How long have you kept your playing cue?What made you change?

in 1986, i had been playing since 1968. i never had my own cue, mainly because i was hitting the bar tournament scene in new york, and if you showed up with your own cue, they would take out a gun and shoot you. i didn't want to die, so i had no cue. anyhow 1986 in long island loree jon jones had an exhabition. they had 21 people show up and had a raffle. i won the raffle and it was a mali cue. a T-1. bottom of the line $110 mali. nothing in it's forearm, or buttsleeve. black nylon wrap, and 21 oz. i used it for 3-cushion billiards. this led me to get a catolog for Mali cues. the T-7 caught my eye. a simple elegent cue with deep polished rosewood, and mother of pearl flowers in the buttsleeve. i ordered it in 17oz. and for $145 retail, the cue sang rocked and soared over every other cue i tried after!!!, i started hanging out with joe franke, now of joeseph full splice cues. he said " that cue had a special ping and hit like a beast!" it really was a special cue. i instantly gained full respect for the Henry William Theodore Mali and company. cloth makers since 1826, they started making pool cues in 1968. i tried other peoples cues since, such as an original 1961 balabushka, ginky's southewest, schon, cuetec, samzbotti, and still beleive the balance is what "makes" a cue, not anything else. anyhow, i decided i wanted a facy Mali, so i purchased the cue i use today a Mali M-14. points, veneers, diamonds,windows, frames ring work, ebony,coccobolla, the cue is beautfull without being "overdone" and for $375, you can't beat it. i will say this to anyone. listen --- Mali has a cue out now, that is the greatest cue in the world for the money. don't think so? take my challenge. try it. the brand new Mli V-9. this cue is made to specifactions that make all other mass produced cues weep! with it's african ebony forearm and butt sleeve, and it's arizona crushed turqiouse islands, surrounded by sand white borders, this cue for $250!!!! is unbeatable. a beauty, that hits as well as it looks to the human eye, perfect! Mali billiard expertise since 1826.
 
lilmspoolplaya said:
I play with a Joss with a Falcon shaft reason being I like the feel of the Joss but the shaft was too fat for my likeing so I took the shaft off of my Falcon its tappered and it shoot really well like that.... The reason I switched from my Josswest .... Well there are quiet a few reason for that... I am fixing to have it restored to mint condition and just simply add it to my collection because it is invaluable to me .....It is about three inches longer than any other cue that I have come in contact with and if I am playing in limited space I don't want the length of my cue to restrict my stroke .... I live in Jackson and I don't want that cue to walk off if ya know what I mean ....It took me a while to get use to a smaller cue not only is the shaft different the butt is slimmer than the other one also ... I still want to play with my JW and I have internal conflict about not playing with it but I'd rather put it up than have something happen to it
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I have an old Joss West that I've retired for the same reasons you've stated. Nothing I use now hits like it but it's too valuable to drag around to bars and poolrooms.
 
current playing cue

I have been playing with my Porper cue for about 3 months now and I have made a decision to switch it up for a little while. Reason being is that I have recently come back to playing pool and this cue is too light for me right now even though I prefer light cues right now I just dont have a stable enough stroke to control it so Ive decided to get another cue with a little more weight to help me get my stroke under control. Also the shaft is very whippy and although I like some whip in my shaft I need a more solid shaft right now for the same reasons above. Although I have other cues I can use Im just going to get a new cue (mentally for me, its like starting fresh) and Bludworth seems to be what I'll be picking up next. His prices seem very fair for a plane jane playing cue and I hear he builds a pretty good hit into them.
 
My first cue in 1974 was a Palmer Original. Bought as a throw away for $12.00 as it had been abused. I had it re-wrapped, refinished and a misc. piece of something put in the butt where "Palmer Original" had been broken out of it. I think I paid all of $50.00 to have that done. I used the same cue for about 17 years until someone told me it may be worth a lot of money - I didn't want anything to happen to it at that point. I decided to retire it in 1991.

I tried just about every cue I could get my hands on for a couple months, including every cue in the dealer case at the pool room. I kept going back to one particular Schuller cue which I bought with an extra shaft. I have been using it for what? 13 years now I guess and have no desire to have any other. It is the most solid, great hitting cues I have ever tried.

There are some I have never tried however but now see no need anyway.

Phyllis Gumphrey
 
Me, I've been playing for 5 1/2 years and been through 10 cues. But, this last one, my Phillippi made by the son whose name is Rick, is sticking by my side for some time to come. Having won 2 tournaments with it is all I need to say. THAT particular stick works for me and MY STICK PAYS FOR ITSELF. That's all that counts. Does your stick pay for itself???? Huh?
 
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To me a cue was just a bar stick cut in half,,,,,,,,,,,,,,until that day,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,omg, i dont know what to say.
The change in the hit of a fine cue as opposed to a sneaky pete or production cue.
Some people never FEEL the cue,,,,,,,,,,,they cant or wont feel the difference in materials. Plastic vs ivory ferrules is a good example,,,,some people cant tell the difference in hit.
Tip hardness is another spot that some people cant tell the difference.
Joint material, or type of joint makes such a great difference. And shaft taper can greatly affect the way a cue plays.

thanks to a rotten ole fart from Jacksonville for pointing all this out to me,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Im neakin up on you Wayne.

What feels good to you is important. I chose a cue by the makers reputation and told him what I wanted,,,,,,,,,,,,thanks Barry,,,,,,,,,,now I play with a Szamboti, simply the best
 
cardiac kid said:
Same "one of a kind" Schon for twelve years. Play mostly with the 12.75mm shaft. I also have five other Schon shafts from 13mm to 13.25mm. Same Schon break stick for at least ten years. Thanks Evan!
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Can you tell the difference between the shafts? What is your reason to have the different sizes? Thanks, Ken
 
koko: Good point. :) I also believe that you should only buy a cue that you can pay for with winnings. Ha ha ha.

cheers,
jer9ball
 
When I first started playing I bought a Stratford new for about $65. The wrap got really loose in a short time so the room owner exchanged it for me so I "upgraded" to a nicer Stratford (!). Sold it, bought a Meucci, sold it, bought a cooler Meucci, sold it, bought a Joss (plain ebony points with a little "J" inlaid in each one). That cue hit well. Traded the Joss for a pretty nice Schon, then just bought a Black Boar. I think I'm done for the next decade...
 
Hi Ken,

I originally had six Schon shafts all 13.25mm. I found that Moori tips seemed to work the best. I've changed from hard to medium on most shafts. I originally played only 14.1. I found I could aim and hit the cue ball more accurately with that sized shaft. Several years ago, during a tournament at Classic Billiards, I got up from a shot too quickly. I banged the shaft against the hanging table light. Put a small dent in it. Tried to get the dent out with a drop of water and a match. Held the match up too long. Put a burn mark in the shaft. Gave the shaft to Mike Webb of Webb Cues. He removed the dent. He also decreased the shaft size to 12.75mm. I loved it for nine ball. Changed to a 13.25 for one hole and 14.1. Then I didn't bother changing. I play with the small shaft virtually all the time! I wish I could describe why I prefer it. Must be in my head!

Through the years, every tip change brought a small decrease in shaft size. I asked Mike to make me another 12.75mm shaft. It turned out 13mm. The other shafts are 13.25mm or less.
 
out of all the shafts ive ever played with Harris Ball made one that hits like its spring loaded,,,,,,,,,,,,great for breaking
 
Its been a long cue road for me. My first cue was a McDermott that my dad bought me for high school graduation. Played with that for 7 years. Not knowing anything about cues and how they hit, I was happy with it. Until I played with some other peoples cues. Wow, was that McDermott soft! Wood to wood joint and a super soft tip. I played with my dads Paul Mottey for a 6 months that he won off of some guy who couldn't pay him so gave him the cue. Then I bought a Predator 2K4. I liked it alot and played with it for 8 months or so. Then comes a Predator LE8. A beautiful cue that was fine but everyone else I knew was going to custom cues. I bought a Jacoby w/predator shaft loaded with turqoise and it was nice too. Wanted to get away from predator shafts. I met Ted Harris at Valley Forge and hung around and listened to the cue makers talk (I.E. Capone, McWorter, Buss and so on) about who makes great cues. I ended up getting a Ted Harris and must say I plays like a dream. Perfectly weighted and it just works for me. I will never get rid of it even though it is a rather plain looking cue. I now play with a Jerry McWorter and it is very nice as well. Still adjusting to it but plays very nice. I think I am done with new cues for awhile. Thanks.
 
CueHunter said:
Its been a long cue road for me. My first cue was a McDermott that my dad bought me for high school graduation. Played with that for 7 years. Not knowing anything about cues and how they hit, I was happy with it. Until I played with some other peoples cues. Wow, was that McDermott soft! Wood to wood joint and a super soft tip. I played with my dads Paul Mottey for a 6 months that he won off of some guy who couldn't pay him so gave him the cue. Then I bought a Predator 2K4. I liked it alot and played with it for 8 months or so. Then comes a Predator LE8. A beautiful cue that was fine but everyone else I knew was going to custom cues. I bought a Jacoby w/predator shaft loaded with turqoise and it was nice too. Wanted to get away from predator shafts. I met Ted Harris at Valley Forge and hung around and listened to the cue makers talk (I.E. Capone, McWorter, Buss and so on) about who makes great cues. I ended up getting a Ted Harris and must say I plays like a dream. Perfectly weighted and it just works for me. I will never get rid of it even though it is a rather plain looking cue. I now play with a Jerry McWorter and it is very nice as well. Still adjusting to it but plays very nice. I think I am done with new cues for awhile. Thanks.
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See your next post in 6 months. Who will be the maker?
 
Good observation there schitz. I'm guessing he'll step up and buy his own gear and start building from scratch.
 
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