Best Custom Cue

Best Custom Cue

  • Bill McDaniel Cues

    Votes: 9 4.3%

  • Black Boar Cues

    Votes: 30 14.4%

  • Gina Cues

    Votes: 25 12.0%

  • Gus Szamboti Cues

    Votes: 56 26.9%

  • McWorter Cues

    Votes: 3 1.4%

  • Paul Mottey Cues

    Votes: 8 3.8%

  • Richard Black Cues

    Votes: 10 4.8%

  • South West cues

    Votes: 43 20.7%

  • Tad Kohara Cues

    Votes: 19 9.1%

  • Thomas Wayne Cues

    Votes: 5 2.4%
  • Total voters
    208
Gus said let every cue speak for itself with Power,artistry and integrity!!

Legendary Cue makers is a different group- For those who don't know who they are Herman Rambo , who knew the difference between making cues for Balk line,Billiards and Pool. Harvey Martin Is the Father of cue making ,In one straight Pool tournament Lassiter missed 7 called balls from 1,200 points he shot to win. with a Martin) ,Gus Szamboti built cues to break with and kept that in Mind,The tone of a Gus became sweet Music to those who tuned in,80% of Gus shaft wood dis guarded,Rarely were the shafts under 4 oz usually closer to 4.5 used,if the shaft is improperly engineered will destroy the playability of any elaborate butt. finnished and sanded by Hand because the final Taper could not be completed by Hand) ,George Balabushka ,Eugene Balmer, Frank Paradise,George Brittner (Poly chromatic construction,and American Design.) others Bert Schrager, Richard and Ricky Phillippi , Danny Janes, Paul Rubino ,Ernie Martinez. Szamboti's are and have been sought after for years,all around the world.
 
I did not vote as I do not know who to vote for. I know you can make a case for many many others to be on this list. If I were to add to that list Scruggs and Samsara would be on the list. I recently picked up a Samsara and a friend of mine has one-they are very well built and hit as good as any cue out there IMO.
 
I've never played with anything that hits like a BB with one of the ferrulless shafts from Tony. I've hit with most of these cues and nothing compares.... both in design and function.

Greg
 
HIRUN526 said:
First I will start by saying the list is not really a list of truly the best top ten cue makers...with the exception of Gus Szamboti,Gina and Black Boar and South West which are the only ones that would make the top ten. The others on the list are very good cue makers...but definetly are not my top ten. The secondary market dictates quality, collectabilty and pricing and resale value and these three hit all four perfectly. So here's my list:

Gus Szamboti - The King was ahead of his time and his forearm/veneer work,inlays,style,design and playability...total over all quality was a 10. Gus had and has the most beautifully styled cues in the world. Gus would use different style rings and inlays in a cue and wow...perfect. With all of the technology and equipment availability today, Gus still surpasses 99% of all cue makers then and today. Gus is probably the ultimate inspiration to cue makers. The man had unbelivable talent and eye for design and execution. Gus is the ultimate collectable cue. Awesome,awesome...Great playing and great investment value and if you don't have one...that is unfortunate, do yourself a favor and find one and spend the money, you will get much more than you paid in a Gus Szamboti cue.

Dennis Searing - The contemporary Gus Szamboti. His execution in his cues are absolutely the best in the world.. from the joint pin to the butt cap and everything in between is as perfect as is humanly possible. His shafts are the finest,truest and cleanest I have ever seen in over 30 years. His veneer work and His inlay work is the tightest and cleanest in the world. The most perfectly executed cues I have ever seen....and using a loop!!! And his cues play like most awesome. Great playing and great investment value and at least one should be in every collection. A Dennis Searing cue is a must to own.

Gina Cues - Cue making genius, his career over the last what over 40+ years is remarkable to say the least.Fabulous designs and an inspiration to many. Beautiful overall execution. Excellent investment value and at least one should be in every collection.

John Showman - Old school and knows how to do it. This is a guy that really knows how to use a pantograph, John is one of the two best pantograph guys in the world. His overall execution is awesome and designs are his old school style. John has his own thing going on... Great investment and at least one Showman should be in every collection.

Frank Paradise - What a cue, Frank was a guy that had his own thing going on, what beautiful designs and the cues played darn good. Overall very good execution. Excellent investment value and excellent playing cue.

Bob Manzino - The Picasso of artistic cue makers. Bob's design's are often and near breath taking. Bob has a true artist mind in his cue's.Overall excecution and his silver work is mind blowing. His work gets more intricate with each new cue. Bob and Tony(Black Boar) have created some of the most amazing designs in cues of anyone to date. Excellent investment value and you should own one of Bob's work's of art.

Frank Coster - Awesome designs simple and some fancy, like the gear design. Just real cool cues. If you have the dough, in the collection.

Barry Szamboti - A cue maker that exemplifies the ultimate in old school.. Each and every cue that Barry build's is beautiful. He learned from the King and went on to create his own style and reputation as a great cue maker. Owning a Barry cue is also a must have. Great playing,Great investment value.

Tony Scianella - Black Boar - Talk about a guy that has his own thing going on, his design work and execution are awesome. This is another gifted guy like Bob Manzino, they have the artist mind and then do the execution.

Herman Rambow- Innovator and one of the fathers of cue making. Treasured and played with by the great pool players like Mosconi. He is often overlooked on the top ten. A cue well worth owning. Excellent collector cue.


The top ten I selected was rather easy...but there are a few others that should be named:

Joel Hercek - Joel's design work is pretty cool. His execution is top notch. A full splice guy and proud of it. Excellent investment value. You should own one.

Pete Tascarella - Old school excellence. Popular cue maker. Nice overall work.

Ron Haley - Awesome execution and design work. Ron's boxed veneer points are awesome.His mitered veneered boxes are....probably the best in the world. Contemporary old school. Very good investment value.

Dave Kersenbrock - An innovator in cue making and has had some real cool designs. One hell of a cue maker. Excellent investment

Jerry Franklin - To me A South West cue is perfect in design and never goes out of style. The family has carried on the tradition and have I am sure made Jerry proud. Excellent investment value, excellent player. You should own one or two...

Eugene Balner- He created so many real cool looking cues and which are still extremely popular today to own by collectors. You can get a real nice Palmer at a very reasonable price compared to most collector cues today.

Cognoscenti - Joe was very wise and instrumental in the use of CNC. He created many awesome designs and some pretty darn nice shafts. He really took the CNC during his era to a whole new level. Nice cue to have in your collection.

George Balabushka - George made real awesome cues with the help of Gus Szamboti(Gus' forearm's) and Burton Spain(forearm's- Gus forearms were vastly superior to Spain's) and the cues were legendary in playability.George's design work was absolutely amazing..rings inlays etc. George is not on my top ten list for the above mentioned lack of the forearm not being built by himself, but other than that a great cue. Great investment value.

Tad - Tad has his own design and is noticeable across the pool room. Real cool looking cues. I think the older Tad's are probably the best. This is another must own cue. Good investment value.

Richard Black - Richard has been around many rears and has built some magnificent cues. His use of gold and silver has been amazing. He has a gift for design. At arms length his cues are stunning....but I believe his execution is not up to that of the top ten. But in saying that he has done many beautiful cues.

Someone to watch -Eric Crisp - Eric has his own thing going on..his use of woods and the designs as simple as they are as beautiful. I think it might be a good idea to get one of Eric's cues.

I could go on......that's my list.

I base my opinion for the top ten at looking at cues through a loop and taking in consideration of the era of which they were made. I have played and/or owned most of the cues listed. I have also based a investment value historically what each cue makers cues have sold for new and then on the secondary market place over the last approx. 15 years.
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I would say this top ten hit the mark.
of course with only 10 you are omitting others who are as good.
From watching the best you realize just what goes into cue making.
Hirun 526 knows what he is talking about.

I think the original OP has never watched a top tier CM work.
 
were any of these cues at turning stone this past weekend.who were the players using them.

bill
 
THE BEST CUE ,bar none

The best cue without a doubt and I have owned most of the top cuemakers cues are Joel Herceks full spliced cues.Since Joel only makes 25 or so cues per year due to the time it takes to make the full splice not many people get the opportunity to play with one.Trust me, there is not a short splice that is going to compete with them.When it comes to designs and detail Joel is the best.He will not send out a cue that is not perfect and up to his strict standards.If you ever have the chance to acquire one of his cues and you have the money jump on it.
 
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I am perfectly happy with my Collection of Alex Brick "One-Off" Customs even though I own (or have owned) a generous amount from the Cuemakers listed above.

BEST is a very subjective term and most often lies in the mind of the beholder.
 
For playing I'll take Josey, BCM or COG for the money.
Playing cue for more money - Vollmer, Franklin SW & Ed Young.
Collecting: GS, BS, GB, Gina, Early Palmer and some others.
Many of these play great also as well as good investment.

Big difference in great playing cue and great looking cue.
Very few are able to combine both.
Greatness in a cue varies with each person.
Cues - Get what you like to collect and play with what you feel comfortable with.
 
My vote is for Lori Franklin and the southwest cue,she is much better looking than all the other guys and when Jerry passed away her cues have improved slightly over where they were
its no wonder that she has a 10 year waiting list and the cues are selling for $1000 profit the day you get yours

I put Barry Szamboti in the exact same league with Gus,and if Gus were here he would be as proud of Barry as Barry is of Gus

dean
 
I am surprised that there are no Lambros on your poll. I have gone through my share of cues over the years, including a R series Schon, a Tim Scruggs as well as a Bill McDaniel. The only one that I still have is my Lambros.

I even had it branded with a Llama... :)
 
i mean no offense but I find this thread kinda pointless. Seldom are two peoples opinion of "the best" the same.
 
Calgaryplayer said:
Aside George Balabushka cues, which one do YOU think is the best? and Why??
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The old saying of "One man's trash is another man's treasure" may have some meaning here. I may think a certain cue plays terrible and the next man who tries it may say it's the best cue he's ever played with. I've been through so many cues that i've lost count and some I liked a lot and others I thought were terrible......

James
 
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