i have never dealt with or owned a SW. But having said that, i would have to go with Hercek. I have never dealt with a more gracious and responsive person, let alone cuemaker. I bought a used Hercek from here two years ago. a week after i got it, the ivory joint cracked. I looked up Joel on the internet and sent him an email asking how much it would cost to replace. He asked me to send him some pictures. When i did, he replied that he was sorry it happened and would replace it for free, since he had only made the cue about a year ago. For FREE! i didn't even buy the cue from him. And all this communicating happened within two hours. He always returned my calls and emails and delivered everything as promised. If I could order a cue and give him business i would do it in a heartbeat. He is a great person, and makes a killer playing/collectible cue ontop of all that.