Viking Cues...........
- Thread starter ibuycues
- Start date
A thought........
Kevin,
I think your post is the most poignant one I read in this thread. I didn`t raise the point so we could all get into a production/custom, import/local, union/non-union, etc discussion.
I simply remember the early days of Viking, their cues, the early marketing, the great work of Gordy Hart, and simply wanted to "raise my glass" to`em. For the memories. Maybe it somehow touched me from a part of my youth.
I just hated to see it happen. Whether I liked them lately or not doesn`t matter. Kinda like when Pontiac goes away. For whatever reason.
By the way, I own the top cue in the post just before this one, the one with the twisted points. I bought it because I liked it.
Will
Kevin,
I think your post is the most poignant one I read in this thread. I didn`t raise the point so we could all get into a production/custom, import/local, union/non-union, etc discussion.
I simply remember the early days of Viking, their cues, the early marketing, the great work of Gordy Hart, and simply wanted to "raise my glass" to`em. For the memories. Maybe it somehow touched me from a part of my youth.
I just hated to see it happen. Whether I liked them lately or not doesn`t matter. Kinda like when Pontiac goes away. For whatever reason.
By the way, I own the top cue in the post just before this one, the one with the twisted points. I bought it because I liked it.
Will
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a cue maker friend of mine told me how cool he thought that sneaky was. i always thought of it as more of a spider looking cue
I have one of those cues (now called the G81, pic below) and I often look at it and can't figure out how that cue is made.
As someone who has been selling Viking cues and working with them for over a decade, these are my thoughts:
Yes, the cue market is tough and competetive right now, due in large part to a bad economy, and also due to an increase in competition, both from abroad and the U.S. However, there are a lot of US companies that are still out there- McDermott, Pechauer, Joss, Meucci, Schon, Jacoby, and countless custom cue makers. In hindsight I think Viking did more things well than any other company- they had great quality, fantastic customer service, a great warranty (they offered a lifetime warranty before McDermott did) and their shafts were very warp resistant. So why are they the ones who are going out of business? Sadly I must agree with some of the earlier postings regarding designs. Yes they have some very nice looking designs, and there were several models that were strong sellers. But if you look up and down their entire line, close to 100 cues, there are a lot of uninspired, boring designs. There were lots of models that I never sold one of. Also, I'm not sure why, but the hit seemed to be a little vague. I speak to a lot of people who love the SS joint, and a lot of people who love the "wood to wood" or 3/8 x 10 into wood joints like McDermott, but not many people like the middle road Viking took with their cues. I will say that I like the SS joints and the Viking joint that incorporates the SS collar on the shaft as well as the butt hits like a freight train- but they only offered that joint in 1 or 2 of their cues! (Pic of the G30 below)- although you could custom order almost any model with that joint.
There were a number of things that Gordon believed in that Viking stuck with to the bitter end, and it may or may not have hurt them- 1. He did not like to use metal rings, due to the potential for popping. 2. He used a finger joint instead of the more common pin with mortise and tenon joint, which meant no rings above the wrap. Look at the Viking catalog- there is not one cue with rings above the wrap. This may have affected the hit as well- maybe some cue makers can chime in on that one.
Anyway, if this is indeed the end of the road for Viking, RIP Viking cues and best of luck to the Hart family and the employees- you were truly a great company to work with, and you will be missed!
P.S. regarding the direction this thread has taken- keep your head up U.S.A. We still make great beef, have a thriving high-tech industry- software, CPU's and more- and we are leading the way in a new exciting emerging industry- electric cars! Of course we may all just be farmers in 50 years..... ;-)
As someone who has been selling Viking cues and working with them for over a decade, these are my thoughts:
Yes, the cue market is tough and competetive right now, due in large part to a bad economy, and also due to an increase in competition, both from abroad and the U.S. However, there are a lot of US companies that are still out there- McDermott, Pechauer, Joss, Meucci, Schon, Jacoby, and countless custom cue makers. In hindsight I think Viking did more things well than any other company- they had great quality, fantastic customer service, a great warranty (they offered a lifetime warranty before McDermott did) and their shafts were very warp resistant. So why are they the ones who are going out of business? Sadly I must agree with some of the earlier postings regarding designs. Yes they have some very nice looking designs, and there were several models that were strong sellers. But if you look up and down their entire line, close to 100 cues, there are a lot of uninspired, boring designs. There were lots of models that I never sold one of. Also, I'm not sure why, but the hit seemed to be a little vague. I speak to a lot of people who love the SS joint, and a lot of people who love the "wood to wood" or 3/8 x 10 into wood joints like McDermott, but not many people like the middle road Viking took with their cues. I will say that I like the SS joints and the Viking joint that incorporates the SS collar on the shaft as well as the butt hits like a freight train- but they only offered that joint in 1 or 2 of their cues! (Pic of the G30 below)- although you could custom order almost any model with that joint.
There were a number of things that Gordon believed in that Viking stuck with to the bitter end, and it may or may not have hurt them- 1. He did not like to use metal rings, due to the potential for popping. 2. He used a finger joint instead of the more common pin with mortise and tenon joint, which meant no rings above the wrap. Look at the Viking catalog- there is not one cue with rings above the wrap. This may have affected the hit as well- maybe some cue makers can chime in on that one.
Anyway, if this is indeed the end of the road for Viking, RIP Viking cues and best of luck to the Hart family and the employees- you were truly a great company to work with, and you will be missed!
P.S. regarding the direction this thread has taken- keep your head up U.S.A. We still make great beef, have a thriving high-tech industry- software, CPU's and more- and we are leading the way in a new exciting emerging industry- electric cars! Of course we may all just be farmers in 50 years..... ;-)
Any updates on what happened to Viking?
Was doing my annual equipment "upgrade" at my local dealer when I was told NO more new Vikings coming. No idea how old his stock is, but looking at the Vikings he had I honestly have to say they didn't seem to represent value for money in the budget to mid range segments (US$100-300). The designs weren't inspiring either.
Don't understand why Viking doesn't use stainless joints more. I find the phenolic joint they use feel "mushy". I'm using two chinese made cues right now with stainless joints and they hit extremely well. The killer is that one of them is a house cue, cost under $25.
That said, I would still buy a "branded" cue in future because of the history attached to it.
Was doing my annual equipment "upgrade" at my local dealer when I was told NO more new Vikings coming. No idea how old his stock is, but looking at the Vikings he had I honestly have to say they didn't seem to represent value for money in the budget to mid range segments (US$100-300). The designs weren't inspiring either.
Don't understand why Viking doesn't use stainless joints more. I find the phenolic joint they use feel "mushy". I'm using two chinese made cues right now with stainless joints and they hit extremely well. The killer is that one of them is a house cue, cost under $25.
That said, I would still buy a "branded" cue in future because of the history attached to it.
Sorry about posting late
Hey all was just doing some research I didn't know Viking went out of business or temporary closed there doors or anything was on a deployment overseas. I didn't see this coming at all I own a few of there cues, an F series one and a couple of the G series ones and the jump/break cue. I was looking around today and it looks like their still in business at my end. Not sure if it was some financial issues or something. Once again sorry about the late post didn't hear anything about this.
Hey all was just doing some research I didn't know Viking went out of business or temporary closed there doors or anything was on a deployment overseas. I didn't see this coming at all I own a few of there cues, an F series one and a couple of the G series ones and the jump/break cue. I was looking around today and it looks like their still in business at my end. Not sure if it was some financial issues or something. Once again sorry about the late post didn't hear anything about this.
Viking Cue is OPEN
Viking Cue Co. which closed its doors over a year ago, has reopened with new owners and most of the same old employees. F.Y.I.
Viking Cue Co. which closed its doors over a year ago, has reopened with new owners and most of the same old employees. F.Y.I.
in case somebody missed that
http://www.azbilliards.com/2000storya.php?storynum=9494
http://www.azbilliards.com/2000storya.php?storynum=9494