i am a cue maker from China,want to make friends here to know your opinions

rackem said:
This one does not seem to be very original or 100% your design.:p
http://www.sterlingcue.com/sterling-cues-pool-01.asp?SortID=18&id=105

I believe I may have seen it done before.;):)
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Yes, the factories are famous for offering the same designs to many customers. As well throughout the 90's the made a lot "tribute" designs. :-)

When my boss got into billiards he didn't know what a Gina cue was. When he went to the factory to choose cues for the first time they simply gave him a book and turned him loose in the showroom. So he inadvertently picked several cues that are clearly copies of other designs.

I know it's hard to believe but most people don't know of the famous cues or even the normal ones from most high-end cuemakers.

Now though, distributors are insisting on original design. The cue you pointed out and provided pictures of is also not an original design and I didn't say it was. I said the newest 20 or so are original.

That cue is from a manufacturer's catalog. Think Green Bay. Again it was unintentionally included and will probably be dropped as soon as we sell out.

Maybe someday a cuemaker will make a "tribute" cue from one of our designs..........one can hope eh.
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I know John. I just been meaning to goof on you about that one for a while now.;) :) Some of the new designs are pretty nice.:cool:
 
Hey John,
Did you design this case for Sterling?:)


It's a 2X4 soft side case.
 

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CaptainHook said:
Hey John,
Did you design this case for Sterling?:)


It's a 2X4 soft side case.
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In a sense I did because I was the first person to add pockets to that style of case. The interior is not my design though. All I have done with the Sterling cases is offer my input on how to make them somewhat better. We are working on a completely new line though that will be in the same class as Instroke but "better" as it will have the improvements that I wanted to make while with Instroke but was unable to.
 
John Barton said:
In a sense I did because I was the first person to add pockets to that style of case. The interior is not my design though. All I have done with the Sterling cases is offer my input on how to make them somewhat better. We are working on a completely new line though that will be in the same class as Instroke but "better" as it will have the improvements that I wanted to make while with Instroke but was unable to.
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Good job on the pockets, that case has a 5, two big and three small.
Plenty of room for pool junk.:D
 
question:do all the us cue makers use chemical to treat the shaft?will this hurt the shotting character of the shaft?
 
Hello Kaofa,

I have followed the thread for a while and have just taken a look at your website.

There are four suggestions - three for the website, one for the cues:

1.) Like many taiwanese sites, this one is very slow when used from europe. I can not comment on the throughput from the US, but selecting the page for a cue takes about 20-30s from the click to the completion of the picture. This happens with 6MBps DSL. You should find a hoster in the US or in europe and mirror your site to a .com-domain which people from the americas or europe access much better. The same thing happens with the sites of large companies like realtek.com.tw or asus.com.tw, but they have international domains in several countries.

2.) Browsing the pages for your production cues, I would have loved to take a closer look at some of the veneered points on the cues and the ringwork. However, there are neither real high-res pictures of the cues nor close-ups of the details. I am under the impression that the current pictures don't do your veneer-work justice. Offering larger pictures or close-ups of details might offer a better impression of the quality of your work.

3.) This is pretty minor: There is a flash-animation at the start of your page which shows a picture of a cue with a piece of chalk. The piece of chalk has undoubtedly fallen victim to a bad chalker - fully bored-in :-)

4.) I do not know the price for these cues - my chinese is limited to about 0 words - but if the money allows for more exotic wood, I would prefer to have points made of white wood like Maple or Holly instead of Melamine. At least I understood that the points on the last cues in the production line are made from melamine. While this is probably not a problem for the quality, having more wood on a cue is imho always a nice thing.

Regards,

Detlev
 
Email received back from Price Inquiries for Kao Fa custom cues!

Below is the email received back from 4 price requests for 4 different models of Kao Fa cues. All were custom cues. You can look up the cues I asked for prices here: http://www.poolcues.com.tw/service/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?num=5&cid=18
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Scott - KaoFa Cues forwarded your request to me. I am an American KaoFa Cue distributor/dealer, living in China. The prices you requested and other information about KaoFa cues is below.
Model Price(USD)* SA-03 $434
M001 $710
M003 $572
M006 $503

* Prices good for 30 days from date of message Prices on these cues include UPS shipping from the factory to you.

There should be no customs duty, but, if there were, it would be your responsibility. We have these cues in stock in a semi-finished condition.

This allows you to partially customize the cue to your requirements in the following areas: 1. Tip diameter - standard is 13mm but if you want smaller, we will provide it to you - No Extra Charge 2. Shaft taper - standard is Conical taper, but can provide Pro taper or European taper - No Extra Charge 3. Tip - Tip will be KF 11 layer tip. Can provide in soft, medium, or hard - No Extra Charge 4. Weight - Standard is 19 oz, but we can customize for you. Cue comes with weight bolts so you can modify also - No Extra Charge These model cues all come with two Canadian hard rock maple shafts and plastic joint protectors.

A couple comments I need to add. There are no decals on KaoFa cues. The inlays and the veneers are real, and the cues are truly hand crafted. The butt to shaft screw into wood joints are tight providing a wonderful transfer of the feel of the shot through the cue to you. After receiving your order and 50% deposit, it will take 3-6 weeks to complete the cue, depending on the production schedule at the time. Shipping time is normally 3-4 days to the US. I will keep you updated on the planned shipping date. The balance of the payment is required prior to shipment. Payment by Paypal, credit card or bank transfer.

As one pool player to another, let me tell about something else. I have just switched from a Varney J/B cue to a KaoFa break cue. I really loved the Varney but the KaoFa break cue with the 14mm extra stiff shaft is a "hammer." I first saw one being used by Chao Fong Pang in a tournament several months ago and thought he was breaking with a telephone pole. We are currently offering a deal on the break cues for purchasers of playing cues. If ordered at the same time, we will give a 33% discount for the break cue. I' not pushing this on you at all. Just wanted you to know it is available. The KaoFa cue is truly a great value , with good quality, playability and service. I think you never would regret the purchase of a KaoFa cue. Please let me know any other questions or want to place an order.

I read about the recent storms in Kansas. I hope you and your family are all OK. Thanks for you inquiry.

Best Regards Walter Curfman
kfcuedist@gmail.com
 
classiccues said:
Wow I went to the custom cues section and thought I was on the South West website.. :D

JV
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They made many South West style cues, or even copied an Southwest cue ever withough serious.

We all know that South West cues is hot in Taiwan, because famous pool players use Southwest cue personally. But not everyone can afford to purchase a real Southwest cue.

So, you will see SW style cue in Kao Fa. They are cheaper and quality is good also.

Cyrus
 
"question:do all the us cue makers use chemical to treat the shaft?will this hurt the shotting character of the shaft?" - Some of the chemicals that are used to whiten the shafts also tend to weaken the wood and make them more likely to warp.

I also think that the wood used now by many cuemakers is too "fresh" meaning it hasn't been aged enough and/or kiln dried the proper way before being cut which hurts the durability also.

My biggest problem though personally with the china made cues is the laminate or clearcoat applied to the shafts, I like the feel of wood and the laminate makes the sticks all feel like graphite cues to me. I own a Fury J/B and had to sand the lamination off it for it to feel right to me. I think if you would do away with the lamination and let your shafts age a bit more instead of the chemical treatment you would get a LOT better results from your shafts and more ppl would would buy your cues.

P.S. - I like my Fury a LOT and for the money it is a great cue
 
OrigJoker said:
"question:do all the us cue makers use chemical to treat the shaft?will this hurt the shotting character of the shaft?" - Some of the chemicals that are used to whiten the shafts also tend to weaken the wood and make them more likely to warp.

I also think that the wood used now by many cuemakers is too "fresh" meaning it hasn't been aged enough and/or kiln dried the proper way before being cut which hurts the durability also.

My biggest problem though personally with the china made cues is the laminate or clearcoat applied to the shafts, I like the feel of wood and the laminate makes the sticks all feel like graphite cues to me. I own a Fury J/B and had to sand the lamination off it for it to feel right to me. I think if you would do away with the lamination and let your shafts age a bit more instead of the chemical treatment you would get a LOT better results from your shafts and more ppl would would buy your cues.

P.S. - I like my Fury a LOT and for the money it is a great cue
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thank you,we never used the chemical before,and let the shaft aged,but the customers complained our shaft is not chemical treated,he said all the imported lines are treated
 
MichaelKendall said:
I believe, and correct me if I am wrong, that they use bamboo sticks in China
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Consider yourself corrected. House cues in China are the same level of two piece cues that sell for $50-$150 in the USA and are mostly well maintained with proper tips on them.

Players play with anything from SouthWest on down. I play regularly with players who have two SouthWests, a George, and an Omen between them. I also get thumped regularly by people wielding Furys, Universals, Predators and so on.
 
MichaelKendall said:
I believe, and correct me if I am wrong, that they use bamboo sticks in China
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near my house,there is a park,i will go there tomorrow and use my knife to cut a cuestick for you,please accept my gift:p
 
MichaelKendall said:
I believe, and correct me if I am wrong, that they use bamboo sticks in China
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near my house,there is a park,they planted a lots bamboo,i will go there tomorrow and use my knife to cut a cuestick for you,please accept my gift:p
 
zooropa17 said:
near my house,there is a park,they planted a lots bamboo,i will go there tomorrow and use my knife to cut a cuestick for you,please accept my gift:p
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Zoo is the shaft also Bambozo.:p Will it have the Chineese Dragon hyde tip.:D
Say how about showing us some pictures of your actual work?
 
"thank you,we never used the chemical before,and let the shaft aged,but the customers complained our shaft is not chemical treated,he said all the imported lines are treated"

I'm not sure how many US cuemakers use chemicals, Probably a high percentage since it does make the cue look better. I would rather see the wood just be aged properly.

I hope I could be of at least a little help to you...:D
 
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