Well that's just it. I don't buy shafts. I cut trees. I like every step of the process. I mean I thoroughly enjoy it. I'd rather be in the woods with a chainsaw than standing in front of the lathe. And I owe it to the trees I cut to use as much as I possibly can, to give it a purpose.
Well, obviously what didn't work for you, does work for me. You don't get it, and that's ok. Doesn't mean none of us get it. To be fair, you aren't a cue maker. I am. You are a wood & supply dealer for cue makers. Of course you want them to pay for the high end woods.
You advocate this from what position? What experience do you actually have as a cue maker, and what would you know about succeeding in the craft? You peddle supplies. That's your business. Cue making is not. When I make statements, the value of what's said rests on a long, solid reputation of a quality product. My name is attached to not only my cues, but also my words, as you have noted. If I am not afraid to put my name on the cues, then why would I be afraid to describe the cue or explain what goes in to creating them? Fact is that you sell shafts on grade & appearances. I choose shafts on performance & stability. All factors can be present, meaning a pretty shaft can be a good shaft, but it's not always the case. Many times a "defected" shaft by your aesthetic standards will outplay the pretty shaft & stay straight forever. I so believe that with all of my confidence, that it's the approach I have taken from day 1. And you know what? Without having to buy your pretty shafts, or anybody's for that matter, I have found incredible success as a cue maker. Taking things for what they are worth, not what somebody says it should be, has proven to be the best route. Players love my cues. So much so that demand is consistently strong, regardless of what the rest of the market is doing. They pay well for the nice ones, and guys without a lot of money can sometimes have an Ugly Duckling that plays every bit the same, for a few hundred bucks. My name goes on them all. Turns out people prefer quality product over quality words. Who'd have thunk it
I don't buy anything you are selling. I think you're full of it and quite frankly, you're building cues with the lowest cost of anyone I know. That's your recipe for a successfully built cue. If there was an award for a cue maker who can build a cue for zero cost, you'd win the prize although I don't know if that is an accomplishment to be proud of. I think that's your goal as you want to maximize your profits in each and every cue you sell. Nothing wrong with making a profit but like I said, you win the prize for the cues with the lowest production costs of any cue maker out there; zero or as close to it as is possible.
I don't think you have a
"long, solid reputation of a quality product". I think you're an AZ 'expert' and not a very good one at that. Everything you do seems to always have the best, you know the best, you use the best, you cut the best; ad nauseam. If you had a quality product, you'd be selling more cues than you do and you wouldn't be making reject cues in the same time as it takes to build a quality cue for more money. Obviously you can't build and sell all the high end cues you try to promote as you being the best and using the best of everything to the naïve and neophyte readers on AZ. You obviously have more time on your hands than you'd like.
I don't know any cue maker who would use a wiggle or twisted grain shaft in a cue much less one with a knot despite it being a blem or reject cue. Shafts like that belong in one place - the trash. As far as me making cues, I've made them before you knew what a cue was. I was coring before you made your first cue.
As far as selling wood, yes we sell wood and to a great many cue makers out there who use first line woods in their cues. Such quality as ebony, cocobolo, bocote, pink ivory, blackwood and similar woods because these are tried and true woods. These are the woods the public want the most. Not some second or third rate wood you're promoting because you get the wood for free. These are not backyard scraps that you can promote and sell to the unsuspecting public who don't know any better and rely upon the 'good reputation' of the cue maker. Truth is, these second rate woods command lower pricing on the secondary market. You can make two cues; one of Ebony and one of Pernambuco and the ebony will out sell the secondary wood 100 to 1 and will always command a higher price tag.
The most outlandish statement you made was as follows:
"...you sell shafts on grade & appearances. I choose shafts on performance & stability". Do you actually believe the stuff you try to sell on here? I can't believe anyone would buy this crap you're shoveling. You're trying to tell me that a shaft with a wiggle grain and a knot is a quality performance shaft over a quality straight grained shaft with or without high growth concentration! There is not one person reading this that will agree with you that a wiggle and knotted up shaft will have better "performance" and be more "stable" than a quality straight grained maple shaft chosen for its straight grain and growth concentration. I cannot believe that you're trying to peddle this misinformation, ridiculous and totally absurd statement. Do you really think that people buy your
"performance & stability" routine? You're so full of yourself. You're trying to convince people that whatever you do is best regardless of years of traditional knowledge that wiggle grained and knotted up shafts are for the trash.
All the high end cue makers of which you are not a part of all use first line woods and quality shaft wood. High end cue makers buy their wood because their time is worth more than the time it takes to cut lumber or rummaging through some dead wood. They're too busy being successful to post and too busy to worry about it costing them $48 more to build a cue because they are successful and can sell every cue they craft. Additionally, they don't have to sell seconds because they can sell all the first quality they can make. I don't think selling blemished cues does any real cue maker any justice nor would a quality craftsman want their name associated with a wiggle grain or knotted up shaft.
The point I was trying to make about putting your name on every cue is that someone who doesn't know your cues will see the crap cue you put your name on and think that's your standard cue. When that cue gets traded around, yes your name is surely on it. I still don't recommend it to anyone but hey, that's my opinion based upon successful dealings and being in business for 40 years (in this and other businesses). How old are you and how long have you been making cues? The problem is you're starting to believe the stuff you're trying to peddle and promote.
Anyone starting out who puts their name on a reject is a recipe for failure. Perhaps that's why you're building blemished cues instead of only higher end cues. I guess you have a limited market for your first line cues. Maybe you flooded the market with Pernambuco cues.
Have a nice evening as I'm done with this, you and your fantasy land.
