Cue butt thickness

[JC]

I would like to have a list of cue makers that still offer butts that are greater than 1.25" diameter.

I am large so I also prefer longer cues with my ideal choice at a modest 59".

I like to break with heavy cue with a fat handle. Just seem to be able to deliver a straight hard blow better with that mass. I have a one piece cue at home that I just love to break with. Bob Flynn of Denali custom cues was very happy to build me a cue exactly as I wanted to be. And at a very reasonable price. I don't have it yet but I do have another one of his cues and the quality is nice. I think he said the biggest he could make the handle on his equipment is 1.31 or so but that's a nice chunk to hold on to. For a cue to your personal liking I would highly recommend Bob. He doesn't try to tell you why it's better how he likes it to be but just does what you like. He even turned a piece of scrap down to my specs and mailed it to me so I could grasp it and make sure it was what I wanted.

JC

 

[measureman]

I have a Lucasi cue that came with a leather wrap. I tried but i just could not get used to it. So I had the leather removed and replaced with linen. The leather was thicker then the linen so it made the grip area thinner. I could not believe how much better it felt being just a tad thinner.

 

[porper-sig]

I feel that thinner handles tend to encourage a more natural cradling grip on the cue and discourage twisting the cue.

Honestly though, this may be the least important spec on a cue for me. I like skinny butts, shapely butts, and big round butts too. :thumbup:

This is correct. The cradling grip, that is!!

 

[zpele]

I think the general thinking behind thinner butts on cues is that the taper of the butt changes the stroke depending on where you hold the cue.

Personally I think a player should always hold the cue at exactly the same point on the butt no matter the shot unless they need to get the cue jacked up.

This leads to increased control over speed as it negates one more variable.

When we look at our stroke there are several factors that come into play.

Stance, cue height, bridge distance from the cueball, aim line from our eyes back to our elbow, and several other variables.

If you are able to limit the variables that change from shot to shot you will be able to vastly improve your game. If you watch a pro play you can see that they almost look like a robot. This is because each shot routine is exactly the same.

In order to increase the speed of the shot I just increase the velocity of the swing. Because I always grip the cue in the same place I know that the speed of the shot is only increasing by the velocity of the stroke- not by the length of the stroke.



So in answer to your question.... Unless you are gripping the cue at different places for each shot, the taper of the cue shouldn't matter and it comes down to personal preference.

 

[xianmacx]

Here are the measurements from my Tasc and James White.
Tasc - 1.27
JMW - 1.28

Both were measured with a cheap Harbor Freights caliper.

Ian

 

[Underclocked]

That's good to know, Ian. Glad to hear that some top-shelf cue makers are still leaving some meat on the butts. I've played a very long time and when I pick up one of these skinny butt cues, I immediately put it away. It's amazing that my hand/brain immediately notices the difference even if it's only a couple of hundredths of an inch. Folks can argue that it should make no difference but I'm not buying that one (for me).

I have to wonder if it the trend isn't due more to current cue making equipment or methodology limitations than any real benefit of the design.

It also seems to me that fewer and fewer makers utilize the 5/16x14 piloted ss joint - probably more because of economics and relative difficulty than any real, functional difference.

But, to each his own. :grin:

 

[Jodacus]

You're not alone. I too favor thicker butts
and linen wrap, though some leather is becoming
acceptable to me. Last cue I ordered was with
thicker butt.

Just feels so much better !