Phillipines Cues?????

snipershot

Go ahead.....run for it.
Silver Member
I have see some very nice looking cues on fleabay that are made in the Phillipines. there are several guys making/selling these. Has anyone here tried any of these? One in particular is a TGL inlaied cue with a snakeskin wrap, two shafts, and joint protectors. they dont sell for a very high price, and they look nice. :confused:
 
The biggest issue with these cues is their stability. The humid conditions in the Phillipines make for some very unstable wood, thus leading to warpage (in the shafts, especially.) That being said, the workmanship on some of these cues is very good.
 
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Most of them warp and are cheap. But there is one or two makers on ebay (Phillipines) that make a good cue for the money IMO. First and foremost off ebay would be Vhante Cues. A friend of mine has 3 of them. And they hit really well for the money.

All white is Ivory.

2zq6l4h.jpg
 
thanks for the info. I may try one of these out. they sure look good, but my only concern is how weel they play. I love the hit on a Joss, so I wonder how these would compare.
 
flyvirginiaguy said:
Most of them warp and are cheap. But there is one or two makers on ebay (Phillipines) that make a good cue for the money IMO. First and foremost off ebay would be Vhante Cues. A friend of mine has 3 of them. And they hit really well for the money.

All white is Ivory.

2zq6l4h.jpg

how long has he had 'em? i'd be real nervous having anything with ivory shipped to me. i hear the fine is pretty big
 
I agree that the likelihood of warpage is a factor. After having that occur with a Kao Fa (KF) cue from Taiwan. KF has been making cues a long time and they only warantee there cues against warping for 90 days. LOL!! After some prodding they agreed to fix it and it was still warped when I got it back. The warp on my cue is in the forearm not the shafts. It sure was nice to ship it all the way to them and get it back warped though.. Personally I don't think they did a damn thing to it..
After this experience I'll only buy cues made in the states!!
JMO,
Dan
 
snipershot said:
thanks for the info. I may try one of these out. they sure look good, but my only concern is how weel they play. I love the hit on a Joss, so I wonder how these would compare.

The ones I hit with like the one above hit great. But the other makers on ebay, I know nothing about...
 
snipershot said:
I have see some very nice looking cues on fleabay that are made in the Phillipines. there are several guys making/selling these. Has anyone here tried any of these? One in particular is a TGL inlaied cue with a snakeskin wrap, two shafts, and joint protectors. they dont sell for a very high price, and they look nice. :confused:

Best advise I can give is stay away, while there have been some Philipino Cue makers that have certainly built some decent products. Ninety percent plus of all cues I have seen are truly comparable to the Chinese imports sold at Kmart, Gart Sports or Sears!!!!!!!
 
well, Im gonna have to wait for a while before I buy another cue. I just picked up a Schon on fleabay for 400, so thats 3 cues i have bought in the last 4 days, lol. actually I have to sell one of the first two to pay for the schon, but Im pretty sure I got a good deal on it. anyhow, thanks for the advice fellas, I think Ill just stay with what I know, Joss, Schon, Pechauer, McDermott, Viking, etc. American made with good a good rep. thanks again.
 
Purchased a custom cue from Jenor {Ronej} 6 months ago.

I seen a cue on ebay from ronej about 6 months ago I really loved the design. But i was skeptical of philippine cues because of quality. But i really liked the design and it would probably cost around 1000 dollars to have similar one made in U.S. So i contacted him about some modifications i wanted such as different pin size weight balance pt etc. He stated that it would be no problem. He said he would make the cue with specs for 220 shipped. so i agreed. Well when it arrived and i opened it for inspection i was pleased on the design and the specs were right on cue{pun intended}. Only flaw was that the finish on the cue was not as high quality as say dupont. Dont get me wrong it was pretty glossy but no very thick and had couple indentations.
But not really noticeable unless you looked very close. I liked the fact that it was naturally weighted and had the screw in butt cap. Well off to the pool room... screwed on the shaft tight fit 3/8x10. Rolled it on the table what do ya know its straight not high quality shaft but straight. Hit couple balls didnt like the hit. took off the lepro put triangle on a lot better. After couple months the ferrule cracked but i had taken the shaft down to 12mm and the ferrule wasnt high grade material so it weakened the ferrule wall. so i put a melamine ferrule and new triangle on it. No more cracking the ferrule.
I break with it, play banks often firing the balls in. The cue has held up great and the butt is dead straight. But i would suggest that if you have one made in philippines. Just send the shaft you get with it to a custom cuemaker of your choice and have him make a shaft with a ferrule of your choice and tip and use the ringwork from original shaft. Maybe just got lucky but a dead straight cue with my specs that looks like a $1,000 or more design for 220 shipped. Cant complain.:thumbup:
 
manwon said:
Best advise I can give is stay away, while there have been some Philipino Cue makers that have certainly built some decent products. Ninety percent plus of all cues I have seen are truly comparable to the Chinese imports sold at Kmart, Gart Sports or Sears!!!!!!!


this is to rude..:eek: and deffinetly insulting to the chineese folks out there... :grin-square:
 
Many of the cues coming from there are built on wood lathes by hand. Some of those are better than others. You usually get what you pay for from the Phillipines. There are many masters of Inlay work there, but only a handful of true master cuemakers. You get a lot of decoration for the money from there. Probably more so than any where in the world as far as real inlays go. But the problem is usually the cue itself. Many of those who don't have metal lathes or cue lathes do not get good fits where the rings and butt plates are glued on. Some rush their wood so warpage is a major problem. But with those negatives being shared in all fairness there are some top notch cue makers there that rival the Americans. But don't expect to buy one of their cues for $89. Ask around a little more on the forums and you will get direction for the better cuemakers from there. Many over there are upgrading their equipment, so I think the quality will come up in the shops that care about quality. Some really don't care, but the ones that do are turning out some nice quality cues.
 
cueman said:
Many of the cues coming from there are built on wood lathes by hand. Some of those are better than others. You usually get what you pay for from the Phillipines. There are many masters of Inlay work there, but only a handful of true master cuemakers. You get a lot of decoration for the money from there. Probably more so than any where in the world as far as real inlays go. But the problem is usually the cue itself. Many of those who don't have metal lathes or cue lathes do not get good fits where the rings and butt plates are glued on. Some rush their wood so warpage is a major problem. But with those negatives being shared in all fairness there are some top notch cue makers there that rival the Americans. But don't expect to buy one of their cues for $89. Ask around a little more on the forums and you will get direction for the better cuemakers from there. Many over there are upgrading their equipment, so I think the quality will come up in the shops that care about quality. Some really don't care, but the ones that do are turning out some nice quality cues.

sir cris, have to admit that many/most makers here uses stone-age lathes due to economic reasons...that being said, still the the maker can produce quality cue if he knows well of the craft and takes pride of it. (its the end product that matters) having hi-tech equipment doesnt make instant cue- craftsman:wink:
 
linds said:
this is to rude..:eek: and deffinetly insulting to the chineese folks out there... :grin-square:

I am sorry if my comments seem rude, but they are very true. Like I said their are some cue makers from the Philippines who build a good product. However, 90% of what I have seen have been very beautifully inlayed, and made out of woods that have major problems with expansion and contraction. I suspect that many of the problems are directly due to the difference between the humidity and moisture content.:)
 
no harm done manwon:sorry: its the same with american cues reaching far-east region... just that the asian/philippine cues are cheaper as compared to the high price economy (same result/vice versa):thumbup:
 
linds said:
no harm done manwon:sorry: its the same with american cues reaching far-east region... just that the asian/philippine cues are cheaper as compared to the high price economy (same result/vice versa):thumbup:

Thanks very much for understanding!!!!!:)
 
Nice statement from the Director of the International Cuemakers Assoc.

Just thought it needed comment.
 
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