Buying Unknown Cues- An Example

Chopdoc said:
What would it be worth if a maker like Newsheriff or Baxter made it? They do better work than this but one can imagine. We wouldn't see that grain tearing in one of their cues.

The finish isn't the best either but it looks adequate at a glance.

I looks like a hobbyist cue to me. But I like the look.
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I'd probably throw $150 at it. I've seen worse. 👍
 
I bought a beautiful old custom with ivory dot "snowmen". It was obviously made by a top level builder and was from the 70s/80s.

I thought it was a Bill McDaniel cue. Turned out to be his mentor Tim Scruggs.

Like all my great finds...because I'm a player and not a collector...I eventually sold it and got it to someone who would appreciate it even more.

Done the same with lots of cues, most after paying to restore them. I just don't hunt for them anymore.
 
j2pac said:
Let me guess...you were playing him for money, and decided to twist his nipple?
😈😁👍
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No he would give me a hard time because I was always in action. He never gambled and the 1 time I saw him play a race to 4 for 20.00 it looked like his arm went to sleep on him.

The man had nice stuff and thought I would be impressed with his cue. I was not impressed.
 
Rusty in Montana said:
Years ago when I was interested in buying cues , I used the tuning fork method if it vibrated in such a way it was a keeper .
This was the advice received from an old pool road player and even Frank McGowan would hint that as well .
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Here I thought I was the only one that did this. I’ve gotten some strange looks over the years while doing it.
 
Chopdoc said:
Unknown or unidentified or unmarked cues can be a matter of controversy when posting and asking about them.

If you think it's stupid or it pisses you off, you might find a more interesting thread to post in elsewhere. Up to you.

Have you ever "taken a chance" on a cue? I mean, without asking anybody. We saw a couple cues recently purchased that turned out to be old Joss cues, a very nice find.

How much are you willing to risk on such a cue? What if it does not resemble a major maker at all? Just a cue that you liked the look of? Maybe just some nice wood?

What about this cue? I have no idea what it is and have put no effort into identifying it. I am not asking here, but if you know and tell me that's great.

Is it worth tossing $150 at? Without a chance to try it out? I realize some don't have $150 to toss at anything without a darn good reason so think outside that box if you need to.

It is: 58 inches, 19 ounces exactly, very clean looking ferrule and shaft, unknown tip diameter but looks small-ish, maybe 12mm-ish. Nice looking wood, but maybe the other side isn't so nice. No idea if it has a weight bolt. Big pin, looks like 3/8x10 next to the McDermott in the pictures. Cue looks to be in pretty darn good general condition.

What do you think that handle wood is? You can see some tearing of end grain at the bottom of the forearm where it meets the ring at the A joint, so it isn't the most masterful work.

Could be a player? Personally, I think this cue would look better with a brown bumper.

Let's call this an experiment.

Here is the tip next to a 13mm tip. The dirtier shaft next to it goes to a McDermott cue.

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And the rest of the cue.

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Thanks for saying that!
 
Well, I took it to the pool hall today.

It's a player!

Seriously.

I seemed brand new. No evidence of chalk on the tip, everything clean and pristine.

Some kind of layered tip. I don't know what the ferrule material is but you can see some cross hatching in it in the photos. I couldn't see that with my eyes.

Nice long taper. I really dig this shaft. And the finish on the shaft is top notch.

Love the hit too.

I played my whole session with it. I screwed my Joss together but never played it. I had the manager (a very good player) take a few shots with it, he was impressed. He commented on the (low) deflection, which surprised him. This thing has a pivot point that's way back because of the long taper. Whoever made this shaft got lucky, or knew what they were doing.

Oh, and there is no weight bolt. This thing is a naturally balanced 19 ounces, which means it feels closer to 18 ounces. Not kidding. Really nice to handle. Nice resonance too.

Finish is not high gloss. Sort of a semi-gloss but not really quite flat or matt, Definitely fine for a player.

Just noticed some grunge in the pin threads in the pictures, I'll clean that up. LOL! Pictures can reveal so much you don't see with your eyes.

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So, what the heck am I going to do with this cue? :unsure:
 
Chopdoc said:
Well, I took it to the pool hall today.

It's a player!

Seriously.

I seemed brand new. No evidence of chalk on the tip, everything clean and pristine.

Some kind of layered tip. I don't know what the ferrule material is but you can see some cross hatching in it in the photos. I couldn't see that with my eyes.

Nice long taper. I really dig this shaft. And the finish on the shaft is top notch.

Love the hit too.

I played my whole session with it. I screwed my Joss together but never played it. I had the manager (a very good player) take a few shots with it, he was impressed. He commented on the (low) deflection, which surprised him. This thing has a pivot point that's way back because of the long taper. Whoever made this shaft got lucky, or knew what they were doing.

Oh, and there is no weight bolt. This thing is a naturally balanced 19 ounces, which means it feels closer to 18 ounces. Not kidding. Really nice to handle. Nice resonance too.

Finish is not high gloss. Sort of a semi-gloss but not really quite flat or matt, Definitely fine for a player.

Just noticed some grunge in the pin threads in the pictures, I'll clean that up. LOL! Pictures can reveal so much you don't see with your eyes.

View attachment 849504
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So, what the heck am I going to do with this cue? :unsure:
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Sell it to me. I'm not joking. 😁
 
Chopdoc said:
What would it be worth if a maker like Newsheriff or Baxter made it? They do better work than this but one can imagine. We wouldn't see that grain tearing in one of their cues.

The finish isn't the best either but it looks adequate at a glance.

I looks like a hobbyist cue to me. But I like the look.
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I bought a Baxter reverse sneaky made from a Schmelke blank. It plays great and is the straightest cue in my entire collection. Cues like that Baxter make me take a chance all the time. Sometimes you just get lucky.
 
BobPA said:
I bought a Baxter reverse sneaky made from a Schmelke blank. It plays great and is the straightest cue in my entire collection. Cues like that Baxter make me take a chance all the time. Sometimes you just get lucky.
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Baxter does nice work and has an excellent reputation.
 
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