How Many Cues Are Too Many To Own????

I looked it up in my 1957 Encyclopedia Britannica and it said: "There is No Such Thing as Owning Too Many Cues".

I am content with that definition.
 
Thanks for the comments and the subtle humor......some funny remarks.

Sometimes I feel like I'm a show-off when I'm playing at a new pool hall or out of town tournament, On my home court, I just place my case on the table and lay it wide open and pick my cues. In my town, most of the players know what I carry in my case and aren't the least bit curious.

At a new location, I try to be a lot more discreet opening the case and selecting the cues I want to use that night knowing I'll pull out more than one sooner or later, if not at the outset. But if I lay my case open like I do where I mostly play (The Break Room- Fresno, CA) at a brand new joint, invariably it brings questions like "What'ya got there?" or "Hey Bill, come take a look at this guy's Scruggs....it's a honey.". I mean it when I say that shit gets old and kinda embarrassing after awhile, especially when they guess what the cue is worth or even worse, "What'ya pay for that?". Honestly, sometimes it just gets odd with how some people behave when they see some cues in person.

Personally, when I see a cue from a cue-maker I admire, I approach it lovingly and respectfully......I'll ask the owner about his cue and ask if I can hold it.........I look for the cue-maker's artistry and immaculate assembly of the cue. I have 17 cue-makers on my wish list and I'll never own 17 cues. Many of these cue-makers have since passed or retired and the active ones have a wait list that might see me reach room temperature before I'd ever receive a newly ordered cue from them. So when I see one of those cues, I just inspect it ever so closely not to find any fault whatsoever......only so that I can better appreciate the majesty of the cue creation. I once held and examined a level 6 Ed Prewitt pool cue and couldn't take my eyes off the butt sleeve veneers, inlays and just "incredible" collar workmanship.

Perhaps down deep, maybe I'm just a little more modest and shy about what I carry in my case than I imagined.

Cues come in 'levels' now? Yikes.
 
If think i need:
- One old cue (60-70's) a Joss, McDermott etc.
- One custom cue
- One modern production cue (I'll have it allready)
- One fancy Meucci cue with white Irish linen wrap.
- One break cue (I'll have it allready)
- One jump cue (I'll have it allready)

So I need only 3 cues :)
 
Blame case makers for why everyone carries more than they should.

Who ever designed the first of it's kind 2x2 or 2x3 case is to blame. After that came to introduction of 3,4,5 and so on.

This forces the first time buyers to also buy a larger case for future purchases. Plant the seed. Your case looks empty compared to another person's full 2x3 case, therefore you start buying more cues to fill it up 3,4,5 spots.
 
Blame case makers for why everyone carries more than they should.

Who ever designed the first of it's kind 2x2 or 2x3 case is to blame. After that came to introduction of 3,4,5 and so on.

This forces the first time buyers to also buy a larger case for future purchases. Plant the seed. Your case looks empty compared to another person's full 2x3 case, therefore you start buying more cues to fill it up 3,4,5 spots.

Case makers follow trends we don't create them.
 
Yup....cues always have. The number of points and inlays in a cue's design, not veneers, determines a cue level rating. The higher the level rating, typically and customarily speaking, the greater the market vaue, all things being equal, of course.

Level 2: 0 points, 0 - 25 inlays
Level 3: 2-6 points, 0- 6 inlays
Level 4: 4 - 10 points, 9 - 25 inlays
Level 5: 0 - 12 points, 26 - 50 inlays
Level 6: 0 - 12 points, 51 - 75 inlays
Level 7: 0 - 12 points, 76 - 125 inlays
Level 8: 4 or > points, > 125 inlays

The difference in value for some esteemed cue-makers can involve several thousands of dollars difference between simply a Level 2 cue and a Level 5, let alone a Level 7 cue or Level 8 where the price difference can be amazingly huge. When the cue-maker has passed or is retired from cue-making like Tim Scruggs, Paul Mottey, Bill Stroud, Verl Horn, or say recently passed Tad Kohara just to name a few, the cue acquires a much greater intrinsic value than when the cue-maker was still actively making cues. And then supply and demand take over which are totally influenced by the scarcity and rarity of the specific cue in question.........amplifly that by the Level rating of the cue which is essentially a base line value for that particular cue-maker's cues in general.

Yup, there are levels for pool cues and it's very, very, very important......you could spend $1800 on an Ed Prewitt Merry Widow cue or $7-8,000 for a Level 7 or 8 Ed Prewitt cues. A used Ed Prewitt in excellent condition that's a Level 5 cues typically will fetch between $4500 -$6000. A Level 2 Ginacue is worth at around two grand but a Level 6 Ginacue is worth more like seven thousand and that's just the general price difference and actual can be even much greater. Richard Black's fanciest cues fetch tens of thousands of dollars and he's still actively making cues.

I know about the price of Ed Prewitt cues with some certainty since I've been looking for a Level 5 cue the past 2 years. It could be my final, ultimate cue purchase after my custom gets finished next year.......Prewitt is just a spectacular cue-maker in my opinion........and the price difference in various Levels of Ed Prewitt cues can be friggin' enormous, as it is for a lot of other greatly heralded cue-makers. There's a lot more to a cue's value than just some points and a few veneers......Yup, Level ratings are involved too.
 
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I see players / collector getting flack for buying high end cues or for collecting. Whether it's a playing cue or a one that may sit in a case. It's their money. It's their passion. I probably wouldn't be a collector but if I had the money I could see myself paying for a high end cue. It would also have to be a player. I mean people throw money into cars and electronics. How many people stand in lines every year to get the new IPHONE. Men still collect baseball cards and comics. Not fair to knock someones passion. I didn't understand it until I started seeing some of the beautiful cues.
 
If I had the money I would have a collection. I really love a pretty piece of wood and fine craftsmanship. I spent a bunch on beautiful guitars and mandolins when I was working.

I went through I think 5 cues and 3 shafts finding out what I like. Now I have one fine cue for a couple of reasons. I have been shooting since I retired and a couple of my mentors told me not to switch around because they will all shoot a little different and I would be chasing rabbits trying to learn. Also retirement doesn't pay as much :D
 
You answered the question already. It's wants vs needs. I don't need a new cue, but I sure want one. If you own a cue and you play with it every now and then, you are a collector. You may not think of it that way, but you are.

Collect - To bring together/gather.
Collector - One who collects.

Famous car collectors usually buy and sell cars, buying new cars, selling old cars, or just flip them for a profit. They may not hold on to them for long, but they are still car collectors.

So how many cues are too many? There are never too many if you collect them :)
 
I look at cues kinda like coins.

When I was a kid, I started collecting coins because I bought a Whitman folder with holes and I was trying to get all the holes filled. I wasnt as concerned with condition etc, but trying to fill holes.

I look back at the opportunity I had back then if I had bought less coins, but Mint State high end examples instead of rough circulated coins, I would have been way ahead in the game.

When I started collecting cues, I was filling holes. But I soon realized, just like coins, what I should be doing is not trying to fill holes but trying to collect higher end cues and less of them.

I have about $5K-$10K total in the cues I have listed below. Most of them, I have "flipped into" or bought and sold enough cues to free up the extra cash to get into the cues.

I see so many folks out there just filing holes.

Best of rolls,

Ken
 
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when buying a cue will impact your ability to pay your bills thats when its too many.....
 
when buying a cue will impact your ability to pay your bills thats when its too many.....

Thats true in anything.

Sometimes you cant fix stupid.

What I do like about cues, coins and guns is it seems like you can sell them pretty quicky if you do need to raise some cash quickly.

Ken
 
years ago, a close friend of mine asked me about my pool cues. he said he's playing a serious money game. his playing cue was in bad shape - shaft wobbled and really sticky and the wrap had to be done. so i let him test my playing cues and he picked one. we went and i didnt realize this idiot was playing Jeff de Luna. so they played. he lost to Jeff like 21-14. Jeff was 18 or 19 years old that time and really strong. so after the match we went home to drink(we're neighbors). i asked him, "Dude if you want I'll just lend you that cue so you can go practice." he said, "No, i don't play that much anymore - I have to take care of my kid; what do I need a cue for?" from that time on, i started to sell the cues i dont play with.
right now, I only have 3 playing cues and all have 2 shafts each. the shafts for each cue differ in taper and tip kind/hardness so there's variety.
i love cues - the different kinds of "hit" they can produce, as well as the cuemaker's craftsmanship, but I limit it to 2 or 3.
 
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I recently lost count of how many cues I own. I need to open the safe and see exactly what I have in there. I am trying to not buy any more cues, but alas sometimes a deal is too good to pass up or a cue presents itself that you just have to buy. Even after I promised myself I was done buying more cues, I picked up a Black Boar. Whoops. O, well I think I could sell it for what I paid for it anytime I want, so I look at it as a free cue to own for a while and a place to park some money. At least thats how I justified it in my mind. Do I need help?
 
The truth is

what you need is a "quorum".
And how I define "quorum" is that moment in time when a man has acquired enough of (insert your personal fetish here) that his wife can't tell when he adds one or sells one.:wink:
I currently have a quoram of fly rods, fly reels, and of course, cues.
Tommy
 
Not including utility cues (jump, break) my limits on how many cues I own are set from a financial perspective. If I had more money it would be guaranteed that i'd probably have more cue's.

That being said, I only have one cue I won't play with. Just can't bring myself to do it - not because it's the fanciest, it just hits that good.
 
I guess if you don't use it, there's no need to have it really, but then again, that's a hard thing to resist! ;)
 
IMHO Five Hundred and Ninety Four. That is one for every month I have been on this earth. Of course it will go up next month. Hope to hit 1200 someday.
 
I was always happy with a good hitting player. Never even had a dedicated break cue until recently. Found out a friend of mine is a collector and when I was looking for a stiffer hitting player, he broke open the case and started handing cues to me to try. THAT was trouble. Sold my old Predator and now play with a Darren Hill and just got a Steve Klapp and an Alex Brick J/B cue. I'm hooked! If you can afford it and it doesn't negatively affect your life/finances, have at it. Great to pick up various cues and see how HUGE of a difference there is in the way they play. When my finances allow, I'll be seeking out a real nice Joe Porper again to replace the one I sold 15+yrs ago when I needed the $$$. Stiffest, most solid hitting cue I ever played!!! That will complete my collection.

Player-Darren Hill
Next in Line-Steve Klapp
Breaker-Alex Brick "murders racks"!
In Transit-Joe Porper Purpleheart Sneaky
 
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