As you may remember a certain "Zen Cueist" bought a cue from Mr. Starkey from eBay. If memory recalls me right, he shot with the cue for a few days/weeks before he decided he didn't like the cue, to which Mr. Starkey refunded his money in full.
Later, Chuck relisted the cue on eBay and low and behold Mr. "Zen Cueist" bid and won the cue a second time. Having the handle replaced by a so called "Master Cuemaker" Mr. "Zen" decided he still didn't like the cue and asks for a refund yet again, to which Mr. Starkey refunded for the selling price and the cost to have the handle replaced by "Mr. Master Cuemaker"! Way above the call of duty I would say.
I received this cue today in the mail from Mr. Starkey and I must say the cue is beautiful...or at least could be. Read on.
Upon opening the box and unwrapping the cue I just fell in love with the grain of the Snake wood! One of the most unique woods you can ever imagine. The HUGE wood pin is a nice tight fit into the Tiger X shaft, I was itching to move some balls around to try out this type of joint.
Upon further inspection of the cue I noticed small dark colored imperfections in the Ivory in the trim rings and inlays, and a very noticeable "wavy-ness" in the clear in the entire butt section of the cue.
Having recently experienced similar Ivory issues due to a bad refinish of my Espiritu, I identified these imperfections as dirt in the Ivory under the clear coat finish.
Now I don't know who Mr. "Zen's", "Master Cuemaker" is/was, but the refinish on this cue is pretty bad. The finish on my Espiritu is better because at least it isn't waving at you. I say that this is the "Master Cuemakers" fault because I can not see Chuck sanding down this cue and refinishing it again for no apparent reason.
All the cosmetics aside, the cue feels, hits and plays fantastic! I did have issues with the super soft leather tip that was on the cue. But once replaced with something a little "firmer", problem solved.
I know "hit" is subjective, and I am used to and prefer a S/S joint, but I would describe the feel of a really stiff McDermott. Responsive and easily able to make the cue ball do what you intend, that may be greatly due to the Tiger X shaft.
Over all I would give this cue a playability rating as 90%, which may be biased because of my preference of stainless steel joint, shaft diameter/taper (cue is a fat 13.02 at the tip, 13.95 6 inches down from the tip and 14.80 12 inches down from the tip, I prefer a smaller taper) and weight (weighed in near 19.5oz, I prefer a lighter cue). All of this could be easily changed to the users preferences.
I would rate the overall design and execution at 75%. I'm subtracting 25% because of the dirt and finish of the cue, which I don't believe to be Mr. Starkey's fault.
All in all, I wouldn't hesitate to order a cue from Mr. Starkey, as a "hobbyist" his design and technique seems to be great. Not to mention that if for some reason you are not happy with his cues, he buys them back!
IMO he shouldn't have refunded the money after someone else worked on this cue, not at least before inspecting it himself. Its clearly not the work of someone bearing the lable "Master Cuemaker".
Ill post up some pictures once I find my camera.
Later, Chuck relisted the cue on eBay and low and behold Mr. "Zen Cueist" bid and won the cue a second time. Having the handle replaced by a so called "Master Cuemaker" Mr. "Zen" decided he still didn't like the cue and asks for a refund yet again, to which Mr. Starkey refunded for the selling price and the cost to have the handle replaced by "Mr. Master Cuemaker"! Way above the call of duty I would say.
I received this cue today in the mail from Mr. Starkey and I must say the cue is beautiful...or at least could be. Read on.
Upon opening the box and unwrapping the cue I just fell in love with the grain of the Snake wood! One of the most unique woods you can ever imagine. The HUGE wood pin is a nice tight fit into the Tiger X shaft, I was itching to move some balls around to try out this type of joint.
Upon further inspection of the cue I noticed small dark colored imperfections in the Ivory in the trim rings and inlays, and a very noticeable "wavy-ness" in the clear in the entire butt section of the cue.
Having recently experienced similar Ivory issues due to a bad refinish of my Espiritu, I identified these imperfections as dirt in the Ivory under the clear coat finish.
Now I don't know who Mr. "Zen's", "Master Cuemaker" is/was, but the refinish on this cue is pretty bad. The finish on my Espiritu is better because at least it isn't waving at you. I say that this is the "Master Cuemakers" fault because I can not see Chuck sanding down this cue and refinishing it again for no apparent reason.
All the cosmetics aside, the cue feels, hits and plays fantastic! I did have issues with the super soft leather tip that was on the cue. But once replaced with something a little "firmer", problem solved.
I know "hit" is subjective, and I am used to and prefer a S/S joint, but I would describe the feel of a really stiff McDermott. Responsive and easily able to make the cue ball do what you intend, that may be greatly due to the Tiger X shaft.
Over all I would give this cue a playability rating as 90%, which may be biased because of my preference of stainless steel joint, shaft diameter/taper (cue is a fat 13.02 at the tip, 13.95 6 inches down from the tip and 14.80 12 inches down from the tip, I prefer a smaller taper) and weight (weighed in near 19.5oz, I prefer a lighter cue). All of this could be easily changed to the users preferences.
I would rate the overall design and execution at 75%. I'm subtracting 25% because of the dirt and finish of the cue, which I don't believe to be Mr. Starkey's fault.
All in all, I wouldn't hesitate to order a cue from Mr. Starkey, as a "hobbyist" his design and technique seems to be great. Not to mention that if for some reason you are not happy with his cues, he buys them back!
IMO he shouldn't have refunded the money after someone else worked on this cue, not at least before inspecting it himself. Its clearly not the work of someone bearing the lable "Master Cuemaker".
Ill post up some pictures once I find my camera.
