joint makeup. Very good hit for a light cue. Gradual tapered shaft.
Joint wobble right up to the very end, with quite noticible feel of seam.
Cue was nearly straight, 2nd best.
Pressed linen looked worn but was very comfortable.
Best shaft wood, by far. Long smooth taper.
Cue weighs 19.125 oz, shaft = 3.375 or 17.65%, butt = 15.5




Cue #3
Cue3.jpg
John Morra
1. Balance of cue is good
2. Tip felt very soft
3. Taper was soft on shaft
4. Quality of work was fair

Jarrod Spence
1. Balance felt a little butt heavy but fair
2. I didnt like the looks of it
3. Quality of work looked fair
4. Feel of the cue was between soft and medium, hit good
5. Taper of butt and shaft were good

Melissa Little
This cue was the best all around

Unknown player at Olathe tournament
This was the third best hitting cue of the 5 reviewed cues (did not review #6)

Rob Moore from Willard, Mo.
Plays good but a light hit

ftgokie
Has an ok finish
Cue looks clean, but the finish on the collars and buttcap is kinda rough
Cue has a nice hit, but kindof soft for me
I rate this cue a 6


BENFICA
Never did submit his review for this cue

Safety
Never did submit his review for this cue

JoeyInCali
Never did submit his review for this cue

Graciocues
Never did submit his review for this cue

Klink
Never did submit his review for this cue

SK Custom Cues
3 stars (on a 4 star scale?)
The cues were all built in a superb manner except for this one.
I actually thought that this cue hit pretty dang good, and it hit with the most feedback and tone.

ugotactionTX
Overall comfort of feel rates a 9
Balance rates a 10
Weight of cue rates a 10
Feedback rates a 8
Stiffness rates a 10 (with 10 being highest maximum stiffness)
Feel of hit rates a 7
Sound quality rates a 8
Playability rates a 10

Cueballdg
Craftsmanship - 8
Feel and Playability - 6
Overall rating - Bottom 6 of 6
Comments - This cue's craftsmanship was great but the feel and playability was just not there for ME.

TWOFORPOOL
Craftsmanship: 6
Feel & Playability: 6
Overall: 6
RANKING: 6th Place
Poor finish that is flaking and too soft. Small ding UNDER finish, hit was just ok.
I would not buy this cue as it is just a regular cue that needs improvement.

asiasdad
This cue looks like a high school kid made it in wood shop for extra credit.
It may as well have been a McDermott pre-production test case.

HollyWood
This Birdseye wood is over the top,(staining and sanding) brought out all the eyes. Abalone tip on the G-10. I think the handle is stained rosewood and is beautiful. Long butt cap and joint-reminds me of SW.

John Biddle, Randy Mobley, Dan Whitten, James Roberts, and various other friend's scores (total of 15 people) all averaged together, followed by their various comments
Fit and finish rates a 6.79
Wrap rates a ----
Rolls Straight rates a 6.20
Joint rates a 5.64
Balance rates a 6.42
Feel rates a 6.93
Feedback rates a 6.69
Gets Results rates a 7.21
Stiffness rates a 5.93 (10 is maximum stiffness)
Sound of Hit rates a 3.33 (10 is maximum loudness)
Overall Rating is a 5.20
This cue scored the worst out of the 6 cues in the "joint," "balance," "feel," "feedback," "gets results," and "overall rating" categories.

Warped! Buy a Players.
Only problem was the joint. Made the famous “tink” noise on hard shots. That brought down any bad rating.
Wow. Looks and feels good in the hand. Deflection caused by flimsy shaft. Inconsistent shot feel. Bad rollout on butt caused by terrible weight distribution linearly. Looks great, horrible quality.
Too much flex but OK, Good.
This cue didn’t do much for me except want to look at the others.
Beautiful hitting cue.
Poor joint makeup, flimsy taper.
Loose joint up to the end, very uneven seam.
Several small imperfections in finish, and it felt ever so slightly sticky (not right word but can't think of the right one) none of the other cues had this issue.
Cue has a wobble and the butt end has a weight distribution problem, the weight is not uniformly distributed around the longitudinal center line of the cue.
Shaft has a long slow taper.
Shame on you - follow the guidelines so the cues are compared fairly.
Cue weighs 19.25 oz, shaft = 3.875 or 20.13%, butt = 15.375
 
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Cue #4
Cue4.jpg
John Morra and fellow Candian Jarrod Spence joint review
1. Balance was very well distributed
2. Looks of cue were best of all six cues
3. Quality of work was very good
4. Taper of shaft was a little too thick, butt was perfect
5. Feel of hit was medium but very good

Melissa Little
Ok

Unknown player at Olathe tournament
This was the fourth best hitting cue of the 5 reviewed (did not review cue #6)
I did not like this cue

Rob Moore from Willard, Mo.
Solid but no draw and has high deflection

ftgokie
Nice clean finish, good solid hit
Felt good in my hand, nicely balanced. Irish linen was kinda rough in my hand though, could have been smoother
Shaft was nice and smooth
I give this cue a 7

BENFICA
Never did submit his review for this cue

Safety
Never did submit his review for this cue

JoeyInCali
Never did submit his review for this cue

Graciocues
Never did submit his review for this cue

Klink
Never did submit his review for this cue

SK Custom Cues
4 stars (on a 4 star scale?)
This cue was built in a superb manner.

ugotactionTX
Overall comfort of feel rates a 10
Balance rates a 10
Weight of cue rates a 10
Feedback rates a 7
Stiffness rates a 10 (with 10 being highest maximum stiffness)
Feel of hit rates a 7
Sound quality rates a 7
Playability rates a 10

Cueballdg
Craftsmanship - 7
Feel and Playability - 6
Overall rating - 5 of 6
Comments - Again the craftsmanship was also very good but did not like feel (butt size and shaft taper).

TWOFORPOOL
Craftsmanship: 8
Feel & Playability: 8
Overall: 8
RANKING: 4TH Place
You can feel changes in materials (plastic to wood). Hit was just ok.
I would not buy this cue as it is just a regular cue that needs improvement.

asiasdad
This cue looks like a high school kid made it in wood shop for extra credit.
It may as well have been a McDermott pre-production test case.

HollyWood
2nd tightest grain, I like the dark color. The collars and joints (over sized) needed a little more sanding to fit perfectly. I don't like the squeaking aluminum pin. Has the most popular linen wrap.

John Biddle, Randy Mobley, Dan Whitten, James Roberts, and various other friend's scores (total of 15 people) all averaged together, followed by their various comments
Fit and finish rates a 7.00
Wrap rates a 7.00
Rolls Straight rates a 6.53
Joint rates a 6.79
Balance rates a 7.31
Feel rates a 7.50
Feedback rates a 7.36
Gets Results rates a 7.57
Stiffness rates a 6.50 (10 is maximum stiffness)
Sound of Hit rates a 3.73 (10 is maximum loudness)
Overall Rating is a 6.93
This cue scored the second best out of the 6 cues in the "wrap" category.

Action, wrap, comfort and balance excellent. Warped. Wrap bad; has gaps & ends too high. Joint didn’t match. Finish is good, parts don’t fit.
Shaft was slightly bent. Cue feels skinney. Throws cue ball on long shots.
Doesn’t stand out, but is a good piece of equipment. Average in all visual regards. Good quality cue, nice shaft.
Wrap very coarse.
Great feel and hit.
Joint loose up to very end, with noticeable unevenness.
Unpressed linen looks great, a tad coarse to the touch. Has a slight bump at the seam with the wood.
Noticeable wobble. Z shape taper, with slope change well back by joint.
Cue weighs 18.625 oz, shaft = 3.75 or 20.13%, butt = 14.875




Cue #5
Cue5.jpg
John Morra
1. Balance of cue was fair but heavy at the joint
2. Dont like the looks of the cue
3. Quality of the work was just under fair
4. Feel was medium and smooth hit good
5. Taper of the shaft was too thick in the middle and too thick in the butt

Jarrod Spence
1. Taper was thick and so was butt
2. Tip felt hard
3. Quality of work wasnt good
4. Didnt like the looks of the cue
5. Cue felt very heavy

Melissa Little
Butt was too fat, and not a good taper

Unknown player at Olathe tournament
This was the fifth best hitting cue of the 5 reviewed cues (did not review cue #6)
I did not like this cue

Rob Moore from Willard, Mo.
Plays good, compares to cue #3 but with a harder hit

ftgokie
Great finish, builder took pride in making this cue
Cue has a good hard hit to it
Really good looking cue, super nice shaft......smooth as silk
Handle area was a little big around for my liking, but overall the cue was really good
I give this an 8

BENFICA
Never did submit his review for this cue

Safety
Never did submit his review for this cue

JoeyInCali
Never did submit his review for this cue

Graciocues
Never did submit his review for this cue

Klink
Never did submit his review for this cue

SK Custom Cues
2 stars (on a 4 star scale?)
This cue was built in a superb manner.

ugotactionTX
Overall comfort of feel rates a 10
Balance rates a 10
Weight of cue rates a 10
Feedback rates a 9
Stiffness rates a 10 (with 10 being highest maximum stiffness)
Feel of hit rates a 9
Sound quality rates a 9
Playability rates a 10

Cueballdg
Craftsmanship - 10
Feel and Playability - 9
Overall rating - Top 1 of 6
Comments - I really like the balance of the cue as well as shaft taper and butt size. My favorite cue of the 6.

TWOFORPOOL
Craftsmanship: 10
Feel & Playability: 9
Overall: 9.50
RANKING: 2ND Place
Excellent finish and craftsmanship. Very well balanced and great hit. I really liked this cue and it was a tough decision between this cue and cue 6. I liked the shaft taper on this cue better than 6.
I would buy this cue.

asiasdad
This cue looks like a high school kid made it in wood shop for extra credit.
As far as playability, this cue is a well tuned instrument. extremely well balanced, and had excellent feedback. It played as well as a TAD, better than a SW, and nearly as well as a Lambros. It would make a great chunk of wood to pull out of a case as it does not draw attention to itself in the fact that it looks like just another cheap import cue. That is part of its' appeal to me. I would buy raffle tickets for it.

HollyWood
Stunning Birdseye and purple heart- best player. I must say again all the shafts are $100. Soft hit but made ALL the balls.
This cue was tied with cues 2 and 7 as the most liked by my friends.

John Biddle, Randy Mobley, Dan Whitten, James Roberts, and various other friend's scores (total of 15 people) all averaged together, followed by their various comments
Fit and finish rates a 8.27
Wrap rates a ----
Rolls Straight rates a 9.13
Joint rates a 8.50
Balance rates a 8.31
Feel rates a 8.21
Feedback rates a 7.93
Gets Results rates a 8.00
Stiffness rates a 8.00 (10 is maximum stiffness)
Sound of Hit rates a 2.93 (10 is maximum loudness)
Overall Rating is a 8.36
This cue scored the best out of the 6 cues in the "fit and finish," "rolls straight," "joint," "balance," "feel," "feedback," "gets results (tied with cue #7)," and "overall rating" categories, making it a clean sweep.

Good middle of the road cue
Not a fan of no wrap. Excellent cue.
Front weighted, middle thick. Do not like taper. Reasonable performance, stiff.
Sold.
Love it.
Good feel, butt is clean (not wrapped) solid hitter!
Hope to bid on it.
Great joint makeup.
Joint moderately loose up to the end, but seam was extremely smooth.
This cue was perfectly straight, the only one, though #2 was very close. I was very surprised that so many cues were so noticeably unstraight.
Shaft has a z taper which I like, but the slope change point is a little too far forward which can get in the way during long follow-through.
This cue was a close 2nd choice, I would buy it.
Cue weighs 19.25 oz, shaft = 4.125 or 21.43%, butt = 15.125




Cue #6
Cue6.jpg
John Morra and fellow Candian Jarrod Spence joint review
1. Balance too heavy
2. Shaft and butt too thick
3. Feel of hit medium smooth and too much deflection
4. Dont like looks
5. Quality of work descent

Melissa Little
Butt was too fat, and not a good taper

Unknown player at Olathe tournament
Did not review Cue #6

Rob Moore from Willard, Mo.
Ok, but has a soft hit and no draw

ftgokie
Best overall finish, best looking cue, craftsmanship was the best out of the whole bunch
Had an excellent hit
Butt was a touch too fat for me, shaft was way too big around for me (13.2mm)
Great playing cue though
I rate this a 9

BENFICA
Never did submit his review for this cue

Safety
Never did submit his review for this cue

JoeyInCali
Never did submit his review for this cue

Graciocues
Never did submit his review for this cue

Klink
Never did submit his review for this cue

SK Custom Cues
4 stars (on a 4 star scale?)
This cue was built in a superb manner.
This cue was tied with cue #1 for the most solid hit.

ugotactionTX
Overall comfort of feel rates a 10
Balance rates a 10
Weight of cue rates a 10
Feedback rates a 8
Stiffness rates a 10 (with 10 being highest maximum stiffness)
Feel of hit rates a 8
Sound quality rates a 9
Playability rates a 10

Cueballdg
Craftsmanship - 10
Feel and Playability - 9
Overall rating - Top 3 of 6
Comments - I liked the hit of this cue but the butt size was to large for me.
The shaft taper between cue 5 and cue 6 were fantastic.

TWOFORPOOL
Craftsmanship: 10
Feel & Playability: 9.5
Overall: 9.75
RANKING: 1ST Place
Excellent finish and craftsmanship. Very well balanced and great hit. I really liked this cue also. Although the shaft taper was stiffer it seemed to be a little more efficient and a hair more solid than cue 5. Again it was a tough decision between this cue and cue 5 as to which cue was best.
I would buy this cue.

asiasdad
This cue looks like a high school kid made it in wood shop for extra credit.
This cue has too much junk in the trunk.

HollyWood
Unique pin, butt cap work. Stunning Birdseye and purple heart. This shaft was different taper than the others, it was thicker shaft too. SWEET

John Biddle, Randy Mobley, Dan Whitten, James Roberts, and various other friend's scores (total of 15 people) all averaged together, followed by their various comments
Fit and finish rates a 8.20
Wrap rates a ----
Rolls Straight rates a 8.40
Joint rates a 8.36
Balance rates a 7.15
Feel rates a 7.67
Feedback rates a 7.73
Gets Results rates a 7.43
Stiffness rates a 7.79 (10 is maximum stiffness)
Sound of Hit rates a 3.60 (10 is maximum loudness)
Overall Rating is a 7.57
This cue scored the second best out of the 6 cues in the "fit and finish," "joint," and "feedback" categories.

Balance off. Powering the cue comes up short.
Not a fan of no wrap, but this was my favorite cue because of a very solid hit.
Feels great, one of the top 3. High deflection. Thick taper ruined it. Overall nice cue.
Seemed too heavy in back.
Taper is too thick.
Great stick! Loved it!
Hard tip will make a great break cue.
Good feel, very solid and basic. Hits good!
Great taper and cue.
Flat tip. Good joint makeup, even taper.
Joint tight all the way, seam was very smooth.
This cue is slightly off being straight.
Shaft has a long slow taper.
I would buy this cue if the price was not exorbitant.
Cue weighs 19 oz, shaft = 4.25 or 22.37%, butt = 14.75
 
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Only two more evaluations today. Might have had something to do with my One Pocket League match running to 4.5 hours race to 3. (Alas, I lost 2-3)

Anyway, I've updated the average scores for all cues. The numbers represent the averages for a total so far of 7 reviews. The new results show cue #5 running away with the accolades, though much more voting to come on Monday.

There are some text comments that I'll post on Tuesday when all reviews are completed.

All categories are rated on a 1 - 10 scale, with 1=POOR and 10=PERFECT, except for Stiffness (1=Flimsy & 10=Solid) and Sound of Hit (1=Loud & 10=Soft).

I've also highlighted the highest scores in each category in Blue and the lowest in Red. Since the numbers for the stiffness & sound categories don't represent quality, but rather characteristics, no best and worst are highlighted.

------------------- #1 ----#2 -----#3 ----#4 -----#5 ----#6 ----#7
Fit & Finish ----- 8.43 -- 7.57 -- 6.17 -- 6.57 -- 8.71 --8.29 -- 7.14
Wrap ----------- 8.33 -- 7.00 ----------- 5.67
Rolls Straight -- 7.86 -- 8.43 -- 6.43 -- 6.43 -- 9.00 -- 8.29 -- 6.00
Joint ------------ 8.00 -- 7.67 -- 5.17 -- 5.83 -- 8.40 -- 8.17 -- 7.20
Balance -------- 7.40 -- 8.00 -- 6.20 -- 6.80 -- 8.75 -- 7.80 -- 7.00
Feel ------------ 7.14 -- 8.00 -- 6.00 -- 6.83 -- 8.40 -- 7.71 -- 7.50
Feedback ------ 7.00 -- 7.40 -- 5.40 -- 6.67 -- 8.20 -- 7.71 -- 7.17
Gets Results --- 7.00 -- 7.83 -- 6.17 -- 6.17 -- 8.20 -- 6.83 -- 7.50

Stiffness ------- 6.43 -- 7.17 -- 5.33 -- 5.67 -- 7.80 -- 7.17 -- 8.00
Sound of Hit -- 5.57 -- 7.14 -- 6.86 -- 6.00 --- 6.67 -- 6.71 -- 5.29

Overall Rating - 7.29 -- 7.71 -- 5.43 -- 6.00 -- 8.80 -- 7.33 -- 6.83

Tomorrow I'm having a personal (non-pool) day and on Monday I'll be at Park Place Billiards as well as in Tampa with Beware of Dawg and his crew (sorry, don't remember the name of the hall).[/QUOTE]
 
John, Poolplaya9....Thanks guys for all your help and input...Outstanding guys!

Shawn
 
I tested the cues yesterday night with a few of my friends.

suprised in alot of regards.

not sure if my opinions with prove to give any bias towards others who have yet to see them/use them... so I wont say tooo much and honestly IM not sure I remeber excatly what I said about a few of them as I wrote down feedback on sheets and moved onto the next cue... I will say that after my opinions had a bit of a chance to sink in and harden... It might be a benefit to try them all again (which I may) and really hammer down on what I think, I thought, of thinking about my thoughts on each cue. lol.

WIth so many people involved in playing with and evaluating these cues and many of the opinions being very subjective to individual preference... Im not sure the value in giving my detailed opinions would carry much weight, except of course to me if I were interested in getting a cue made for me...

There were two cues that had glaring issues which I can say I would be upset to get them had I ordered one as a custom, and there were 2 which stood out to me... that I would honestly be very happy/enthusiastic about... then a few that I would be satisfied/content with...
 
Last edited:
Six more evaluations added. Two more to go tomorrow and I'll ship them on to Bamacues.

I've updated the average scores for all cues. The numbers represent the averages for a total so far of 13 reviews. The new results still show cue #5 running away with every category it could win, but not by as much. The cue with the lowest score did change in 2 categories.

I'll post the text comments shortly after this post.

All categories are rated on a 1 - 10 scale, with 1=POOR and 10=PERFECT, except for Stiffness (1=Flimsy & 10=Solid) and Sound of Hit (1=Loud & 10=Soft).

I've also highlighted the highest scores in each category in Blue and the lowest in Red. Since the numbers for the stiffness & sound categories don't represent quality, but rather characteristics, no best and worst are highlighted.

------------------- #1 ----#2 -----#3 ----#4 -----#5 ----#6 ----#7
Fit & Finish ----- 8.08 -- 7.54 -- 7.00 -- 6.92 -- 8.15 --8.00 -- 6.08
Wrap ----------- 8.25 -- 6.33 ----------- 6.83
Rolls Straight -- 8.15 -- 8.69 -- 6.54 -- 6.69 -- 9.08 -- 8.31 -- 5.67
Joint ------------ 8.25 -- 7.83 -- 5.75 -- 6.83 -- 8.58 -- 8.17 -- 6.30
Balance -------- 7.73 -- 8.20 -- 6.60 -- 7.09 -- 8.27 -- 6.73 -- 7.10
Feel ------------ 7.77 -- 8.00 -- 6.67 -- 7.33 -- 8.08 -- 7.46 -- 7.73
Feedback ------ 7.08 -- 7.27 -- 6.36 -- 7.25 -- 7.75 -- 7.54 -- 7.36
Gets Results --- 7.42 -- 7.67 -- 7.00 -- 7.42 -- 7.92 -- 7.17 -- 7.82

Stiffness ------- 6.46 -- 7.58 -- 5.50 -- 6.33 -- 8.00 -- 7.75 -- 8.18
Sound of Hit -- 5.69 -- 6.69 -- 6.85 -- 6.08 --- 6.92 -- 6.46 -- 5.17

Overall Rating - 7.46 -- 7.73 -- 5.62 -- 6.92 -- 8.33 -- 7.33 -- 7.00

Tomorrow I'm having one more friend do an eval, and I'll put in my own numbers as well.

Bamacues, if you want the eval sheet I used, send me your email in a PM. It's a Word doc. I have no questions in the doc about taper or shaft quality, thinking they might lengthen the form too much, but it may have been better to include them. At least one eval may have changed markedly because the person hated a particular taper. I wonder if he'd had an opportunity to rate the taper specifically if he might have liked the other features more?
 
Text Comments

Here are the text comments I collected so far:

Cue #1
I don’t like leather
Balance a little too far rear. Sound vibration too low.
Had to try harder for draw and spin shots. Cue is beautiful, I just didn’t like the solidness. A little back heavy.
Nice wrap. Prefer leather. Still slick. Clean. Basic. Nice shaft, reasonable deflection.
Had click and a little too much feedback.
I found the hit to be inconsistent at times, might have been the tip profile. Overall nice feel.
Good hitting stick.
Joint makeup very good, pro taper.

Cue #2
Better detail needed at joint and wrap ends. Rolls dead straight, great hit. I play with this one, I’d buy it.
Felt like it slightly throws the cue ball on long shots. Otherwise, great cue.
Deflection undesirable. Great feeling cue. Nice finish. High on visible quality, low performance.
I got a little excited over this cue. The only thing I want to know is who and how much?
Good hitting cue.
Loose joint makeup. Very good hit for a light cue. Gradual tapered shaft.

Cue #3
Warped! Buy a Players.
Only problem was the joint. Made the famous “tink” noise on hard shots. That brought down any bad rating.
Wow. Looks and feels good in the hand. Deflection caused by flimsy shaft. Inconsistent shot feel. Bad rollout on butt caused by terrible weight distribution linearly. Looks great, horrible quality.
Too much flex but OK, Good.
This cue didn’t do much for me except want to look at the others.
Beautiful hitting cue.
Poor joint makeup, flimsy taper.

Cue #4
Action, wrap, comfort and balance excellent. Warped. Wrap bad; has gaps & ends too high. Joint didn’t match. Finish is good, parts don’t fit.
Shaft was slightly bent. Cue feels skinney. Throws cue ball on long shots.
Doesn’t stand out, but is a good piece of equipment. Average in all visual regards. Good quality cue, nice shaft.
Wrap very coarse.
Great feel and hit.

Cue #5
Good middle of the road cue
Not a fan of no wrap. Excellent cue.
Front weighted, middle thick. Do not like taper. Reasonable performance, stiff.
Sold.
Love it.
Good feel, butt is clean (not wrapped) solid hitter!
Hope to bid on it.
Great joint makeup.

Cue #6
Balance off. Powering the cue comes up short.
Not a fan of no wrap, but this was my favorite cue because of a very solid hit.
Feels great, one of the top 3. High deflection. Thick taper ruined it. Overall nice cue.
Seemed too heavy in back.
Taper is too thick.
Great stick! Loved it!
Hard tip will make a great break cue.
Good feel, very solid and basic. Hits good!
Great taper and cue.
Flat tip. Good joint makeup, even taper.

Cue #7
Warped. Great feel & feedback. A touch too light in front. Fix it and I’d buy it.
Cue hit excellent. Shaft felt a little skinnier than what I’m used to. Couldn’t get used to that, but really like the feel of the cue.
Surprisingly best taper, great feel.Quality of wood low, shaft great. Looks crap, plays well. Great tool, very “sneaky”.
Good solid cue.
Great hit sneaky pete.
Bad warp, otherwise a solid player.
 
Great review Mr. Biddle!

BamaCues....I'm still eager to review these cues, when you get them. Maybe we could meet-up in Frederick or Hagerstown, whichever is more convenient for you. I might try to shoot and post some videos of each cue.

Let me know.

Cheers,
Skippy
 
Thanks John for all you have done for this build off! And thanks Dawg...Id like to hear your opinions if I can...
 
ScottR said:
The reviews are all over the place. Go figure.

Scott
Click to expand...

I agree.....goes to show you that 2 people are not the same...what I might like, you might hate...and vice versa..but yea...your absolutely correct. This was just a test bed for what we will do in the next build off. I learned alot by doing this 1st build off!

The next build off will be alot different. I will have the cues, I will go to at least 4 major billiards events and I will let people test the cues out. I will not be shipping them like we did in this one...I feel it would be better. The next cues for the build off will be fancy cues with inlays....not sure of a price range for the cues to be worth..I am figuring maybe having a cuemaker submit a cue that he would sell for approx 3000.00. The only thing about the next build off is, I will personally buy each cue and at the end, its my decision to sell the cues or not. I would like to get TAR involved in on this as well, and I would pay Justin to do a video documentary of each cue during the building process and interview each cuemaker..I just need to get with Justin on this though to see if he is willing...Nothing is set in stone just yet, will know more after this buildoff is complete..
 
I have just been informed that the build-off cues are heading my way.

I will get some folks set up to test-drive these bad boys and let you know what they say.

Whoever gets them after me, please contact me via PM with your shipping info. Okie, who should that be?

Joe
 
Two more evaluations added, including my own.

I've shipped them (6:00 PM today) to Bamacues via UPS.
Tracking # is 1zA753W04255405310.
With $3,000 in insurance included, shipping came to $76.42.

This was double what I'd been told; the insurance was $41 all by itself.

I've updated the average scores for all cues. The numbers represent the averages for a total of 15 reviews. The new results still show cue #5 in 1st for every category it could win, though Cue #7 tied for 1st in Gets Desired Results.

Text comments follow directly after this table.

All categories are rated on a 1 - 10 scale, with 1=POOR and 10=PERFECT, except for Stiffness (1=Flimsy & 10=Solid) and Sound of Hit (1=Loud & 10=Soft).

I've also highlighted the highest scores in each category in Blue, Second place in Light Blue, and the lowest in Red. Since the numbers for the stiffness & sound categories don't represent quality, but rather characteristics, no best and worst are highlighted.

------------------- #1 ----#2 -----#3 ----#4 -----#5 ----#6 ----#7
Fit & Finish ----- 8.07 -- 7.67 -- 6.79 -- 7.00 -- 8.27 --8.20 -- 6.07
Wrap ----------- 8.43 -- 6.50 ----------- 7.00
Rolls Straight -- 8.07 -- 8.67 -- 6.20 -- 6.53 -- 9.13 -- 8.40 -- 5.36
Joint ------------ 8.25 -- 7.57 -- 5.64 -- 6.79 -- 8.50 -- 8.36 -- 5.83
Balance -------- 7.62 -- 8.00 -- 6.42 -- 7.31 -- 8.31 -- 7.15 -- 6.67
Feel ------------ 7.80 -- 7.93 -- 6.93 -- 7.50 -- 8.21 -- 7.67 -- 7.92
Feedback ------ 7.20 -- 7.35 -- 6.69 -- 7.36 -- 7.93 -- 7.73 -- 7.46
Gets Results --- 7.50 -- 7.64 -- 7.21 -- 7.57 -- 8.00 -- 7.43 -- 8.00

Stiffness ------- 6.67 -- 7.64 -- 5.93 -- 6.50 -- 8.00 -- 7.79 -- 8.08
Sound of Hit -- 5.80 -- 6.67 -- 6.67 -- 6.27 --- 7.07 -- 6.40 -- 5.14

Overall Rating - 7.40 -- 7.70 -- 5.20 -- 6.93 -- 8.36 -- 7.57 -- 7.00

Today's text comments:

Cue #1
Joint was moderately loose right up to the end, but it was flush and smooth. Wrap seam nearly invisible, ends were flush with wood, very nice leather.
Cue has a small wobble. It has a nice z taper. There's a click sound when hit hard.
Cue weighs 19.25 oz, shaft = 3.375 or 17.53%, butt = 15.875

Cue #2
Joint wobble right up to the very end, with quite noticible feel of seam.
Cue was nearly straight, 2nd best.
Pressed linen looked worn but was very comfortable.
Best shaft wood, by far. Long smooth taper.
Cue weighs 19.125 oz, shaft = 3.375 or 17.65%, butt = 15.5

Cue #3
Loose joint up to the end, very uneven seam.
Several small imperfections in finish, and it felt ever so slightly sticky (not right word but can't think of the right one) none of the other cues had this issue.
Cue has a wobble and the butt end has a weight distribution problem, the weight is not uniformly distributed around the longitudinal center line of the cue.
Shaft has a long slow taper.
Shame on you - follow the guidelines so the cues are compared fairly.
Cue weighs 19.25 oz, shaft = 3.875 or 20.13%, butt = 15.375

Cue #4
Joint loose up to very end, with noticeable unevenness.
Unpressed linen looks great, a tad coarse to the touch. Has a slight bump at the seam with the wood.
Noticeable wobble. Z shape taper, with slope change well back by joint.
Cue weighs 18.625 oz, shaft = 3.75 or 20.13%, butt = 14.875

Cue #5
Joint moderately loose up to the end, but seam was extremely smooth.
This cue was perfectly straight, the only one, though #2 was very close. I was very surprised that so many cues were so noticeably unstraight.
Shaft has a z taper which I like, but the slope change point is a little too far forward which can get in the way during long follow-through.
This cue was a close 2nd choice, I would buy it.
Cue weighs 19.25 oz, shaft = 4.125 or 21.43%, butt = 15.125

Cue #6
Joint tight all the way, seam was very smooth.
This cue is slightly off being straight.
Shaft has a long slow taper.
I would buy this cue if the price was not exorbitant.
Cue weighs 19 oz, shaft = 4.25 or 22.37%, butt = 14.75

Cue #7
Joint extremely loose up to the end, with a noticeable seam. I really didn't like the gritty feel of the pin as it screwed in.
There was very minor chipping of finish at joint and the points were poor.
Cue has a bad wobble. Shaft has a z taper with the slope change point well back toward the joint.
The cosmetic technical deficiencies don't seem to affect the good play of this cue.
Cue weighs 19.875 oz, shaft = 3.375 or 16.98%, butt = 16.5
 
Additional Comments

First I want to thank FTGOKIE for dreaming this up, following through on his idea and making it happen. It couldn't have been easy getting busy cuemakers to pony up a free cue, but Shawn did it. I had a blast doing this and am thankful I got to join in. Kudos my friend.

Second, thanks to the anonymous cuemakers who had the balls to have their work publicly reviewed by total strangers. I wish all of you a prosperous 2010 and beyond.

Third, thanks to John Barton, whose gift of a custom case made shipping safely relatively easy. Very generous, very appreciated. May your 2010 be prosperous indeed.

Fourth, thanks to all those participants who delivered on their commitments; reviewing the cues and making them available to others to do the same. It was great reading all these reviews. I hope you all had as much fun as I did.

Last, shame on those participants who did not post any review information. It was a priveledge to participate in this one of a kind event, and you didn't uphold your end of the bargain. I hope you're not as selfish in the other areas of your life. Boo, Hiss.

On the one hand I'm sorry I won't get to participate in Build-off round 2. It would have really been something to get to spend some quality time with true works of art from fine cuemakers. On the other hand I wouldn't want to pay the insurance on the shipping for $10,000+ worth of cues ($150 or more).
 
Last edited:
You. Are. The. Man.

It is unbelievable that you put in the time to do this. Big time rep for you, John.

John Biddle said:
Two more evaluations added, including my own.

I've shipped them (6:00 PM today) to Bamacues via UPS.
Tracking # is 1zA753W04255405310.
With $3,000 in insurance included, shipping came to $76.42.

This was double what I'd been told; the insurance was $41 all by itself.

I've updated the average scores for all cues. The numbers represent the averages for a total of 15 reviews. The new results still show cue #5 in 1st for every category it could win, though Cue #7 tied for 1st in Gets Desired Results.

Text comments follow directly after this table.

All categories are rated on a 1 - 10 scale, with 1=POOR and 10=PERFECT, except for Stiffness (1=Flimsy & 10=Solid) and Sound of Hit (1=Loud & 10=Soft).

I've also highlighted the highest scores in each category in Blue, Second place in Light Blue, and the lowest in Red. Since the numbers for the stiffness & sound categories don't represent quality, but rather characteristics, no best and worst are highlighted.

------------------- #1 ----#2 -----#3 ----#4 -----#5 ----#6 ----#7
Fit & Finish ----- 8.07 -- 7.67 -- 6.79 -- 7.00 -- 8.27 --8.20 -- 6.07
Wrap ----------- 8.43 -- 6.50 ----------- 7.00
Rolls Straight -- 8.07 -- 8.67 -- 6.20 -- 6.53 -- 9.13 -- 8.40 -- 5.36
Joint ------------ 8.25 -- 7.57 -- 5.64 -- 6.79 -- 8.50 -- 8.36 -- 5.83
Balance -------- 7.62 -- 8.00 -- 6.42 -- 7.31 -- 8.31 -- 7.15 -- 6.67
Feel ------------ 7.80 -- 7.93 -- 6.93 -- 7.50 -- 8.21 -- 7.67 -- 7.92
Feedback ------ 7.20 -- 7.35 -- 6.69 -- 7.36 -- 7.93 -- 7.73 -- 7.46
Gets Results --- 7.50 -- 7.64 -- 7.21 -- 7.57 -- 8.00 -- 7.43 -- 8.00

Stiffness ------- 6.67 -- 7.64 -- 5.93 -- 6.50 -- 8.00 -- 7.79 -- 8.08
Sound of Hit -- 5.80 -- 6.67 -- 6.67 -- 6.27 --- 7.07 -- 6.40 -- 5.14

Overall Rating - 7.40 -- 7.70 -- 5.20 -- 6.93 -- 8.36 -- 7.57 -- 7.00

Today's text comments:

Cue #1
Joint was moderately loose right up to the end, but it was flush and smooth. Wrap seam nearly invisible, ends were flush with wood, very nice leather.
Cue has a small wobble. It has a nice z taper. There's a click sound when hit hard.
Cue weighs 19.25 oz, shaft = 3.375 or 17.53%, butt = 15.875

Cue #2
Joint wobble right up to the very end, with quite noticible feel of seam.
Cue was nearly straight, 2nd best.
Pressed linen looked worn but was very comfortable.
Best shaft wood, by far. Long smooth taper.
Cue weighs 19.125 oz, shaft = 3.375 or 17.65%, butt = 15.5

Cue #3
Loose joint up to the end, very uneven seam.
Several small imperfections in finish, and it felt ever so slightly sticky (not right word but can't think of the right one) none of the other cues had this issue.
Cue has a wobble and the butt end has a weight distribution problem, the weight is not uniformly distributed around the longitudinal center line of the cue.
Shaft has a long slow taper.
Shame on you - follow the guidelines so the cues are compared fairly.
Cue weighs 19.25 oz, shaft = 3.875 or 20.13%, butt = 15.375

Cue #4
Joint loose up to very end, with noticeable unevenness.
Unpressed linen looks great, a tad coarse to the touch. Has a slight bump at the seam with the wood.
Noticeable wobble. Z shape taper, with slope change well back by joint.
Cue weighs 18.625 oz, shaft = 3.75 or 20.13%, butt = 14.875

Cue #5
Joint moderately loose up to the end, but seam was extremely smooth.
This cue was perfectly straight, the only one, though #2 was very close. I was very surprised that so many cues were so noticeably unstraight.
Shaft has a z taper which I like, but the slope change point is a little too far forward which can get in the way during long follow-through.
This cue was a close 2nd choice, I would buy it.
Cue weighs 19.25 oz, shaft = 4.125 or 21.43%, butt = 15.125

Cue #6
Joint tight all the way, seam was very smooth.
This cue is slightly off being straight.
Shaft has a long slow taper.
I would buy this cue if the price was not exorbitant.
Cue weighs 19 oz, shaft = 4.25 or 22.37%, butt = 14.75

Cue #7
Joint extremely loose up to the end, with a noticeable seam. I really didn't like the gritty feel of the pin as it screwed in.
There was very minor chipping of finish at joint and the points were poor.
Cue has a bad wobble. Shaft has a z taper with the slope change point well back toward the joint.
The cosmetic technical deficiencies don't seem to affect the good play of this cue.
Cue weighs 19.875 oz, shaft = 3.375 or 16.98%, butt = 16.5
Click to expand...
 
John Biddle said:
First I want to thank FTGOKIE for dreaming this up, following through on his idea and making it happen. It couldn't have been easy getting busy cuemakers to pony up a free cue, but Shawn did it. I had a blast doing this and am thankful I got to join in. Kudos my friend.

Second, thanks to the anonymous cuemakers who had the balls to have their work publicly reviewed by total strangers. I wish all of you a prosperous 2010 and beyond.

Third, thanks to John Barton, whose gift of a custom case made shipping safely relatively easy. Very generous, very appreciated. May your 2010 be prosperous indeed.

Fourth, thanks to all those participants who delivered on their commitments; reviewing the cues and making them available to others to do the same. It was great reading all these reviews. I hope you all had as much fun as I did.

Last, shame on those participants who did not post any review information. It was a priveledge to participate in this one of a kind event, and you didn't uphold your end of the bargain. I hope you're not as selfish in the other areas of your life. Boo, Hiss.

On the one hand I'm sorry I won't get to participate in Build-off round 2. It would have really been something to get to spend some quality time with true works of art from fine cuemakers. On the other hand I wouldn't want to pay the insurance on the shipping for $10,000+ worth of cues ($150 or more).
Click to expand...

John, the next build off's cues will not be shipped to anyone. I will go to at least 4 major pool events...I will try and hit east and west coast...Vally Forge, Derby City and at least 1 event in Las Vegas and Reno. So its possible I will be in your area and you can test drive them.

Also, I insured the cues to 3000.00 and it cost me 53.53 to ship them, so I dont know why it cost you more than that. I went to a Staples to ship them.

Thank you, you have been a great help in providing feedback for the cues..When I get the cues back, I will do a thorough feedback and have pics of how the cues looked after their travels.
 
Bamacues said:
I have just been informed that the build-off cues are heading my way.

I will get some folks set up to test-drive these bad boys and let you know what they say.

Whoever gets them after me, please contact me via PM with your shipping info. Okie, who should that be?

Joe
Click to expand...

Joe, here is the next 2 in line

hellfish - Syracuse, NY

a9ballbr8k - Rochester NY

I will send them a message to let them know to be ready

Shawn
 
I put everybody's feedback and comments to date all together in the following three posts so that it is easy to compare what all of the different reviewers had to say about each cue.

The six cues!
BuildOff001.jpg




Cue #1
Cue1.jpg
John Morra and fellow Candian Jarrod Spence joint review
1. Balance of cue was very evenly distributed
2. The looks of the cue were simple but good enough
3. The quality of the work was very good considering how well it hit
4. The feel of the hit was soft and smooth, the tip felt good
5. The taper of the shaft was very good and the butt as well
6. Was very well balanced
7. Has a really smooth hit to it

Melissa Little
Balance good, looks alright.
Quality was plain had a soft hit and the taper was too fat.
Cue was ok

Unknown player at Olathe tournament
This cue had the second best hit of the 5 cues reviewed (did not review cue #6)
This cue was tied with #2 for least deflection

Rob Moore from Willard, Mo.
Solid but no draw

ftgokie
Cue looks good, it is plain and simple
The leather wrap is finished nicely, the seam is almost unnoticable
Cue hits good, has a nice hit to it
My confidence is high with this cue
I personally did not like the way the wrap felt in my hand, it felt cheap
Overall the cue is a really nice player, I rate this cue an 8

BENFICA
Never did submit his review for this cue

Safety
Never did submit his review for this cue

JoeyInCali
This cue and cue #7 were the best hitting cues.

Graciocues
Never did submit his review for this cue

Klink
Never did submit his review for this cue

SK Custom Cues
4 stars (on a 4 star scale?)
This cue was built in a superb manner.
This cue was tied with cue #6 for the most solid hit.

ugotactionTX
Overall comfort of feel rates a 9
Balance rates a 10
Weight of cue rates a 10
Feedback rates a 7
Stiffness rates a 10 (with 10 being highest maximum stiffness)
Feel of hit rates a 6
Sound quality rates a 8
Playability rates a 10

Cueballdg
Craftsmanship rating - 10
Feel and Playability to ME - 8
Rating - Top 2 of 6
Comments - Felt great in hands but did not like shaft taper

TWOFORPOOL
Craftsmanship: 10
Feel & Playability: 8.75
Overall: 9.375
RANKING: 3rd Place
Excellent leather wrap and craftsmanship. Hard noisy hit but played very well. I didn’t like the hard hit (personal preference) and balance as well but still a very good playing cue, but I would not buy it only because the hard hit and balance is not my preference.

asiasdad
This cue looks like a high school kid made it in wood shop for extra credit.
It may as well have been a McDermott pre-production test case.

HollyWood
Great shaft wood. The texture on the leather wrap is outstanding! I would say the whole cue is made from the same 30inch straight grained piece of wood. Nice fit and finish

John Biddle, Randy Mobley, Dan Whitten, James Roberts, and various other friend's scores (total of 15 people) all averaged together, followed by their various comments
Fit and finish rates a 8.07
Wrap rates a 8.43
Rolls Straight rates a 8.07
Joint rates a 8.25
Balance rates a 7.62
Feel rates a 7.80
Feedback rates a 7.20
Gets Results rates a 7.50
Stiffness rates a 6.67 (10 is maximum stiffness)
Sound of Hit rates a 4.20 (10 is maximum loudness)
Overall Rating is a 7.40
This cue scored the best out of the 6 cues in the "wrap" category.

I don’t like leather
Balance a little too far rear. Sound vibration too low.
Had to try harder for draw and spin shots. Cue is beautiful, I just didn’t like the solidness. A little back heavy.
Nice wrap. Prefer leather. Still slick. Clean. Basic. Nice shaft, reasonable deflection.
Had click and a little too much feedback.
I found the hit to be inconsistent at times, might have been the tip profile. Overall nice feel.
Good hitting stick.
Joint makeup very good, pro taper.
Joint was moderately loose right up to the end, but it was flush and smooth. Wrap seam nearly invisible, ends were flush with wood, very nice leather.
Cue has a small wobble. It has a nice z taper. There's a click sound when hit hard.
Cue weighs 19.25 oz, shaft = 3.375 or 17.53%, butt = 15.875




Cue #2
Cue2.jpg
John Morra and fellow Candian Jarrod Spence joint review
1 Balance of cue was good but felt a little heavy in the joint
2. Looks of the cue were plain but good but dont like black linen
3. Quality of work was fair
4. The feel of the hit was medium and smooth, good tip
5. Taper of the shaft was too thick and butt was a little thick but fair

Melissa Little
Balance was good, looks plain
Quality was better than #1
Taper was longer than #1
Overall was pretty plain

Unknown player at Olathe tournament
This cue had the best hit of the 5 cues reviewed (did not review cue #6)
This cue was tied with #1 for least deflection out of the five cues reviewed (did not review #6)
This cue was the most consistant of the 5 cues reviewed (did not review #6)

Rob Moore from Willard, Mo.
WOW, Great for controlling the cue ball. Seems like a L.D. Shaft

ftgokie
Nice clean simple cue..
It felt good in my hand, balance was real good
Shaft wobbles a little when rolled on edge of the table (shaft was immediately replaced by the cuemaker when he was later notified of the warp).
Has a good hit
Nice smoothe Irish Linen wrap
I rate this cue a 7

BENFICA
Never did submit his review for this cue

Safety
Never did submit his review for this cue

JoeyInCali
Never did submit his review for this cue

Graciocues
Never did submit his review for this cue

Klink
Never did submit his review for this cue

SK Custom Cues
3 stars (on a 4 star scale?)
This cue was built in a superb manner.

ugotactionTX
Overall comfort of feel rates a 9
Balance rates a 10
Weight of cue rates a 10
Feedback rates a 8
Stiffness rates a 10 (with 10 being highest maximum stiffness)
Feel of hit rates a 7
Sound quality rates a 8
Playability rates a 10

Cueballdg
Craftsmanship rating - 4
Feel and Playability - 6
Overall rating - 4
Comments - This cue felt great but the shaft was severely warped.
The feel was excellent but had a difficult time playing with warped shaft (shaft was immediately replaced by the cuemaker when he was later notified of the warp).

TWOFORPOOL
Craftsmanship: 7
Feel & Playability: 7
Overall: 7
RANKING: 5TH Place
Shaft warped, nice finish/wrap, hard hit but ok (shaft was immediately replaced by the cuemaker when he was later notified of the warp).
I would not buy this cue as it is just a regular cue that needs improvement.

asiasdad
This cue looks like a high school kid made it in wood shop for extra credit.
It may as well have been a McDermott pre-production test case.

HollyWood
Tightest grain count, linen wrap is tight. Wood is exceptional Birdseye. This cue plays very well-definitely a cue I would use hustling!!
This cue was tied with cues 5 and 7 as the most liked by my friends.

John Biddle, Randy Mobley, Dan Whitten, James Roberts, and various other friend's scores (total of 15 people) all averaged together, followed by their various comments
Fit and finish rates a 7.67
Wrap rates a 6.50
Rolls Straight rates a 8.67
Joint rates a 7.57
Balance rates a 8.00
Feel rates a 7.93
Feedback rates a 7.35
Gets Results rates a 7.64
Stiffness rates a 7.64 (10 is maximum stiffness)
Sound of Hit rates a 3.33 (10 is maximum loudness)
Overall Rating is a 7.70
This cue scored the second best out of the six cues in the "rolls straight," "balance," "feel," "gets results," and "overall rating" categories.
This cue scored the worst out of the six cues in the "wrap" category.

Better detail needed at joint and wrap ends. Rolls dead straight, great hit. I play with this one, I’d buy it.
Felt like it slightly throws the cue ball on long shots. Otherwise, great cue.
Deflection undesirable. Great feeling cue. Nice finish. High on visible quality, low performance.
I got a little excited over this cue. The only thing I want to know is who and how much?
Good hitting cue.
Loose joint makeup. Very good hit for a light cue. Gradual tapered shaft.
Joint wobble right up to the very end, with quite noticible feel of seam.
Cue was nearly straight, 2nd best.
Pressed linen looked worn but was very comfortable.
Best shaft wood, by far. Long smooth taper.
Cue weighs 19.125 oz, shaft = 3.375 or 17.65%, butt = 15.5




Cue #3
Cue3.jpg
John Morra
1. Balance of cue is good
2. Tip felt very soft
3. Taper was soft on shaft
4. Quality of work was fair

Jarrod Spence
1. Balance felt a little butt heavy but fair
2. I didnt like the looks of it
3. Quality of work looked fair
4. Feel of the cue was between soft and medium, hit good
5. Taper of butt and shaft were good

Melissa Little
This cue was the best all around

Unknown player at Olathe tournament
This was the third best hitting cue of the 5 reviewed cues (did not review #6)

Rob Moore from Willard, Mo.
Plays good but a light hit

ftgokie
Has an ok finish
Cue looks clean, but the finish on the collars and buttcap is kinda rough
Cue has a nice hit, but kindof soft for me
I rate this cue a 6


BENFICA
Never did submit his review for this cue

Safety
Never did submit his review for this cue

JoeyInCali
Never did submit his review for this cue

Graciocues
Never did submit his review for this cue

Klink
Never did submit his review for this cue

SK Custom Cues
3 stars (on a 4 star scale?)
The cues were all built in a superb manner except for this one.
I actually thought that this cue hit pretty dang good, and it hit with the most feedback and tone.

ugotactionTX
Overall comfort of feel rates a 9
Balance rates a 10
Weight of cue rates a 10
Feedback rates a 8
Stiffness rates a 10 (with 10 being highest maximum stiffness)
Feel of hit rates a 7
Sound quality rates a 8
Playability rates a 10

Cueballdg
Craftsmanship - 8
Feel and Playability - 6
Overall rating - Bottom 6 of 6
Comments - This cue's craftsmanship was great but the feel and playability was just not there for ME.

TWOFORPOOL
Craftsmanship: 6
Feel & Playability: 6
Overall: 6
RANKING: 6th Place
Poor finish that is flaking and too soft. Small ding UNDER finish, hit was just ok.
I would not buy this cue as it is just a regular cue that needs improvement.

asiasdad
This cue looks like a high school kid made it in wood shop for extra credit.
It may as well have been a McDermott pre-production test case.

HollyWood
This Birdseye wood is over the top,(staining and sanding) brought out all the eyes. Abalone tip on the G-10. I think the handle is stained rosewood and is beautiful. Long butt cap and joint-reminds me of SW.

John Biddle, Randy Mobley, Dan Whitten, James Roberts, and various other friend's scores (total of 15 people) all averaged together, followed by their various comments
Fit and finish rates a 6.79
Wrap rates a ----
Rolls Straight rates a 6.20
Joint rates a 5.64
Balance rates a 6.42
Feel rates a 6.93
Feedback rates a 6.69
Gets Results rates a 7.21
Stiffness rates a 5.93 (10 is maximum stiffness)
Sound of Hit rates a 3.33 (10 is maximum loudness)
Overall Rating is a 5.20
This cue scored the worst out of the 6 cues in the "joint," "balance," "feel," "feedback," "gets results," and "overall rating" categories.

Warped! Buy a Players.
Only problem was the joint. Made the famous “tink” noise on hard shots. That brought down any bad rating.
Wow. Looks and feels good in the hand. Deflection caused by flimsy shaft. Inconsistent shot feel. Bad rollout on butt caused by terrible weight distribution linearly. Looks great, horrible quality.
Too much flex but OK, Good.
This cue didn’t do much for me except want to look at the others.
Beautiful hitting cue.
Poor joint makeup, flimsy taper.
Loose joint up to the end, very uneven seam.
Several small imperfections in finish, and it felt ever so slightly sticky (not right word but can't think of the right one) none of the other cues had this issue.
Cue has a wobble and the butt end has a weight distribution problem, the weight is not uniformly distributed around the longitudinal center line of the cue.
Shaft has a long slow taper.
Shame on you - follow the guidelines so the cues are compared fairly.
Cue weighs 19.25 oz, shaft = 3.875 or 20.13%, butt = 15.375
 
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