Richard Black Cues

That cue is certainly not one of his typical designs... I am guessing the name of it is "The Fugster".... but I bet it plays like a dream....
 
pharaoh: I see your point and I guess we will just be on opposite sides of the fence. I would love to try the Bender you spoke about.... Did you buy it?

I am actually thinking about ordering another RB,,,, I just have that itch...
 
BillYards said:
That cue is certainly not one of his typical designs... I am guessing the name of it is "The Fugster".... but I bet it plays like a dream....
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It probably plays as well as a 3 to 5 dime Q can play with WARPED shafts.

That is a current example of some of the frustration many of us have realized when recieving RB cues because of ?????????. Their like a box of chocolates...... Wonder if it will bring 40 cents on the 96 $??

All that said I would BET that more RB cues have sold for more than 15k in the last 10yrs than any living cue maker! Can I get action?

At the end of the day the people who own his super juicy "MUSUEM" cues will be VERY happy campers.:)
 
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pharaoh68 said:
<snip>........ Well, I've hit with a Bender in recent weeks that sent chills down my spine as it plays better than any cue I have EVER picked up.
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I would be interested in a thread related to this - if everyone would be as candid and honest as they are in this thread . . . .
 
BillYards said:
pharaoh: I see your point and I guess we will just be on opposite sides of the fence. I would love to try the Bender you spoke about.... Did you buy it?
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No. It belongs to a friend of mine. If you take a look Erik Lee's site, he has an 8 point bender with a tulipwood forearm, 4 high ebony point, and 4 low ivory point. Its the same cue but instead curly purpleheart replaced the tulipwood!

And its for sale with 3 shafts. Two Mike Bender shafts and one Predator shaft. Too. If you or anyone you know is interested, let me know and I'll give you some more details.
 
pharaoh68 said:
No. It belongs to a friend of mine. If you take a look Erik Lee's site, he has an 8 point bender with a tulipwood forearm, 4 high ebony point, and 4 low ivory point. Its the same cue but instead curly purpleheart replaced the tulipwood!

And its for sale with 3 shafts. Two Mike Bender shafts and one Predator shaft. Too. If you or anyone you know is interested, let me know and I'll give you some more details.
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That Bender he is talking about is one of the most incredible cues I have ever seen...I get drool on my keyboard when I gawk at it!
 
Ok... I would like the details... Please PM me a price... And when you hit with it... did it have the Predator or the Bender shaft on it?
 
BillYards said:
Ok... I would like the details... Please PM me a price... And when you hit with it... did it have the Predator or the Bender shaft on it?
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THAT BENDER YOUR ASKING ABOUT, AND YOUR RICHARD BLACKS ARE GOING TO BE TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

I'M NOT GUESSING ABOUT THIS EITHER, I'VE OWNED ABOUT 30-35 BLACKS(AND HIT BALLS WITH ALL OF THEM) AND I'VE PLAYED WITH AT LEAST 5 BENDERS, AND I CAN SAY THEY HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON.

I ALSO MUST DISAGREE ABOUT YOUR STATEMENT OF RICHARDS CUES CONSISTANCY, AND ABOUT HIS EXECUTION. I HAD A FEW THAT PLAYED VERY NICE, BUT HAD MANY THAT I COULDN'T STAND THE HIT OF.

I ALSO HAD CUES THAT WERE EXECUTED PRETTY WELL, AND I HAD SEVERAL THAT WERE FAR FROM PERFECT. I ALSO SAW SOME HIGH END CUES (NEW ONES) THIS YEAR AT VALLEY FORGE THAT I WAS DISAPPOINTED IN THE EXECUTION. IF THEY HAD BEEN DELIVERED TO ME THAT WAY, I WOULD HAVE GIVEN THEM BACK. FINISH POP ON CUES THAT WERE BRAND NEW, VERY OBVIOUS SEEMS ON LEATHER WRAPS, AND SOME PRETTY POOR EXECUTION OF VENEER WORK.

I DIDN'T WANT TO SAY THESE THINGS ON A PUBLIC FORUM, BUT I WON'T LET MISINFORMATION HAPPEN ON HERE EITHER. I'M SORRY IF I OFFENDED ANYONE WITH MY COMMENTS, BUT AFTER READING THIS THREAD I FELT IT NEEDED TO BE SAID. I, FOR ONE, WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER RICHARD BLACK. I WAS OFFERED TWO AT VF FOR AMAZING PRICES, AND STILL DIDN'T BUY THEM. JUST MY 2 CENTS.
 
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I'M NOT GUESSING ABOUT THIS EITHER, I'VE OWNED ABOUT 30-35 BLACKS(AND HIT BALLS WITH ALL OF THEM) AND I'VE PLAYED WITH AT LEAST 5 BENDERS, AND I CAN SAY THEY HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON.



Agreed.
I've seen x-rays of RB's and Benders. They are constructed WAY WAY differently inside.
Benders' reasonate better imo.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Benders' reasonate better imo.
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That is the understatement of the month.

The only cue that I've ever had a visceral reaction to was a RB, and this is including production cues made in China. The hit was absolutely offensive.

And I cannot stress enough just how sloppy some of his veneer/inlay work is. I've seen RB inlays that looked as if he were late for a date and put the whole thing together on the fly. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy, and completely unacceptable...not when you have so many perfectionist CM's out there today.

-Roger
 
JoeyInCali said:
I'M NOT GUESSING ABOUT THIS EITHER, I'VE OWNED ABOUT 30-35 BLACKS(AND HIT BALLS WITH ALL OF THEM) AND I'VE PLAYED WITH AT LEAST 5 BENDERS, AND I CAN SAY THEY HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON.



Agreed.
I've seen x-rays of RB's and Benders. They are constructed WAY WAY differently inside.
Benders' reasonate better imo.
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Funny... that reminds me that I actually have two xrays of my first RB... the Red Baron around here somewhere... Need to look for those and see if I can scan them... Fairly interesting.....
 
F-N-L:

Glad you finally chimed in on this.... I knew your position, but wanted to hear more. I have gotten some PM's from people that are going to send me photos of some of his work that is not up to par...

I am really sorry to hear this feedback because my Black cues have meant so much to me over the years. I have really not seen that many other than my own and I do admit that there were some problems with those cues. Some finishing problems, some inlay work not centered, and I did examine one cue with a penlight and saw a... gap between the veneer and the forearm where the cue had delaminated a bit. I was shocked to see that, because under normal viewing you would never see it, even in bright light. You had to have the light right up to the cue.

Ok, so I admit that some of the cues have issues. Most that I have seen have very small issues or no issues at all.

And I just have to disagree with the hit part. I think I know a guy down here that has a Bender and I will try it out if I can. I also know a guy that has a Richard Black. I will ask to try that cue too.

I will try to keep an open mind and am willing to try all cues, but I doubt I will give in on the hit issue.

Give me a list of say.... 5 cues other than Black Boar that you think hit better and I will try to get my hands on them. Don't say Balabushka... has to be something I can actually find.....

Oh, on the same subject, but along a different line... check the museum piece RB on Ebay right now.... Blatant SHILL bidding for sure on that auction! Of course I can't be 100% certain, but when laptop dealers are bidding on cues and people that have few buys on Ebay (none of which are cues), you gotta think something is going on!

And... I have recently seen some Tascarella photos... the veneer work looks a lot like Richard Black's... I fact, I would not be able to tell the difference... And... the inlay work was not the greatest.
 
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BillYards said:
F-N-L:

Glad you finally chimed in on this.... I knew your position, but wanted to hear more. I have gotten some PM's from people that are going to send me photos of some of his work that is not up to par...

I am really sorry to hear this feedback because my Black cues have meant so much to me over the years. I have really not seen that many other than my own and I do admit that there were some problems with those cues. Some finishing problems, some inlay work not centered, and I did examine one cue with a penlight and saw a... gap between the veneer and the forearm where the cue had delaminated a bit. I was shocked to see that, because under normal viewing you would never see it, even in bright light. You had to have the light right up to the cue.

Ok, so I admit that some of the cues have issues. Most that I have seen have very small issues or no issues at all.

And I just have to disagree with the hit part. I think I know a guy down here that has a Bender and I will try it out if I can. I also know a guy that has a Richard Black. I will ask to try that cue too.

I will try to keep an open mind and am willing to try all cues, but I doubt I will give in on the hit issue.

Give me a list of say.... 5 cues other than Black Boar that you think hit better and I will try to get my hands on them. Don't say Balabushka... has to be something I can actually find.....

Oh, on the same subject, but along a different line... check the museum piece RB on Ebay right now.... Blatant SHILL bidding for sure on that auction! Of course I can't be 100% certain, but when laptop dealers are bidding on cues and people that have few buys on Ebay (none of which are cues), you gotta think something is going on!

And... I have recently seen some Tascarella photos... the veneer work looks a lot like Richard Black's... I fact, I would not be able to tell the difference... And... the inlay work was not the greatest.
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HIT/PLAY is waaaay too subjective for serious debate.

Consistancy of play of a specific makers cues is not.

Attention to detail, quality,etc. is not.

Its obvious where the consensus lies.

Five cues that might be more consistant are:

SEARING

SOUTHWEST

TASCERALLA

SCRUGGS

MOTTEY

COG

JOSEY

JUDD

MCDANIEL

BRICK

TAD

GINA

MCWORTER

YOUNG

STROUD

Bottom line is that, IMO, some RB'S are very good (esp. piltd. iv. jt.) they are not consistant.:)
 
BillYards said:
F-N-L:


And... I have recently seen some Tascarella photos... the veneer work looks a lot like Richard Black's... I fact, I would not be able to tell the difference... And... the inlay work was not the greatest.
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i think this is officially the dumbest thing anyone has ever said on AZ.
the day you get a inlayed tascarella, put it next to your black.
you will say to yourself, DAMN, marcus was right, and i never should have said what i did on that AZ post.
unreal. until you own a tascarella, please stop putting them down.
you were the same guy who said marcus got ripped off on that fancy cue he just bought. he could have sold it 20x at valley forge this year at a profit.

get a clue.

i couldnt stay silent anymore.


chris G

PS: ive had many blacks myself. some of them hit awesome.
 
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bogey54311 said:
i think this is officially the dumbest thing anyone has ever said on AZ.
the day you get a inlayed tascarella, put it next to your black.
you will say to yourself, DAMN, marcus was right, and i never should have said what i did on that AZ post.
unreal. until you own a tascarella, please stop putting them down.
you were the same guy who said marcus got ripped off on that fancy cue he just bought. he could have sold it 20x at valley forge this year at a profit.

get a clue.

i couldnt stay silent anymore.


chris G

PS: ive had many blacks myself. some of them hit awesome.
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Chris G.:

Thanks. Glad we have clued-in people like you around here to keep me straight.
 
Here are some examples of the quality you guys are talking about in RB cues. You can see that the inlays are not quite centered. Even though I really like the overal design of the cue and if I had the $$ this cue would be in my collection for sure.
 

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moccabee said:
Here are some examples of the quality you guys are talking about in RB cues. You can see that the inlays are not quite centered. Even though I really like the overal design of the cue and if I had the $$ this cue would be in my collection for sure.
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Funny! I was going to point out that exact same thing in an earlier post but, to be honest, that is minor compared to some of the attrocities he has let leave his shop before.

I have seen diamonds that are so far off center, they almost look like squares leaning over. And as I stated earlier, how could any respected cuemaker put notched diamonds in his cues and forget to notch one or two sides?!?!?!

As far as naming five cues that play better:
Southwest
Bender
Mottey
White
Tascarella
Herceck
Bluegrass
Scruggs
Searing
...and a slew of others.
 
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