Samsara Barcue Input

K

kasparovII

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
They run between $500-575 for a variety of different woods. These are plain janes but really look beautiful in the pics on the Samsara website. They offer standard leather wrap (linen or contrasting wood avail.), a choice of Uniloc or radial joint and great matching joint protectors. But their approach to shaft manufacturing/finishing is rather different. They have a machine that grinds the final tapers (choice of 5) in 3 tip sizes(12.5/12.75/13mm). They claim taper tolerences of .004" over the entire length of the shaft. They say this gives their cues a level of consistency due to negligible taper variances that others cannot match do to human variables in cutting and sanding making it difficult for a cuemaker to keep the variations in feel and performance to a minimum. This makes sense to me. Great, if one knows how they play!
So, can anyone give me some insight as to the Barcues or Samsara cues and shafts in general?
 
Last edited:
Bump on Barcues (Samsara)

While I've been disappointed with no input as to the Samsara questions I asked, I did read some of the responses to the Dominiak/Samsara shaft post.
As a follow up I called Samsara today and was put through to Jim, who runs the Samsara operation. We discussed their approach to finishing the shaft tapers by their precision grinder (.004" precision over the entire shaft), the Samsara hit, etc.. What they claim relative to a consistency of hit and overall performance, i.e., is that the shaft taper becomes to largest factor in a cuemaker's ability to produce a consistent product, all other things being equal. And he made a lot of sense to me. They have a lot of experience in shaft production ( made the 314's for Predator for while, etc.). He recommended their 10" modified pro taper as being a great shaft for comfort during stroke and retaining enough rigidity to produce the type of hit that most advanced players prefer. He also guaranteed that if I don't like the shaft they would provide a taper that works, whatever that may be. Sounds pretty good.
Then he asked if I looked at any of the Samsara "Limited" line of cues...also very reaonably priced ($700-1500).
I went to the website and took a look at the cues he recommended as best "bang for the buck". Once again I was pleasantly surprised at the pricing for these cues considering the beautiful wood and workmanship these cues offer. The cues that most reflect this are their C03 and C04 models. Both feature an eight point design and are basically the reverse of each other. The one I chose, if I were to buy, was the wavy bubinga forearm with eight curly maple points. The contrasting forearm color and the points is excellent without being overly done. The collars and such are a bit more fancy than the Barcue models for a about a 20% higher price. For the money I'd have to say that the Limited editions are certainly worth the money if they perform as well as they look. I am very close to pulling the trigger on this cue. I'd sure like to play a few racks with a Samsara but it's just not possible. Cleveland is a "vast wasteland" as far as pool cues are concerned, so I have no ability to try one out.
So, tell me guys, HOW DO YOU LIKE PLAYING WITH A SAMSARA CUE??
 
i have a bar cue and would not hesitate to recommend it. hits very solid, good shaft wood, good overall construction, excellent balance. what more can i say? hard to describe a cue, have to hit with one to really know
 
billiardcue said:
10" taper is the most popular of Samsara's tapers.

See the previous post #3.
Click to expand...

Thanks but "modified pro taper" isn't exact science.
Is the first 10 inches a cylinder or a cone?
If it's a cone, what's the diameter difference from the ferrule to the 10th inch line?
 
I have sold Samsara cues ranging in price from $500 to $25,000 and the overwhelming response is people love them.

The hit, playability, quality of fit and finish and artistic beauty all contibute to this high level of customer satisfaction.

The shaft grinding machine kasparovII mentions in the previous post is an engineering masterpiece, we call it the "Shaft-O-Matic".
 
JoeyInCali said:
Thanks but "modified pro taper" isn't exact science.
Click to expand...

Nothing about cue making is "exact science", but Samsara's ability to repeat their work to such exacting tolerances and to do it with the speed that they can is awfully damn good.


JoeyInCali said:
Is the first 10 inches a cylinder or a cone?
If it's a cone, what's the diameter difference from the ferrule to the 10th inch line?
Click to expand...

The 10" taper grows .016" - .4mm in the first 10".

They can replicate any shaft dimension you desire, send them a shaft and they will make one or a hundred clones of it +/- .002". Their equipment is capable of tighter tolerance but with wood that is about as close as you can achieve.
 
The 10" taper grows .016" - .4mm in the first 10".

That's what I needed to know. Thanks.
 
I bought the C07. I got a better than usual price for it.

Well, I was in awe when I fist saw it. The workmanship and quality are outstanding. Actually, the woodwork is so good it looks fake. It's hard to believe this was actually handmade and not painted or a picture or something. I have been big into classic cars and fast cars for a very long time, and the finish on the butt of the cue rivals the best of any car paint job I have ever seen.

Well, I don't collect cues, I play pool. I didn't think I'd like the Triangle tip on there, especially since I got use to playing with Sniper tips on a Predator shaft. But I really like the way the cue plays. It's almost like point and shoot and the object ball goes in. It's hard to explain. Almost at the same time I received a Runde cue with 2 shafts. The Runde hits more solid and has great feel. But for some reason I like playing with the Samsara better. I have a ton more confidence playing with the Samsara, I just got the cue and I play like I have had it for years. I like the Runde for sure, but I seem to be lacking confidence with it. With the Runde I missed a few shots and wondered why I missed those shots I would almost always make. I missed those shots when I shot with English. The Runde was deflecting much more than the Predator 314-2 shaft I was using for a year. I'm sure the Samsra cue deflects more than the Predator shaft, but, I didn't have to get use to or adjust my aiming, I just picked up the cue and started playing. Lately I only only grab the Samsara cue.

I guess the cue is supposed to be this way, but the fit between the shaft and pin are very tight. I'm about 215 pounds and sometimes I have to put a lot of effort to screw the shaft on the butt sometimes. I think a small female would have an issue trying to put the cue together. I guess this all means very solid hit. Lastly, I love the look of my cue, except I wish I picked a cue where the points had more contrast. I can barely see my points:frown: I'm thinking about selling this cue and buying another Samsara
 

Attachments

  • samsara3.jpg
    samsara3.jpg
    44.5 KB · Views: 1,592
  • samsara4.jpg
    samsara4.jpg
    51.3 KB · Views: 1,535
I have a Samsara Bar Cue and it is great, well worth the $$$. Infact all their cues are.
 
i like how you put that, cuebuilding is not an exact science....neither is science lol. Funny thing aint it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top