Traditional wood shafts making comeback?
- Thread starter Tmckean
- Start date
billiards_watch
Well-known member
My very, very first experience with a carbon shaft shot horrible and the owner thought it shot great but he wanted to sell it. Only reason why I got extensive table time with it. LOL
I told him its not as easy as slapping the shaft on and thinking you are good to go. The carbon shaft he got was so light compared to the butt that it felt the cue was lifting up on every shot.
Also, from what I've seen....its not a clean fit if you slap a carbon shaft on your cue. Almost all of them you can feel where it connects. Mostly too big.
If you're going to shoot with a carbon shaft then buy it with the cue it came with. They are not going to let it out of the shop with poor fitting issues. So you'll get a good one.
I slap a buddy's Ignite on my Mezz and there were fitting issues.
I told him its not as easy as slapping the shaft on and thinking you are good to go. The carbon shaft he got was so light compared to the butt that it felt the cue was lifting up on every shot.
Also, from what I've seen....its not a clean fit if you slap a carbon shaft on your cue. Almost all of them you can feel where it connects. Mostly too big.
If you're going to shoot with a carbon shaft then buy it with the cue it came with. They are not going to let it out of the shop with poor fitting issues. So you'll get a good one.
I slap a buddy's Ignite on my Mezz and there were fitting issues.
Yes, you are the only one seeing this. No one in my area is going back to wood, in any form.
Moe Szyslak
Active member
Aren't all cues stiff and lifeless? Is somebody playing with a green sapling or something?
Dirty is not an inherent quality of a material.
they never went out of vogue. seasoned players, meaning older ones seem to shoot with wood shafts and most still can beat the new up and comers with the cf shafts.
remember the pros shoot with what they are paid to shoot with. same as most all sports and they are not shooting with the equipment you get when you buy,
they get custom stuff made just for them from the manufacturer that pays them, and then sells you production stock.
remember the pros shoot with what they are paid to shoot with. same as most all sports and they are not shooting with the equipment you get when you buy,
they get custom stuff made just for them from the manufacturer that pays them, and then sells you production stock.
Who really gives a shit if someone plays with a wood or carbon fiber shaft?
Can you put the object ball in the hole & get shape on the next one etc etc?
The cue, the shaft, the tip is of little importance when put up against the decision making of the player using said equipment.
Can you put the object ball in the hole & get shape on the next one etc etc?
The cue, the shaft, the tip is of little importance when put up against the decision making of the player using said equipment.
Moe Szyslak
Active member
And this was different before CF?
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
I have a Rhino and I don't use a glove, I find it too slick. I'm not like some of those guys, but I do keep a microfiber cloth on my pool bag with CF. Sometimes it gets feeling sticky and I give it a good wipe down. I guess I do with wood also but CF seems to collect grime faster. It's easy to clean and all so it's not really a bother.
I like either. Lately I've been playing with my McDermott. I recently replaced the original fiber ferrule a 1" micarta ferrule and I really like how it feels. I intimately know this shaft as it I purchased it in the mid 90s and it was my main player for 25 years. Sometimes I also put the Rhino on the McDermott and it's good too. You have to stroke a bit differently on throw type spin shots but the adjustment is pretty much automatic. I see a black cf shaft I know to play differently than if I see a maple wood one on the end of the cue.
billiards_watch
Well-known member
That's the point.
They get paid to play with any company wood or carbon.....but they rather play with their beautiful Southwest, Tasc, Szam, Ginas, Carmelis and Cohens of the cue world.
Chohan's legendary Southwest is an example.
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
You think? Many snooker players play with their own cue, badged up with whatever sponsor they like. Cricketers do the same, they have tons of customs bats, stickers with whoever pays them. I don't see that being much different in the pool world. I know Chinese-8 and American table pros 'sponsored' to use X, but play with their own in disguise.
I think they take the paycheck first and foremost, and make their minds up for themselves whether the equipment is suitable or not.
Changing for a cue that have different deflection takes time to get adjusted. Pro is gonna shoot himself to leg if he is switching deflection of the cue..
Some are better to adjust fast but definitely quality of play lowers months or more..
Switching to another cue is rare occasion and normally because of very good deal from another sponsor. Pros like to get sponsored by brand they are already playing...
That was true for pool before CF shafts as well.
A lot of the pros used Predator shafts fitted to their sponsored cues, sometimes in disguise, which was easy because you could have gotten a blank with no logo and custom fit it with ring work if needed.
You don't have to do it with CF, as the top brands that give sponsorship all play very similarly. I have 4 CF shafts, 3 of them are of the leading brands to confirm it.
I don't think that there is any pro player that plays with carbon and doesn't like it. No pro would hurt their game like that. It does take time to adjust; for some it's 3 days, for others it's 6 months.
But you can't say that it feels dead or whatever because if you pot the ball and get shape, then it's responsive enough for the player to control it. All these claims are coming from amateur players that just didn't take the time to adjust.
I understand... My venture into LD was on the used market. Both with my OG 314 and then the Z2 I used for a very long time. It pained me to pay a new cue price for my OG Falcon plain butt w/ solid maple. Cue's for me where always about function, not form. Fast forward a couple of decades and I paid a custom cue price for a "not rare" Exceed. Zero purpose other than a present to myself. I quickly there after swapped out the wx700 for the 900 series. Not for the LD characteristics, but shaft diameter. I was just too comfortable with the Z2 that playing with anything =>12mm seemed like a batt.
I don't find anything CF related to be attractive. That's probably rooted in bias though. I can't get passed the whole fool w/ money likely hood of ownership Just my take. That said, if you're breaking into the game and have the money. Who am I to judge...?
Moe Szyslak
Active member
Curious how you know what all pro players think. You'd think a pro would be more concerned with how it plays than how it looks. Hell, I think an amateur would, too. If it looks that good, put on the wall behind a velvet rope so it doesn't get damaged.
I don't generally see baseball, tennis or golf players getting fancy inlays put on their equipment. Or professional carpenters getting custom ivory inlays on their drills.
billiards_watch
Well-known member
Correct. They use whoever is paying them.
In baseball, they do play with custom bats. There is a fancy bat maker. They aren't exactly buying stuff off the wall.
Golf equipment? Scotty Cameron custom putters. 5-10k. Tiger won with one. A lot of players aren't sponsor by them and they rather play with it.
Moe Szyslak
Active member
correct, which is the point
What percentage of pro golfers are using clubs with fancy inlays?
Unlike a LOT of pool players, golfers in general are NOT married to the past. They use/embrace new tech as soon as its available. I just don't get the hatred that so many fossils(i'm in that group too so keep your panties un-wadded) on here display whenever new new stuff comes out. CF shafts are here to stay and in many ways are superior to wood. If you don't like them don't use them. I still use both but i think if playing for a living was the deal i'd go for CF everytime. If i lose/break one i can get another just like it, can't do that with wood. Too many factors make duplicating a wood shaft impossible.