John Parris

[X Breaker]

Today, I went to this snooker place before going home, and the owner came and talked to me. He asked me about my cue, as I was the only guy there playing snooker with a 9 ball cue.

I told him I have a John Parris on order.

He gave me a funny look, then he told me John Parris is actually dead, and John Parris cues are now mass production cues.

He then showed me his snooker cue, made by a local cue maker, with no inlay but a plain ebony butt, that he said he paid $1600 for. He tried to tell me it was the best cue out there, because the ash shaft was made with four pieces of wood or something like that.

I have never heard about John Parris passing away, I think it is kind of strange.

 

[Double-Dave]

He isn't dead, that's for sure. I emailed with him a few times maybe two-three months ago. I wanted to get a quote from him for a one-piece pool cue. It was 500-1000$ depending on the quality of the woods used. The gallery on their website turned me off a little.

gr. Dave

 

[X Breaker]

Dave,

I have emailed John Parris and have received replies from him, I certainly do not believe that he has passed away. I suspect the guy I met was trying to sell me his snooker cue, as he thought I did not have any snooker cue.

I cannot believe he felt that his cue was worth $1600, it was a very plain looking cue, made by a local cue maker here in Canada, 3/4, ebony spliced into ash.

In my opinion, it is not a nice thing to try knock other's product, especially when untruthful rumor are made up, in order to sell a product.

I suspect he was repeating what this cue maker told him, and I will try to find out when I see the guy again tonight. It is in a way amusing to watch him telling me "John Parris is dead," with a straight face, as if he was telling me a big secret that no one else knows.

Richard

 

[Slasher]

Richard, I know who and what you speak of I hit some balls with that cue last week.
I doubt John has passed, I suspect it was a language issue and the buyer thought he meant deceased but probably the seller meant his cues were not the flavour of the day anymore.
The cue is a four peice laminated ash and ebony, it is extremely stiff.
The deflection was surprisingly low but not a cue I could live with as it lacked feel. The cue was made by the fellow we were speaking of the other evening and way overpriced in my opinion.

 

[X Breaker]

Richard, I know who and what you speak of I hit some balls with that cue last week.
I doubt John has passed, I suspect it was a language issue and the buyer thought he meant deceased but probably the seller meant his cues were not the flavour of the day anymore.
The cue is a four peice laminated ash and ebony, it is extremely stiff.
The deflection was surprisingly low but not a cue I could live with as it lacked feel. The cue was made by the fellow we were speaking of the other evening and way overpriced in my opinion.

Hi,
Yes, I think it is way overpriced, as this guy's cue can never go even close to his retail selling price on the used market.
I believe he drilled a cavity at the front end, much like what Predator did, on his snooker cue. I did not try the cue, I was not interested. I have tried many cues/shafts built by this local guy before.
Anyway, speaking of deflection, I have found that the snooker table reacts very differently with english than on a 9 foot. I am not sure if it is the cloth or what. On a 9 foot, I sometimes aim a bit fuller with outside english and let the spin throw the ball into the pocket--on the snooker table, the same shot results in my pot being way too thick.
I need to practise more to figure it out.
Richard

 

[raemondo]

Hi,
Yes, I think it is way overpriced, as this guy's cue can never go even close to his retail selling price on the used market.
I believe he drilled a cavity at the front end, much like what Predator did, on his snooker cue. I did not try the cue, I was not interested. I have tried many cues/shafts built by this local guy before.
Anyway, speaking of deflection, I have found that the snooker table reacts very differently with english than on a 9 foot. I am not sure if it is the cloth or what. On a 9 foot, I sometimes aim a bit fuller with outside english and let the spin throw the ball into the pocket--on the snooker table, the same shot results in my pot being way too thick.
I need to practise more to figure it out.
Richard

Richard, I agree with you there. In snooker, I try not to use english unless absolutely necessary...most of the time hitting along the vertical axis will suffice....if I use english I feel like I have to hit the object ball very "clean" and not try to throw it.

 

[cueclub]

Are you talking about Ken's 4 piece laminated ash de roo? Nice hitting cue, but $1600?? A little overpriced I think. My friend just got 2 cues totally custom made from england and were $1500 and $1600 respectively. One is a full snakewood butt Glover cue, and the other is a snakewood/ebony Wooldridge. Both these cues hit extremely well.

Have you seen or tried David's one piece John Parris?

Dave,

I have emailed John Parris and have received replies from him, I certainly do not believe that he has passed away. I suspect the guy I met was trying to sell me his snooker cue, as he thought I did not have any snooker cue.

I cannot believe he felt that his cue was worth $1600, it was a very plain looking cue, made by a local cue maker here in Canada, 3/4, ebony spliced into ash.

In my opinion, it is not a nice thing to try knock other's product, especially when untruthful rumor are made up, in order to sell a product.

I suspect he was repeating what this cue maker told him, and I will try to find out when I see the guy again tonight. It is in a way amusing to watch him telling me "John Parris is dead," with a straight face, as if he was telling me a big secret that no one else knows.

Richard

 

[axlrose]

I am very pleased to hear John has not passed away. I own one each of his Classic and Superior models, and just placed and order for one of his Ultimate cues yesterday. I have been using John's cues for the past 15 years, except for one Hunt & O'Byrne about 12 years ago, and have loved them right from the start.

Ryan

 

[jediphil]

snooker cues should not cost that much guys cause they dony have inlays ect.

the top end custom cues should be $1000 ish and john parris is not dead he custom made steve davis's pool cue.

here is a link for all you snooker fans for all your needs.

i have dealt with these guys a lot and have a very nice hand spliced ebony snooker cue which cost $400 ish

http://www.fcsnooker.co.uk/

remember stephen hendry won 7 world titles with a cue he bought from your version of walmart which cost $50

 

[X Breaker]

I have ordered a Supreme with the SD extension from John Parris. I like Olive wood so I am looking forward to it.

For a snooker cue, I like the work to be good, but the playability is what I think I am paying for. I am not sure if I will like a cue, until I hit with it anyway. I dont mind to pay over $1000 if the cue is really beautiful and is a collectible piece with good investment value. In the case with the cue by this local cue maker, I just do not see that happening. There is no inlay, and is very basic.

I am playing with a very inexpensive John Parris basic model now. It has four sharp ebony points into an ash shaft. It is a basic cue.

I sometimes use my 9 ball cue to play snooker, too. However, I have lots of problem with the bigger tip when I have to hit the cue ball while it is frozen on the cushion.

I was going to order a one piece, but I was told that it could be quite a hassel to carry round. I do not believe one piece cue hits better than two piece anyway--I think it depends on who made the cue, the wood, and how it was built.

My 9 Ball cue is 58", but my snooker cue is only 57".

Is it common to have a 57" snooker cue? Is there a special reason for a cue 57" long rather than 58"?

Richard

 

[Boro Nut]

Is it common to have a 57" snooker cue? Is there a special reason for a cue 57" long rather than 58"?

It depends how tall you are. Generally a snooker cue tip should be level with the top of your shoulder. Unless you have oddly long arms you will usually find that is about the right proportion for you.

Boro Nut