I’ve read a lot of great feedback on OB1 shafts on these forums, and wanted to add my feedback on a complete 208 series cue to the list.
I’m a middle of the road player that played for about 15 years until I quit in about 1992. Mostly I just hacked around and back then, got pretty decent. If getting chased out of bars means pretty decent...
I started back about 6 months ago with my old Helmstetter I bought in the middle eighties. Put a Kamui Black Soft tip on it that I really like. I have a GC II to practice on.
Thinking I would end up with one of the LD shafts sooner or later, since I would like to try and become a better player, I decided sooner. Luckily, OB Cues is about an hour’s drive for me and Royce invited me to visit.
Royce is highly knowledgeable not only about cues, but also the game of pool, and a real gentleman. (If you get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it) He spent quite a lot of time with me. It was the first time I actually saw how a cue was made.
One of the things that really surprised me was the feel of the same weight cue made from maple, Model 108 that I had intended to buy and the next model up Model 208 made from cocobolo and a little fancier.
I really liked the feel of the cocobolo over the maple, and would have never guessed that the same weight cue with what seemed like the same balance would feel so different. But it did, and the 208 is what I bought. You can view the cues at www.obcues.com.
OK, how does it play?
Again, this is feedback from an amateur.
At first I thought the hit was softer, but after playing with it for about a week now, I feel like the ‘feedback’ is softer, not so much the actual hit IMO. (But I like the way the Kamui Black Soft hits so maybe I like a softer hit)
What this had me initially doing was making up for it with a harder stroke, looking for the same feedback I was getting from the Helmstetter and that was making me miss.
When I realized what was really going on was that I was getting more English and more cue ball movement and a different type of power to the object ball with less effort I went from... shoot-miss, shoot-miss, shoot-miss to shoot-plunk, shoot-plunk, shoot-plunk. I guess it took maybe 100 balls to get it. With this cue/shaft, my consistency has really increased.
I can now spend all of my time keeping my madman dart-everywhere eyes focused, and with that can easily see the hit through the object ball. Oh yeah, and there is some magical force associated with the cue that seems to keep me from jumping up to see if I made the shot...
I know there are plenty of custom cue makers here, and one day I will probably have one made just for me. But for now, I’m still learning what I want and this cue is an absolute joy to play with.
Anyway, I like that the cue is made in the U.S. Bottom line for me was that instead of buying a cue from China, with OB Cues you get to buy from someone passionate and knowledgeable about the game, made right here in the U. S. A. And you get a fantastic cue to boot.
(After I wrote this I remembered that I played a few games with a Predator Sneaky Pete and I think a 314 shaft and liked the way it played/hit but didn’t have enough time to adjust to the way it hit, sort of like the OB but maybe a little harder to adjust to it.)
Mike
I’m a middle of the road player that played for about 15 years until I quit in about 1992. Mostly I just hacked around and back then, got pretty decent. If getting chased out of bars means pretty decent...
I started back about 6 months ago with my old Helmstetter I bought in the middle eighties. Put a Kamui Black Soft tip on it that I really like. I have a GC II to practice on.
Thinking I would end up with one of the LD shafts sooner or later, since I would like to try and become a better player, I decided sooner. Luckily, OB Cues is about an hour’s drive for me and Royce invited me to visit.
Royce is highly knowledgeable not only about cues, but also the game of pool, and a real gentleman. (If you get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it) He spent quite a lot of time with me. It was the first time I actually saw how a cue was made.
One of the things that really surprised me was the feel of the same weight cue made from maple, Model 108 that I had intended to buy and the next model up Model 208 made from cocobolo and a little fancier.
I really liked the feel of the cocobolo over the maple, and would have never guessed that the same weight cue with what seemed like the same balance would feel so different. But it did, and the 208 is what I bought. You can view the cues at www.obcues.com.
OK, how does it play?
Again, this is feedback from an amateur.
At first I thought the hit was softer, but after playing with it for about a week now, I feel like the ‘feedback’ is softer, not so much the actual hit IMO. (But I like the way the Kamui Black Soft hits so maybe I like a softer hit)
What this had me initially doing was making up for it with a harder stroke, looking for the same feedback I was getting from the Helmstetter and that was making me miss.
When I realized what was really going on was that I was getting more English and more cue ball movement and a different type of power to the object ball with less effort I went from... shoot-miss, shoot-miss, shoot-miss to shoot-plunk, shoot-plunk, shoot-plunk. I guess it took maybe 100 balls to get it. With this cue/shaft, my consistency has really increased.
I can now spend all of my time keeping my madman dart-everywhere eyes focused, and with that can easily see the hit through the object ball. Oh yeah, and there is some magical force associated with the cue that seems to keep me from jumping up to see if I made the shot...
I know there are plenty of custom cue makers here, and one day I will probably have one made just for me. But for now, I’m still learning what I want and this cue is an absolute joy to play with.
Anyway, I like that the cue is made in the U.S. Bottom line for me was that instead of buying a cue from China, with OB Cues you get to buy from someone passionate and knowledgeable about the game, made right here in the U. S. A. And you get a fantastic cue to boot.
(After I wrote this I remembered that I played a few games with a Predator Sneaky Pete and I think a 314 shaft and liked the way it played/hit but didn’t have enough time to adjust to the way it hit, sort of like the OB but maybe a little harder to adjust to it.)
Mike
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