Romine's High Pockets selling Schon cues

wilkamania

wilkamania

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey Everyone,

Weird question, but has anyone ever gotten a Schon cue from Romine's? (I know of the history of Terry Romine founding Schon, and I believe Jr. now runs Schon).

Anywho, always been a fan of Schon cues and for shits and giggles, was humoring the idea of driving up to Milwaukee, stopping by, and grabbing a Schon. I'm in Chicago so it's about 1.5 hours each way, nothing crazy at all.

If anyone frequents there, or has bought a Schon there, do they have the same pricing you'd find online at say Seyberts, or would it be MSRP like on teh Schon site? Also do they carry the basic models too?

I guess I can always call and ask, but was curious from the most knowledgeable pool base on the internets lol.
 
For shits and giggles, you might as well drive to Schon also, not a whole lot further. Worth the trip. Sometimes when you go there you see cues in their rack you have never seen before. No discount's there though. I've probably been there 4 or 5 times, something new every time. They are really a great bunch of guys, if it's break time and they are playing pool, grab a place to to sit and wait till break is over.
 
muskyed said:
For shits and giggles, you might as well drive to Schon also, not a whole lot further. Worth the trip. Sometimes when you go there you see cues in their rack you have never seen before. No discount's there though. I've probably been there 4 or 5 times, something new every time. They are really a great bunch of guys, if it's break time and they are playing pool, grab a place to to sit and wait till break is over.
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noted! I know in the past I sent an email around Sept 2018, asking if it'd be cool to come visit the factory. John Fuhrman owned it at the time and said they can't for insurance reasons. Has that changed or do they have a guest area now? I promise to be respectful and not go all willy wonka factory kid on all the machines.
 
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I visited the factory about 15 years ago and it was like it was some top secret facility. They were polite but none too hospitable. Yes, this is our factory where we made your cues, we can't/won't show you anything, please leave, thank you for being a Schon customer. I can understand that they have trade secrets and processes they want to keep secret, but jeez....I'm just a pool player that likes their sticks, not a CIA spy.

But that's cool, I still like my Schons.
 
Cartune said:
I would go to simply see what they have that might not be available to others!!


I also would not ask for a tour, respect the builder's privacy
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Totally get that. I'd honestly just want ot check out the cues haha.

Only other time I got to hang out in a cue shop was at Joey Gold's Shop here in Chicago. Always had fun hanging there and he's such a character. Had a Cog once but had to sell it for financial reasons. Now they're priced a bit out of my range haha.

Schons were always dear to me so i figured it'd be fun to get it "from the source" whether that's the factory or Romine's lol.
 
That's kind of wild if that's true that you can't get a shop tour. I visited two custom cue makers today and chatted with each of them for about an hour. I saw both of their shops. I suppose it didn't hurt that I bought 1 cue today and committed to having 3 more built.
 
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Cartune said:
I would go to simply see what they have that might not be available to others!!


I also would not ask for a tour, respect the builder's privacy
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I didn't even ask for a tour, it was almost like I came in the back door, non-public entry. Heck, maybe I did. It was very industrial setting, not fancy, all work, type of place in an industrial part of Milwaukee/south side?? if I recall correctly.
 
I guess they are closed on weekends which would be the only time I'd be able to get up there anyway haha (with the exception of taking some time off)
 
wilkamania said:
noted! I know in the past I sent an email around Sept 2018, asking if it'd be cool to come visit the factory. John Fuhrman owned it at the time and said they can't for insurance reasons. Has that changed or do they have a guest area now? I promise to be respectful and not go all willy wonka factory kid on all the machines.
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I've never experienced that, I never did call first though, just stopped in and they never made me feel unwanted. That being said, I always had a reason for stopping in, never went there just for a look see. If you do go, lock your car good, and make sure your insurance is up to date just in case, ha ha.
 
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muskyed said:
For shits and giggles, you might as well drive to Schon also, not a whole lot further. Worth the trip. Sometimes when you go there you see cues in their rack you have never seen before. No discount's there though. I've probably been there 4 or 5 times, something new every time. They are really a great bunch of guys, if it's break time and they are playing pool, grab a place to to sit and wait till break is over.
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Their retail prices (in recent years) is just completely insane (imo), and not the same high quality that you would have gotten during the Evan Clarke era, in my opinion.
 
The case at Romines was full of Schön cues a couple weeks ago. They seem to go through plenty of stock. There are usually a few STL, LTDs, and variant cues in the mix. They had Schön jump/break cues that I didn't know existed...

The prices were "better" than the website, but you definitely want to scrutinize a modern Schön. The points and inlay work are so round...lol.
 
The Old Jaybird said:
when was the "Evan Clarke era"....roughly??
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He took over in the early 90s. The quality of materials and workmanship was definitely higher back then and many of the designs are considered classics. They also had lower production numbers.

I've owned or played with Schön cues from most eras and do repair work in the Milwaukee area. I prefer the Runde era cues, but they still made a quality product into the early 2000s.

Couple things I would look out for when buying a Schön:

1) Avoid the "acme" joint from the mid 90s. It's a short 5/16-14 pin, stainless joint that is capped at the bottom. I had two, both were butt heavy. They played and hit horrible. I tried multiple Schön shafts on these butts, however even my favorite didn't feel good. The shafts from these cues hit great on other Schön butts.

2) Be extra mindful of dark stained forearms. I've had more than one customer ask if I could fix the "creaking" noise or buzz in their beautiful cue with sentimental value... Check the joint area in forearm for cracks, epoxy fixes, or epoxy filler, that a dark stain can hide.

3) Modern Schön are not the low production, high quality cue of the past. They pump out a shit ton of cues with questionable designs. LTDs don't feel limited, Uniques don't feel unique, and Specials aren't very special.

4) They are pretty expensive for what you get. Even a STL1 is pushing 1k at Seyberts and the more intricate these cues get, the worse they play. For the same money, I'd grab a Jacoby, basic Runde, or Mike Durbin before considering another Schön.

5) If you live in Milwaukee and own a Schön it will happen. "Whoa!? We have the same cue!?!?"
My favorite, "I see your Unique is identical to mine except yours has Cocobolo inlays....mine are Kingwood."

6) See if you can do unchalked test hits on multiple shafts, pick the best one. If no shafts fit the bill, the butt might be deadwood.

Good luck in the search, this has been my experience over the years. Hope you find a nice one.
 
FishKnife said:
He took over in the early 90s. The quality of materials and workmanship was definitely higher back then and many of the designs are considered classics. They also had lower production numbers.

I've owned or played with Schön cues from most eras and do repair work in the Milwaukee area. I prefer the Runde era cues, but they still made a quality product into the early 2000s.

Couple things I would look out for when buying a Schön:

1) Avoid the "acme" joint from the mid 90s. It's a short 5/16-14 pin, stainless joint that is capped at the bottom. I had two, both were butt heavy. They played and hit horrible. I tried multiple Schön shafts on these butts, however even my favorite didn't feel good. The shafts from these cues hit great on other Schön butts.

2) Be extra mindful of dark stained forearms. I've had more than one customer ask if I could fix the "creaking" noise or buzz in their beautiful cue with sentimental value... Check the joint area in forearm for cracks, epoxy fixes, or epoxy filler, that a dark stain can hide.

3) Modern Schön are not the low production, high quality cue of the past. They pump out a shit ton of cues with questionable designs. LTDs don't feel limited, Uniques don't feel unique, and Specials aren't very special.

4) They are pretty expensive for what you get. Even a STL1 is pushing 1k at Seyberts and the more intricate these cues get, the worse they play. For the same money, I'd grab a Jacoby, basic Runde, or Mike Durbin before considering another Schön.

5) If you live in Milwaukee and own a Schön it will happen. "Whoa!? We have the same cue!?!?"
My favorite, "I see your Unique is identical to mine except yours has Cocobolo inlays....mine are Kingwood."

6) See if you can do unchalked test hits on multiple shafts, pick the best one. If no shafts fit the bill, the butt might be deadwood.

Good luck in the search, this has been my experience over the years. Hope you find a nice one.
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thanks for the reply. both of my Schons are about 25 years old so they fall into this era. I love them.
 
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