Southwests???
- Thread starter lampshade
- Start date
No offense but this thread has been done no shit at least five times in the last eighteen months here. I'll sum it up for you:
Some people dont like them, some people do. The only way you will know is if you hit with some and find out for yourself. They don't all hit the same. When people try to buy them they say they are overpriced, when they try to sell them they say they are a value. Bottom line they are an icon in the industry.
Just search "south west cues" here and you will have all the reading you can handle for awhile.
Last edited:
I completely agree with JCIN.
I'll add something that I haven't seen suggested before. I have wondered to what extent people keep ordering South West cues because among the iconic cue makers, it might be the only one where you can order a cue with a 10-year wait and actually receive the cue in 11 or 12 years. By ordering a cue directly, you don't have to pay mark up to a flipper.
I owned and played with an ebony nose South West cue for just over 20 years. I think they are great and worth the price that Laurie gets for them.
Greg
Last edited:
Test drive one yourself so you can form your own opinion. Prices in the used market start at $1500 for a "pacifier" then go up.
Lotsa SW bashing lately either cause of the wait to get one or "plain looks" of one. I wont mention hit because hit is subjective.
Funny thing is "flippers" rarely lose money on a SW. You could buy that used SW, test drive it and if you don't like it, flip it and make your $$ back. At least half a dozen currently for sale here on AZ
Lotsa SW bashing lately either cause of the wait to get one or "plain looks" of one. I wont mention hit because hit is subjective.
Funny thing is "flippers" rarely lose money on a SW. You could buy that used SW, test drive it and if you don't like it, flip it and make your $$ back. At least half a dozen currently for sale here on AZ
There's little to add to this, except that there's folks who believe the cues aren't what they used to be in the Jerry Franklin era. I can't comment because I'm the lucky owner of a great-hitting cue from that era, which I intend to take to the grave with me (silly joke, why do that…), and can't honestly say that the cues from that era all hit the same either. Needless to say, the cue was easily worth what it cost back then. The workmanship is as good as it gets. I keep seeing and trying many overpriced cues from all kinds of brands and cue makers, comparatively speaking fewer that I'd play with but those sure exist as well, ultimately the point is to find a cue one likes and can afford, regardless of what that may be, and enjoy and take care of it. And yes, I do believe the cue one uses makes a difference, no use playing with one one doesn't feel comfortable with, life's too short…
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________
„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
Last edited:
I have had 4 of them over the years. Two I bought just for resale, one used I tried to play with and one ordered new from Southwest. I didn't like any of them and except for resale would not really buy one again. I think some people who have then just want to say they have one, sort of a status symbol. There are so many nice cues on the market today there is no reason to pay a small fortune for a good playing cue.
The greatest thing about them is they are what I consider to be a long-term investment grade cue. If cues were stocks, they would be a Blue Chip Dow component.
Here's a study I did with some dealers and collectors some years ago on AZ showing the returns on collectible cues. To see how the cues did as investments, load the spreadsheet at the bottom of the page:
http://www.palmercollector.com/CuesAsInvestments.html
(Bear in mind the comparison assumed one was buying a collectible cue as opposed to just any old playing cue.)
Last edited:
Of course I always forget to mention that the day after I bought my cue in 1991 and hit a few balls with it, I rushed to the shop and told Jerry I needed different shafts for it, and had two gorgeous pro taper shafts made, dark honeyed curly and birdseye maple that appears to be back from the Stone Age, the kind of wood nobody appears to have access to anymore today. I sold the original shaft I'd tried (of course, they're all original Franklin shafts) to the first person who wanted it, and later had the other original "white" maple shaft re-tapered to my specs. Needless to say, the Franklins have always only shaken their head at me because of my special wishes, but were kind enough to oblige. The way I see it, the original taper may have been all right back in the days when we still used woolen napped cloth, but I found the deflection behaviour on modern slippery equipment, which is what we started using right around that time, impossible to control. Maybe this puts it somewhat into perspective when I say I'm lucky to own the finest-hitting South West I've personally come across. Having said that, a buddy of mine owns a shaft (admittedly out of four, I believe) for one of his Southwests that's "white" and hits great. What this all proves, I can't say…
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________
„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________
„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
Last edited:
laurie franklin still makes the same cues by the same peple who always made the cues
they are famous for consistency fit,finish and quality of woods,shafts and workmanship
you can always get your money back if you buy one,i personally will buy any new one and give you $200 to 700 profit
The original maker,jerry,passed away and a rumor has suggested the cues are soime way or another not the same,at the time of his death,jerry was wrapping and finishing cues only.
Laurie was selecting and choosing woods,and overall quality control.she still does.
the cues have been imitated or copied by many cue makers.call it south west style
they kinda look the same ,but the hit is yet to be duplicated.I personally
owned over 100 of the cues,i can not tell the difference in the pre and the new ones,i kinda doubt anyone else can either
the play is phenomenol,but its hard to hold on to one,with offers up to $2000 more than you paid
southwest bashing threads disguised as searches for truth pop up and are frequented by those who seem willing to share what they don't know
but the fact remains,south west remains americas dream cue.with people willing to wait 10 years or more to get them
they are famous for consistency fit,finish and quality of woods,shafts and workmanship
you can always get your money back if you buy one,i personally will buy any new one and give you $200 to 700 profit
The original maker,jerry,passed away and a rumor has suggested the cues are soime way or another not the same,at the time of his death,jerry was wrapping and finishing cues only.
Laurie was selecting and choosing woods,and overall quality control.she still does.
the cues have been imitated or copied by many cue makers.call it south west style
they kinda look the same ,but the hit is yet to be duplicated.I personally
owned over 100 of the cues,i can not tell the difference in the pre and the new ones,i kinda doubt anyone else can either
the play is phenomenol,but its hard to hold on to one,with offers up to $2000 more than you paid
southwest bashing threads disguised as searches for truth pop up and are frequented by those who seem willing to share what they don't know
but the fact remains,south west remains americas dream cue.with people willing to wait 10 years or more to get them
dom_poppa
Banned
I handled some of these SW cues and to be honest it wasn't all that cracked up to be.
Put the cue together and you can feel grooves where they connect. The joints look like they are made from different pieces of wood because of discoloration in the staining.
Just my opinion, and the cue I inspected was from someone that was called on the list and he had it built recently. Last year.
Put the cue together and you can feel grooves where they connect. The joints look like they are made from different pieces of wood because of discoloration in the staining.
Just my opinion, and the cue I inspected was from someone that was called on the list and he had it built recently. Last year.
Far as I know SW uses no stains of any kind on their cues so I'm not real sure what you mean but If there is something wrong with the cue tell your buddy to send it back. Laurie will fix it if they screwed something up on their end.
Sometimes a cue, no matter fancy or otherwise, feels great when you first play with it. Then as time goes by it may loose it's "feel". You have to make sure you have the right tip and keep the tip fresh by shaping and taking off a layer when it gets compressed a bit and change it when it feels like something is wrong. Don't blame your stroke or try to make adjustments. Look for the tip to be the culprit.
--Jeff
--Jeff
dom_poppa
Banned
Really:yeah: You sure :speechless: Want to sell itk:
Billy I.
If it was mine...I would sell it to the one's born every minute.
It's got a bichin' hit.
I got a Satin and a Pacifier (w/ LOA) for sale if anyone's interested, hit me up.
Thanks,
Russ...
Thanks,
Russ...