What do you think the real purpose of using a Sneaky Pete pool cue is?

PaulieB said:
I think a cue maker that does a conversion of an already made full splice cue into a real sneaky will not actually give you a feel for a cue maker's cue when he uses a short splice/a-joint cue assembly. Using a Duff or Brunswick cue and putting a joint into it to make it a true sneaky is completely different than building a complete cue by turning the shaft, forearm, butt, handle, etc down themselves.

It may be an indication of their workmanship, but turning a one piece into a sneaky won't really give you insight into the "feel" for a full custom built cue.

Just my opinion, of course.
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How much of a cue do you think is the shaft wood taper ferrule and pin/joint. How much is the butt i think the butt is less than the rest. You really cannot get much more solid construction than the full splice. Most cue makers will adjust the balance via boring and inserts they will taper the butt. I think a meucii bar stick feels like other meuciis. Joss feel solid mcdrmtt. I have a scruggs bar stick it is very nice great value it might be an in house full splice i am not sure point r very long. I have a schick bar stick with a wrap short points pretty sure it was dufferin based. Hits super solid i have 4 schick shafts. Feels totally different but hits like a schick piloted joint great ferrule construction mega tight grain shafts. So i know my schick and scruggs gives the feel of the respective makers cue for low dollars compared to a fancy by the same maker. I stand by my comment might not be true for a player cue or whatever on the low end i like bar sticks. Sorry for typos i am on my cell phone
 
thommy said:
Talking about the true sneaky Budweiser cue, Manwon posted once that he built a custom shaft for one of those hand carved "cane cues" with the brass doorknob on the butt end!

Now if that doesn't attract every would be hustler in the joint, nothing will:grin:
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The guy asked me about putting a custom shaft on the cue and I picked the butt up once and said wont do. Yeah the shaft would feel better but without the solid forarm and joint and right balance it would not be anything more than a polished turd. I bored the forarm out to within a 1/16 of an inch wall thickness so the core had more to say about the hit than the cheap ramen wood. Went almost half way into the handle and then I bored from the butt end to meet the core in the front. Added a weight bolt and the brass over phenolic joint and he had quite the sneaky playing cue. I didn't even get paid that much for it. I did it for the heck of it.:grin:. A guy once asked me to do a complete overhaul and refinish on one of those walking stick cues.....the ones where the shaft goes into the butt.....I told him for that much he should just by a nice cue. :confused:
 
Cues are just tools to me - I don't need 5 points, silver rings, or gemstones in my cue any more than a roofer needs them in the handle of his hammer. Sneaky pete cues are a great way to get a quality cue from a custom cuemaker without dropping a grand or more. I've never seen anybody fooled by thinking a sneaky was a bar cue, but anybody who's ever played with a Scruggs sneaky might say they could have been fooled into thinking it was a $5k cue based on the hit.

Aaron
 
I have a sneaky for dual purpose. It's a valley supreme cut in two, and reworked to play better.

purpose one, is to have something I can take to different bars for league play that i don't have to watch like a hawk.

purpose two, I like the simplicity as much as the intricacies of pool cues. A nice SP just for the sake of it.

best,

Justin
 
I don't believe there is a purpose per se but rather it is usually one of the less expensive cues you can get from a cuemaker and if you want to dress it up that would be your choice. Personally if I wanted a "hustler" cue I would take a Budweiser cue and get it souped up, that would throw more people off and you wouldn't have to hide the fact you have a two piece cue.
 
jhanso18 said:
I have a sneaky for dual purpose. It's a valley supreme cut in two, and reworked to play better.

purpose one, is to have something I can take to different bars for league play that i don't have to watch like a hawk.

purpose two, I like the simplicity as much as the intricacies of pool cues. A nice SP just for the sake of it.

best,

Justin
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This sounds like a great cue. Can you please put some photos of it on AZB so we can see it? Thanks.
Many Regards,
Lock n Load.
 
thepavlos said:
I don't believe there is a purpose per se but rather it is usually one of the less expensive cues you can get from a cuemaker and if you want to dress it up that would be your choice. Personally if I wanted a "hustler" cue I would take a Budweiser cue and get it souped up, that would throw more people off and you wouldn't have to hide the fact you have a two piece cue.
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Very good Idea! I might try this myself.
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
thommy said:
Talking about the true sneaky Budweiser cue, Manwon posted once that he built a custom shaft for one of those hand carved "cane cues" with the brass doorknob on the butt end!
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I want one!!!

Freddie <~~~ only because I can't walk
 
I like sneakys for when I play in low level tounament or with friends and I don't want people crawling all over the "nice cue" or saying "look at that ass hole with his nice cue."

However i think sneakys in the traditional since however are ment for hustling. They are suppose to look scuffed up and bad on the outside but hit solid and feel good. However today some of the sneakys are made too nice.
 
To me, there are a couple of advantages to a good sneaky. One is the fact you generally get a full spliced cue playability for a cheap cue price. Second, they can truly be sneaky. As others have said, in the old days , no one would come near you with a stick in a bar or bowling alley, etc. the sneakies back then were almost a necessity.

Now a days, many casual players have cues. So walking in looking for a game, they don't focus as much on the cue as they used to, unless they are a cue nut like us and ooh and Ahh over the Southwest or Scruggs.

In my opinion, a person is better of in today's pool hall or bar, by coming in with what appears to be a cheap cue. A buddy of mine used to have a very cheap looking Budweiser cue, that was in fact a Joss that he had spray painted red and stuck a bud sticker on :). He fooled a LOT or people with that cue.
 
itsfroze said:
How do you sneak a cue with a wrap and inlays into a bar where all the house sticks are plain four pointers, a Sneaky Pete is meant to not draw any attention by blending in with the look of the house cues.

Yes and that's exactly what it's meant for, but if you want to call a stick with a wrap and inlays a Sneaky Pete feel free, some people might roll their eyes though.
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Once upon a time, maybe, but those days are long gone. "Sneaking up"
on some unsuspecting sucker because your cue looks plain, even like
a house cue, is much tougher than working for a living.

For many years now the term Sneaky has merley indicated a cue made
from a house cue, or a house cue like blank. Some are more fancy,
some have wraps, some have inlays, some are called not-so-sneaky-petes
or even 'fancy petes'

Dale
 
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I remember Bob Meucci as being the first to bring the Sneaky Pete out of the

background. It was common to have a Hi-run Dufferin made into a 2 piece

to hide the fact a decent (or at least very comfortable and familiar) cue was

being played with. Meuc marketed his Sneaky with the rewards of great

sales. (Late '60's - early '70's)

Big Al
 
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pdcue said:
Once upon a time, maybe, but those days are long gone. "Sneaking up" on some unsuspecting sucker because your cue looks plain, even like a house cue, is much tougher than working for a living.
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Well said. I keep wondering where these unsuspecting suckers are who gamble on pool and who don't know what a Sneaky Pete looks like. Could somebody post the names of those bars or pool rooms? :grin:
 
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afftonbilliards said:
I remember Bob Meucci as being the first to bring the Sneaky Pete out of the background.
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I have a Meucci S/P that I bought in 1992 with the intent of having a cue that I could take to bar tournaments and not feel as worried as I would with my South West. In contrast to an opinion in a previous post, I felt that S/P was a noticeably better cue than my regular Meucci. Eventually I got to liking it so much that I am now protective of it and needed to buy an even cheaper cue that I wouldn't mind having stolen or banged up a bit. After 20 years, that Meucci S/P is still straight and plays great.
 
This type of cue came into being during the prohibition years of the early 1930's.
A guy by the name of William Peter Mendelbaum was running illegal whiskey from Canada to the north side of Chicago, a very dangerous occupation, and one that required stealth and daring.
William Peter, or Pete, as he was most commonly known by his associates, also an afficionado of the cue sports, was just that kind of man.
One afternoon, after suffering a hummiliating loss at the One Pocket table, due in part, according to Pete, to the horrible conditions of the house cues of the day, he decided to buy a cue of his own.
Being the surreptitious person earlier alluded to, and not given to ostentation, Pete decided to have a cue made that was plain and unadorned, yet one that possessed quality, and good balance.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of: "The Mendelbaum Story; The Cuemaker's Delimma."

:smile:
 
12squared said:
It's a cheap way to get a decent 2 piece cue.
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I agree. A sneaky from a well known cue maker plays just as good as his high priced stuff for a fraction of the price and you don't have to worry about bumping it and put a mark on it. I doubt they are used for hustling very often. You can hustle with a high priced cue just as easily if you can hide your speed.
 
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