Joss cues

Bob Farr said:
That's amazing. I'm not saying they don't but, could someone tell me how two people could make all those cues for all those retailers by their selves? That is the picture of efficiency.
BTW love their cues. I've owened several over the years and never had a complaint with the quality of the work.
In fact, I gave one to each of my grandkids that are old enough to play and take care of a cue.
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You should visit the shop. It’s totally underwhelming. That’s meant in a good way. I figured it would be a large operation? Nope. Small industrial unit in a commercial complex. Dan gave me a tour back in 2008. They have an approach that allows them to build a lot of cues without a lot of resources. Keith Josey has a similar operation. He’s very efficient with very little wasted movement. Most cuemakers approach making cues as a hobby. The guys that treat it like a job, do well. Pechauer and Joss are at the top of that list. My preference for Joss purely comes from hating proprietary pins. I have a Segen, and it’s a cue that I hate to love, because of the abomination of a joint it has.
 
Both Joss and Pechauer are great cue making companies. I personally don't care if a proprietary joint is used or not as I have only bought one shaft without a cue and that's the Ignite shaft for my Mezz. Typically, I just use whatever shaft comes with the cue and if I don't like how that cue plays, I buy another cue. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
I switched from my Schon to my backup Joss because the metal rings at the top of my wrap on my Schon (2007) STL9 started to pop thru the finish and annoyed me because I could feel them when I'd slide my hand up cue after each shot. I really like the balance/hit of the Joss, have it paired with a predator vantage shaft/triangle tip. The Schon is great too, but if I do buy another one it'll be a model that doesn't have metal rings, like the stl7 or 8, for example. But you can't go wrong with a Joss.
 
Sandbagger said:
Thanks for all the replies. I loved my Joss West. Will the new Joss cues come remotely close to a Joss West?
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A full answer would take many paragraphs maybe pages, maybe someone with more time/energy will jump in, or you can google to learn full history - but short answer is despite Dan Jane and Bill Strouds early shared partnership/heritage - Joss & JW are totally different animals - only thing really similar is the first syllable of the name. JW is generally known for higher end customs with a distinctive styling, while Joss is more of a working mans cue, phenomenal bang-for-buck player cue proposition. At least that's always been my take. I spent my pool formative teen years in Baltimore/Towson, MD area 5 mi from Joss HQ, so am sort of biased to what I grew up with - but both are certainly well respected. I've personally never hit with a JW, so can't offer any hands on playability comparisons.
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
Nah. Joss owners tend to not care about public opinion, lest we’d be playing with a Predator.
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That's the reasonable way to look at it, but last time I dared to say something negative about Joss there was a surprising amount of overly emotional blowback.
 
ddg45 said:
That's the reasonable way to look at it, but last time I dared to say something negative about Joss there was a surprising amount of overly emotional blowback.
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That’s on them, then. I don’t really slam many cues. I like to let people know what they can expect from their cue, post purchase. A lot of players don’t think about aftermarket shafts. One other poster mentioned his metal rings cut the finish on his Schon. That’s one of the reasons Southwest doesn’t use metal rings in their cues. Dan (Joss) doesn’t like them, either. For me, I’d rather the plain black ring that matches every aftermarket shaft out there. To each their own. I’m surprised to hear you had a bad experience with customer service with Joss, as that’s not the norm. But doesn’t mean it’s not true. The folks at Pechauer are top notch. And they make great cues. If they ever decided to go back to a 5/16-14 pin and a standard joint diameter, they’d be at the top of my list. Just because I have a different opinion than you, doesn’t mean your opinion isn’t warranted and valid for you. I worked on cues for about 30 years (just gave it up - said 50 was when I’d quit), so I tend to approach cues from the mechanical sense, more than the aesthetic. Same with motorcycles. Because I work on my own bikes, I tend to look at things most buyers don’t. If it’s not an issue for them, it’s a non issue. People could stand to be a little more understanding in that someone can have a vastly different opinion, yet still be “right”. And that opinion is just that - opinion. And it’s not personal.
 
Joss is a good choice.

Pecheaur is a good choice, but as some said if you plan to pick additional shafts you will have a hard time with the joint.

Schon has a following for their older cues. The new cues are not up to the same quality in my opinion. If you find an older schon at a good price take it. New schon isn't worth it if it was my money. I don't believe new schons maintain value either, but someone who follows that more can chime in.

Also depends on your budget and style. I personally think you will enjoy the Joss the most out of the three you are considering. Just based on what the OP has said in the thread so far.
 
The first really good cue i bought was a 4pt JOSS in about 1979-1980. With 2 shafts/ivory ferrules it cost the princely sum of $162bux. Roughly 40yrs later i called Dan and he remembered me and the cue. Great products by a great outfit.
 
Looks like this might be the right thread for me to get some answers. In 1980 JW and Bill had a shop on Garden of the Gods road in Colorado Springs. It was a complete manufacturing facility as I remember seeing his lathes etc in the shop. I had just received my first pay check from Digital Equipment Company and took it right to Bill for my first JW cue. It’s a rather simple cue, birds eye with 4 points of walnut and linen wrap. It was a single shaft cue as I couldn’t afford the second shaft. I used to pop into the shop every couple days and Bill was kind enough to take me into the shop and show me the progress. It , of course, is one of my most treasured possessions. It’s marked JW with my name engraved as well. I don’t remember how much I paid (the 70’s are kind of a blur). I don’t believe it has a serial number or model number on it

Can anyone tell me the years Bill had the shop on GOG road and where he went after that? I believe he went to his home off Uintah rd and produced from there.

I’ll get the cue out of my gun safe and drop some pictures as this thread progresses. I’d love to hear some more details about his business here in Colorado Springs! Thanks Ladies and gents. Look forward to hearing more!
 
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