Joe Baker Cue Review

Fast Lenny

Fast Lenny

Faster Than You...
Silver Member
Well i am writing this for the 2nd time,i accidently deleted it the first time. :o

I aquired this cue at a great price from Troy also know here as Koinkid,the cue arrived quickly and it was nice to go out and hit some balls,its been 3 weeks since i have played.

The cues forearm and butt are made of jatoba,the 4 points are dirty maple and the cue weighs in at around 18.5 it felt like.The cue has a 3/8-10 pin and no collars on the forearm or shaft which was weird because i have only had sneaky petes like that.The butt felt thin compared to other cues i have owned,but i liked the way it felt in my hand.The balance was alittle forward which is also appealing to me.The finish was super glossy and the points were all nice and even,the woods used looked great also.

Now for the most important part,the hit.I have to say i started with an SS jointed cue and then went to the big pins as it was all the rave,the past year i played with SS cues again,it felt alot better playing with a big pin cue.The hit is very solid and felt stiff,a straight shooter indeed.I was drawing the ball well with the cue and following the ball 3 rails around the table with ease.

I was in action for 5 hours and won 5 out of 6 sets i played,not bad for not playing for 3 weeks and playing with a a new cue.I cant say anything bad about the cue,it was close to some of the big pin Phillippis i have owned,to be honest this cue felt better.The only thing i didnt like was the wrap,im fond of leather and i think on this cue tan leather would be the nuts,so maybe when i take some more money off the light i will have it done.Thanks Troy for the great deal and thank you Joe Baker for making a sweet player,your highly recommended IMO. :)

Here are some pics.

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Here are some pics of my Joe Baker with its original wrap and then with the new wrap.I just got it done last night when i picked up JPs to match my cue by cuemaker Dave Albrecht also known on here as nbll01,the wrap is seamless and takes the cues look up a few notches.I have had some good leather wraps done in the past but this is top notch,its better then the wrap i had Tiger do and is right there with a Fanelli wrap i had done.Im glad he took the time out of his busy scheduele doing all the work he has with JPs,cues,and wraps to get mine done,I couldnt be happier with how it looks.It was nice talking with Dave,he knows so much about cuemaking and it was a pleasure.His approach to doing whatever he does is simple,do it right and dont cut corners,thats why his JPs are moving like hotcakes and his wraps are flawless,great work Dave!Sorry for the less then stellar pics,i just want to go out and hit some balls with it now,let me know your opinions on it,thanks. :)
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Nice looking wrap ...

The wrap does look very good on the cue ... It does not surprise me that Dave did a great job on the wrap ... I purchased some JP's from him off of ebay a Ebony set and a Cocobolo set that he posted the auction here on AZ for... I doubt I will ever find two sets that pretty at that price again... Hell even at his normal prices they would be well worth it I really like them and though I did not need them purchased them anyway I have some customs coming in they will look great on... Dave does great work ... As does Jeff Eason who is a good freind of mine we both live here in the same town if not for Jeff I would buy all my JP's from Dave ... But Jeff is a good friend and as friends do we help each other out so Jeff usually gives me a pretty good deal on what ever I ask him to do for me... :) But Dave is a very Awesome guy to deal with too ...

JOE -Hey you shipped the cue Monday and here it is Weds Morning and the Cue is setting here with me... Talk about fast shipping ... I know I don't have to but I hope to try it out later this afternoon and once I do I will post a review of my cue that you built... I must say it was well packaged you know it is well pakaged when I'm cussing you out trying to solve the jig saw puzzle to get it unwrapped but it arrived in perfect condition and that put a smile on my face and made the work well worth it all... My first impressions of the cue were WOW!!! Your finish is outstanding I love a Schon and I don't think thier finish is as good as your yours... Did you do the points in this cue ? They are outstanding down to the razor sharpe line they end in and all look perfectly even from what I can see with my naked eye with out measuring ... Including the recuts which your pics do not bring out near the beauty and detail that you put into the recuts and those points also ... The Camel bone inlays look like Ivory to me and are very pretty just promise me these Camels will not haunt me and again very sharp and detailed... The wrap is not seemless but appears to be applied very well... The ring work is nice and looks much like the ring work you would see around a Schon's joint... With my love for Schon you know I like that ... The butt is skinny I think it is thinner then a Schon but that is fine for me I prefer small butts as a big butt does not feel as good in my hand... And I now have a place for that set of Cocobolo JP's I bought off of Dave they look very sharp on there. Well mostly wanted to let you know I have the cue in my possession and thank you for doing a great job ... It arrived safe and sound and looks good once I hit it I will post a little more about the cue in the thread you have been posting the pics of it in...


Thank you
Butch
 
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The King said:
JOE -Hey you shipped the cue Monday and here it is Weds Morning and the Cue is setting here with me... Talk about fast shipping ... I know I don't have to but I hope to try it out later this afternoon and once I do I will post a review of my cue that you built... I must say it was well packaged you know it is well pakaged when I'm cussing you out trying to solve the jig saw puzzle to get it unwrapped but it arrived in perfect condition and that put a smile on my face and made the work well worth it all... My first impressions of the cue were WOW!!! Your finish is outstanding I love a Schon and I don't think thier finish is as good as your yours... Did you do the points in this cue ? They are outstanding down to the razor share line they end in and all look perfectly even from what I can see with my naked eye with out measuring ... Including the recuts which your pics do not bring out near the beauty and detail that you put into the recuts and those points also ... The Camel bone inlays look like Ivory to me and are very pretty just promise me these Camels will not haunt me and again very sharp and detailed... The wrap is not seemless but appears to be applied very well... The ring work is nice and looks much like the ring work you would see around a Schon's joint... With my love for Schon you know I like that ... The butt is skinny I think it is thinner then a Schon but that is fine for me I prefer small butts as a big butt does not feel as good in my hand... And I now have a place for that set of Cocobolo JP's I bought off of Dave they look very sharp on there. Well mostly wanted to let you know I have the cue in my possession and thank you for doing a great job ... It arrived safe and sound and looks good once I hit it I will post a little more about the cue in the thread you have been posting the pics of it in...

Thank you
Butch
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I'm glad you like it and of corse I made those points in that cue.. Even the recuts..
 
Well

You did an excellent job and the cue is very very pretty ... I only hate that everyone can't see the cue in person to see what a great job you did on it ... It even comes with a nice Certificate of Authenticity from Joe Baker Custom Cues ...And encourages one to report any ownership changes to Joe Baker Custom Cues ... I can tell you there will not be any changes anytime soon...lol...
 
JBCustomCues said:
now thats a good looking wrap for that cue..
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Yes it is Joe and when me and Dave spoke about it we were talking about how good it flowed with the jatoba,now this cue is a keeper,looks good and plays jam up. :)
 
Review -

Here is the review that I promised after recieving the cue this morning ...

JOE -Hey you shipped the cue Monday and here it is Weds Morning and the Cue is setting here with me... Talk about fast shipping ... I know I don't have to but I hope to try it out later this afternoon and once I do I will post a review of my cue that you built... I must say it was well packaged you know it is well pakaged when I'm cussing you out trying to solve the jig saw puzzle to get it unwrapped but it arrived in perfect condition and that put a smile on my face and made the work well worth it all... My first impressions of the cue were WOW!!! Your finish is outstanding I love a Schon and I don't think thier finish is as good as your yours... Did you do the points in this cue ? They are outstanding down to the razor sharpe line they end in and all look perfectly even from what I can see with my naked eye with out measuring ... Including the recuts which your pics do not bring out near the beauty and detail that you put into the recuts and those points also ... The Camel bone inlays look like Ivory to me and are very pretty just promise me these Camels will not haunt me and again very sharp and detailed... The wrap is not seemless but appears to be applied very well... The ring work is nice and looks much like the ring work you would see around a Schon's joint... With my love for Schon you know I like that ... The butt is skinny I think it is thinner then a Schon but that is fine for me I prefer small butts as a big butt does not feel as good in my hand... And I now have a place for that set of Cocobolo JP's I bought off of Dave they look very sharp on there. Well mostly wanted to let you know I have the cue in my possession and thank you for doing a great job ... It arrived safe and sound and looks good once I hit it I will post a little more about the cue in the thread you have been posting the pics of it in...

-These were my reactions this morning when I first recieved this cue below is my review ...

I have gone down to the pool hall and shot several racks with the cue and as promised wanted to write a review on it... I don't have anyway to post pics of it so I will do it here in the thread it started all started in...

I walked into the pool hall today and got my balls walked back and pulled the cue out of my case . I placed it on the table and rolled each piece seperate then together and the cue rolls prefectly straight. by this time a few people came over to look at what I was doing and noticed the new cue and made several positive comments on it a few wanted to hit with it but I told them another day as I just got it and was selfish with it today...lol

The Balance point on this cue is right above the wrap at about the top half of the camel bone inlay so the cue plays forward... The balance is very good as the cue felt like it was a part of my left hand ... Yep I'm a Southpaw...

I laid the balls out on the table and started shooting them off using forward english to follow which the cue did great ... it also got some amazing draw on the cue ball ... it only took me a few moments to adjust to the cue and tip and I was able to do whatever I wanted with the cue ball which is a part of my game that I always pride myself on. The hit is stiff but not to stiff, again I hate to do this but I liken it to the hit of a Schon ... Not one of my newer ones but the R-11 I just recently traded that was made by Bob Runde. The cue gives you a good feedback and you hardly notice it as the balance is well and it makes for a smooth stroke and slides though your fingers like a well oiled machine.

The craftsmanship in the cue is excellent everything matches up wonderfully. Again the ring work reminds you of a Schon ... The inlay work is amazing as is the recut work ... The points are very sharp in fact I had to ask Joe is he did these himself ... Again they remind me of the sharp points that are highly sought after in the Bob Runde era Schon... The cue screws together with ease when you put it together when I went to take it apart it surprised me cause it was like it locked and I had to give a little extra tug to get it to start screwing back off... Which is good I was kind of worried with the ease it screwed together it may come lose but when it is tight it is certainly tight and not going anywhere. There are no nicks , scratches , dents or flaws in the craftsmanship of this cue. As I said when the cue first come in the finish is top notch to me ot looks better then the finish that Schon uses ... Sorry for all the comparisons to Schon but Schon is the cue of my choice and the best cue I have ever used so for me to compare it to such is a true compliment ... I hope Joe does get offended by my comparison.
If there is anything wrong at all with the craftsmanship my only knock would be in the wrap ... It is not seemless you can see and slightly feel the seem in it ... But the wrap is on there and it looks good the seem does not stick out like a sore thumb you have to take a closer to see the seem and feel it .. I have to put this in to let of y'all know this is a honest review and not some ra ra piece go buy one of Joes cues reviews ... Maybe this is nit picking and I guess it is because Joe really did a awesome job on this cue ...

I played about 25 games against a friend of mine who we are pretty close in skills but today he could not touch me ... Today I was calling him my rack boy ...lol...He swore he was going to bust my magic wand in half on the first day I got it from Joe ... Hey what are freinds for right...lol...

On a personal note after I got the cue this morning and posted to Joe he then called me... I could hear the excitment in his voice ... Heck he was just as excited as I was ... I could tell by the way he talked and the tone in his voice that he cared about the cue ... He cared about the work in the cue and he cared about me as a customer and he wanted me to be happy with the cue and his work ... Which of course I'm more then happy I feel like I got a deal from the greatest cue maker in the world right now... I also recieved a Certificate of Authenticity from Joe on the cue ... Stating when it was made and by who ... That I own it , Identifying the cue and requesting that I let him know if I ever get rid of it so he can follow the cue ... What more can you ask for with so much going on here at AZ it is so nice to find a cue maker like this ... Plus he kept his delivery times and the shipping was super fast ... Joe this has been a awesome experience and I thank you ...

I also have cues being built by other cue makers ... .They will have to work to top what Joe has done ... But so far they have been just as good as Joe as far as customer relations and working to give me what I want... I have 5 customs being built by 5 different makers so far it has been a very rewarding experience ... If they all turn out like this I will be a very lucky guy and will have chosen well...

Again Thank you ...Joe Baker ...
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Very nice review King and i am on par with you as i didnt like the wrap on mine but the cue plays so nice and the points are done very well.You got a LOA?,im jealous now! :p Nice work Joe. ;) I want to see some pics of this cue.
 
Fast Lenny said:
Very nice review King and i am on par with you as i didnt like the wrap on mine but the cue plays so nice and the points are done very well.You got a LOA?,im jealous now! :p Nice work Joe. ;) I want to see some pics of this cue.
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Well Lenny here is a pic of the cue. And he did not say that he did not like the wrap :p he just mentioned that its not perfectaly seamless.. Its just so dang hard to get those lizzard skin print wraps to be seamless because of the print design.. Anyways I glad that you like your cue and thanks for the compliments on my cues..

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JBCustomCues said:
Well Lenny here is a pic of the cue. And he did not say that he did not like the wrap :p he just mentioned that its not perfectaly seamless.. Its just so dang hard to get those lizzard skin print wraps to be seamless because of the print design.. Anyways I glad that you like your cue and thanks for the compliments on my cues..

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Wow Joe,that is a nice cue there!The wrap looks good on it also. :)
 
JBCustomCues said:
Nope. I normaly dont take shaft pics unless it has fancy ring work or something like that..
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So this one just has a black collar with a silver ring?

BVal
 
Joe ....

I met up with Jeff Eason last night and we played some racks ... I could'nt help but show him the cue .. He asked to shoot with it he is the first person other then myself who I have let shoot with it as we are very good friends ... He examined it first and left his wife look at it too... He likes your work and made some very nice comments on the cue ... His wife really liked your wrap on it ... He shot with it and really likes the hit on it ... Of course he likes his buckhorn and cues and I would not expect anything less from him ... Both of you guys take great pride in your work and do great work ... But he had some really nice things to say about your work and the hit of your cues... I'm not going to say who makes a better cue and I'm not sure I have even considered that ...lol... I consider myself very lucky to know both of you guys .and appreciate the work both of you do I must think highly of both of you I own cues made by both of you ..As Snagglepuss would say "Exit stage left" ... And thank you... lol

I played with it last night once again I am falling in love with it .. you know I am when I leave my Schons in the case to use the cue you made ... I was playing the houseman last night and there came a time when I really knew I had a great cue in my hand ... He broke and ran three or four balls before missing when he missed shape and ended up missing ...I took the table and started to run out I have two tough shots where I had to get past one of his balls and only had about a 1/4 of the pocket to do it with ... I was down on the ball stroking and I gave the butt a little squeeze with my left hand and the cue just felt so right ... The size of it and the wieght of it , I was like yeah great cue I can do this no problem ... I made my balls perfectly and got out when your shooting with a cue like that it helps your game .... When it feels that great in your hands and slides through your fingers so smooth ... It don't make the shots for you but it does give that extra edge in knowing you have the best tools to get this done with and that is a big edge mentally ...

I would be happy to post pics of the shafts or cue but I have no way of doing it ... I would not feel right asking Jeff Eason to take pics and post them as he is a good friend of mine but he is also a cue maker ... And I'm sure he would if I asked but I don't feel comfortable in asking ... But I can say that Joe does awesome work and I am a very happy customer...
 
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