The cue was made for a guy that grew up in the south where this willow is very prevalent. He used to cut pieces of it for fishing. He brought me a piece of it asking me if I could make him a cue from it, and so I did. He loves the cue, and it actually hits well. I have made several cues for this person already, and he uses the shafts that he already has, I made only the butt of this one. His favorite shaft is an OB1 that I fitted to his other cues a while back.
I could care less how "ugly" or odd a cue is, as long as my customer is happy with it. I am one of very few
truly custom cue makers, and as such I make cues "to the customer's specifications". This means I am flexible and don't feel I have to push my personal preferences or specifications on anyone else.