My local pool hall had a three cue raffle last Friday night. I purchased a ticket for each, soley to show support for one of the few "strictly" pool / billiard parlors left in Cleveland, which, for a city of it's size, has No place to even buy a decent cue....and I'm not talking custom,I'm talking any cue that doesn't come with a football team or NASCAR logo. It's "the "vast wasteland" of cues, as I call it. Anyway, none of the cues interested me ( Lucasi, Schon STL 2 and a Pechauer). But guess who won the Pechauer? Yep, me. I'm the guy who just had a daily player stolen recently....so what goes around, etc., etc.. Anyway, I had originally wanted a Josey (4 mo. lead time), then a Sly (which I still want). At any rate, I needed something in between the build times, found an old McD that I liked (the stolen cue) and suddenly had nothing. I purchased a Samsara Limited #3, a really nice cue, but I couldn't turn down my only nephew who begged and pleaded with me to allow him to purchase on a payment plan. So I have been temporarily cueless.....a horrible spot to be in.
But back to the Pechauer I'd won.....I've heard good things about these cues, but I had wanted to finally get away from a steel jointed cue and finally go radial or 3/8x10 for a while, with a regular shaft. I had been playing a 4K3 Predator and an OB1 Schon for the last 3 yrs. and sold them a while back. Both were accurate but the feel was not to my liking. The Pechauers designs have never really appealed to me aesthetically, so I was underwhelmed and when I saw it I kind of laughed....it was a wrapless (that was good), solid black maple with a Pechauer "speed joint". What did surprised me was that it had a Predator 314-2 shaft. The guy who purchased these cues for the raffles told me that Pechauer made these especialy for Seybert's. Well, I really didn't care that it was probably the plainest cue I'd ever seen, as that was better than some of the more gaudy designs of some of the other cues that they offer. So, after shaping the Everest tip I started knocking some balls around,expecting this cue to be a 4K3 clone. It is not that at all. I would say it has to be the difference in the shafts (original 314 and the 2nd generation 314).Could also be the speed joint (just a guess). I had always liked the 4K3 better than the Schon/OB1 and chalked that up to the shaft differences. But this Pechauer felt much better than either of those. While I didn't notice a difference in deflection, I immediately knew it was at least as accurate as either of those....which was why I liked the Predator. Once again, I thought the original 314 was very accurate.....that's what kept it in the case...but it felt dead. This combo of the 314-2 / plain jane Pechauer felt very good in the steel joint / laminated shaft category. In fact, it's the best feeling cue of this type that I've played. So my first take is that if, like me, you enjoyed the low deflection and ease of use that the original 314 gave you, but, like me, did not enjoy the hit....which to me took a lot of the fun out of the game, you should definitely like the newer 314. It feels very nice actually....more lively with a pretty firm hit, IMO. It is much more rewarding to play with. An analogy I would make would be one that a lot of good golfers will understand. It's like comparing a good steel cast head to a good forged steel bladed head. Everyone who hit it was surprised at the way it felt if they had played with an original 314 and most of the guys who prefer a wood / wood joint and solid shaft liked it too....the ultimate compliment for a steel jointed/lam shafted cue. The owner and best player there told me he chastised Marty (the guy who chose the cues for the raffle) for choosing this all black butted cue, was also surprised that it felt so good. He's a steel joint guy, but doesn't like laminated shafts,thinks that at least part of the good hit comes from the Pechauer portion. We inspected the cue, which is so dark it's tough to give it a good look over unless you're in a well lit room. He pointed out to me (it was obvious, actually) the excellent workmanship, i.e., fit, overall build quality and finish....all of which was on par with my old Schon and certainly better than my 4K3 butt. Another noted how well (snug) the joint came together and how you could close your eyes and never feel a thing if you ran your hands up and down the butt. So I'm probably selling the Pechauer end of this cue short as to how much it is responsible for the excellent hit and dead-on accuracy. It's actually a damn good cue and a perfect everyday player (until my next,which will probably be a Sly).
Hell, talk about being discreet, you can barely see the thing! But even that is growing on me. I would have bet the ranch that I would have sold it that night....in fact I had several offers. But I'm keeping it. It's extremely accurate (very low deflection)and already made me some $$$. I went to the Seybert site and saw the cue. It's in both the Predator / Pechauer sections, but has the Pechauer lifetime warranty and (half of it) is made in the U.S.A.. The discounted price is around $360.00. Then I went to the Pechauer site (1st time) and I was impressed that they make all parts of the cue, dry and saw their own wood and explained what looks like a very good methodology for making a solid cue. I know Pechauer has made a couple "special editions" for Predator....I didn't really like the looks, if I recall. Syebert calls this Pechauer line the "Custom 314".....pretty original, huh? ;-)
Anyway, for those who have a Pechauer that, for some reason, they aren't quite happy with,I would highly recommend trying the 314-2 shaft to see if the upgrade may improve the cue. I have never played a Pechauer prior to this, so I have no experience with their shafts, but this butt and shaft combo really works well on this particular cue....and the price was right !!
Anyone else play a Pechauer / 314-2 cue? How do you like it?
But back to the Pechauer I'd won.....I've heard good things about these cues, but I had wanted to finally get away from a steel jointed cue and finally go radial or 3/8x10 for a while, with a regular shaft. I had been playing a 4K3 Predator and an OB1 Schon for the last 3 yrs. and sold them a while back. Both were accurate but the feel was not to my liking. The Pechauers designs have never really appealed to me aesthetically, so I was underwhelmed and when I saw it I kind of laughed....it was a wrapless (that was good), solid black maple with a Pechauer "speed joint". What did surprised me was that it had a Predator 314-2 shaft. The guy who purchased these cues for the raffles told me that Pechauer made these especialy for Seybert's. Well, I really didn't care that it was probably the plainest cue I'd ever seen, as that was better than some of the more gaudy designs of some of the other cues that they offer. So, after shaping the Everest tip I started knocking some balls around,expecting this cue to be a 4K3 clone. It is not that at all. I would say it has to be the difference in the shafts (original 314 and the 2nd generation 314).Could also be the speed joint (just a guess). I had always liked the 4K3 better than the Schon/OB1 and chalked that up to the shaft differences. But this Pechauer felt much better than either of those. While I didn't notice a difference in deflection, I immediately knew it was at least as accurate as either of those....which was why I liked the Predator. Once again, I thought the original 314 was very accurate.....that's what kept it in the case...but it felt dead. This combo of the 314-2 / plain jane Pechauer felt very good in the steel joint / laminated shaft category. In fact, it's the best feeling cue of this type that I've played. So my first take is that if, like me, you enjoyed the low deflection and ease of use that the original 314 gave you, but, like me, did not enjoy the hit....which to me took a lot of the fun out of the game, you should definitely like the newer 314. It feels very nice actually....more lively with a pretty firm hit, IMO. It is much more rewarding to play with. An analogy I would make would be one that a lot of good golfers will understand. It's like comparing a good steel cast head to a good forged steel bladed head. Everyone who hit it was surprised at the way it felt if they had played with an original 314 and most of the guys who prefer a wood / wood joint and solid shaft liked it too....the ultimate compliment for a steel jointed/lam shafted cue. The owner and best player there told me he chastised Marty (the guy who chose the cues for the raffle) for choosing this all black butted cue, was also surprised that it felt so good. He's a steel joint guy, but doesn't like laminated shafts,thinks that at least part of the good hit comes from the Pechauer portion. We inspected the cue, which is so dark it's tough to give it a good look over unless you're in a well lit room. He pointed out to me (it was obvious, actually) the excellent workmanship, i.e., fit, overall build quality and finish....all of which was on par with my old Schon and certainly better than my 4K3 butt. Another noted how well (snug) the joint came together and how you could close your eyes and never feel a thing if you ran your hands up and down the butt. So I'm probably selling the Pechauer end of this cue short as to how much it is responsible for the excellent hit and dead-on accuracy. It's actually a damn good cue and a perfect everyday player (until my next,which will probably be a Sly).
Hell, talk about being discreet, you can barely see the thing! But even that is growing on me. I would have bet the ranch that I would have sold it that night....in fact I had several offers. But I'm keeping it. It's extremely accurate (very low deflection)and already made me some $$$. I went to the Seybert site and saw the cue. It's in both the Predator / Pechauer sections, but has the Pechauer lifetime warranty and (half of it) is made in the U.S.A.. The discounted price is around $360.00. Then I went to the Pechauer site (1st time) and I was impressed that they make all parts of the cue, dry and saw their own wood and explained what looks like a very good methodology for making a solid cue. I know Pechauer has made a couple "special editions" for Predator....I didn't really like the looks, if I recall. Syebert calls this Pechauer line the "Custom 314".....pretty original, huh? ;-)
Anyway, for those who have a Pechauer that, for some reason, they aren't quite happy with,I would highly recommend trying the 314-2 shaft to see if the upgrade may improve the cue. I have never played a Pechauer prior to this, so I have no experience with their shafts, but this butt and shaft combo really works well on this particular cue....and the price was right !!
Anyone else play a Pechauer / 314-2 cue? How do you like it?
