Sneaky Pete Cues ……

RDeca said:
My first real cue. When I was 10... so that makes it over 30 yrs ago. Cost 40$, dad got it for me. Local guy made it who's passed away now. Used it every single time I played until I was im my early 20s (i played probably at least 5-10 hours a week with it) then I bought my first schon...when i got a real job and had some money in my pocket. This cue is Still dead strait. No nicks in the shaft. All I've had to do was a ferrule replacement because used it to break and play with many years.
. Guys say wood doesn't last. But it does if u don't abuse it. Not sure the origin could be dufferin?? and idk what the brown wood is??(anyone know) if u look real close its actually very pretty wood. Just kindof plain grain could be purple heart that isn't purple anymore?
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Guys that say wood doesn't last are usually those that use green Scotchbrite to clean the shaft. "Hey, how did my shaft get down to 11mm??" ;)
 
garczar said:
Guys that say wood doesn't last are usually those that use green Scotchbrite to clean the shaft. "Hey, how did my shaft get down to 11mm??" ;)
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Lol. Theres Plenty of guys like that.
. I won't touch a good shaft with anything rougher than 1200. And that's only once every couple years. 1200- 1500- 2000- brown paper bag, parchment paper, or piece of leather. Then wax paper or furniture polish Pledge wipe . Regular maintenance is the paper or leather. Sometimes pledge when I want super slick(damn near ends up too slick)
 
mikemosconi said:
I owned a TS SP- I don't think that it was worth even close to the price that I paid in terms of playability- but the TS SPs Are worth whatever someone is willing to pay for one- so the current $1K + pricing is where they are sitting right now- that is the market.

That said- I too, am awaiting my first Schmelke SP- totally customized from tip to ferrule, to shaft taper, to joint type, weight, etc.--ALL for under $180- full splice Bacote- just like my prior TS SP that cost me $1100! The TS was not as customized as the Schmelke in so many aspects.

I will be curious as to how the two cues ( Schmelke and TS) compare in terms of playability. Bacote into maple, TS said those were his best hitting SPs; so the comparison will be fair as the woods will be identical- it may be 3 months before I receive my Schmelke. I'll do a report on here.

Having a completely customized cue with quality woods- Schmelke offers Cocobola, Ebony, Rosewood, Bacote - for under $200 is like pricing from over 20 years ago when Muellers was offering customized SPs at around $160 - those SPs are sought after now. They were called professional SPs in the old Mueller catalogs for those that remember - advertised as " for those looking for a little something extra".
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Received my Schmelke SP- the butt is Bocote and is very well executed. However the shaft has a HUGE wobble when rolled. I will talk to the distributor next week about an exchange on the shaft. Otherwise everything looked great for $165 shipped to me with many customized specs .
I took it out once and it plays very solid and cannot complain for the money . Except for the shaft lack of straightness.

Look at the space under this new shaft- outrageous!!

I hope the shaft exchange is not an issue- if so, then we get into a credit card battle. schmelke 1.JPG
 
mikemosconi said:
Received my Schmelke SP- the butt is Bocote and is very well executed. However the shaft has a HUGE wobble when rolled. I will talk to the distributor next week about an exchange on the shaft. Otherwise everything looked great for $165 shipped to me with many customized specs .
I took it out once and it plays very solid and cannot complain for the money . Except for the shaft lack of straightness.

Look at the space under this new shaft- outrageous!!

I hope the shaft exchange is not an issue- if so, then we get into a credit card battle.View attachment 678781
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That had to be disappointing. What’s the weight of that shaft?
 
I just looked at the TS Sneaky in the ebay listings forum. All I can say is someone had money to burn. And the seller is laughing all the way to the bank. No offense but 1375 is stupid money for a cue like that that (just a standard somewhat nasty looking imo) purple heart and maple sneak. For that price it should have veneer(s) and somewhat even points nice returns and some nice classy understated ring work above the but cap ... If Christ himself made that particular cue I wouldn't give 1375 for it. Specially online without hitting a ball with it first.

Crazy thing is what if it's a fake? Who would know. I could see maybe if it was one of Scruggs first cues he ever produced...and he made the blank. And your a big collector. But if it's just some Cue he slapped together later in his carrer for a friend from a prather or schmelke and sold it for 4-500$ initially.. I'm struggling to see how it appreciated so much (hell that thing could just be a reworked schmelke)
 
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RDeca said:
I just looked at the TS Sneaky in the ebay listings forum. All I can say is someone had money to burn. And the seller is laughing all the way to the bank. No offense but 1375 is stupid money for a cue like that that (just a standard somewhat nasty looking imo) purple heart and maple sneak. For that price it should have veneer(s) and somewhat even points nice returns and some nice classy understated ring work above the but cap ... If Christ himself made that particular cue I wouldn't give 1375 for it. Specially online without hitting a ball with it first.

Crazy thing is what if it's a fake? Who would know. I could see maybe if it was one of Scruggs first cues he ever produced...and he made the blank. And your a big collector. But if it's just some Cue he slapped together later in his carrer for a friend from a prather or schmelke and sold it for 4-500$ initially.. I'm struggling to see how it appreciated so much (hell that thing could just be a reworked schmelke)
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Mr. Scruggs used a lot of Valley house cues!
There's one on ebay righy now for 1800 with minimum damage and of course
No returns.
Yayyyyy!
 
Nothing wrong with Valley conversions made from the old made-in-Michigan blanks. Examples below. For the project proposed by the OP, I don't see how conversions can be ruled out with pricing the way it's been on Sneaky builds over the last 8-10 years by cue makers that are still willing to do them.

IMG_3531.jpg
 
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Maybe if you suggested that they had been personally built by a somewhat known retired cuemaker...

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Either way paying more than 5 or 6 hundred for a plain sneak is crazy. Just buy a viking or valhalla or schmelky or dufferin and call it a day. It will serve its purpose. And pay for itself within a few times out if u use it to gamble say 10$ a rack.

Paying 1400 plus for a sneaky from any maker is like going to a nice steak house. Paying 80$ for your plate upfront. Then they bring you a couple cold mc griddle strait from McDonald's and say Bon Apatite.

Sneaky Pete's are great guys. I have a few that I love and won't part with. But if someone was dumb enuff to give me 1400 she gone

one cue I really like is the Joss sneaky. But for the life of me I don't understand why the don't use the same wood for the handle, inlaid points, and butt peice. Joss cues play great and stay strait.. under 300$ new all day long
 
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Bavafongoul said:
That had to be disappointing. What’s the weight of that shaft?
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Schmelke is making good and sending me a new shaft for my new SP- hard to justify the $1200 for a used TS /SP that I owned a few years ago, against $165 for the Schmelke fully customized SP ( weight, tip, shaft diameter, shaft taper, joint type).
I test ran my Schmelke when I first received it last week- believe me, the TS/SP does not play 8X better- actually the play is fairly close- I give the TS an edge for sure, but not by a long shot.
 
I see that Mueller is offering their "Hustler" cue (SP) for only $155- one time that was a sought after SP- I wonder if the quality is the same as years ago- if Troy Downey is now turning out these cues for Mueller than it is THE S/P cue bargain in America! Troy's cue work is as good as it gets.
 
mikemosconi said:
I see that Mueller is offering their "Hustler" cue (SP) for only $155- one time that was a sought after SP- I wonder if the quality is the same as years ago- if Troy Downey is now turning out these cues for Mueller than it is THE S/P cue bargain in America! Troy's cue work is as good as it gets.
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Thanks for bringing that up. The price is amazing and so I checked it out. The shaft is 13 mm or I suppose thereabout.
The taper is listed at 12.5” and I can’t help but wonder how it changes after that. The noteworthy thing that I observed
was the cue can be ordered in any of 5 different weights increasing in 1 oz. increments (17/18/19/20/21 ozs.). Do they
make a couple models and rely on a heavier weight bolt to meet the customer’s requested weight? At 17 ozs., the
cue likely doesn’t have a bolt, or it’s really light. Is a 18 or 19 oz. cue really a 17 oz. cue with a 1 or 2 oz. weight bolt?
What type of bolt is in the 20 oz. cue? If this was what is done, then the balance of the cue would suffer. The price is
only $155 and there can’t be a lot of attention given to matching a shaft weight to a cue butt for the best balance feel.
Thanks again for sharing the info about the Schmelke SP cue and the comparison with TIm’s SP cues…..great info.
 
mikemosconi said:
I see that Mueller is offering their "Hustler" cue (SP) for only $155- one time that was a sought after SP- I wonder if the quality is the same as years ago- if Troy Downey is now turning out these cues for Mueller than it is THE S/P cue bargain in America! Troy's cue work is as good as it gets.
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Don't forget that Ryan Theewen built them along side of Troy.
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hank
 
I am curious since there are only 5 models to choose from, before I’d a order a cue, I’d need to know
what the shaft weighed and if there’s a weight bolt, what’s it exact weight? I sure wouldn’t want to order
a 19 oz. cue to find out afterward it was just a 17 oz. cue with a 2 oz. weight bolt. They must make butts
that increase in weight sans any weight bolt and it would be great if the weight choices included mention
of any weight bolt and its weight. Heck, for a $155, regardless of who actually made the cue, you can’t
expect much. That’s why Mike’s observations about the Schmelke SP cue was interesting and helpful.
 
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