Hagan, again....again

galipeau

galipeau

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So.... I finally got my Hagan cue in the mail last week! I randomly posted up on the for sale section (mainly out of sheer curiosity) to see if there were any out there. There were a lot of responses and I was glad to see such fervent fandom of these cues. I had only one or two offers of Hagan's for sale, and ended up buying one from Art (01rkclassic---- super nice guy to deal with by the way).

This is a very plain cue and apparently one of his earlier works from around '85 when Bill first started building his cues. It's purpleheart/bocote (I'm fairly certain even though the clear coat has yellowed slightly). The butt cap is cracked and the shaft has warped a bit but besides that and a few nicks and dings, it's a really neat shooter. The shaft is birdseye maple (awesome!) and has a spine that goes out 17 inches, then tapers out even the last 13. It plays pretty sporty. Antler joint and ferrule, cue is spliced down the center and has some type of black material in the middle. Leather wrap is oollldddd, but it feels nice, although the seam is seperated a bit. There is no A-joint in this cue, it's a full splice for the length of the butt.

I will try to leave this cue as original as possible, however i may replace the buttcap (hmmmm, antler or keep it black? not sure yet). I will post pics tonight. As far as the hit of the cue, I have nothing bad to say. I've never liked forward weighted cues, ever. For whatever reason though, this one feels great to me. It's just solid and easy to shoot with. I really dig it!

Just thought I'd share. If anyone has any neat peices of information regarding his cues, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks, ian
 
It's not a full-splice though.
It's full-length inverse ply afaik.
The butt is shorter than the shaft.
The finish is lacquer, not a clear coat.
HC's are great playing cues. One of my favorites.
 
JoeyInCali said:
It's not a full-splice though.
It's full-length inverse ply afaik.
The butt is shorter than the shaft.
The finish is lacquer, not a clear coat.
HC's are great playing cues. One of my favorites.
Click to expand...

I suppose this is a more accurate description. A full length laminated butt would more aptly suit the construction technique used for this cue. Also, thanks for the correction on the finish. If you have any recommendations on the butt cap, feel free to lend your opinion. :thumbup:
 
My main playing cue since 2008 has been a Hagan. I own several other makes but none can match the feel of it. One of mine has a ping sound that I love.

Hagan is an engineer and likes to experiment. He's more into cars nowadays from what I hear. He did things differently with the exotic woods, one piece butt, buckhorn etc. I liken his cues to those experimental race cars like the 6 wheel F1 car from the 70s or the Vacuum Car from the Can-Am series. A member here once compared Hagan to DPK or Balabushka. I think that's fair but others might disagree.

Enjoy your cue. Art is a stand up guy and helped me track one down too.
 
Thanks for the kind words guys,it was a pleasure dealing with both Ian and Ben,give me a shout when you come back to Indy Ben.I was lucky enough to meet Bill Hagan years ago and he was a great person to talk to and a great innovator in cue construction.
 
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Thanks for sharing. It looks like chechem wood to me. Hagan told me it was his favorite hitting wood. Pin looks like brass, his later cues had steel pins. It's common for the antler joint collars to chip like that. The shaft taper is long. I have one that's basically 12.4mm for about 13 inches. It actually hits stiffer than some fuller shafts I have. Must be a good piece of maple.
 
the chipping is only finish deep, but the wood could be chechen. like i said, the varnish has yellowed over time, so it hides the true color of the wood. I'm debating a refinish but not sure it'd be worth the effort. Cue has some roll, might make a new shaft for it. It doesn't bother me though, i don't feel that it affects the playability of the cue. I mainly bought the cue for its history and to have the specs of such a neat and unique cue!

i like that someone brought up the comparison to the old f1 car innovations. it does appear to be quite true that Hagans cues are something special, and his career was short lived in the cue world. if he ever has the chance to read this, he has my thanks and appreciation:)
 
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