What is so special about Cognoscenti cues?

Ragu Cues....

Ragu Cues are far more superior than any cue I have ever played with. The exotic blend of spices combined with the finest woods make the cue playability superior to any cue on the market.

Furthermore, Ragu Cues are designed solely on XRay machines and have innovated the cue making business by using the new kryptonite 3/4-14 thread. The points are designed with a unique Sharpie pen and are delicately inserted within the cue while smoking two joints to be followed by smoking two more.

I have played with all the cues mentioned above and they do not compare to Ragu Cues. I would put Ragu Cues right up there with Guz and Ernie, which are my next two favorite makers.
 
1on1pooltournys said:
Ragu Cues are far more superior than any cue I have ever played with. The exotic blend of spices combined with the finest woods make the cue playability superior to any cue on the market.

Furthermore, Ragu Cues are designed solely on XRay machines and have innovated the cue making business by using the new kryptonite 3/4-14 thread. The points are designed with a unique Sharpie pen and are delicately inserted within the cue while smoking two joints to be followed by smoking two more.

I have played with all the cues mentioned above and they do not compare to Ragu Cues. I would put Ragu Cues right up there with Guz and Ernie, which are my next two favorite makers.
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Is that the cue Watchez made you?

ken
 
That was a very nice looking cue he made you and im glad you like it. I think sometimes peoples opinions come out pretty strong when they have a certain feeling for something and a lot of times people take it to be a knock or jab at them. You are very partial to Joey and his cues just the same as I am to Rick Howards cues and lots of other people are to their favorite cuemaker. Its funny how a trend gets started like when Rick came out with the Mace j/b, which is a little different than rings or pins...................jk

"When does Kathy want to give Ken the 7."




Really? I took offense? lol He did knock the cues and I didn't agree with his reasoning behind it. Of which I'm not the only person. Now, I think this thread has run its course, but I'm still feeling a bit feisty. Ken's a big boy, he can handle himself in any way that he chooses. If he wants to play some and you want to back him, well then, let's go. Since I don't know who Obi is, he doesn't get the luxury of making my games for me. I put my offer out there in my first post, Ken didn't reply, I let it go. If you want to make a game, let's talk. I'm sure I can find a stakehorse as well. In fact, I'll just make a call to the cue maker in question so he can enjoy the show as well. Bring some popcorn and your bank roll, I'm ready to go when you and Ken are. :)
 
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1on1pooltournys said:
Ragu Cues are far more superior than any cue I have ever played with. The exotic blend of spices combined with the finest woods make the cue playability superior to any cue on the market.

Furthermore, Ragu Cues are designed solely on XRay machines and have innovated the cue making business by using the new kryptonite 3/4-14 thread. The points are designed with a unique Sharpie pen and are delicately inserted within the cue while smoking two joints to be followed by smoking two more.

I have played with all the cues mentioned above and they do not compare to Ragu Cues. I would put Ragu Cues right up there with Guz and Ernie, which are my next two favorite makers.
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I don't do drugs so it is great that I am now outed for having a partner in the buidling of my cues. Oh well - lots of builders, like Scruggs etc have been made with partnerships.
 
cogs

Wow, thought I would read some intresting thoughts on cogs but the thread seems to have taken a wrong turn . I have owned many cogs , I think the finish holds up very well and I have not seen even one cue with a warped butt. I have had a few with a slight shaft wobble but not unplayable.
matt
 
my cog was arguably the best playing cue i have owned...and i have had 3 TS cues.....we all have to remember everyone preceives the hit of a cue differently..
 
I've had cogs, sw, jmw, tucker, scruggs, omega dpk and several other cuemaker brands. The cognoscenti played just as good or better than most cues I've had. I've also hit with other peoples cogs as well. and the playability has been very consistent. Switching between cogs is almost pointless because they all play identical.

The balance and construction quality is remarkable.

Cosmetically Cogs are well known for their plane jane cues and floating points. you don't buy cogs for their veneer work. Because his signature design doesn't incorporate that.

similar to a Sugar Tree or Keith Josey each cue of these cuemakers have something different that separates them from the pack and Joey Gold has done that with the silver stitches, g-10 pin, and floating point inlays. All three are being imitated now a days.

On top of that many pro champions have also played and owned cogs.

Keep in mind i have not hit with any newer cogs with the black g-10 pin. As with any cue the shaft makes a world of difference and I have a phenomenal cog shaft.
 
I'm with all the other Cog fans. I had a plain Cocobolo Cog that played awesome. Sad to say that I lost it to Hurricane Katrina. She took everything in my house, but I was most upset about my Cog. I will hopefully get another in the future. I bought a plain cocobolo Woodworth with the g10 pin because it was only $450, but it doesn't replace my old Cog.
 
Hi,

Just for the record, I grew up with Joey and it has been my experience that Joe is one of the most talented people I have ever met. When he starts something and puts his mind to it he excels to a top level of achievement.

Example: When he was a teenager he bought a basket case Harley motorcycle and built it into a custom bike. The first bike he built made the cover of Chopper magazine. Joey is a master painter and this was his roots.

When he got into cue making I knew he would reach an elite level. Joe is not a genius, but he is one of the most anal perfectionists I have ever met.

Like Cogs or not the mans work and contributions speak for themselves.

People don't pay $ 7500.00 for cues that are not in demand. Even in this bad market Joe's cues bring big dollars.

Rick G.
 
I like the COG- hit. It's very stiff and sharp. But I also think they're over-priced a lot. Most custom cues are priced by getting exotic with their design work. I find the COGs no different than the Josey's in this respect. He must have a terrific demand for his cues to justify the pricing.
 
I've played with a Cognoscenti for over ten years and I love the way it hits. I own several cues and hit with alot of others and nothing plays better than my Cog. I cannot believe all of the negative comments about this cue. I can only imagine the negative comments I will recieve when I'll tell you that I also love the way my Meucci hits.
 
PunchOut said:
my cog was arguably the best playing cue i have owned...and i have had 3 TS cues.....we all have to remember everyone preceives the hit of a cue differently..
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was that the pj ebony one with the kinda maroon reddish leather wrap? I wanted to cop that real bad.

I also heard somewhere that the old green g-10 pin cues play better than the new black ones. Im not sure if theres any truth to this though.
 
Of the many cues I have owned only three brands LEAP to mind as cues I truly REGRET selling based solely on how they played.

1. My Runde Schon
2. My Scruggs
3. My Cogs.

As to the price. If you're the type of person who counts inlays to determine price then Cogs are way over priced.

If you value something special that is constructed to a very high degree of precision. Something where every internal part fits perfectly together and is mated with the part next it using the absolute perfect method (can't disclose the details) - then the Cog is worth every penny and more.

As I said earlier I once thought that any competent factory could reverse engineer a Cog and build it exactly the same. After visiting Joey's shop and listening to him explain the HOW and WHY he puts cues together the way he does I now know that it would be next to impossible for anyone else to figure it out without Joey explaining what he did.
 
All this talk about cues. Cues are generally built by what the cuemaker feels is a good cue. It is our job to sort thru the mess and find one we like. I used to play golf and was never satisfied with the clubs I owned. I solved the problem, I built my own. I have had many cues just because I like cues. I solved the problem again. I built my own cue. In fact, I built a lot of cues and sold them. The cues I build I work with them until I feel they are right. I have cues I have built and I have other cues also. Why? Because I just like cues. If a cue is not too heavy, I can get used to it. A decent player knows what the cue will do and adapts to the cue. That cue isn't going to change for you so you have to change for it. A good player can do this. End of story.
 
I spent the better part of 20 years living in Japan and working in the billiard supplies industry, and Cogs (their popularity and pricing), as well as a few other well known makers in my opinion, are a direct result of the Japanese market influence, and most of all Lucky and his dealings with these select makers. I'm not familiar with the deal he had with Joe of Cog, but I do know of other deals he had with other makers. Most of these deals involved these makers producing cues only for Lucky. In other words, he would tie up a a certain maker into an agreement where anything and everything that came out of the guys shop went to Lucky only. So, for a few select makes of higher end cues, there was a point in time where the only way to get one brand new, was to get one from Lucky, and at whatever price he decided to tag it with.
I remember seeing Cogs at his shop with a price tag of $20K. And, they were selling!
Now as far as playability, Cogs were a very popular cue in the mid 90's, and basically that popularity came as a direct result of the way Lucky marketed his stuff. The Japanese are a very passive consumer, and there is this mentality in Japan where the more expensive an item is, the more superior it is. Obviously that way of thinking has drastically changed as a result of the depression, but in general the Japanese way is still there. I've seen it with musical instruments, rice, produce, high end cues, cars, and even pets!
In the 90's, if you walked into any given pool room, it wasn't unusual to see 5-6 "B" players playing with $5k Ginas. And the reason was most likely because the particular house pro in that room played with a Gina. Move down to the next pool room, and the whole room is filled with SW, because the house pro plays with one.
Back to Cogs. Most every Japanese player I've ever met that owned a Cog have had the shafts turned down in order to make them more playable. I've played with a brand new one with stock shafts, and I found it to resemble the playability of a log. However, when turned down or tapered to a more favorable taper, they can be 'tweaked' to play as well as any other great player out there. The materials used seem to be very high quality, including the shaftwoods, thus allowing for some shaft tweaking. But right out of the box...............in my opinion...............not much of a player.
Opinion only folks.
dave
 
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