I have a Schon custom built in 1984 and in 1985. I rejected the first cue Bob built for me for picayune reasons.
With shame and embarrassment, I behaved like a complete jerk and Bob was a complete gentleman about
the criticism I expressed and offered me a substantial discount to remedy my dissatisfaction. I told him I wasn’t
interested in money so he could either refund my entire payment or make the cue design again exactly as I had
designed it. If he couldn’t build my cue, there were other cue makers that could and would. Yup, I was a jerk.
Bob built the cue again in 1985 and swore he’d never get involved building a pool cue design that the customer
created. And to the best of my knowledge, he never did again. You could tell Bob what you wanted and he’d
build it that way. However, Bob and I actually met at a cue show and drew the design on paper that I wanted.
The 1st cue Bob built was very close but it wasn’t what I expected and the ivory inlays were too small. I wanted
jumbo size ivory inlays larger than any Schon cues customarily would have. It was definitely a 1 of 1 cue and it
was built as a custom cue order, not a Ltd. cue. That was probably because Schon only opened its doors in 1981.
I think Bob Runde is a total class act and was the reason Schon Cues became so successful for a long time. I often
wonder what became of the first cue Bob built for me. It is a exact copy of mine, however, the ivory bars & spears are conventional size inlays much smaller, plus the double red veneers were not the deep red color that I had requested.
The first cue attempt was truly splendidly executed but like some punk teenager, I found fault where there shouldn’t
have been any expressed. So maybe in a manner of speaking, I own the first Schon pool cue made equivalent to a Ltd.
With shame and embarrassment, I behaved like a complete jerk and Bob was a complete gentleman about
the criticism I expressed and offered me a substantial discount to remedy my dissatisfaction. I told him I wasn’t
interested in money so he could either refund my entire payment or make the cue design again exactly as I had
designed it. If he couldn’t build my cue, there were other cue makers that could and would. Yup, I was a jerk.
Bob built the cue again in 1985 and swore he’d never get involved building a pool cue design that the customer
created. And to the best of my knowledge, he never did again. You could tell Bob what you wanted and he’d
build it that way. However, Bob and I actually met at a cue show and drew the design on paper that I wanted.
The 1st cue Bob built was very close but it wasn’t what I expected and the ivory inlays were too small. I wanted
jumbo size ivory inlays larger than any Schon cues customarily would have. It was definitely a 1 of 1 cue and it
was built as a custom cue order, not a Ltd. cue. That was probably because Schon only opened its doors in 1981.
I think Bob Runde is a total class act and was the reason Schon Cues became so successful for a long time. I often
wonder what became of the first cue Bob built for me. It is a exact copy of mine, however, the ivory bars & spears are conventional size inlays much smaller, plus the double red veneers were not the deep red color that I had requested.
The first cue attempt was truly splendidly executed but like some punk teenager, I found fault where there shouldn’t
have been any expressed. So maybe in a manner of speaking, I own the first Schon pool cue made equivalent to a Ltd.
