Balabushka look alikes?

Flex

Flex

Banger
Silver Member
Can someone suggest a relatively inexpensive Balabushka-like cue? I like the looks of his cues and am interested in finding something that looks similar.

Thanks,

Flex
 
The Balabushka line from Dick Helmstetters outfit are pretty close on some of them. A little corny looking with the signature on the forearm though. From there, the basic Helmstetter cues are similar in appearance.
Chuck
 
If it's just a plain 4 pointer you're looking for just about every cue maker on the planet has a version of it. Depends on how much you want to spend.
MULLY
 
Not sure what your budget is. Balabushka cues makes a line of production replicas from about $350 - $1K. Here's a link to their website: http://www.balabushkapoolcues.com/. If you click on where it says "Pricing on Balabushka replica cues it will take you to PoolDawg's website. You can also find them here at Adam Cue Co: http://www.theadamcueco.com/. Don't have first hand knowledge about the quality of these.

If you are in the market for a custom cue that has value, Richard Black makes a tribute cue called the "Bushka". Not cheap at $2K, but it is a Richard Black, not some cheap knock-off, and certainly a lot less money than the real deal. A friend of mine has one and it is a real nice wand, hell it's a Richard Black. Here's the link:

http://www.blackcues.com/


Hope this helps.
 
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DogsPlayingPool said:
Not sure what your budget is. Balabushka cues makes a line of production replicas from about $350 - $1K. Here's a link to their website. If you click on where it says "Pricing on Balabushka replica cues it will take you to PoolDawg's website. Don't have first hand knowledge about the quality of these.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Aren't these the Helmstetters? Far as I know, they are the only company licensed to produce 'Bushka replicas.
 
Pushout said:
Aren't these the Helmstetters? Far as I know, they are the only company licensed to produce 'Bushka replicas.
Click to expand...


You are correct, sir. Adam Cue owns the rights to the line. I have edited my OP to include the Adam Cue Co website. With the web it's hard to tell if Balabushkacue.com is an Adam's website or just some outfit that has set up a web page to distribute these cues. Funny how the link takes you to PoolDawg.com
 
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Thanks everybody for the very helpful answers. Most appreciated! Rep to y'all!

Flex
 
I play with a GB2 and have for several years. I bought it because of the simple looks and the points. For me, it plays great. Its all the cue I'll ever need. The quality is really good. It has a really tight joint fit also.

I've been thinking of having Adams due a custom one for me.
 
Thought I'd let you all know what I ended up doing.

On the Adam Cue website, the Adam AD-2 cue is the one I went with.

Very happy with it.

Full spliced cue with a white with brown speck irish linen wrap, it's plenty classic looking, what with the colorful veneers and all and the stainless steel joint, and it came in at under a hundred bucks.

I played with it for a few days and decided to modify the shaft. I retapered the shaft down to a bit under 12 mm, but didn't give it a pro-taper, and left the shaft plenty stiff. I cut off the ferrule and installed a pad and a milk dud tip. As a result of these modifications, I'm able to play more precisely with the cue, and it squirts the cue ball a whole lot less. The changes had the result of moving the pivot point back to around 15 inches or so, which is where I like it.

The hit is crisp and it has that great full splice feel.

Thanks for the links; it's one very nice cue with the playability I like.

Flex
 
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