Chinese Cues-my observations

Fatboy

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
While I was atthe BCA Trade show, I looked at almost everything, I'm curious by nature so I look atthings that i'm not interested in buying but I like to see whats out there,

I looked at alot of cues and Hit balls with some of them, I was suprised at how good some of the Chinese cues are, They sell alot to begginers and league I was told, I hit some balls with a Scorpion Cue and it was good, real good if you do the math, The fit and finish was good for a cue that retails for $200, they were better than a low end McDermott for me-its a subjective thing so I'm not knocking any cues, but I was suprised at the quality for the price. I had the preconcieved notion it was going to be a piece of junk and I was wrong for anyone starting out etc. Scorpion Cues are a good deal, or for a second cue that you dont have to worrie about.

I also observed that most all the cue makers are making better cues that 10 years ago for less $$$ than when I was atthe last Show 10 years ago. I'm sure the reason why is with the Chinese Cues that arnt garbage is pushing the American cue makers to make better cues for less $$$, thus we win as the customers. I had a Joss East 18 years ago I paid $550 for then, my new one I paid $275 for and its a better cue.

For me Scorpion is the way foward for a $200 next step up is a Joss East, those 2 brands are the triple nuts for the $$$. I have been blessed and play with a cue thats a step up from those but at the end of the day there is a very small difference for alot more $$$.

its the Indian not the arrow.
 
curious...

Fatboy said:
While I was BCA Trade show, I looked at almost everything, I'm curious by nature so I look atthings that i'm not interested in buying but I like to see whats out there,

I looked at alot of cues and Hit balls with some of them, I was suprised at how good some of the Chinese cues are, They sell alot to begginers and league I was told, I hit some balls with a Scorpion Cue and it was good, real good if you do the math, The fit and finish was good for a cue that retails for $200, they were better than a low end McDermott for me-its a subjective thing so I'm not knocking any cues, but I was suprised at the quality for the price. I had the preconcieved notion it was going to be a piece of junk and I was wrong for anyone starting out etc. Scorpion Cues are a good deal, or for a second cue that you dont have to worrie about.

I also observed that most all the cue makers are making better cues that 10 years ago for less $$$ than when I was atthe last Show 10 years ago. I'm sure the reason why is with the Chinese Cues that arnt garbage is pushing the American cue makers to make better cues for less $$$, thus we win as the customers. I had a Joss East 18 years ago I paid $550 for then, my new one I paid $275 for and its a better cue.

For me Scorpion is the way foward for a $200 next step up is a Joss East, those 2 brands are the triple nuts for the $$$. I have been blessed and play with a cue thats a step up from those but at the end of the day there is a very small difference for alot more $$$.

its the Indian not the arrow.
Click to expand...
since you chose McDermott as a comparative Cue what is it that you feel is better in regards to scorpion cues than McDermotts? and is this the same Scorpion Cues line that Johnny Archer endorses ? if so are they wood to wood joints ? :confused:
 
Scorpions

Well I for one don't like Scorpions. They are like Cuetecs because they have that fiberglass shaft. If you like that, then I am happy for you but I wouldn't waste my money on that. I would definitely buy a McDermott before a Cuetec or Scorpion. I would also buy a Vicking before a Scorpion, or Cuetec.
 
Yep - it's hard to buy a bad cue these days. In addition to the brand you mentioned there is Fury, Sterling, and Blaze which are all damn good cues for the money. The quality is good now and is about to become superb.

Our factory just invested millions in making the entire process CNC controlled, the wood climate controlled and sorted to a much higher level and in new construction materials.

Thus it won't be long before there really are no differences between cues produced on USA soil and cues produced elsewhere. Other than place of birth and price they will be indistinguishable.
 
By teh way I want to dispell the Indian/Arrow thing. It's the Indian AND it's the Arrow. All other things being equal the Indian with the better Arrows is going to get better results.
 
I am also impressed with the playability of the modern, cheap cues. I'll ignore the discussion that could evolve related to "buy american" as I tell my story.

I bought a $40 Action cue for my nephews to bang balls around with and I found that I could play pretty well with it. I was very impressed with it...until the tip broke off while breaking one day. Oh well, another one would only cost...maybe $30. Compare that to a 314.

A friend of mine plays exclusively with cuetecs. I pick one up occasionally and shoot a few shots with it. The stigma of cuetec is overblown...its really not THAT bad. As a predator user I wouldn't buy one, but I wouldn't fault someone who did.

We're not talking about the days of the 5-peice cue that came in a 12" long case, folks. These modern, cheap cues play pretty well.
 
John Barton said:
Yep - it's hard to buy a bad cue these days. In addition to the brand you mentioned there is Fury, Sterling, and Blaze which are all damn good cues for the money. The quality is good now and is about to become superb.

I own a Fury S/P and I gota tell you, its a darn nice hitting cue, wood to wood joint give it a nice solid feel to me. And the overall looks of the cue has got me many a compliment. Well to let the truth be known, my wife calls it her cue now, and has actually retired her McDermott. So to put it into a cute phrase. " Its strong enough for a Man, but yet pretty enough for a Woman.

The quality of the low end cues has gone up to another level,it would be of interest to know how many so called American production cues are still really totally American made.
Click to expand...
 
MrLucky said:
since you chose McDermott as a comparative Cue what is it that you feel is better in regards to scorpion cues than McDermotts? and is this the same Scorpion Cues line that Johnny Archer endorses ? if so are they wood to wood joints ? :confused:
Click to expand...

perhaps i wasnt clear, my first cue was McD and they still have a good product, but for $200 I dont know what McD costs $200, it wasnt a direct compairson, I was just suggesting that for mass produced cues Scopion is decent, McD popped in to my mind as a mass produced American cue-their cues are better than the Chinese stuff but costs more. I think
$ for $ the Scorpion is a better value but if some one wants something better then stepping up to a McD is cool too, it just isnt as good of a value and a $15,000 Bushka is a worse value.

I didnt take the cue apart to see if its wood to wood, I looked at the wrap, it was perfectly straight, balance was nice, it played good. I didnt like the paint on it very much it was a little thick and could be a bit smoother and the tip it comes with is bad but thats an easy fix. But for something that costs the sales tax on a custom cue its a bargine.
 
John Barton said:
By teh way I want to dispell the Indian/Arrow thing. It's the Indian AND it's the Arrow. All other things being equal the Indian with the better Arrows is going to get better results.
Click to expand...

Thats why I play with a B.Szam.
 
John Barton said:
Yep - it's hard to buy a bad cue these days. In addition to the brand you mentioned there is Fury, Sterling, and Blaze which are all damn good cues for the money. The quality is good now and is about to become superb.

Our factory just invested millions in making the entire process CNC controlled, the wood climate controlled and sorted to a much higher level and in new construction materials.

Thus it won't be long before there really are no differences between cues produced on USA soil and cues produced elsewhere. Other than place of birth and price they will be indistinguishable.
Click to expand...


Looking for the case email me .. time is running out ..
 
John Barton said:
Yep - it's hard to buy a bad cue these days. In addition to the brand you mentioned there is Fury, Sterling, and Blaze which are all damn good cues for the money. The quality is good now and is about to become superb.

Our factory just invested millions in making the entire process CNC controlled, the wood climate controlled and sorted to a much higher level and in new construction materials.

Thus it won't be long before there really are no differences between cues produced on USA soil and cues produced elsewhere. Other than place of birth and price they will be indistinguishable.
Click to expand...

Then there are some of us who don't give a damn if the foreign cues are as good or even better. We'd rather spend a few hundred more and keep an American resident working.
 
Has anyone played with a cue from Que Perfect, Ronnie ? http://www.queperfect.biz/index.html The site says that Effren Reyes uses his cue. It also says that his cue is made with maple that was submerged in Lake Michigan for a hundred plus years. Supposedly an independent lab says that his cue and a couple of others have less deflection than a Predator. From what I read his cues cost about $5,000. A tad more than a McD but as you were all on the subject I thought someone might know more.

I think this fellow is ex-pat military who discount to vets and is located in the Philippines and that is close to China. Nothing like muddy water on buy USA :o
 
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Fatboy said:
perhaps i wasnt clear, my first cue was McD and they still have a good product, but for $200 I dont know what McD costs $200, it wasnt a direct compairson, I was just suggesting that for mass produced cues Scopion is decent, McD popped in to my mind as a mass produced American cue-their cues are better than the Chinese stuff but costs more. I think .
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LargeOne,
I bought a nice McDermott for around $140 (fairly plain) to use as a house cue for world-beaters that show up in Betmore's Basement without their cue. It is dead straight, looks nice, plays great; and has a lifetime warranty on the shaft. That's hard to beat. What features of the Scorpion or Cuetec are superior to that?
 
JoeW said:
Has anyone played with a cue from Que Perfect, Ronnie ? http://www.queperfect.biz/index.html The site says that Effren Reyes uses his cue. It also says that his cue is made with maple that was submerged in Lake Michigan for a hundred plus years. Supposedly an independent lab says that his cue and a couple of others have less deflection than a Predator. From what I read his cues cost about $5,000. A tad more than a McD but as you were all on the subject I thought someone might know more.

I think this fellow is ex-pat military who discount to vets and is located in the Philippines and that is close to China. Nothing like muddy water on buy USA :o
Click to expand...
I don't know about his cues, but I got a pretty nice Pat Diveney cue with 2 lake salvage shafts for significantly less than 5K (like approx 1/10). It plays just fine; I didn't notice deflection one way or the other.

<Edit>
I just looked up his domain name FWIW:
Domain Name: QUEPERFECT.BIZ
Domain ID: D2928185-BIZ
Sponsoring Registrar: REGISTER.COM
Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID: 9
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
Registrant ID: 1709433CC8E7E225
Registrant Name: Domain Discreet
Registrant Organization: ATTN: queperfect.biz
Registrant Address1: P.O. Box 278
Registrant City: Yarmouth
Registrant State/Province: NS
Registrant Postal Code: B5A 4B2
Registrant Country: Canada
 
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JoeW said:
Has anyone played with a cue from Que Perfect, Ronnie ? http://www.queperfect.biz/index.html The site says that Effren Reyes uses his cue. It also says that his cue is made with maple that was submerged in Lake Michigan for a hundred plus years. Supposedly an independent lab says that his cue and a couple of others have less deflection than a Predator. From what I read his cues cost about $5,000. A tad more than a McD but as you were all on the subject I thought someone might know more.

I think this fellow is ex-pat military who discount to vets and is located in the Philippines and that is close to China. Nothing like muddy water on buy USA :o
Click to expand...
I think his stuff is pure art plain and simple ...ive never hit one but i dont think i would if i could afford one of his high end ivory scrimshawed cues.....just imagine the hours spent tattooing all that ivory......as far as the other phillapino cue makers go i picked up one of those cheap on ebay and was shocked at the way it played. if you get a 70 inlay stick here your gonna pay through the nose for it and i bet the hit is comperable.....
 
catscradle said:
Then there are some of us who don't give a damn if the foreign cues are as good or even better. We'd rather spend a few hundred more and keep an American resident working.
Click to expand...

tap tap tap
 
Williebetmore said:
LargeOne,
I bought a nice McDermott for around $140 (fairly plain) to use as a house cue for world-beaters that show up in Betmore's Basement without their cue. It is dead straight, looks nice, plays great; and has a lifetime warranty on the shaft. That's hard to beat. What features of the Scorpion or Cuetec are superior to that?
Click to expand...

i didnt know McD had cues in that low price range, if you like thats all that matters- liked mine for years and still do.


as far buy american goes, its a bit later for that China won that race along time ago :(
 
I have said it many many times before....... The construction of the shaft is the most..actually the only important part of the cue as it pretains to preformance..that is of course assuming that there isnt a defect in the assembly of the butt..if the shaft sits on the pin correctly, and its a good shaft/tip/ferrule combination then it is a good cue..everything else is just show....an ivory inlaid,silver ringed,8 point monster custom isnt gonna out preform a basic cue....
 
John Barton said:
Yep - it's hard to buy a bad cue these days. In addition to the brand you mentioned there is Fury, Sterling, and Blaze which are all damn good cues for the money. The quality is good now and is about to become superb.

Our factory just invested millions in making the entire process CNC controlled, the wood climate controlled and sorted to a much higher level and in new construction materials.

Thus it won't be long before there really are no differences between cues produced on USA soil and cues produced elsewhere. Other than place of birth and price they will be indistinguishable.
Click to expand...

John, I think the major problem with the import cues is the fact that there is no Life time warranty. Is this something that the import manufactures are going to do. I mean if the quality is equal in all respects as the American product why not offer a Guaranty to the original buyer?

Thanks for your response in advance!!!!!
 
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