Here are a few of my musings and pieces of advice from several years of cue buying and selling experience that I'd like to condense into one place. This is mainly for people that are relatively new to pool in general, or are looking to buy their first cue/investing in their first custom.
- If you're on a budget, the best combo you can readily find would probably be a Porper 1x2 case and a McDermott Lucky. McDermott's play great, and the Joe Porper cases are nearly invincible. Either that or find a used Mali/Viking, etc on craigslist that rolls straight and is not hideous. You should be able to squeak by with this type of set up for under 100 and it'll last you a long time. Oh, and custom sneaky pete's are generally found readily for pretty cheap. I love sneaky's; you really can't go wrong here. Schmelke will hook you up with a quality sneaky blank for next to nothing. I'd recommend a widely available joint screw like a 3/8x10. Just stay away from graphite cues with decals and slip over tips. Buy cheap and pay twice, buy quality and pay once.
- Once you have your basic kit here's a few things you'll need. Tip shapers are useful. I like the flat file type, or the rounded holders for sand paper strips, but the willards are widely known as reliable and great value for money as well. Be wary of the cue scuffer cubes, ultimate tip tools, etc, buy quality the first time around. Research diy tip maintenance methods, I won't go into nickel and dime radius discussions here. Any repairman will likely trip and burnish a mushroomed tip for you. You also might want a glove for really bad humidity levels, that shaft powder stuff is for goobers imo. Keep your shaft clean with a damp paper towel after washing your hands, and in general you won't even need to use the glove unless it gets real sweaty. Also wipe the chalk off your tip before putting it away, it will keep your shafts/case clean in the long run.
- If in doubt about what tip choice to go with, choose either a LePro or Triangle. They are the industry standard, and they're cheap. If you wan't to waste (uh, I mean spend) your hard earned money on a magical Kamui clear tip, go for it. But frankly, if you're just starting out you should be playing center ball mostly, and a fancy tip won't jump you game up to a new level. Same goes for ferrule material and LD stuff. Get into that stuff down the line.
- Down the line: You'll want a break cue and maybe a jumper if you play in tournaments. I still don't own either, so I've nothing of real value to add here. I'd say to keep it simple and light weight with a hard leather break tip, and a generally stiffer taper. Control over speed is best in breaking, I think the experts would agree on that at least.
-You'll also want a nicer cue case to fit your breaker, and maybe you'll want to save up for a fancier custom cue. Do your research here. JB cases, It's George, Whitten, etc are all good choices. There are many options, find whats best for you. In regards to upgrading your cue. You can go production and custom route, LD shafts, and standard. Sub 1000 will by you a hell of a lot, and even in the 300-500 range, you can find great value. My advice is to try a bunch of cues out that belong to other players. Go to your pool hall and ask people around to let you shoot a few balls with cues that catch your eye. Find out what your preferences are; (do you like a soft hit, or hard hit? lots of feedback and sound, or dead feeling? stiff hit, or whippy, or somewhere in between?). Buying used is a good idea before you commit to a custom order as well. I'll tell you that the type of joint doesn't matter as much as the quality of the workmanship. You can read all the arguments about steel piloted joints vs flat faced big pin joints on this forum, however I'd read about the McChesney experiment though, human perception is a funny thing. What's "good" or "bad" in terms of a cue's hit is largely subjective, but quality of materials and craftsmanship is not.
- The Low Deflection question: If you try it and like it, then go for it. I think it's safe to say once you choose LD or Standard, you should stick with one or the other. Transitioning between the two sucks. Here's the basic theory of deflection summed up in very brief terms. When you hit a cueball off the center axis (i.e. sidespin, english) the cueball with move off your aiming line to a certain degree. This is why you have to compensate your aim when shooting with english. By reducing the Tip End Mass (lightening the front of the shaft), the cueball will deflect (squirt) offline to a lesser degree. Technically the shaft with a lower tip end mass is deflecting off the ball More, but I won't get into semantics. You can read up on your own. My thoughts, LD shafts generally have a different feel than standard shafts, whether or not you like it is up to you.
-The Ivory Question. IMO, at least for ferrule material choice: Ivory is not all that and a bag of chips. They crack easily and are expensive. Some people love them and swear by them, and they do have a traditional place in cues historically. Invest in ivory laden cues at your own risk. It's very pretty material, and easy to machine, but that's about it all there is to it. There are many arguments on both sides, I'm not an expert in the high end market, so I can't go too much into it. My experience lies mainly in sub 1500 dollar cues, not monsters.
-Selling cues. If you're going to sell a cue online here are my tips. Take good pictures in natural light (outside in the shade woulds best for me with my phone's camera). You don't have to have fancy gear. In fact, when my Canon DSLR was stolen, my little Samsung Galaxy phone picked up the slack quite nicely. Also, buy an accurate scale and calipers as they are worth every penny. Get to know the cue's anatomy is a good move as well. Buying a cue from someone who can't spell "ferrule" correctly likely won't be much fun. If you post pics, specs and a reasonable asking price, you're cues will have a better chance to sell.
There are many custom and production cue makers with great reputations and excellent value at various price points. Buy used at first, then when you find what you like, you may want to go on and order a custom built to your specs. Most guys and gals on here already have opinions and experience on what I've discussed here, but I feel that some people on here might benefit from this info. Hopefully you find it interesting!
-Ian
- If you're on a budget, the best combo you can readily find would probably be a Porper 1x2 case and a McDermott Lucky. McDermott's play great, and the Joe Porper cases are nearly invincible. Either that or find a used Mali/Viking, etc on craigslist that rolls straight and is not hideous. You should be able to squeak by with this type of set up for under 100 and it'll last you a long time. Oh, and custom sneaky pete's are generally found readily for pretty cheap. I love sneaky's; you really can't go wrong here. Schmelke will hook you up with a quality sneaky blank for next to nothing. I'd recommend a widely available joint screw like a 3/8x10. Just stay away from graphite cues with decals and slip over tips. Buy cheap and pay twice, buy quality and pay once.
- Once you have your basic kit here's a few things you'll need. Tip shapers are useful. I like the flat file type, or the rounded holders for sand paper strips, but the willards are widely known as reliable and great value for money as well. Be wary of the cue scuffer cubes, ultimate tip tools, etc, buy quality the first time around. Research diy tip maintenance methods, I won't go into nickel and dime radius discussions here. Any repairman will likely trip and burnish a mushroomed tip for you. You also might want a glove for really bad humidity levels, that shaft powder stuff is for goobers imo. Keep your shaft clean with a damp paper towel after washing your hands, and in general you won't even need to use the glove unless it gets real sweaty. Also wipe the chalk off your tip before putting it away, it will keep your shafts/case clean in the long run.
- If in doubt about what tip choice to go with, choose either a LePro or Triangle. They are the industry standard, and they're cheap. If you wan't to waste (uh, I mean spend) your hard earned money on a magical Kamui clear tip, go for it. But frankly, if you're just starting out you should be playing center ball mostly, and a fancy tip won't jump you game up to a new level. Same goes for ferrule material and LD stuff. Get into that stuff down the line.
- Down the line: You'll want a break cue and maybe a jumper if you play in tournaments. I still don't own either, so I've nothing of real value to add here. I'd say to keep it simple and light weight with a hard leather break tip, and a generally stiffer taper. Control over speed is best in breaking, I think the experts would agree on that at least.
-You'll also want a nicer cue case to fit your breaker, and maybe you'll want to save up for a fancier custom cue. Do your research here. JB cases, It's George, Whitten, etc are all good choices. There are many options, find whats best for you. In regards to upgrading your cue. You can go production and custom route, LD shafts, and standard. Sub 1000 will by you a hell of a lot, and even in the 300-500 range, you can find great value. My advice is to try a bunch of cues out that belong to other players. Go to your pool hall and ask people around to let you shoot a few balls with cues that catch your eye. Find out what your preferences are; (do you like a soft hit, or hard hit? lots of feedback and sound, or dead feeling? stiff hit, or whippy, or somewhere in between?). Buying used is a good idea before you commit to a custom order as well. I'll tell you that the type of joint doesn't matter as much as the quality of the workmanship. You can read all the arguments about steel piloted joints vs flat faced big pin joints on this forum, however I'd read about the McChesney experiment though, human perception is a funny thing. What's "good" or "bad" in terms of a cue's hit is largely subjective, but quality of materials and craftsmanship is not.
- The Low Deflection question: If you try it and like it, then go for it. I think it's safe to say once you choose LD or Standard, you should stick with one or the other. Transitioning between the two sucks. Here's the basic theory of deflection summed up in very brief terms. When you hit a cueball off the center axis (i.e. sidespin, english) the cueball with move off your aiming line to a certain degree. This is why you have to compensate your aim when shooting with english. By reducing the Tip End Mass (lightening the front of the shaft), the cueball will deflect (squirt) offline to a lesser degree. Technically the shaft with a lower tip end mass is deflecting off the ball More, but I won't get into semantics. You can read up on your own. My thoughts, LD shafts generally have a different feel than standard shafts, whether or not you like it is up to you.
-The Ivory Question. IMO, at least for ferrule material choice: Ivory is not all that and a bag of chips. They crack easily and are expensive. Some people love them and swear by them, and they do have a traditional place in cues historically. Invest in ivory laden cues at your own risk. It's very pretty material, and easy to machine, but that's about it all there is to it. There are many arguments on both sides, I'm not an expert in the high end market, so I can't go too much into it. My experience lies mainly in sub 1500 dollar cues, not monsters.
-Selling cues. If you're going to sell a cue online here are my tips. Take good pictures in natural light (outside in the shade woulds best for me with my phone's camera). You don't have to have fancy gear. In fact, when my Canon DSLR was stolen, my little Samsung Galaxy phone picked up the slack quite nicely. Also, buy an accurate scale and calipers as they are worth every penny. Get to know the cue's anatomy is a good move as well. Buying a cue from someone who can't spell "ferrule" correctly likely won't be much fun. If you post pics, specs and a reasonable asking price, you're cues will have a better chance to sell.
There are many custom and production cue makers with great reputations and excellent value at various price points. Buy used at first, then when you find what you like, you may want to go on and order a custom built to your specs. Most guys and gals on here already have opinions and experience on what I've discussed here, but I feel that some people on here might benefit from this info. Hopefully you find it interesting!
-Ian
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