I would like to start this out by saying that I was curious as to why Eddie Wheat was getting so much attention on this forum (mostly negative). He only lives about a half hour away from me, so I decided to go find out what all of the commotion was about.
My curiosity was peaked a few months when I was in Melbourne, Florida giving a class to Az member JohnnyV. He had found an old Wheat cue in a pawn shop, and he had it with him when he was there. I took a few shots with that cue and I loved it.
After getting the history on that cue, I found out that it was an early cue that Eddie had built in 2003. I also knew that he had made some cues for Jessica Barnes - cues that Jess has used to finish well in a few tournaments this past year. Jessica is a hard sell (just like me). Curious, I brought up Eddie's name when I was shooting with Az member Remy (Tony) a few weeks ago.
We had read many of Eddie's claims on this forum and decided to go out there and check it out for ourselves. So yesterday my girlfriend, Tony, and I went out to Cocoa to spend the afternoon with Eddie.
I didn't know what to expect. In the forums, it's hard to put a personality to the words you read, especially with a personality like Eddie's. I was expecting to meet Young Frankenstein. I figured we'd walk into the shop and he'd have this mad look in his eyes, a maniacal laugh, and lighting bolts shooting out of a miniature Tesla coil connected to his lathe. Really, we did not what to expect, we just went up there to see what Eddie had to offer.
I'm a REAL hard sell when it comes to cues. So hard in fact, that I have been shooting with the same cue for over 24 years. I have never found a cuemaker that got me excited about the idea of getting a new playing cue. Notice I said playing cue.
If you're an artsy-fartsy cue collector that buys pretty cues at outrageous prices just so you can say that you have one, stop reading this now. You won't be interested in anything I have to say about Eddie Wheat and the cues he makes.
Okay... so we walk into his shop, which is kind of small, but sufficient for him to get his work done. There's a CNC, and other machinery there, a few pieces of shaft wood and some unfinished butts, semi finished butts, and some of his cues that are nearly finished.
The conversation that we had with Eddie dealt with innovations in his work that caught my interest. Eddie will build the cue that you want at an affordable price. If quality and workmanship is an issue - take it from me - you have nothing to worry about with Eddie Wheat's quality and attention to detail.
Eddie has learned his craft under the guidance of Pete Ohman. Pete has a reputation for creating quality work with quality wood and material. Eddie gets most of his wood from Pete Ohman. They share wood, material, the same work ethic, pride in workmanship, and standards of quality.
I never met a more excited and motivated cuemaker in my life. I have talked to a lot of cuemakers. Most of the ones I have talked to post here. Some are easy to talk to - some listen to what the player is looking for - some don't give a crap what you want - it seems to be that way sometimes. I'm not going to mention names, but a lot of you would get a lot further if you listened to what players actually want - as opposed to getting an attitude and refusing to put your name on a cue because you believe it damages the long term value of your line (or for whatever reason).
What is important to me with any cue is the hit. You can have the Mona Lisa of all cues, but if it hits like $hit, it's worthless to a guy like me and I wouldn't pay a nickel for it, no matter how much ivory and exotic wood you throw in there or what name you sign on it. If you can't shoot with it, IMO, it's an ornament - put it on your Christmas tree for all I care.
That is why most of those cues end up in display cases and not in the hands of somebody that will run a few hundred balls. That is why you see those cues being sold on this forum every few months - going from the hands of one collector to another - and then another and then another.
I want to be able connect my fingers to the butt of a cue and connect my brain and my nerve endings to it - and extend it all way through the forearm, shaft, ferrule and the tip so that I can control the cue ball and the object balls.
Eddie Wheat makes cues for PLAYERS, not collectors. He will measure you up and design a cue that is specifically tailor made for YOU. His work is top notch. He is a good guy, easy to work with, easy to talk to, and most importantly, Eddie Wheat is the man that will be making my next playing cue.
Now I can't come in here and rattle off cue making jargon and answer questions about intricate details of cue construction - I'm not posting this for some of you to exploit my lack of knowledge - I'm just a player looking for someone to make me a good hitting cue - what I can tell you is that when we walked out of Eddie's shop yesterday, all of MY questions had been answered. I know enough about the subject to keep my money in my wallet when I see something that I KNOW is wrong. All I saw was positive things in Eddie's work. What impressed me most, was the construction standards and attention detail that I saw. I also saw some innovative stuff I had never seen before - Especially Eddie's awesome, innovative ring designs. I also saw a man that is passionate and excited about what he does - and that passion and excitement comes through in his cues.
I was able to see the first 8 point cue that Eddie has ever made - it's Charlie Edwards' cue - and it's beautiful. There are some minor flaws that EDDIE pointed out to me - but it's nothing major - and he has already alerted the buyer to the imperfections. For a first try - it was pretty damned good. Tony took a picture of me holding that cue - it will belong to Charlie in about a week.
For everybody that is giving this guy a hard time about trivial $hit - or workmanship - or quality -or the way he does this and that - it's all BS. IMO he's making a great cue at an affordable price without cutting corners or using $hit wood in the process. He makes cues that will get the balls into the pockets. If you doubt that, give the guy a call and talk with him and find out - or go visit his shop like I did.
Eddie Wheat gets my stamp of approval as a cuemaker and as a hell of a nice person to work with. Remy has some pictures of us in the shop -he'll post them later on today - if you get a chance to come down here - stop by Eddie's place - he's a cool person to hang out with - and most of all, you'll be impressed at some of the innovative craftsmanship he is using to make cues.
My curiosity was peaked a few months when I was in Melbourne, Florida giving a class to Az member JohnnyV. He had found an old Wheat cue in a pawn shop, and he had it with him when he was there. I took a few shots with that cue and I loved it.
After getting the history on that cue, I found out that it was an early cue that Eddie had built in 2003. I also knew that he had made some cues for Jessica Barnes - cues that Jess has used to finish well in a few tournaments this past year. Jessica is a hard sell (just like me). Curious, I brought up Eddie's name when I was shooting with Az member Remy (Tony) a few weeks ago.
We had read many of Eddie's claims on this forum and decided to go out there and check it out for ourselves. So yesterday my girlfriend, Tony, and I went out to Cocoa to spend the afternoon with Eddie.
I didn't know what to expect. In the forums, it's hard to put a personality to the words you read, especially with a personality like Eddie's. I was expecting to meet Young Frankenstein. I figured we'd walk into the shop and he'd have this mad look in his eyes, a maniacal laugh, and lighting bolts shooting out of a miniature Tesla coil connected to his lathe. Really, we did not what to expect, we just went up there to see what Eddie had to offer.
I'm a REAL hard sell when it comes to cues. So hard in fact, that I have been shooting with the same cue for over 24 years. I have never found a cuemaker that got me excited about the idea of getting a new playing cue. Notice I said playing cue.
If you're an artsy-fartsy cue collector that buys pretty cues at outrageous prices just so you can say that you have one, stop reading this now. You won't be interested in anything I have to say about Eddie Wheat and the cues he makes.
Okay... so we walk into his shop, which is kind of small, but sufficient for him to get his work done. There's a CNC, and other machinery there, a few pieces of shaft wood and some unfinished butts, semi finished butts, and some of his cues that are nearly finished.
The conversation that we had with Eddie dealt with innovations in his work that caught my interest. Eddie will build the cue that you want at an affordable price. If quality and workmanship is an issue - take it from me - you have nothing to worry about with Eddie Wheat's quality and attention to detail.
Eddie has learned his craft under the guidance of Pete Ohman. Pete has a reputation for creating quality work with quality wood and material. Eddie gets most of his wood from Pete Ohman. They share wood, material, the same work ethic, pride in workmanship, and standards of quality.
I never met a more excited and motivated cuemaker in my life. I have talked to a lot of cuemakers. Most of the ones I have talked to post here. Some are easy to talk to - some listen to what the player is looking for - some don't give a crap what you want - it seems to be that way sometimes. I'm not going to mention names, but a lot of you would get a lot further if you listened to what players actually want - as opposed to getting an attitude and refusing to put your name on a cue because you believe it damages the long term value of your line (or for whatever reason).
What is important to me with any cue is the hit. You can have the Mona Lisa of all cues, but if it hits like $hit, it's worthless to a guy like me and I wouldn't pay a nickel for it, no matter how much ivory and exotic wood you throw in there or what name you sign on it. If you can't shoot with it, IMO, it's an ornament - put it on your Christmas tree for all I care.
That is why most of those cues end up in display cases and not in the hands of somebody that will run a few hundred balls. That is why you see those cues being sold on this forum every few months - going from the hands of one collector to another - and then another and then another.
I want to be able connect my fingers to the butt of a cue and connect my brain and my nerve endings to it - and extend it all way through the forearm, shaft, ferrule and the tip so that I can control the cue ball and the object balls.
Eddie Wheat makes cues for PLAYERS, not collectors. He will measure you up and design a cue that is specifically tailor made for YOU. His work is top notch. He is a good guy, easy to work with, easy to talk to, and most importantly, Eddie Wheat is the man that will be making my next playing cue.
Now I can't come in here and rattle off cue making jargon and answer questions about intricate details of cue construction - I'm not posting this for some of you to exploit my lack of knowledge - I'm just a player looking for someone to make me a good hitting cue - what I can tell you is that when we walked out of Eddie's shop yesterday, all of MY questions had been answered. I know enough about the subject to keep my money in my wallet when I see something that I KNOW is wrong. All I saw was positive things in Eddie's work. What impressed me most, was the construction standards and attention detail that I saw. I also saw some innovative stuff I had never seen before - Especially Eddie's awesome, innovative ring designs. I also saw a man that is passionate and excited about what he does - and that passion and excitement comes through in his cues.
I was able to see the first 8 point cue that Eddie has ever made - it's Charlie Edwards' cue - and it's beautiful. There are some minor flaws that EDDIE pointed out to me - but it's nothing major - and he has already alerted the buyer to the imperfections. For a first try - it was pretty damned good. Tony took a picture of me holding that cue - it will belong to Charlie in about a week.
For everybody that is giving this guy a hard time about trivial $hit - or workmanship - or quality -or the way he does this and that - it's all BS. IMO he's making a great cue at an affordable price without cutting corners or using $hit wood in the process. He makes cues that will get the balls into the pockets. If you doubt that, give the guy a call and talk with him and find out - or go visit his shop like I did.
Eddie Wheat gets my stamp of approval as a cuemaker and as a hell of a nice person to work with. Remy has some pictures of us in the shop -he'll post them later on today - if you get a chance to come down here - stop by Eddie's place - he's a cool person to hang out with - and most of all, you'll be impressed at some of the innovative craftsmanship he is using to make cues.
