Richard Black
- Thread starter rtbbf
- Start date
I've played with a Black for over 20 years now and just bought a second cue made by Richard. One of the finest playing cues you can own in my opinion. A good friend just purchased one as well and is very pleased with the hit and overall performance of the cue. I am a big fan of Black's! My only regret is that I cannot afford more of them.
I haven't played with a Richard Black cue in years. I had probably one of his first cues back around 1976. I had maybe two more after that before going to Gina pretty much full time. They always played great and the workmanship was at the time the best. You could set one of his cues next to any other cue of the time and the difference was dramatic.
The others just didn't really give that much attention to detail. The only other cuemaker at that time would be Gina whose work was so consistently flawless. The reason I say "At the time " is because today there are a lot of cuemakers doing amazing work. Back then cues were more regarded as tools and they just didn't really seem to care if an inlay was not perfect. Black and Gina did care and their work reflected it.
Unfortunately for the player, Black cues became too collectable to play with. You would get offers for your Black cue you could not refuse so many players, who usually needed the money, surrendered their cues to collectors. From that point Black cues were moving out of the price range of most everyday players.
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Guys -
Here is a suggestion.
There are alot of Black cues out there. I have been able to pick up several over the years that were "road dogs". I picked them up pretty cheap and then sent them out for refinishing by Scot or Ryan.
What came back is incredible looking cues.
You can get a nice older one that needs a little TLC and not break the pocketbook.
Ken
Here is a suggestion.
There are alot of Black cues out there. I have been able to pick up several over the years that were "road dogs". I picked them up pretty cheap and then sent them out for refinishing by Scot or Ryan.
What came back is incredible looking cues.
You can get a nice older one that needs a little TLC and not break the pocketbook.
Ken
One of the BEST cues I ever had was one Richard made for me back in 1978. It was a simple "4-pointer" cue that looked like a plain Balabushka. That was one of the best hitting cues I ever played with.
As it got a lot of miles on it, I had him make me another cue in 1981...a Rosewood Merry-WIdow type of cue called the "Casino". It was about $50 more than I paid for the 4-Point ($175), but it didn't play anywhere near as well. Unfortunately, I had already sold the 4-Pointer and I wound up selling the Casino because I liked the hit of a new Mcdermott (C-14) that I picked up better.
I wish I had kept my original Black. It costs about $1750 for him to make me another.
As it got a lot of miles on it, I had him make me another cue in 1981...a Rosewood Merry-WIdow type of cue called the "Casino". It was about $50 more than I paid for the 4-Point ($175), but it didn't play anywhere near as well. Unfortunately, I had already sold the 4-Pointer and I wound up selling the Casino because I liked the hit of a new Mcdermott (C-14) that I picked up better.
I wish I had kept my original Black. It costs about $1750 for him to make me another.
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Richard Black.....exceptionally talented cue-maker, perhaps the most creative of all time.......and just a great person..........I'd pay whatever it took to own a Richard Black ivory joint Alamo cue that weighs mid 18 ozs......never been able to find one and maybe that's why it's become my "Golden Fleece" in pool cues.
Mr. Black is definitely my favorite cue-maker of all time and his workmanship speaks for itself. Anyone that owns one of his cues is fortunate and his cues are meant to be played with......his cue tips are better than any others I've tried including Kamui, Tiger, Ultrasoft, and many, many other brands as well. Doesn't matter which brand you play with........Richard makes his own leather cue tips and the RB tips are just superb IMO.
Mr. Black is definitely my favorite cue-maker of all time and his workmanship speaks for itself. Anyone that owns one of his cues is fortunate and his cues are meant to be played with......his cue tips are better than any others I've tried including Kamui, Tiger, Ultrasoft, and many, many other brands as well. Doesn't matter which brand you play with........Richard makes his own leather cue tips and the RB tips are just superb IMO.
