Good day,
I came to realize that I have had this cue in my possession long enough to put a review out - thinking back how much I craved such a read before buying it... I came up with the idea of a review as thorough as it is possible, calling it a "from tip-to-bumper review" that would list everything one might want to know.
I have the cue here and I am taking pictures of every noted part of it, so on shall we go...
The tip: Both tips have a pad under them protecting the ivory ferrules.
On shaft one: the tip is larger, taller as it has not been played with (maybe test-hit) and the pad appears to be thick as well. On this shaft the ivory ferrule looks solid but it lacks greatly visible grains and color, it is closer to white than yellow.
On shaft two the tip has been played and worn down more, it is still playable - as I hate tall tips - but its replacement is due in time. The pad appears to be thinner but the majority of it is not missing but its color faded into the tip's color.
The ferrules: The best part here is the ferrule which is a lot better than on the other one, it is more of a yellowish color with very-very visible growth-lines (see picture below). I was not keen on trying this shaft as it has already been played with but later I gave it a shot - and was amazed how much better this shaft plays than the other one. The tip and more likely the ferrule provides a completely different feel than the other one.
The tune or sound of both shafts is perfect but somehow you just get a more satisfying and more confident, deep "ting" out of the yellowish one - often resulting in a very-very interesting, solid CLAP, exactly like when you clap your hands together. It is fantastic.
The shaft wood: on shaft one (the upper shaft on the picture) with the whiter ferrule is not so good, definitely not the best I have seen. It is not bad or the like, it's just fine. It looks like new wood, it is pretty white, not snow-white or that crap, but it looks somewhat loose.
On shaft two, the wood is much-much better! I still owe Eric (Fatboy) a huge thank you, he showed me several shafts and told me a lot about shaft wood, the knowledge he provided is great. Using what he told me I'd say this is an older piece of a wood, it is darker, a great deal better when it comes to playability. It has a few sugar lines and spots and it looks tight! I remember Eric showing me a Gus shaft which was a lot like glass, it was so hard in its surface, it was old wood and still, it looked perfect in every possible aspect you can imagine - I know Gus has had a Magic Wand shaft, but I'd say this would be it's twisted sister then...
The joint rings and inserts: the rings are nicely made and - thank God! - line up with the butt end of the joint. That might sound strange but I have seen several more expensive cues with the rings not lining up - they did not line-up on my Capone either, but regardless that was a great cue as well. The rings are made of phenolic and ivory stitch rings, you see the phenolic's structure here and there, if you are closer than 10 inches to the cue.
The inserts are fine and fit the butt perfect, yet once I experienced something as if the shaft was mis-threaded, it just began getting stuck when it was 3/4 on. I took apart and made sure no dirt was in there and since then it is perfect. I am sure I was putting it together straight as I always take great care so I think it must have been a bit of lint or dust making it stuck. I must confess I was nervous about it though
The butt:
-Joint: the joint on this cue is piloted, solid ivory with a 5/16-14 thread pin. Like I mentioned before, it is a perfect match for the shafts, there is nothing left to be desired, it is perfect. The grains here are not very visible, yet they are there. I like the look and the way it has been machined - "solid ivory joint" sounds like as if it was very fragile - but by touching and using it, it feels extremely good and reliable.
The rings on this one are phenolic and ivory as well, it is weird how you cannot tell at all that the ring above the stitching is phenolic (it is jet black) while the ring below has a definite character of phenolic. You need very strong light and need to be up close of course, but I told up front that I am looking for the tiniest details:
Some say that you cannot tell difference between two joints - some tried proving this by building two or more cues to exactly identical dimensions and only changing the joint - but for some reason I still believe that this cue would play different with a flat faced ivory or a piloted steel joint.
I could be wrong, but my belief is that each cue has got to have one given kind of a joint and nothing else - the overall playability depends on whether the proper joint type has been used for the woods, the construction, weight and weight distribution, et cetera of the cue.
In my opinion this cue has the perfect type, it transfers enough feel, it definitely does not feel dead like my previous Mottey felt with the stainless steel joint. I like the crisp, never-fading feel that you get. I wish I could give a comparison or another thing that felt like it, but there really isn't anything coming close.
If you expect it to feel solid in a way as a luxury car's door slams - this is not like it. It is not that deep THUMP, it's a deep but a bit more crispy feel instead. I like it as I don't fall asleep this way when playing - those other cues feel slow and lazy with that huge "thump" thing, while this one here is energetic, I'd say.
The forearm: the BEM used is pretty, it has several bird's eyes, it is not a monster piece - which is good for my taste. It has a colour of honey, not white but a bit yellow, just like honey under the sun. It is beautiful, I can just sit and admire the choice Paul made when selecting the woods he used.
The points: they are fairly even, which would mean that the greatest difference is like 0.2 mm in between any points of the four! I have checked for the veneers as well and they all end even as well, which is - although rightfully required from such a maker - still amazing. One of the points does end a tiny little bit wavy, it is still perfect, definitely not messed up but if you know what to look for you will notice it.
The points all have spearhead inlays done in ivory, they are as sharp as it is humanly possible at every tip, they line up with each other, are perfectly straight/vertical and have nice grain. I love this style, they are such a nice touch.
Around the inlays you may see the ebony, at some parts you can see it under strong light, it looks extremely rich in the very best possible way I can imagine - rich is the best word to describe it.
The Bushka-ring: it is made of ebony and maple, surrounded by thick silver rings. The measures / dimensions of the ring are perfect, the silver rings are not huge and aren't thin, they don't look 'funny' or lame. Above and below the silver phenolic has been used which - again - you may see up close. It does not take away from the beauty of the ring, actually, it somehow makes the ebony blocks "pop" or work more in the design, so this choice makes sense too. I guess it has to do with the construction of the cue as well, but you'd need to ask Paul about that. The ring is lined up with the points and the inlays therein, it is not slipped away. I was afraid about the rings lifting the finish but the past 4 years were not enough for it to do so, it is as smooth as anywhere else on the cue. I guess it shows the care Bryan took of the cue and it has a nice home here too
On the picture below you may see the ring and the seam of the leather wrap:
The leather wrap: it is not exotic leather - not lizard or other - but it has a nice texture and - what is strange - is that it smells great! It is not worn down anywhere (yet), so overall it feels and looks the same everywhere. It does not get slippy nor does it get soaked with sweat - I feel lucky that it does not make my hands sweat. Actually it provides comfort and although I love the look of linen very-very much, this one is a good match for the cue.
The seam can be seen but it is done very nicely, you cannot really feel it although it is there. When some say Paul pays attention to everything you may want to believe him: I have seen it 'elsewhere' too, but on this cue the seam is above the middle inlay in the butt sleeve - and hence below the center of one of the points.
The scent, the texture and the execution of the wrap overall is good, I am satisfied with how it is done.
The butt sleeve: it is ebony with 4 sets of split diamond ivory inlays. I am greatly interested in every famous maker's methods and I have seen someone do these kinds of inlays by assembling them (all 3 pieces of ivory and two pieces of ebony in between the ivory) 'outside' the cue and then cutting one quadrangle/lozenge shaped pocket and put the 'set' in there. In this cue I could not see such a thing, as far as I can tell - and I am 95% sure - all inlays are cut and inlaid one-by-one. It is not a huge thing but it takes more time, care and skill. It is like on one Haley cue that has had 6 mitred inside veneers in the butt sleeve's box inlay and one stacked on the very outside. These are the small messages a master can make, it is not like "hey, look at me I can put 1 million inlays in there' but 'it's no big deal, I just care for these little things...'.
The wood, as I mentioned, is ebony with one very visible streak in it. It is very subjective, it might fluster one or another. As we all know it has nothing to do with playability but it has a huge impact on the cue's aesthetics. I am not here to decide for others but it does not bother me at all, actually I like it because it shows that it is WOOD that was used, no vinyls or paing which is obvious for us, but is interesting for someone not knowing anything about cues - people are always amazed at how black ebony can get and, truth to be told, I like this piece!
The butt cap is what I believe to be Delrin, I prefer the looks of it. Of course ivory is five times more expensive but this way the cue takes one bit more after Gus's heritage, his cues with ebony butt sleeves, ivory inlays and Delrin butt caps are the best a cue can get - in my opinion.
The bumper is screwed on with an allen screw. It's head is worn somewhat but it can still be taken out to remove the weight bolt - although I won't do that to this cue, it is sound this way so why bother it. The bumper is not worn at all, I don't like it when someone plays while dragging the cue behind himself.
It is good to see how the bumper goes into the butt cap, you can tell it is underneath it as well, just another thing that looks better this way. You can feel the transition in between the butt sleeve and the butt cap, there is a microscopic gap, so small that it (I assume) could not be avoided.
To sum it all up, I'd say this cue is very-very nicely made and I must point out that I over-emphasized everything not 100% perfect in the cue, just so this is not another anthem for Mottey cues but a true review. This is the way Paul let this cue out of his hands and with all honesty this cue is another proof why Paul belongs to the close group of master makers.
I am satisfied with this cue in every aspect, actually, I love it - and how can you define love?
I came to realize that I have had this cue in my possession long enough to put a review out - thinking back how much I craved such a read before buying it... I came up with the idea of a review as thorough as it is possible, calling it a "from tip-to-bumper review" that would list everything one might want to know.
I have the cue here and I am taking pictures of every noted part of it, so on shall we go...
The tip: Both tips have a pad under them protecting the ivory ferrules.
On shaft one: the tip is larger, taller as it has not been played with (maybe test-hit) and the pad appears to be thick as well. On this shaft the ivory ferrule looks solid but it lacks greatly visible grains and color, it is closer to white than yellow.
On shaft two the tip has been played and worn down more, it is still playable - as I hate tall tips - but its replacement is due in time. The pad appears to be thinner but the majority of it is not missing but its color faded into the tip's color.
The ferrules: The best part here is the ferrule which is a lot better than on the other one, it is more of a yellowish color with very-very visible growth-lines (see picture below). I was not keen on trying this shaft as it has already been played with but later I gave it a shot - and was amazed how much better this shaft plays than the other one. The tip and more likely the ferrule provides a completely different feel than the other one.
The tune or sound of both shafts is perfect but somehow you just get a more satisfying and more confident, deep "ting" out of the yellowish one - often resulting in a very-very interesting, solid CLAP, exactly like when you clap your hands together. It is fantastic.
The shaft wood: on shaft one (the upper shaft on the picture) with the whiter ferrule is not so good, definitely not the best I have seen. It is not bad or the like, it's just fine. It looks like new wood, it is pretty white, not snow-white or that crap, but it looks somewhat loose.
On shaft two, the wood is much-much better! I still owe Eric (Fatboy) a huge thank you, he showed me several shafts and told me a lot about shaft wood, the knowledge he provided is great. Using what he told me I'd say this is an older piece of a wood, it is darker, a great deal better when it comes to playability. It has a few sugar lines and spots and it looks tight! I remember Eric showing me a Gus shaft which was a lot like glass, it was so hard in its surface, it was old wood and still, it looked perfect in every possible aspect you can imagine - I know Gus has had a Magic Wand shaft, but I'd say this would be it's twisted sister then...
The joint rings and inserts: the rings are nicely made and - thank God! - line up with the butt end of the joint. That might sound strange but I have seen several more expensive cues with the rings not lining up - they did not line-up on my Capone either, but regardless that was a great cue as well. The rings are made of phenolic and ivory stitch rings, you see the phenolic's structure here and there, if you are closer than 10 inches to the cue.
The inserts are fine and fit the butt perfect, yet once I experienced something as if the shaft was mis-threaded, it just began getting stuck when it was 3/4 on. I took apart and made sure no dirt was in there and since then it is perfect. I am sure I was putting it together straight as I always take great care so I think it must have been a bit of lint or dust making it stuck. I must confess I was nervous about it though
The butt:
-Joint: the joint on this cue is piloted, solid ivory with a 5/16-14 thread pin. Like I mentioned before, it is a perfect match for the shafts, there is nothing left to be desired, it is perfect. The grains here are not very visible, yet they are there. I like the look and the way it has been machined - "solid ivory joint" sounds like as if it was very fragile - but by touching and using it, it feels extremely good and reliable.
The rings on this one are phenolic and ivory as well, it is weird how you cannot tell at all that the ring above the stitching is phenolic (it is jet black) while the ring below has a definite character of phenolic. You need very strong light and need to be up close of course, but I told up front that I am looking for the tiniest details:
Some say that you cannot tell difference between two joints - some tried proving this by building two or more cues to exactly identical dimensions and only changing the joint - but for some reason I still believe that this cue would play different with a flat faced ivory or a piloted steel joint.
I could be wrong, but my belief is that each cue has got to have one given kind of a joint and nothing else - the overall playability depends on whether the proper joint type has been used for the woods, the construction, weight and weight distribution, et cetera of the cue.
In my opinion this cue has the perfect type, it transfers enough feel, it definitely does not feel dead like my previous Mottey felt with the stainless steel joint. I like the crisp, never-fading feel that you get. I wish I could give a comparison or another thing that felt like it, but there really isn't anything coming close.
If you expect it to feel solid in a way as a luxury car's door slams - this is not like it. It is not that deep THUMP, it's a deep but a bit more crispy feel instead. I like it as I don't fall asleep this way when playing - those other cues feel slow and lazy with that huge "thump" thing, while this one here is energetic, I'd say.
The forearm: the BEM used is pretty, it has several bird's eyes, it is not a monster piece - which is good for my taste. It has a colour of honey, not white but a bit yellow, just like honey under the sun. It is beautiful, I can just sit and admire the choice Paul made when selecting the woods he used.
The points: they are fairly even, which would mean that the greatest difference is like 0.2 mm in between any points of the four! I have checked for the veneers as well and they all end even as well, which is - although rightfully required from such a maker - still amazing. One of the points does end a tiny little bit wavy, it is still perfect, definitely not messed up but if you know what to look for you will notice it.
The points all have spearhead inlays done in ivory, they are as sharp as it is humanly possible at every tip, they line up with each other, are perfectly straight/vertical and have nice grain. I love this style, they are such a nice touch.
Around the inlays you may see the ebony, at some parts you can see it under strong light, it looks extremely rich in the very best possible way I can imagine - rich is the best word to describe it.
The Bushka-ring: it is made of ebony and maple, surrounded by thick silver rings. The measures / dimensions of the ring are perfect, the silver rings are not huge and aren't thin, they don't look 'funny' or lame. Above and below the silver phenolic has been used which - again - you may see up close. It does not take away from the beauty of the ring, actually, it somehow makes the ebony blocks "pop" or work more in the design, so this choice makes sense too. I guess it has to do with the construction of the cue as well, but you'd need to ask Paul about that. The ring is lined up with the points and the inlays therein, it is not slipped away. I was afraid about the rings lifting the finish but the past 4 years were not enough for it to do so, it is as smooth as anywhere else on the cue. I guess it shows the care Bryan took of the cue and it has a nice home here too
On the picture below you may see the ring and the seam of the leather wrap:
The leather wrap: it is not exotic leather - not lizard or other - but it has a nice texture and - what is strange - is that it smells great! It is not worn down anywhere (yet), so overall it feels and looks the same everywhere. It does not get slippy nor does it get soaked with sweat - I feel lucky that it does not make my hands sweat. Actually it provides comfort and although I love the look of linen very-very much, this one is a good match for the cue.
The seam can be seen but it is done very nicely, you cannot really feel it although it is there. When some say Paul pays attention to everything you may want to believe him: I have seen it 'elsewhere' too, but on this cue the seam is above the middle inlay in the butt sleeve - and hence below the center of one of the points.
The scent, the texture and the execution of the wrap overall is good, I am satisfied with how it is done.
The butt sleeve: it is ebony with 4 sets of split diamond ivory inlays. I am greatly interested in every famous maker's methods and I have seen someone do these kinds of inlays by assembling them (all 3 pieces of ivory and two pieces of ebony in between the ivory) 'outside' the cue and then cutting one quadrangle/lozenge shaped pocket and put the 'set' in there. In this cue I could not see such a thing, as far as I can tell - and I am 95% sure - all inlays are cut and inlaid one-by-one. It is not a huge thing but it takes more time, care and skill. It is like on one Haley cue that has had 6 mitred inside veneers in the butt sleeve's box inlay and one stacked on the very outside. These are the small messages a master can make, it is not like "hey, look at me I can put 1 million inlays in there' but 'it's no big deal, I just care for these little things...'.
The wood, as I mentioned, is ebony with one very visible streak in it. It is very subjective, it might fluster one or another. As we all know it has nothing to do with playability but it has a huge impact on the cue's aesthetics. I am not here to decide for others but it does not bother me at all, actually I like it because it shows that it is WOOD that was used, no vinyls or paing which is obvious for us, but is interesting for someone not knowing anything about cues - people are always amazed at how black ebony can get and, truth to be told, I like this piece!
The butt cap is what I believe to be Delrin, I prefer the looks of it. Of course ivory is five times more expensive but this way the cue takes one bit more after Gus's heritage, his cues with ebony butt sleeves, ivory inlays and Delrin butt caps are the best a cue can get - in my opinion.
The bumper is screwed on with an allen screw. It's head is worn somewhat but it can still be taken out to remove the weight bolt - although I won't do that to this cue, it is sound this way so why bother it. The bumper is not worn at all, I don't like it when someone plays while dragging the cue behind himself.
It is good to see how the bumper goes into the butt cap, you can tell it is underneath it as well, just another thing that looks better this way. You can feel the transition in between the butt sleeve and the butt cap, there is a microscopic gap, so small that it (I assume) could not be avoided.
To sum it all up, I'd say this cue is very-very nicely made and I must point out that I over-emphasized everything not 100% perfect in the cue, just so this is not another anthem for Mottey cues but a true review. This is the way Paul let this cue out of his hands and with all honesty this cue is another proof why Paul belongs to the close group of master makers.
I am satisfied with this cue in every aspect, actually, I love it - and how can you define love?
