Cue From Hell

[Purdman]

Espiritu's work now is probably better, but 10 years ago I saw nothing but shoddy craftsmanship in his cues which turned me off to them forever. Inlays coming out, the BUTT warping after a few months (yes, the butt..my friend bought a brand new Espiritu at JOB's during a Camel Pro Tournament from some vendor). I'm sure in 10 years he has improved his techniques...but you don't forget those kinds of things. Not slamming him, just being honest.

Matt

Got to disagree with you Matt. I like his older cues better. I also think you get more cue for the buck with Russ than most of them. Hit is a little stiff for me, but nice cues otherwise. I have never had one warp on me or any of the other problems you stated.
Hey, by the way, when we gonna play some more?
Don

 

[Matt_24]

Got to disagree with you Matt. I like his older cues better. I also think you get more cue for the buck with Russ than most of them. Hit is a little stiff for me, but nice cues otherwise. I have never had one warp on me or any of the other problems you stated.
Hey, by the way, when we gonna play some more?
Don

Nothing really to *disagree* about. I was just stating what I witnessed. Simple as that. I'm sure his cuemaking has improved vastly. 10 years of experience goes a long way I would suspect. We can play some tomorrow night if you want to come to Champion Billiards in Shirlington. I'll be over there around 4:00 or so.

 

[XzyluM]

You can't leave out the possibilities of someone not taking care of the cue or anything what may have happened to the cue after it left Russ' shop. I've never seen nor heard of anyone having a Espiritu with such a problem. I know of several people here that shoot with Espiritu that were made in the early years. None of them are warped, not even the shafts. I find it hard to believe that even if the butt warped it was due to Russ' cuemaking. From mine and others experiences, inlays will raise or "pop" over the years no matter what. I've heard of some of the top cuemakers and their inlays raising. Just my opinion and personal experiences.