Pretty Wood or More Inlays?

Fatboy

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Perhaps this should be a poll, but I put it in the For Sale forum because I wanted to see what potential cue buyers llook for when buying a cue. So is it the nice wood or the workmanship of inlays that you favor? or both? What do you look for in a cue, me I'm a wood guy, sure I have some great works of art but for my daily playing cue I like a nice looking plane jane Tad with a great piece of birds eye maple, or a basic 4 point Szam with nice sharp points and nice wood. Its all in the wood-for me.
 
Fatboy said:
Perhaps this should be a poll, but I put it in the For Sale forum because I wanted to see what potential cue buyers llook for when buying a cue. So is it the nice wood or the workmanship of inlays that you favor? or both? What do you look for in a cue, me I'm a wood guy, sure I have some great works of art but for my daily playing cue I like a nice looking plane jane Tad with a great piece of birds eye maple, or a basic 4 point Szam with nice sharp points and nice wood. Its all in the wood-for me.
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agreed....
 
I'll take a piece of gorgeous BEM, Cocobola, or Burl......with no inlays at all....any day of the week.

I'm a wood grain nut, at heart.

I do prefer inlays into dark ebony...but all others can stand on their own beautiful merits.......

(except for spalted maple....I never could get into that one......inlay work or not)
 
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Fatboy said:
Perhaps this should be a poll, but I put it in the For Sale forum because I wanted to see what potential cue buyers llook for when buying a cue. So is it the nice wood or the workmanship of inlays that you favor? or both? What do you look for in a cue, me I'm a wood guy, sure I have some great works of art but for my daily playing cue I like a nice looking plane jane Tad with a great piece of birds eye maple, or a basic 4 point Szam with nice sharp points and nice wood. Its all in the wood-for me.
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Fatboy,
I shoot with a plain 4 point Gus. When it was made, it was crafted to be used as an instrument for the game of pool. It wasn't designed to be a trophy. Its got nice birdseye and ebony points with precision veneering. I like cues that are similar to this, traditional. For those who like the cnc, over the top, computer driven cues, thats great. You can have them, just send me the Bushkas, Boti's, Mottey shops, Skips etc..

JV
 
i'm a putist i like the wood, i play with a 4pt G.Szam most of the time, I put my Tad into retirement(i still use it but not full time) I also have a Richard Black with alot of little tiny inlays that you cant see from 20 feet away, its cool because its primarily a "nice wood" cue until you look carefully and the inlays dont distract you from seeing the wood-they enhance it.

I'm hope this thread gets alot of action, and I suspect the wood vs. inlays score will be about 8 to 1 for wood. something cue makers should make a note of, I bought a cue this week just because i like the wood, i'll use it for travelling. i refuse to check in a Szam at any airport and my jet is still in the shop-I dont know who's shop..........I havent bought it yet, LOL. ;)
 
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classiccues said:
Fatboy,
I shoot with a plain 4 point Gus. When it was made, it was crafted to be used as an instrument for the game of pool. It wasn't designed to be a trophy. Its got nice birdseye and ebony points with precision veneering. I like cues that are similar to this, traditional. For those who like the cnc, over the top, computer driven cues, thats great. You can have them, just send me the Bushkas, Boti's, Mottey shops, Skips etc..

JV
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i agree 100%, its fun to have a couple trophy cues too, but they dont touch me the way a instrument for the game of pool does.
 
My question to you plain jane lovers is what would be the ceiling on a new PJ cue? Inlays are added to enhance beauty and increase value. Say you have a full spliced 4 point with razor sharp points and dead even veneers coupled with a presentation grade BEM forearm and jet black ebony points and butt with Ivory ferrules,joint,and Butt cap, topped off with a leather wrap. The finish would, of course, be like glass and the shafts would be tight,straight grained maple. How much would you be willing to drop for a flawless player like this?
 
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Now that Szam is a cue, a ral cue. I love the worn look, that moves me more than a solid ivory/silver cue 8 days a week, there are war stories in a cue like that, if it could talk it would have something to say "its was hill/hill for all the $$$...." where a museum cue wouldnt know what to say " a bunch of blue hair old ladys walked by me and staired at me".

on that note it pisses me off when people restore cues sometimes, if it protects them its cool, but the patina on a well worn cue is special.
 
I am kind of in the middle. You can have a great piece of exotic wood ruined by ringwork in a bad choice of colors. Same goes with inlays. I had a really nice walnut burl Mottey (many on this board know the cue) that had abalone inlays that were almost lost in the wood. I look for entire aesthetics, not individual components, inlays, whatever.

I like nice wood combinations, but they have to be matched with nice ringwork, and the cue needs to look consistent from butt to tip.

Having said that, I like reverse points with veneers, burl, cocobola, snakewood, ebony, bacote, and some tulipwood.
 
The wood, definitely. Nice rings are good too, but it's got to be a player first and foremost! :p
 
hangemhigh said:
My question to you plain jane lovers is what would be the ceiling on a new PJ cue? Inlays are added to enhance beauty and increase value. Say you have a 4 point with razor sharp and dead even veneers coupled with a presentation grade BEM forearm and jet black ebony points and butt with Ivory ferrules,joint,and Butt cap, topped off with a leather wrap. The finish would, of course, be like glass and the shafts would be tight,straight grained maple. How much would you be willing to drop for a flawless player like this?
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depends on who made it, for a Szam with 4 points over $5,000. Richard Black $1500 same for a Ginacue,it depends on the market too some cue makers are hot for a while then cool off, some dont like Szam-because whats left is all there is. I like Tads alot so I might pay a bit more than someone who dosent. It really depends on the seller and buyer.
 
hangemhigh said:
My question to you plain jane lovers is what would be the ceiling on a new PJ cue? Inlays are added to enhance beauty and increase value. Say you have a full spliced 4 point with razor sharp points and dead even veneers coupled with a presentation grade BEM forearm and jet black ebony points and butt with Ivory ferrules,joint,and Butt cap, topped off with a leather wrap. The finish would, of course, be like glass and the shafts would be tight,straight grained maple. How much would you be willing to drop for a flawless player like this?
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I'm sure a couple folks are gonna say the same thing.....but it depends on who made it.

If we're talking a Szamboti, it would probably be in the neighborhood of 4-5k.

If Scruggs, Mottey, White, or someone of the like were to have made it....around the 2k neighborhood.

If it was an out and out player from a newer maker....1k.

For me....if the cue sang to me when I played with it, I'd sink a couple G's into one. (Szam's notwithstanding, of course)
 
Fatboy said:
depends on who made it, for a Szam with 4 points over $5,000. Richard Black $1500 same for a Ginacue,it depends on the market too some cue makers are hot for a while then cool off, some dont like Szam-because whats left is all there is. I like Tads alot so I might pay a bit more than someone who dosent. It really depends on the seller and buyer.
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See?? Fatboy even beat me to my own answer!!
 
Fatboy said:
Now that Szam is a cue, a ral cue. I love the worn look, that moves me more than a solid ivory/silver cue 8 days a week, there are war stories in a cue like that, if it could talk it would have something to say "its was hill/hill for all the $$$...." where a museum cue wouldnt know what to say " a bunch of blue hair old ladys walked by me and staired at me".

on that note it pisses me off when people restore cues sometimes, if it protects them its cool, but the patina on a well worn cue is special.
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Thanks.. Fat.. the cue is more than just a cue to me. It was refinished by Barry in 98 or so.. and he redyed the wrap and it just didn't hold. It's an old piece of Bushka Leather Gus installed for my uncle when he picked the cue up in 76'ish. But you're right, its played a lot of games, and won me 2500 the first time I used it, so I an't complaining.

JV
 
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