Do You Play With Both Shafts?

Pushout

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yeah, I know, somebody's going go for it with a topic like this. Anyway, I've been thinking recently, with all the talk about tips and such. All the custom cues I've owned and more than a few of the production-line cues have been ordered or came with two shafts. Years ago, a friend of mine told me that he always played with both shafts, one on even days and the other on odd days. He said that way he kept both shafts/tips in playable condition. I've done this myself for many years now.
A guy back where I used to live in NYS told me that if he bought a used cue with shaft that had never been played with, it was a good selling point. I've never agreed with this. I've also never had a situation like that come up. I've never had a problem selling a cue with two used shafts. I take REAL good care of my stuff :)
Do you folks with cues with two shafts play with both, or not? Do you consider an unused shaft a good selling point?

PS, I also agree, to a point, that one shaft usually plays better than the other, but I've always used both.
 
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i have always used both shafts of every cue i have owned except my Paul Mottey... when i first got it, i only used one shaft.. it played so good.. i coudnt see how the other shaft could play any better so i never used it.. a month or two later when i was getting ready for a new tip, i got a third shaft from a 1986 Paul mottey, the joint ring is slightly different but the shaft played great as well.. it had a regular hard tip on it.. triangle or lepro or something, anyways.. my orginal mottey shaft has a moori on it, and this one has the tip it always did.. and i like switching back and forth.. they both play great.. and the whole time, i still have that virgin shaft tucked safley away just icase it is ever needed :)

so the more shafts you have the better!!!

chris
 
I play w/ both. One has a Moori S antd the other a Tiger Everest. I can usually adapt to one and like having 2 different feels available.
 
Yes, I play with both shafts. I favor one over the other, but some days, if not shooting as well as I think I should be, I'll switch to the other shaft, and it seems to help. Probably just a 'head' thing, but don't care, as long as it works.
As to keeping one shaft unused for later resale, I don't plan on selling my cues, so it's not a factor. When I'm gone, my son can worry about selling them with two used shafts.:)
 
i've only played with one shaft and kept one brand new,when i've sold or traded cues this has always help with the sale.
 
I only use one shaft for the most part, but this is only due to the fact that one shaft deflects significantly less than the other. Being a Predator user for a long time, it makes adjusting to the high squirt shaft difficult. Every once in a while, I'll take it out and shoot some with it, but usually only when I'm practicing my straight pool or banging balls around.

After using Predator for a long time, it takes a lot of trust in a high squirt shaft to spin the ball sometimes.
 
I usually will hit balls with both shafts if I have 2 for a cue. Try to find the one I like more and use it as my daily playing shaft. Don't like to switch around to much unless both shafts play very similar. Lately I've been doing tip experiments so I'll put different tips on the shafts and see which I like more.

Would think it would only hurt resale if both shafts were small dia, or it was a highly collectible cue where a unplayed shaft would be of some benefit.
 
I think that playing with both shafts is a good idea. I also think that the reason for having two in the first place was to become comfortable playing with both of them.

I know that there are no gamblers here on AZ:D , however if you were in the middle of a game of five ahead for $500 or $1000 playing nine ball, and you were not playing a Nit, and you lost your tip, you would certainly want another shaft that you feel comfortable with.

The only way I know how to make that happen, is to alternating shafts on your main playing cue every time you play.

While you may like one more than the other, this will make both seem like old friends, and friendship takes time to develop, just like a good stroke.

Manwon
 
manwon said:
I think that playing with both shafts is a good idea. I also think that the reason for having two in the first place was to become comfortable playing with both of them.

I know that there are no gamblers here on AZ:D , however if you were in the middle of a game of five ahead for $500 or $1000 playing nine ball, and you were not playing a Nit, and you lost your tip, you would certainly want another shaft that you feel comfortable with.

The only way I know how to make that happen, is to alternating shafts on your main playing cue every time you play.

While you may like one more than the other, this will make both seem like old friends, and friendship takes time to develop, just like a good stroke.

Manwon

I completely agree, but since I started using predator shafts I haven't had to worry about it because they all play pretty much the same. I currently have two shafts with different tips. I mostly play one pocket and use the one with the softer tip, but when I play 9-ball or 14.1, I will switch to the shaft with the harder tip.
 
manwon said:
I think that playing with both shafts is a good idea. I also think that the reason for having two in the first place was to become comfortable playing with both of them.
Manwon

When I started playing, most people had one shaft for Straight pool and one for 9 ball. IIRC, one shaft was smaller diameter and used for 9 ball because you would use more english having to move the cue ball farther. That was the thinking at that time, anyway.
Thanks for the replies!
 
I always use both shafts. On my Bill Schick, which is my main cue for 14.1,there is no noticeable difference in the feel of the shafts. On some of my other cues you can certainly feel a difference, but I can live with it, and that way I wear the tips evenly for both shafts.:) :)
 
I had a nice looking OMEN with 5 shafts, each had a different tapper and different tips, I kept the joint protectors color coded so I could tell them apart. I used them when conditions of the table changed from place to place. I feel better using a smaller tip 12.5 or so on a really fast table with Simonis 870, but on a bar table with nappy ass clothes, I use a 13 mill, with a triangle tip.
 
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