Undervalued Cues

Undervalued...

It seems like there are so many cuemakers today (as compared to 20 years ago) that make an outstanding cue for the $$$.

Undervalued-----

Jensen
Howard
Benson
John Madden
Prather
Ned Morris
Sheldon Lebow

* IMO - these guys build great PLAYING (as compared to FANCY) cues for the $$$.

QUESTION - What's the general opinion of Robinson Cues ? (You hear great things about them but never see any around.)
 
Jensen
Bill McDaniel (surprised it took Sean to be the first to mention!)
Andy Gilbert
Phillippi
Espiritu
 
I'd add Jerry Rauenzahn to the list of current makers. I picked up a four veneer four points cue of his on Ebay for $250.00 a couple years back. It's got good wood and great points and plays great. We were hitting a Mottey, Scruggs, some antiques and his cue. Everyone kept asking about Jerry's cue........
 
Here's my five in no particular order.

1) Skip Weston
2) Paul Fanelli
3) Travis Niklitch (Blackcreek)
4) Pete Ohman (Omen)
5) Judd Fuller

Skip- His point work, veneer work, and inlays are unbelievably sharp and precise. His 5/16x14 piloted steel joint plays incredibly well. Its among one of the best hitting and looking cues I've ever owned!

Paul- Paul's one of a kind designs, beautiful and unparalleled butterfly work, and ultra thing veneers make him another choice for one of the most underrated. He is an excellent craftsman who makes truly one of a kind, beautiful looking cues. His wood selections are unique and beautiful. I had a beautiful, ultra fancy Fanelli and selling it was one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made. On top of being an excellent cuemaker, he is flat-out one of the nicest guys in the industry.

Travis- I've hit with two Blackcreek cues so my experience here is limited but, his designs are beautiful. Clean and crisp. THe look is top notch and the play on the two that I had my hands on was also top of the line. You get a lot of cue for a little money with Travis.

Omen- Pete is a real gentleman and a pleasure to do business with. I've owned two of his cues before and played with a bunch! They are all lookers and, even more importantly, they are unbelievable players. My first custom cue was an Omen and it was one of the best hitting cues I have ever known. I spent almost all of Saturday afternoon at Pete's booth last year at Valley Forge. Not only does he make great hitting cues, he is one of the best cuemaker/players out there.

Judd- Judd Fuller has designs that are unique and distinct to him and him alone. His cues play great and look even better. And the price to play ratio is definitely favoring the price. In other words, you get a lot of bang for your buck.
 
Pay close attention to this thread!!

In the 90s, there was a similar thread running on undervalued cues discussed at the various newsgroup...one name was also persistently bandied about....

Dennis Searing.
 
So you're saying that we should all go out and stock up on Bill McDaniel cues? Cause he's the name I've seen most on here. And, I have to admit, he's the name I agree with the least on here.
 
haha,

nay, i dun imply that.. not everyone has $$ on their mind when buying cues, and i think no one should had that idea or they wont really be enjoying cues. We should just go and plainly buy what we liked.
i collect titlist cues becos i liked the hunt for them...i have Searings becos i like Dennis as a person.

Franky, as a collector, i dont really like ppl who speculates in cues to drive the prices. It dont really done much for the industry.

but polls like this does sometime let us sneak a peak into the future? Billl has produce some very nice work.

Bgrds
Raist
 
Hello

ribdoner said:
Witch five cuemakers work is the most undervalued? :)
Click to expand...


Good post- I guess the inquiry would have to start with who is doing the undervaluing? The cuemaker? The market? Also, the high end or the low end of the spectrum of cues. Also, there may be a line between undervalued and just being underappreciated (just in terms of respect-if you can separate this from the market).

In Jensen's case his new cues are priced much in line with other cuemakers of his timeframe and experience, however on the aftermarket his cues seem to be undervalued.

Same with McDaniel it seems- direct from him the prices seem pretty much on the fair/high side and according to the BB his plain jane goes for $650 or so. But, if you go to J and J's website they have a number of Level 2/3s for under 1k. So, I would agree with that McDaniel is undervalued.

With Judd- it seems that his prices are more than fair direct from him and accordingly in the aftermarket his cues command good money. So, for Judd, I would say that he is appreciated and valued.

Rick Howard is one that I believe is underappreciated.
 
I have some of the cues mentioned: Espiritu, Stacey, Rauenzahn.
I definitely think Rauenzahn is a nice hitting cue.
For hit I would add Coker.
For looks I would add Jackson. They use some pretty neat woods.
 
My 2 cents

Bert Schrager - in the same era of Ernie, Balabushka and Szamboti. In Japan they command extremely high prices. He is not making cues anymore and his prices will skyrocket.

Ted Harris - on a whim after seeing his website I ordered one. His workmanship is unbelievable. My cue is featured in the new bluebook from him. I would put his finished product up with Mottey. Takes a long time to get one from him though.

Jensen - go figure - he makes an amazing cue but his prices never have reflected how good a cue you are getting for the money.

Murrey Tucker - just plain makes gorgeous cues - his will appreciate.

Andy Gilbert - up and comer.
 
How about the best hitters under $500.00

Sticks under $500.00 that have a great resale and play lights out!
Also that resell well
BoB Frey
Rick Howard
Jerry Rauenzahn
Good Luck finding better stuff under $1000.00
Also Jerry is probably the best repair artistat any price and gets cues back so fast iit is unbelieveable!
Bib and Rick are just as good but have a large backlog
 
Undervalued and underappreciated

Ned Morris - both

Gilbert - undervalued, but gets much love here on the forum

Schrager - underappreciated

Im sure there's more but this is just off the top of my head...
 
Out of every name mentioned on this page, I would have to say that the only one I agree with (and am quite surprised I have not seen before) is Murray Tucker. I guess I would add Andy Gilbert to the list as a 6th man but I wish he made bigger joints. I hate the short ivory joint. Don't know why. It just looks and feels weird to me.
 
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