New "Palmer" Cues

E

el_h3fe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I just had a question about the new "Palmer" cues that you can see all over Ebay. Some of them look to just be graphics while others are inlayed. You can pick the inlayed cues up for about 100 bucks. The reason I'm mentioning this is because I was just wondering if anyone has actually seen one in person and/or played with one. I just bought one out of sheer curiosity.

If it turns out to look the same as it does in the pics, the inlays look wonderful and this particular one that I bought is an 8 point (4 high 4 low) with a birds eye maple forearm, dont know what wood the points and butt are made from but they are definitely inlaid and there are green colored veneers in all 8 points. The butt has mother of pearl diamonds and mother of pearl circles and there is even ring work.

This is a link to the original posting for the exact cue that I won. I'm just curious... Does anyone have any info about these cues or ever played with one? I'm curious what you guys think. Have a look...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-point-PAL...2BqBVqc%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_531wt_1363
 
I bought one several years ago. I took it out and played with it a couple of times.

I gave it to a friend who was able to take my blown up hard drive and pull the info from it for me.

If I remember, I paid $42 for it at the time. Absolutely nothing wrong with that one and it
played decent.
 
i appreciate the info. anyone else that has any more info on them would definitely be appreciated it. Its just that they actually look really good in the pics and it may be cnc machined but it appears to be real inlays and the materials being used dont look to be bottom of the barrel. The price is surprising to me and I know that normally "custom" cues and inlaid cues on ebay that look good in the pics turn out to be a complete piece of junk at this price point but out of sheer curiosity I had to purchase one and take a look at it.

Blue Hog, do you recall anything about the inlays and how the looked? Did the one that you bought have inlays or was it just a wrap on the butt itself? The pics aren't extremely close up so I was just curious how they looked and what quality the material was. Additionally, did it play comparable to any other cue you've ever played with? I know you said you got one a few years back and alot may have changed between then and now. Thanks alot for the response and any additional info you might have.

If anyone else has some info pertaining to these, feel free to chime in. I wasn't expecting to find some amazing pool cue with unbelievable inlays and the best quality birds eye maple I've ever seen in my life but I am curious about them.

Last Question... Does anyone know what wood is being used in the points and the butt in this cue? Thanks alot.
 
Judgement should be made on these cues after they are several years old and the wood components have settled and the cue has been subjected to some regular use.

I wouldn't expect a free lunch on these cues nor real inlays. I would expect decals applied to unseasoned wood.

Concerning the cost standpoint I've bought beat-up, and actually one not-so beat-up, (real) Palmers from the sixties for $200 on the open market, so I don't see the bargain on one of these faux Palmers for $100.

I really wish these Asian companies, or whatever, wouldn't use a storied cue company's name on a cue that has nothing to do with the product that brought respect to the name.

Jay
 
Last edited:
I have bought a few of them. I've sold a couple and have had no complaints. I still have one that is actually a really nice cue (for the price). Radial joint, very straight, nice player overall. I have heard different experiences from people, but mine have been positive. Nothing wrong with mine, I've had this one for about 4 years
 
Type79 said:
I really wish these Asian companies, or whatever, wouldn't use a storied cue company's name on a cue that has nothing to do with the product that brought respect to the name.

Jay
Click to expand...

There was a booth at last year's BCAPL's where a bunch of these "new" Palmers were being displayed. I inquired as to who was making these now and the fellow in the booth, a white fellow, 'Merican as apple pie as far as I could tell, told me that he was making them (or was it having them made?) in the Vegas area.

Not to say that they really aren't being made in China or some other Asian country, but primia facie evidence would support that it wasn't an Asian company that decided to try to leverage the history behind the Palmer name.

Pax,

Taek
 
Last edited:
I appreciate that, straightpool. However, I wasn't picking this up to be a main shooter, I was just picking it up because I've seen a few things mentioned about these cues and while browsing ebay, I saw a few of them listed again and couldn't help but make the impulse buy because it looks pretty good for what it is.

I have a few other cues that I would use as primary before using this. I currently shoot with a decent little Pechauer and just picked up a Mezz. Some of the other cues I have are Predator, Viking, Meucci, Joss and Schon. I'm no stranger to nice production cues but I have this terrible weakness for these little turd asian companies because I'm on the hunt to find the one that has the cue that has genuine inlays that are done nicely, hit well, don't fall apart after the wood settles and are being made by sweatshops for about 20.00 on ebay, lol.

Either way, I'll at least get an opportunity to see how it plays and you never know... It may turn out to play quite nicely. I don't have high expectations but I know one thing for sure... It will at least play better than a Dale Perry :rolleyes:
 
yelvis111 said:
Not to say that they really aren't being made in China or some other Asian country, but primia facie evidence would support that it wasn't an Asian company that decided to try to leverage the history behind the Palmer name.

Pax,

Taek
Click to expand...

I was actually discussing this very topic with someone last week who speculated that these cues are likely received from China in rough form and stateside they have the name applied along with other decals (faux inlays), and then the finishes are applied and then wrapped.

If one of these cues works for you, that is all that counts, but on average one would be better with a cue in which the components have aged and stabilized. It is unlikely that the wood used for the butts/handles/forearms (however these are constructed) and the shaft wood is all left to settle during various stages in the manufacturing process.

It isn't a matter of being a custom cue or production cue, but a question of what it will be down the road.

The real question is: Why am I even discussing this? :-)

Jay
 
Last edited:
I've had a couple, it had decals in the butt but rings appeared inlayed but may not of been real. I personally liked the stainless steel joint and the hit better than your standard Players brand cue.
 
Why are you discussing this with us now or why did you discuss it with someone last week?

Also, some of them do have decals applied and then finishes applied. Others (like the one in question) have actual inlays... Obviously not hand done as they advertise, most likely cnc machined inlays but inlays none the less which is an extra step and normally bumps up the price considerably versus the decals. I'm not saying that its going to be some awesome cue with perfect inlays worthy of being put at auction starting at 500.00.

I am just curious about people who have had the opportunity to either see or play with one of these cues in person that can give me their feedback/opinion on how it played especially when being compared to other production cues. Its just something I want to know about because they didn't look bad, had radial pins, tiger tips and other things that some of these other cheap asian companies didnt have and it made me wonder if they were legit or not.


@Stroking- I saw that on ebay they actually advertised the ones that didnt have inlays at a lesser price and actually just simply didnt state that they were inlayed but on others they had a higher starting price and actually stated that everything was inlayed which made me thing that if it really was inlayed it would be set at a higher price than that. How did yours play?
 
just received the cue today. I may do a thread up about it just in case anyone ever comes searching for information on one like I did and wants to see if theres any review on it. at work right now and havent had a chance to hit with it yet but as of now, other than a few inlay imperfections, im pleasantly surprised. I thought the mother of pearl would be fake and its real, a few of the points arent exactly perfect but still, alot better than I was expecting at this pricepoint. The only other negative thing is that the birds eye maple wasn't very seasoned but the shaft, ferrule and tip all look and feel pretty good and I'm kind of looking forward to seeing how it plays..ill post a link to the thread with the review once I get a chance to play with it.
 
I was givin a 4 point 'palmer' by a friend that has 3 of them. Its a great cue. Good wrap, feels great, all points are inlayed as are the rings. The shafts (4 of then ) are very good. It plays as good as any production cue. I showed it to a cuemaker. He said the cost of the wood and parts to make it here would cost around $140. My friend payed $69 + $17 shipping. It comes from vegas but is made in china.
Great buy
 
you're 100% right. This cue also came from Vegas. At least, it was shipped from there. In an earlier post, someone stated that it was made in the USA but I'm almost 100% sure based on the way it looks and my having bought/seen previous cues like this, it was definitely made in China. With that being said, Im leaving work in about 15 minutes to go test it at a bar to see how it hits and then I am going to post a review on it.

Not that many people on here will appreciate this type of review on an inexpensive asian cue that isnt really custom at all but when I googled it to find information on them, I found absolutely nothing other than one single thread that was actually from AZ back in 2010
 
I have bought Five of the Vegas Palmer Cues. All play great. The only thing I don't like is the 18" to 18-1/2" balance point. I like a forward balanced Cue. I bought one of the Cues you bought. But the red inlayed one. I gave it to my Sister in Law. She loves it. I like a stainless steel joint. My cues are three to four years old and still straight. I play with people here in Azle, Texas that have Palmer Vegas cues that are much older and are still straight. The better cues are Fury Cues. With the Fury quick release joint. All of my cues are inlayed, not decals. The best Cue that he sells is a copy of a Schon LTD 15. They are much better Cues than a Star Cue or regular Players Cue.
 
Last edited:
You know what, I think you're 100% right about them being Fury cues ( some of the inlaid ones at least) because about two years ago there was a Palmer "knockoff" that was done that was actually the same design as one of the old 1970s palmer cues and it had the same Palmer logo that is on these new cues. The guy had several of them listed and told me they were done by Fury.

I didn't buy one but a few months later I had the chance to see the same cue in person while I was shooting nationals in Baltimore, MD. I asked the guy if I could take a look at it and the inlays were wonderful. This was definitely one of the higher end versions of this cue because this particular one had pretty much flawless inlays, the fury semi-quick release and it played just like a 500.00 fury that I owned before and the guy had only paid like 150ish for it. all in all it was nice and the way I see it, you have three levels of cues from this Palmer Cues company.

There are the 50.00 models with overlays for the person that just wants a cue to keep in the car whether its 120 degrees or -20 degrees. The $100-$150 range which is inlayed (not perfectly but inlayed none the less) with radial joints, layered tips and to be honest they are not only for the new player but established players can still get a benefit out of these cues.

Then there is the Fury style that ranges from $300-$500. Its basically everything you would expect to get in a Fury cue... Perfect inlays, seasoned exotic woods, their speed joint, layered tips, optional low deflection shafts and all the qualities (and more in my opinion) that you would expect to get out of a cue at that price range.
 
I've owned 2 of the inlaid cues. Both shot very well and looked good. Got plenty of compliments on one of them. ($79 if I remember correct. $49 for the other one). Sold them both after people played with them and wanted them. They are hard to beat for the money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top