ID my Schon!

roddyc

roddyc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've had this Schon for a few years now and it is my primary playing cue and hits like a dream. I bought it off eBay (for a decent price) when the finish was in pretty bad condition and had it refinished and sent it to Paul Drexler for a cork wrap. Anyways, I've e-mailed Evan Clark with pictures of this cue and though he did ID it as one of his from the early/mid 80's, he didn't really provide any other information. I was wondering if anyone could come up with a model number and maybe a guess as to what it's worth; I've looked through a couple old Schon brochures and while similar, none of the cues seemed to match mine exactly. Quick description (you could skip this and just look at the pictures):

-typical stiched Schon ring work
-4 points, 4 veneers: r/b/r/b
-birdseye/curly maple forearm, points, and buttsleeve
-black buttcap with red/black/red/black E ring
-shaft, bumper, and wrap are not original

So if any of you Schon afficionados have an idea as to what model this might be, please enlighten me. Thanks!
 

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It is a Runde era schon. You have a beautiful cue there. Seems to be a variation on one of the R-models. I'm sure TATE or HERSHEYBARBILLIARDS will be able to give you a more accurate identification. That is a keeper though!
 
Yes, I'd say it is an R3. The black butt cap is probably a replacement.

Values are very subjective, but if I owned this cue and was looking to sell it I'd look for $550 - $600.

Nice cue! How do you like the cork wrap.

Bill
 
I appreciate the replies guys and tend to agree with the opinion that it is probably a R3 with the buttcap replaced (it's rare to see a Runde era Schon with a black buttcap; in fact, I had never seen one before my cue). Were the older Schons customizble? That is, my cue looks identical to an R3 with the exception of the red veneers and I think the addition of an E ring.

As for the cork wrap, it is absolutely the best feeling wrap I've ever tried. It looks great, it feels great, I couldn't ask for more. Paul Drexler did a top notch job with my cue!
 
Identifie old Schon

roddyc said:
I've had this Schon for a few years now and it is my primary playing cue and hits like a dream. I bought it off eBay (for a decent price) when the finish was in pretty bad condition and had it refinished and sent it to Paul Drexler for a cork wrap. Anyways, I've e-mailed Evan Clark with pictures of this cue and though he did ID it as one of his from the early/mid 80's, he didn't really provide any other information. I was wondering if anyone could come up with a model number and maybe a guess as to what it's worth; I've looked through a couple old Schon brochures and while similar, none of the cues seemed to match mine exactly. Quick description (you could skip this and just look at the pictures):

-typical stiched Schon ring work
-4 points, 4 veneers: r/b/r/b
-birdseye/curly maple forearm, points, and buttsleeve
-black buttcap with red/black/red/black E ring
-shaft, bumper, and wrap are not original

So if any of you Schon afficionados have an idea as to what model this might be, please enlighten me. Thanks!
Click to expand...



You're cue is a R Series Level 3 Schon from the 1982 to 1986 era Model R-3. The 1982 to 1986 era Schons can be identified mainly by their high quality even pointed blanks with the maple dash rings (post 1986 the maple dash ring was replaced by the nickel silver ring), unstained maple forearms (some have ebony forearms) and full spliced colored wood veneers. Great solid playing cues. The maple from this era was of a very good quality. The mills used the old style conventional method of Kiln Drying. The shafts were cut & hung & cut & hung, took at least 6 months to complete a shaft from sq stock. The maple had high ring growth. The point blank craftsmanship was of high quality. Great Cues. These old Schons were as tight & solid as the same era Gus Szamboti. Gus had actually machined & supplied parts. You're cue can very possibly have Gus Szamboti parts. I suspect these older Schons to be raising in value well beyond their stated Blue Book values. Great Playing Cues, solid hit.

MC
 
pulling teeth

ChrisOnline said:
getting info from evanclark is like pulling teeth..

chris
Click to expand...


The reason why can only be speculation but if I were to speculate I would say it's because Evan wasn't working for the orig Schon company back in the early to mid 80s. Back when Gus Szamboti was supplying parts to the orig Schon company. Back when the Schon cue was a point blank full splice cue. Back when Evan had nothing to do with Schon. I know what you mean about pulling teeth cause I had tried asking Evan a few questions myself that I had already known the answers too. I was friendly with Gus. Gus had told me that he had been supplying parts to Schon among other cue makers. That's how Gus made his living.

Gus was a machinist that was machining cue parts and selling parts to the cue industry. Gus only made so many cues and a standard Boti only cost 250 bucks plus the COD. How possibly could Gus pay all his living expenses by the amount of cues he produced and sold thru the many years of his career?

Gus was machining and supplying blanks and cue parts to other cue makers. Schon was one of those cue makers. Anyone who owns an early to mid 80s orig Schon has a good chance of owning a Schon cue that was produced from Gus Szamboti parts. If I was to speculate why it's like pulling teeth to get any info from Evan Clark it's because he does not want you knowing this. He does not want you to know that he wasn't the orig Schon cue and may not know the answer to some older questions. He doesn't seem to like to answer questions about the Schon cue being turned into a computer aided made cue. Thats my speculation.

What I do know for a fact is that Gus had supplied Bob & Tony (orig Schon) among other cue makers with parts. Those old R series Schons were just as solid playing as the G Boti cues. Gus had a lot of respect for the orig Schon cue. He was supplying cue parts.
 
Concerning the Schon/Szamboti connection, it's true. Barry e-mailed me and informed me of the same. Runde made most of his own forearms. I can't tell which is which. The work on all these Runde cues is terrific.

Possibly the Gus forearms are made with staight grain maple, like examples 3rd and 4th from the left here:

http://www.palmercollector.com/Schon/SchonPage.html

My guess is that when Schon took off like a Rocket, Runde could not keep up with the demand, so he ordered forearms from Gus.

Gus must have had an incredible work ethic. I'm sure by the mid 1980's he had more orders than he could handle yet he was still supplying Palmer, Schon, and others.

Chris
 
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