Ordering a new CUSTOM cue...Help!

moosepool

moosepool

<-- Get off the table!!!
Silver Member
Well I think after lots of searching and some bad luck here and there I am just going to test my patience and order a custom cue to my specs. I looked into about a million custom cue makers and I think I've narrowed my choice down to Skip Weston. He makes a great looking cue and everyone seems to be more than happy with the way they play. If you own one and want to convince me one way or the other, now would be a great time. I had a few questions that I know you guys can answer. Some of the others I was considering were Bryan Mordt, James White, Jensen, and maybe a few others. If you can persuade me one way or the other I might change my mind but everyone seems to like Skip's work as far as I can tell.

1. How does an ivory joint play/feel compared to a stainless steel joint? I've never had a cue with an ivory joint. I currently play with a Schon LTD which have a piloted stainless joint but I love the look of the ivory joint and I'm thinking about giving it a try. Just wanted to see if you guys think it is a well spent $250.

2. Will I have a major problem with ivory ferrules cracking? I live in a dry climate and I've heard that makes them more prone to cracking. Do they play much different than any of the other typical imitation ivory ferrules? Better/Worse?

3. This question is purely opinion. I'm trying to decide whether to use Burl or Hawaiian Koa. I just want a farely simple classic design. 4 points, 3 maybe 4 veneers on each point, solid butt (no inlays), and probably an ivory hoppe ring. I even considered getting 4 points of one wood and 4 backing points of the other wood. He seems to do those a lot. I'm just not sure if that would look good. I originally wanted cocobolo but saw some burl cues and one koa cue and liked them both much better. Plus you don't see them near as much (especially the koa).

Sorry for all these subjective questions. I know a lot of you guys are going to tell me that this stuff is personal preference and most of it probably is but I just wanted some outside opinions. It's also not very realistic for me to find someone around where I live with a Skip cue (or any custom for that matter). Everyone around here plays with a McDermott it seems like. A couple of the better players have Schons, one has a Joss West and another I know has a Dan Dishaw but other than that everyone mostly uses production cues. A buddy of mine is about to buy a Skip so I'll probably wait until he gets his before I place my order. Playability is the first priority as this will become my new full time playing cue.
 
ivory will give you a better feel. it's crisp, but not as hard as ss. it's purely a matter of taste.

i've never had a cracked ivory ferrule. i've always been led to believe that extreme temp changes is what causes cracking. why the need for ivory ferrule in the first place? other than feel, and ease to clean/polish, an ivory ferrule won't make any difference in playability.

aren't koa and burl close in coloring? if so, they're not going to give you any contrats in your cue. sounds like you want fancy figured woods. fiddleback maple prongs into burl or koa would be nice.
 
Go with the ivory joint. Ivory ferrule won't play much different than anything else, but the ivory joint will not be as harsh a hit as ss. I've found durability with both ivroy joints and ferrules to be excellent. Never had a failure. As long as good quality ivory is used (and Hightower certainly will use good stuff) you have nothing to worry about.
 
aren't koa and burl close in coloring? if so, they're not going to give you any contrats in your cue. sounds like you want fancy figured woods. fiddleback maple prongs into burl or koa would be nice.
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I'm sorry I probably wasn't specific enough. I want 4 koa or burl points in birdseye or maybe curly maple with a koa or burl butt. I should have specified.

Will the Ivory joint give the cue a softer or so called "mushy" hit as "Ironchef" referred to it in another post? :)
 
moosepool said:
I'm sorry I probably wasn't specific enough. I want 4 koa or burl points in birdseye or maybe curly maple with a koa or burl butt. I should have specified.

Will the Ivory joint give the cue a softer or so called "mushy" hit as "Ironchef" referred to it in another post? :)
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if you like shapr hits,,,,,,,,,,,,fiddleback/curly/tiger ample doesn't have as sharp a hit as birdseye, imo.
 
I have a fairly plain Skip Weston cue with a piloted ivory joint and linen ferrules and it plays excellent. Between myself and a couple of friends, I've hit with maybe 6 different Skip's ranging from piloted ivory joint, piloted stainless, flat face wood to wood, and flat face ivory. I personally like the hit of his piloted ivory joint. There's nothing wrong with Skip's shafts, some people prefer playing with Predator shafts, I don't personally. Skip does excellent work with exotic hardwoods for points and veneers, so you definitely can't go wrong plus he's a really nice guy to deal with.

It's ultimately your call on the ivory ferrules. Skip likes to match up ivory ferrules with an ivory joint unless you tell him otherwise. I have old and new cues with ivory ferrules, never had a problem with them cracking or anything of the sort. Good luck with your purchase!
 
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ironchef. said:
It's ultimately your call on the ivory ferrules. Skip likes to match up ivory ferrules with an ivory joint unless you tell him otherwise. I have old and new cues with ivory ferrules, never had a problem with them cracking or anything of the sort. Good luck with your purchase!
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I was told by Dennis Searing that a lot of what you hear about ivory is myth. He said that he uses ivory to play, jump, etc... and has never had one crack.
Just thought I would throw that in there as I have never had any experience with them personally.
I'm a SS kind of guy.

Koop
 
I personally like the hit of his piloted ivory joint. There's nothing wrong with Skip's shafts, some people prefer playing with Predator shafts, I don't personally.
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Thanks for the reply. I was thinking I would try the piloted ivory. You might have just convinced me considering you have basically used them all. I'm not crazy about predator shafts either. I tried playing with a friends P2 for a while and never could get used to it.

I was told by Dennis Searing that a lot of what you hear about ivory is myth.
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That is kind of what I figured. I just wanted to make sure. I've heard of that happening before from a guy that repairs cues and then saw it again on chalkers.com article.

http://users.myexcel.com/hughtiernan/Articles/id34.htm

I'm a SS kind of guy.
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I was too until now. This is the first time I've considered an ivory joint. Figured it would be nice to try something new.
 
An ivory joint will deffinitely not be as harse as stainless. I personally like ivory ferrules because I like how they feel, look, and stay clean, and that gives me confidence. Where the ivory ferrule comes from within the tusk will also determine how hard or soft it will feel. There are a lot of good ferrules, it's personal preference. You should never let a cue be exposed to anything other than a normal indoor tempature. If it's a good piece of ivory, and do this, and let the ivory reach the room tempature before you play with it, you shouldn't have to worry about it. Since I never seem to have a break cue, I break, jump, and play with ivory ferrules, and have never broken or cracked one. I'm also talking over twenty years.

Dennis
 
hey dennis!
i know you prefer ss joints but if you were to go with ivory would you prefer flat face or piloted?

jef
 
Hi Jeff,

I like them both, but prefer flat faced. The flat faced ivory joint to me feels a little livelier, and I want the cue to do the work.

Dennis
 
have you experimented at all with your own ivory joint design like with your half ss joint or do you feel flat face can't be improved on?
 
I'm always experimenting. I'm working on a few things using ivory as the joint. I like ivory over stainless too, but still have more work to do, I want to get a little more out of it, as far as liveliness. I like the flat face, but will always think everything has room for improvement. So for me, I'll be experimenting, and R&D all the way up to the time when I'm sentenced to pine box. Boy that sounds terrible.

Dennis
 
joints

In 44 years of playing, I have seen one cracked ivory joint and
one cracked ivory ferrule. I preferr SS joint myself, but I think
you would be okay with ivory if that's what you want. I would
not break with it although.
 
I really don't think you will be disappointed with a cue from Skip. He is just the nicest person to work with. He will tell you if something will work or not in a cue. He wants you to be happy, happy, happy with your cue.
He is filling up with orders, and is very busy these days, but will still take the time to answer your questions in a timely fashion. His current build time is @ 16 weeks.

I remember when I got my first Skip cue and pulled it out of the box. I just stared at it in wonderment...it was just stunning! From the use of the all natural hardwoods right down to the execution of his workmanship. Beautiful sharp lines, points, rings that match from top to bottom.
Mine was a flat-faced wood joint. It was the best playing cue I have ever held in my hands. I had had a few other customs before, but nothing came close to my Skip...it felt like it was part of my arm...that natural. His shafts has a special taper that he uses, and they work just great! If you put a Predator on it, it will not be the same.
I sold my Skip, with much angst, because I decided I wanted a slightly fancier Skip, which is currently in build. But if I could have, I would have kept it. Skip builds 'players' cues...they are meant to be played!
I would suggest that you email Skip concerning your wood choices, as he may have a few suggestions you hadn't thought about.
Please let us know when you receive your cue, so that you can get pics posted in the Skip Weston photo gallery thread that Zeeder has set up. :)

Lisa
BTW..Skip prefers flat-faced ivory joints as well.
 
moosepool said:
Is there something wrong with Skip's shafts?
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there's ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with a cuemaker's shaft. you play with what you like and forget this predator nonsense.
 
iconcue said:
have you experimented at all with your own ivory joint design like with your half ss joint or do you feel flat face can't be improved on?
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jeff.....cp said he saw some/had some tests done on the diff between piloted and flatface. while the piloted is much stronger AT THE JOINT, the flatface is stronger over a broader area of the center,,,,,,approximately 15". i think it's mother nature compensating and balancing things out.

this might account for why a flatface seems to have a livelier hit, imo.
 
there's ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with a cuemaker's shaft. you play with what you like and forget this predator nonsense.
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Oh, I know. I was just being sarcastic in a nicer way. Too many people believe in the predator hype. I just never really could get to where I liked my friend's P2 I played with for a while. I gave it a fair try and tried to be non biased and ignore all their advertisement of "Best, lowest deflection shaft", "Over 1 billion pros play with this without receiving a dime" and all that crap.:D I'm not knocking predator, as they make very nice cues and I know people that swear by them. They are definitely one of the nicer production cues.They just weren't for me.
 
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