.
Kersenbach cues hit awesome I have heard, I have never actually hit with one but I believe that it was Jerry Franklin and Kersenbach that both came up with the Southwest design of cue building that is so successful today for that company.
As for Siegel cues. He has two lines of cues. He has a production based line of cues that his name is stamped onto that are low priced (viking or meucii ranged pricing). Then he has his custom made cues that are quite expensive and according to him he makes them himself. His custom made cues start at over $1000 or so last time I saw them.
Blud's questions work fairly well for the person that does not know what cue makers are out there, their reputations, and what to look for. Beavis also had some good points such as (are the pros that endorse the cue maker given free product or payed?)
You will have great cue makers out there though that are as of yet only known locally. We have one cue maker here in Calgary that is making unreal hitting and looking cues yet he is unknown to a large extent outside of Western Canada (where 80% of the top players are using his cues). Eventually his cues will be relized outside of this area due to the fact that he has many touring players taking his cues on the road now to tournaments in the States.
The cue maker I speak of has far more respect for his cues locally then another cue maker here in Calgary. The other cue maker has been making cues longer, he has been trained by a well known cue maker in the States, he has given many of his cues to pro players from the states for endorsements, and passes almost every other question with flying colors. Yet he does not make a cue that plays anywhere near as well as the self taught, first cue maker I mentioned. The one main thing I believe you should look for when buying a cue from a custom cue maker is "What are the top players in the area of that cuemaker playing with?" When I say top players I mean the pro and semi-pro level players. Here in Calgary the best players are playing exclusively with a certain cue makers cues and that speaks volumes.
Kersenbach cues hit awesome I have heard, I have never actually hit with one but I believe that it was Jerry Franklin and Kersenbach that both came up with the Southwest design of cue building that is so successful today for that company.
As for Siegel cues. He has two lines of cues. He has a production based line of cues that his name is stamped onto that are low priced (viking or meucii ranged pricing). Then he has his custom made cues that are quite expensive and according to him he makes them himself. His custom made cues start at over $1000 or so last time I saw them.
Blud's questions work fairly well for the person that does not know what cue makers are out there, their reputations, and what to look for. Beavis also had some good points such as (are the pros that endorse the cue maker given free product or payed?)
You will have great cue makers out there though that are as of yet only known locally. We have one cue maker here in Calgary that is making unreal hitting and looking cues yet he is unknown to a large extent outside of Western Canada (where 80% of the top players are using his cues). Eventually his cues will be relized outside of this area due to the fact that he has many touring players taking his cues on the road now to tournaments in the States.
The cue maker I speak of has far more respect for his cues locally then another cue maker here in Calgary. The other cue maker has been making cues longer, he has been trained by a well known cue maker in the States, he has given many of his cues to pro players from the states for endorsements, and passes almost every other question with flying colors. Yet he does not make a cue that plays anywhere near as well as the self taught, first cue maker I mentioned. The one main thing I believe you should look for when buying a cue from a custom cue maker is "What are the top players in the area of that cuemaker playing with?" When I say top players I mean the pro and semi-pro level players. Here in Calgary the best players are playing exclusively with a certain cue makers cues and that speaks volumes.
