Expensive Cue Shooter

[L'epine]

The Larry Lisciotti cue is mint, original, condition with almost no sign of any use, except for a tiny mark on one of the shafts. The LOA notes the original condition and the letter from Larry Lisciotti notes the mint condition. The butt and shafts were never refinished.

The other balabushka with more inlays and lighter colored shafts is using almost exactly the same spray on varnish and looks exactly the same, but with 365nm UV black light, it looks to me as if the materials for the varnish and the wrap are not the same as the confirmed original. The LOA done by Pete also does not say "Original" even though the technique and materials for the varnish and wrap look like George could have done it. They are not CA, epoxy, or automotive finish so not done by any typical refinish if it is refinished. The shafts look like someone did reseal them after sanding. There is some blue chalk residue trapped in the shaft grain.

 

[L'epine]

Lisciotti Balabushka macros

 

[L'epine]

Are all your balabushka's refinished, or is the condition just that good?

I have an all-original 72, and the wrap is hands down my favorite across all of my cues. So tightly wound, and I think impregnated with a little beeswax, the grip is magical...

Can I see your 72? That sounds like it should be a Gus blank?

 

[hello]

I use Kamui Clear Hard layered tips. The ping is completely gone if I switch to Kamui Medium with no clear backing. The second important item is the ferule material.

On the otherside, the butt is maybe at most 20% of the feel? But for me 20% of the accuracy comes from the butt, if the joint is not completely straight or if the balance and weight don't suit me, it's harder for me to get shape. The same shaft plays completely differently with a very heavy rear balanced butt verses a very light forward balanced butt. I like old school cues. Heavy, metal joint, rear balanced. I let inertia in my downward swing be my stroke. I let the weight more than speed provide the force. I find that I grip the cue less, my stroke is smoother, my angle accuracy is higher, my distance accuracy is higher, the balls drop cleaner since I'm not rattling the pockets with unintended spin.

I just don't play the same with modern carbon cues and synthetic joints or wood to wood.

The Balabushkas have French Champions on them. They don't ping.

I'm a big fan of a loose grip as well...maybe not Efren loose but loose enough to have a good throwing motion in play as taught by Briesath and Wilson.I never experimented with different shafts, always used the original one.

But Mark once told me Efren tried one of his shafts on his cue and said '' I like, can use? '' then an hour later went to beat Buddy with it

Regarding tips, I'm thinking of going back to a solid one instead of layered, seems to me they produce a truer hit...

 

[L'epine]

I like pressed LePro tips, I just find the Kamui Hard tips work just as well and feel harder than the LePro as far as I can remember.
With Kamui, I don't have any of the mushrooming problems and the tips seem to never loose their shape. I haven't had any complaints other than
have to chalk up often which is routine for me and feels weird if I don't chalk after every shot. I shoot so much better if I just let the cue hang the way it wants too and use gravity instead of my grip to hit the cueball. I feel the cue more, the shot is straighter, the results are better safeties and leaves and the sound of the cue is probably my imagination, but sounds more pronounced.

 

[skor]

After a long time looking, I finally found a Schon R12 in like new condition. It wasn’t cheap. Couple that with a Jacoby low deflection shaft and it’s a sizable investment (for me). Throw in a leather Instroke 2x4 case and Predator break cue and I’m carrying almost $4k into the pool hall. It’s going there because it is exactly what I’ve always wanted as far as balance and feel. I shoot better with it than any other cue I have owned. The strange part, is I worry more about carrying it than I did my JossWest (or other equally expensive cues). Fortunately, I always have friends where I shoot, who are willing to help keep an eye on it if I take a break from the tables. I guess the fact that it is THE cue I have always looked for, it seems less replaceable than other more expensive cues I have owned.

I love the R12, It's one of my favorite cue designs.
I have an LTD Schon that reminds the R12 a bit.
An STL3 with a 314-2 shaft was my main shooter, until I got a used 8 points Carmeli that became my main player for years (With a 314-2 shaft).
Maybe one day, I'll put my hands on an R12...