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Old cues are better?
- Thread starter Straightpool_99
- Start date
Sometimes it's the cue-maker......some may be producing very low annual volume........might be nearing likely retirement........may have already retired from cue-making........may even be deceased..........obviously the cue-maker's reputation goes a long way in determining the demand for one of their cues and when the cue-maker is one of the aforementioned......well, the demand becomes that much higher.......say like with a Tim Scruggs cue.......or Tad Kohara.........or Richard Black.............or Danny Tibbits..........each one of those cue-makers falls within one of the aforementioned categories.
Wood selection......well sometimes it is a factor.......cue-makers maintain inventory of woods and it's less expensive to acquire a variety of wood early and age it properly for years and years, even decades. So obviously a cue-maker that's been around for 5-10 years even is probably not going to have the same inventory of wood as a cue-maker that's been doing it for 25+ years..........And buying wood that aged is expensive so most newer cue-makers avoid it unless the customer is willing to pay extra........that usually involves custom cues versus production cues.......
And lastly the amount of time and labor involved making the cues..........I'm waiting almost 10 months for my cue to be made and it takes a long time.............it's a complicated design I requested.......lots of cutting, fabrication and gluing involved........so like with everything, time is money and the more effort the cue takes, the more you wind up paying.
I have a Paul Mottey cue........it's signed & dated 10-91.......Paul isn't making cues any longer........I scored the cue 3 years ago for $2600 and since that time I've been offered $3500 for my cue 3 times ....twice from the same person......but I won't sell it because it can't be replaced.......sure I could get another Mottey somewhere but not with this design.....it's a copy of Gus Szamboti's favorite personal playing cue that Paul made because he admired and studied Gus's cue-making so much.......but I could never replace it because Paul isn't making any more cues like this one ever again. I haven't the foggiest how old the wood was when Paul made the cue but the fact that there will never be any more cues from Paul is what really drives the price of the cue up and because it's a rare version cue he made, that adds even extra demand and value to the cue.
This same scenario applies to lots of cue-makers as well and that's why older cues tend to command a higher price and if the cue is a custom cue from a big name cue-maker, well the price can soar really high.
Wood selection......well sometimes it is a factor.......cue-makers maintain inventory of woods and it's less expensive to acquire a variety of wood early and age it properly for years and years, even decades. So obviously a cue-maker that's been around for 5-10 years even is probably not going to have the same inventory of wood as a cue-maker that's been doing it for 25+ years..........And buying wood that aged is expensive so most newer cue-makers avoid it unless the customer is willing to pay extra........that usually involves custom cues versus production cues.......
And lastly the amount of time and labor involved making the cues..........I'm waiting almost 10 months for my cue to be made and it takes a long time.............it's a complicated design I requested.......lots of cutting, fabrication and gluing involved........so like with everything, time is money and the more effort the cue takes, the more you wind up paying.
I have a Paul Mottey cue........it's signed & dated 10-91.......Paul isn't making cues any longer........I scored the cue 3 years ago for $2600 and since that time I've been offered $3500 for my cue 3 times ....twice from the same person......but I won't sell it because it can't be replaced.......sure I could get another Mottey somewhere but not with this design.....it's a copy of Gus Szamboti's favorite personal playing cue that Paul made because he admired and studied Gus's cue-making so much.......but I could never replace it because Paul isn't making any more cues like this one ever again. I haven't the foggiest how old the wood was when Paul made the cue but the fact that there will never be any more cues from Paul is what really drives the price of the cue up and because it's a rare version cue he made, that adds even extra demand and value to the cue.
This same scenario applies to lots of cue-makers as well and that's why older cues tend to command a higher price and if the cue is a custom cue from a big name cue-maker, well the price can soar really high.
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I'm not seeing any "high prices" for older common models in the sale thread... Plus, you can buy an older one, and then clean it up to look close to new. If it has nicks, dents and scratches, you can get the entire cue refinished for around $150 give or take....I too like a "clean cue".....old or new
I dont like wasting money therefore I like to buy used cues. They will get dings and scratches pretty soon if you play north of 10-20 hours a week. And with productions cues you will lose at least 30-40% just in a months or so playing with it. Clearly bad investment
Runde was absolutely the best person to deal with when he co-owned Schon with Terry. In '85, I paid $775 for a custom Schon and that was a ton of money to pay for a cue in 1985. But it turned out truly magnificent thanks to Mr. Runde's patience dealing with me......what a super person he is to work with........Great Guy.
He was talking about production more than custom.Even specifically mentioned production cues.
Lots of people selling good condition Runde era Schons that they have played with for years would say otherwise.
I think my Runde Schon (1985) falls into the category of a production cue even though it has hand mitred sharp points but basically still a production cue.....is it not?
It is production .
I have three Runde-era Schon blanks . I can't believe how dense the maple is on them. The secret to older Schon's hit starts right there. They really had good wood then.
All three are owned.
Pathetic Shark
Banned
Bear in mind some people will say anything to flog their unwanted bits of wood.
Older production for me.
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Joss for example has many models that are no longer available. I have one with the date (1986) on the joint which I think is sort of cool.
I prefer used cues, for price reasons, collectible reasons and a little nostalgia.
I don't mind if a cue has some wear and dings. I am pretty hard on cues, I tend to ding the butt up often. Might be because play on a lot of Valleys with the edges of death metal corners.
Having a shaft cleaned up is cheap and a refinish is not that bad either if you want it all pretty.
I prefer used cues, for price reasons, collectible reasons and a little nostalgia.
I don't mind if a cue has some wear and dings. I am pretty hard on cues, I tend to ding the butt up often. Might be because play on a lot of Valleys with the edges of death metal corners.
Having a shaft cleaned up is cheap and a refinish is not that bad either if you want it all pretty.
As far as Schon goes, the original cofounder, Bob Runde, knew how to build a great hitting cue. A lot of people consider them old production cues, but, the guy built them all by hand. These cues were not built in a factory with high speed machinery, cheap woods, and, low hourly rates. Care and time went into everything he built and the shaft wood was older wood than some of today's.
Side by side, you can tell the difference in quality between the new and old Schon cues.
Side by side, you can tell the difference in quality between the new and old Schon cues.
I believe older cues are potentially better, because trees were cut down when they were larger and older in the case of Pre-Color of Money era. To meet production demands beginning in the late 80s, trees were cut down when they were smaller. It became almost impossible to find shafts that were as good and dense in the 90s and beyond as they were in the 80s, 70s, etc.