Custom Pool cue makers from China?

V

vintagecollectibles831

Active member
This is something that I have never seen discussed in the past. Maybe because nobody on here would really care, nor would know anyways.

I know of Japanese cue makers like, Keith Andy, Hayakawa, and some lesser known cue makers, like Yoshimura for example, but the only custom cue makers from China, or Taiwan that I know of are the very high end Zen, and lower end Sawdust.

I figure that if these Japanese cue makers can do it so well, then there must be a ton of really good cue makers in China.

The reason I ask is because US Custom cues are so expensive, so maybe there are tons of quality cues from cue makers in China, that might not be so expensive.

I understand that when you think of China, all you probably think of are knock offs, and low quality cues.

Same goes for the Philippines, for the most part, other then a few really good cue makers there, like JD, and there are several others too, that I can't think of right now.

Anyways, I am very curious if any of you guys have any experience with any high quality Custom cues from China.

I am sure I will get laughed at just for asking about this, but I am very curious.

You can't tell me there are no Skilled Craftsman, who build quality pool cues in China, because I am sure that there are. I am just very curious to learn their names, and where they are from.

Thanks for any thoughts.
 
I wonder if there really are any/many. In the US, people's homes are big, with a basement and a garage. A shop can be set up without hardly any extra overhead. In China, people live in much smaller spaces. Mostly apartments. No garages, no basements. I think the vast majority of places that would have equipment to make a cue would be in a factory, that mass produced them.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I wonder if there really are any/many. In the US, people's homes are big, with a basement and a garage. A shop can be set up without hardly any extra overhead. In China, people live in much smaller spaces. Mostly apartments. No garages, no basements. I think the vast majority of places that would have equipment to make a cue would be in a factory, that mass produced them.
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Japanese suffer from the same issue, but there are still several custom cue builders on that island. In the US, some cue makers build out of the pro shop at the pool hall, right? Maybe the same happens at some pool halls in China.
 
What you guys are imagining are only the cities in China. Think about America and NYC - many people live in tiny apartments and don't have workshop space in NYC, but that doesn't mean it's that way throughout the entire country, right? Same with China - there are plenty of densely packed megacities and also plenty of villages and rural areas with acres to spare.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I wonder if there really are any/many. In the US, people's homes are big, with a basement and a garage. A shop can be set up without hardly any extra overhead. In China, people live in much smaller spaces. Mostly apartments. No garages, no basements. I think the vast majority of places that would have equipment to make a cue would be in a factory, that mass produced them.
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There are a lot of cuemakers in Korea too that we've not heard of.

I don't think your theory is accurate.
 
There are only a handful and they are pretty good. They learned the trade through the manufacturer side. They are still very far away from American cue builders.

I've seen Zen cues and don't know the hype on them.
 
I believe that there are quite a few if not a lot that are more local than international so they are not known outside their country.
 
skor said:
Also a thing to consider is that China is communist so people probably can’t start a business.
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Actually China has a pretty large private sector. A lot of gov't/CCP oversight but there are businesses. Lot of rich business people in China these days. The party has actually lessened their grip in last few yrs in an attempt to get a stagnant economy going better.
 
a) it is not custom if the customer cannot specify all of the cue details
or
b) if any part of the cue has been constructed prior to the customer order.

c) a premade cue is not custom by definition

d) to me, no cue is worth more than $400.
 
billiards_watch said:
There are only a handful and they are pretty good. They learned the trade through the manufacturer side. They are still very far away from American cue builders.

I've seen Zen cues and don't know the hype on them.
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ZEN Cues are Master works of art, maybe in the same league as Black Boar for example. Ko Pin Yi's ZEN cue is a $30,000 cue, loaded with Gold and Silver inlays.

 
Speaking of Japan. I’m surprised no one mentioned Mezz. One of the oldest cue makers in the world.
There Exceed line of cues may be the most in demand cues anywhere.
An intricate one is quite likely to run five figures.

The only dealer in America is J&J Cues. The plain Jane’s are even rare going over four grand. Just about the only place to get one is on the secondary market.

If you want one from J&J good luck. They have a list of buyers that will take every one they can buy.

Hotter than any US Cuemaker even Southwest. IMO. There are more Southwest for sale than Exceed across all markets..
 
Quesports said:
Speaking of Japan. I’m surprised no one mentioned Mezz. One of the oldest cue makers in the world.
There Exceed line of cues may be the most in demand cues anywhere.
An intricate one is quite likely to run five figures.

The only dealer in America is J&J Cues. The plain Jane’s are even rare going over four grand. Just about the only place to get one is on the secondary market.

If you want one from J&J good luck. They have a list of buyers that will take every one they can buy.

Hotter than any US Cuemaker even Southwest. IMO. There are more Southwest for sale than Exceed across all markets..
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They are hot cues because of the Asian market. They don't have the luxury of choosing custom builders here in America. We are very fortunate. Their only chance of a good and high end cue is the Exceed line. It's rare because we know how slow Mezz's production is. I don't think its American buyers buying the Exceeds. I've only seen one and played with it. It's quite nice and shoots like a Mezz. Very good cue.

Mezz cues are perfect or at least the one I have. When you screw on the shaft the logo on the shaft lines up with the logo on the butt. Its not aligned if you put another shaft on it. It should line up with its original shaft. Either that or I got real lucky. LOL
 
MitchAlsup said:
a) it is not custom if the customer cannot specify all of the cue details
or
b) if any part of the cue has been constructed prior to the customer order.

c) a premade cue is not custom by definition

d) to me, no cue is worth more than $400.
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If you really believe 'D' then why even post?? ;) You haven't shopped for a cue in a LONG time i take it.
 
Quesports said:
Speaking of Japan. I’m surprised no one mentioned Mezz. One of the oldest cue makers in the world.
There Exceed line of cues may be the most in demand cues anywhere.
An intricate one is quite likely to run five figures.

The only dealer in America is J&J Cues. The plain Jane’s are even rare going over four grand. Just about the only place to get one is on the secondary market.

If you want one from J&J good luck. They have a list of buyers that will take every one they can buy.

Hotter than any US Cuemaker even Southwest. IMO. There are more Southwest for sale than Exceed across all markets..
Click to expand...
Yep. A lot of people only know Mezz as a co. starting in around '96 but Miki was making cues way before that. On his own and as a major part of the ADAM-Japan operation.
 
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