Holly said:
BB cues are more than a "piece of wood". Tony is an artisan as well as a craftsman. There is a reason why they appreciate in value and it not just because they are rare to find.
Not everyone needs or wants to be a collector, but to appreciate something for it's own sake is worthwhile all the same.
It doesn't matter what the $$ value is on a thing, whether a cue or something else, but the meaning and value that the person places on it.
Very True! I cannot argue against your point, but instead, only express my own opinion.
To me, a cue was meant to be played with. I will say that the BB cues i have, play phenomenal. But i will never be able to "see" them as pieces of art.
They were built to play with, and play well they did.
The only reason they are in the closet is the value that OTHER people put on them. In fact, there have been several occasions where someone found out what type of cue i had, and then proceeded to annoy the daylights out of me with questions, and offers, or just flat out creepiness.
Like making a big cash offer, which i turned down, to the same guy "hanging" around after the fact watching me like a hawk, to him hanging in the parking lot with his friends for no particular reason, but when i go to leave, they are looking left and right, to see if anyone else is in the parking lot like i am gonna get jumped, and obviously taking note of what type of car i drive.
To later, the same guy showing up at other places i go, continuing to make offers each time, and annoying me once again.
It's even gotten to the point where someone waited in the parking lot, and tried to follow me home to see where i lived. Add to that, that i had one of them stolen in the past, but was able to recover it almost immediately as i knew who did it.
Now this stuff doesn't happen all the time, and i don't play pool that much anymore, but it is still quite annoying when they did happen.
Enter simple plain jane cue.
No more watching my back and being paranoid, and all the annoyingness goes away.
I will never be the type of person who buys a cue just to look at it or to take pride in the fact that i "have" one. That is reserved for someone else.
If it can't be played with, it might as well be a Native American totem pole in a museum cause if it doesn't pocket balls in the hole, it's not a cue in my eyes.
That isn't saying that cues should not be appreciated as art.
It's just saying that i don't see them that way.
To me, they either hit good, or hit bad, and because of that, are either worth the price, or not.
But having said that, to me, no cue's hit is worth $10K.