Snooker cues?
- Thread starter Big Arm
- Start date
I was in the same position 6 months ago, I went here http://www.handmadecues.com/ , and could not be more satisfied. I bought the black shark model, same spec as yours except 9.5 mm tip. It feels "right" for the game. As much as I love shooting pool with my Schon, it just don't work for snooker balls.
You can use Search here on AZB to learn the (strong) opinions of posters on particular brands :grin:
http://www.fgbradleys.com/fgb-cart/default.asp?cat=2
Put
snooker cue
in seach
Several makes - one piece, half, three quarter
Prefer Dufferin - maple shaft
Also extenders, but check specifications or ask questions because not all cues accept threaded extensions.
http://www.cuestore.ca/pool_cues/type/snooker_cues/1
Has a wide price range, including Peradon
More expensive cues on this site
http://www.mrbilliard.com/index.asp
http://www.fgbradleys.com/fgb-cart/default.asp?cat=2
Put
snooker cue
in seach
Several makes - one piece, half, three quarter
Prefer Dufferin - maple shaft
Also extenders, but check specifications or ask questions because not all cues accept threaded extensions.
http://www.cuestore.ca/pool_cues/type/snooker_cues/1
Has a wide price range, including Peradon
More expensive cues on this site
http://www.mrbilliard.com/index.asp
There's no sense in picking up an expensive cue if you are starting off in snooker. Ideally, you'll want a really bland, neutral-playing cue with no substantial characteristics. It will help in building your fundamentals (stance, grip, stroke, white control); later on you will feel like you've reached the limit of your cue as you develop your own technique of play and range of shots, then it's it's time for a tailored cue to fit your own style.
I used to play with somebody who was still relatively new to snooker. Very attacking play and poor shot selection. He bought an $800 custom snooker cue from Craftsman back in England and after a year with it, he's given up snooker out of frustration. He reasoned that by buying the best of cues, he will become good, but really, he never worked on the fundamentals of snooker before pursuing a higher game, as seen on television.
The moral is that you can get away with any $100-$200 off-the-shelf snooker cue when starting, 2-piece or 3/4 shaft, and pretty much any tip. If you start with a difficult cue (say, substantially aft-weighted, or a very old ash shaft that's developed major flexibility from aging) then you are going to frustrate yourself and perhaps impede your game.
Good luck out there and I wish you the best in your snooker.
I used to play with somebody who was still relatively new to snooker. Very attacking play and poor shot selection. He bought an $800 custom snooker cue from Craftsman back in England and after a year with it, he's given up snooker out of frustration. He reasoned that by buying the best of cues, he will become good, but really, he never worked on the fundamentals of snooker before pursuing a higher game, as seen on television.
The moral is that you can get away with any $100-$200 off-the-shelf snooker cue when starting, 2-piece or 3/4 shaft, and pretty much any tip. If you start with a difficult cue (say, substantially aft-weighted, or a very old ash shaft that's developed major flexibility from aging) then you are going to frustrate yourself and perhaps impede your game.
Good luck out there and I wish you the best in your snooker.
To address Lux's point, the Shark is a relatively inexpensive cue. The cost will add up for an extension, case, shipping, customized badge, additional tips, etc., but the total will still be reasonable.
If you select a cue for The Hit rather than for The Pretty, then for the cue and accessories shouldn't cost more than $300 to $500, all in. As it true for pool cues, spending additional money means you're paying for fancy splices, a cuemaker's reputation tax, wood from one of the last remaining planks of the Round Table of Camelot, or perhaps ivory accents made from Babar's tusks.
At any good U.S. pool hall there is a veritable forest of pool cues to try out. Not so with snooker cues, obviously, since finding even one snooker cue within a 100-mile radius of one's home can be difficult. If you head out to the U.S. national championship or Embassy Billiards in California you might be able to try several cues. Once you have your first snooker cue and play with it for a few years, choosing the specs for the second cue will still be an educated guess unless you're lucky enough to try before you buy.
No less a snooker giant than Joe Davis recommended finding one good cue that feels right and then using it for life. If your first cue is a good one, though perhaps not a fancy one, you may warm to it and not need to spend additional money on another. To that point, my dog barks too much, my car handles in the snow like a hovercraft, and I just introduced a wobble into my Shark after steaming out some nasty dings, but all this stuff is mine and I'm used to it. (I'm also sticking with my wife, even though she has no faults.)
Good luck! It's been fun to read your posts and see how you've been getting into snooker.
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Did you register first? If not, click on shop and register. It is required to use the VCM.
Mike took the VCM down. Yeah it's still on his site, but it's so you can get a visual of what you want your cue to look like. He takes no orders from it because people would sit there and play with it and end up submitting orders for 3 or 4 cues with no intention of buying any of them.
If you are interested in a Shark model, which is his lowest priced cue, he sometimes has them available by signing in to the site, then shopping the site. He sometimes has a few just unfinished, that he can take down to your final spec on confirmation of order. And then of course he has to put it through his finishing process of oiling, hand rubbing, etc,,,,,and it is "nice".
More often than not, he has nothing available for sale immediately, so a curteous PM or Email will get you started. By the way, I was gonna buy something a little upscale, but Mike convinced me not to, saying the lowers priced Shark would play as well as anything he could build/sell me.
He will ask what you play now, games, cue specs etc,,,, then recommend a cue for you, and he will likely be right, and hook you up with a cue that "fits".
If you are interested in a Shark model, which is his lowest priced cue, he sometimes has them available by signing in to the site, then shopping the site. He sometimes has a few just unfinished, that he can take down to your final spec on confirmation of order. And then of course he has to put it through his finishing process of oiling, hand rubbing, etc,,,,,and it is "nice".
More often than not, he has nothing available for sale immediately, so a curteous PM or Email will get you started. By the way, I was gonna buy something a little upscale, but Mike convinced me not to, saying the lowers priced Shark would play as well as anything he could build/sell me.
He will ask what you play now, games, cue specs etc,,,, then recommend a cue for you, and he will likely be right, and hook you up with a cue that "fits".
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Wouldn't ya know it, just as I explain what he explained to me about his VCM, dang if he didn't put it back up. A great way to design your own cue btw.
Being based in the UK means we deal mainly with snooker cues (or english pool cues which have an even smaller tip) try out http://www.billiardsboutique.com for cues by Peradon, Cannon and Cue Craft, on the site there is also a Design Your Own Cue function licenced from Peradon.
The cues are reasonably priced unless you opt for a custom made one-off, alternatively the likes of Craftsman Cues, Mike Wooldridge, John Parris, TW Cues and Master Craft all make great cues as well.
The cues are reasonably priced unless you opt for a custom made one-off, alternatively the likes of Craftsman Cues, Mike Wooldridge, John Parris, TW Cues and Master Craft all make great cues as well.
All good points, and here is another, that is common to top name European cuemakers. It is quite common to order a custom cue from any one of the top 5 or 6 cuemakers, then upon delivery sell it, even used, for a profit. The wait time is such usually that impatient buyers will pay more for top names just to avoid the wait time. There are cue dealers over there who do this all the time. I have no doubt I could easily get my money back, at least, for my MW cue. I've never had a new POOL cue I could do that with.