Bill Schick

poolhalljnkie

poolhalljnkie

House cue conversionist
Silver Member
I have a great opportunity to buy a Bill Schick Titlist conversion. The cue has an Ivory joint with a 3/8-10 pin & Ivory ferruls. I know Bill is a hall of fame cue builder and makes some amazing cues, but before I shell out the dough I would like to hear how his cues HIT, is it a stiff hit, how responsive is the hit, how well does it move the rock for you, is there something about his shaft taper that is unique to Schick cues that make it stand out?? I know everybody bridges, strokes, draws, uses english, etc.....differently, I would just like to get some feedback about how your schick feels/felt in your hands when playing. If I get the cue it will be my everday player & I just want to be sure.....

Also, maybe someone around the Plano, DFW area has a Schick that they would feel comfortable letting me shoot a cpl racks with??

Any feedback will be great, thanks fellow AZ'ers
 
never owned one, but played with quite a few of them. If you get a chance to hit with a Joss West, playing with a Schick is about double the experience and IMHO, a whole lot prettier. I played with my friends for about a year and I had no issues with it what so ever pocketing balls or getting shape and I'm no great player. Personally, I would buy one for the BLING factor of having a Schick, bring it out on special occasions and let my friends drool over it every now and then! :) If you get a deal on one, go for it, you won't be disappointed.
 
poolhalljnkie said:
I have a great opportunity to buy a Bill Schick Titlist conversion. The cue has an Ivory joint with a 3/8-10 pin & Ivory ferruls. I know Bill is a hall of fame cue builder and makes some amazing cues, but before I shell out the dough I would like to hear how his cues HIT, is it a stiff hit, how responsive is the hit, how well does it move the rock for you, is there something about his shaft taper that is unique to Schick cues that make it stand out?? I know everybody bridges, strokes, draws, uses english, etc.....differently, I would just like to get some feedback about how your schick feels/felt in your hands when playing. If I get the cue it will be my everday player & I just want to be sure.....

Also, maybe someone around the Plano, DFW area has a Schick that they would feel comfortable letting me shoot a cpl racks with??

Any feedback will be great, thanks fellow AZ'ers
Click to expand...

"Solid as a rock" is how Buddy Hall once described the hit of a Schick to my (today ex-)girlfriend when she bought one from Bill, and I think that says it all. Her (ivory-jointed as well) Schick is one of only two I've had the pleasure to shoot with, clearly amongst the finest cues I know. Old-style of course, no "low-deflection" construction, just great feel and easy to control. Very (subjectively) linear deflection behaviour (i.e. when one shoots twice as hard, or with twice as much side spin, there's no guessing what will happen whatsoever). Nicely long tapers, which I like (short fingers, tight closed bridge). I wouldn't know how to better describe the feel and responsiveness than by the word "direct". Great feedback. No (undue) extra vibration whatsoever. There's really nothing per se exceptional about Schick's cues except that they combine every virtue I look for in a cue - the couple I got to play with (one with some regularity) were perfect, there was quite simply nothing I didn't like about them.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
 
Last edited:
poolhalljnkie said:
Thanks for the replies, would love to get some more feedback!!
Click to expand...

You're going to get different responses because his cues are going to vary. He's made cues for a long time and most of his cues were ordered based on customer specifications. You're not going to know until you get that specific cue in your hands.

Full splice cues tend to play solid. I have a full splice Schick with a hardwood piloted joint. It has a very long gradual taper on the shaft using very dense maple. The cue is as solid as a rock, is not particularly stiff, but is controllable and transmits great feel. I would say it plays about like a Scruggs sneaky pete. There is no jarring sensation on impact - just a smooth feeling going through the cue ball, with a sort of weighless ease stroking it.

I like the way they play, but you can find many cues that play fine, including Joss, Schon and Pechauer, for a lot less - but what I love is the respect the name Schick has - and especially the blue chip values his cues hold. Bill is one of the most respected cue makers alive and his cue values reflect that. If you have a Schick, you have a special cue.

Chris
 
Last edited:
Do bear in mind, however, that the cue you are considering is a Titlist conversion, as opposed to a Schick from scratch.

If you like how titlist coversions play, generally, then you should be absolutely thrilled with one converted by Mr. Schick.

Plus, if you have done a little research and feel you are paying a fair price, then don't worry, you should never lose on it if you decide to let her go.

Good luck, and if you do pull the trigger, please let us know how you like it.

Best,
Brian kc
 
Last edited:
Kickin' Chicken said:
Do bear in mind, however, that the cue you are considering is a Titlist conversion, as opposed to a Schick from scratch.

If you like how titlist coversions play, generally, then you should be absolutely thrilled with one converted by Mr. Schick.

Plus, if you have done a little research and feel you are paying a fair price, then don't worry, you should never lose on it if you decide to let her go.

Good luck, and if you do pull the trigger, please let us know how you like it.

Best,
Brian kc
Click to expand...

Indeed, if Bill deemed the titlist worthy of conversion, we're probably talking about one sweet-hitting cue!

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
 
I have a short splice steel jointed Bill Schick from 1993. I bought it used in 1997. The original cue had solid shafts with long pro tapers, which I liked. I had new shafts made by Bill at that time. Bill suggested letting him provide his favorite taper which could be trimmed back if I wanted at a later time. Many people have had Bill’s shafts retapered, so I wouldn’t be so sure if the taper was his until you measure. I think mine is the best cue I have ever played with. I would never sell it because I don’t think it could be replaced. I asked Barry Szamboti to make a new shaft for my Gus with the Schick taper. Barry matched it perfectly and it is my favorite shaft on the Szamboti.

Based upon the amount of wood in the shaft, I would have thought Bill’s shafts to be stiff to the point of being dead. They are anything but that. My cue is lively and puts tons of spin on the ball with minimal power. No matter what the shot or the distance between, I don’t think about compensation because it does exactly what I think it should do. It is the pool cue equivalent of ‘point-and-shoot’. Arguments that all cues are alike, it’s the pilot and not the plane, the importance of new LD shaft technologies all fall deaf on my ears.

I am responding because you asked about Bill’s shaft tapers. I love mine. But you should buy the cue because you love the way it plays, not because of what AZers write about their experiences or how somebody else’s cue plays. As was stated by Chris, Bill’s cues were custom built to the players’ specs, so there may be some minor differences in how they feel, although it is probably safe to say that all feel very solid. My opinion differs a bit from Chris in that Bill’s cues have not appreciated as I would have expected based upon their build and play qualities. I don’t think I could get more than I paid for mine in 1997. I don’t care because it won’t be sold again until I am gone.
 
Sealegs50 said:
No matter what the shot or the distance between, I don’t think about compensation because it does exactly what I think it should do.
Click to expand...

That's the best one can say about one's cue - after all, they all deflect to some degree. This is how my Southwest with soft birdseye pro taper shaft feels to me. What makes a cue's deflection behaviour great is no how little or how much deflection it causes per se, but how easy it is for the player to adjust. If that process takes years (of desperation, so to speak), it's awful. If if feels right in no time, it's damn good. All there is to it.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top