What's up with test hit only & never chalked????

Kid Dynomite

Kid Dynomite

Dennis (Michael) Wilson
Silver Member
I am seeing more and more ADS on this forum saying "test hit only" or "Never chalked" i thought used is used??? You drive a car off the lot or title it and its "USED".

I am finding this harder and harder to believe? It seems too easy to get a new tip or get a ob1, predator & etc. after market to try the cue out with.

i just cant see buying a cue and not checking to make sure it plays the way you want and need it to!!!!!

even worse is smearing the cues hit when you are too scared to use the shaft DESIGNED by the cue maker to go with it in assessing the playability. Cue makers may need to send a 3rd shaft so the owner can claim never hit and maintain resale value of 2 Original shafts.

Most Cue makers design the shafts a little on the thick side to allow for personalization and modification. I just can't see how people are not even trying to give cues and honest chance before dumping!!!

Just and observation from an OLD MAN!

Sincerely,
Kid
Dynomite
 
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Kid Dynomite said:
I am see more and more ADS on this forum saying "test hit only" or "Never chalked" i thought used is used??? You drive a car of the lot or title it and its "USED".

I am find this harder and harder to believe? It seems too easy to get a new tip or get a ob1, predator & etc. after market to try the cue out with.

i just cant see buying a cue and not checking to make sure it plays the way you want and need it to!!!!!

even worse is smearing the cues hit when you are too scared to use the shaft DESIGNED by the cue maker to go with it in assessing the playability. Cue makers may need to send a 3rd shaft so the owner can claim never hit and maintain resale value of 2 Original shafts.

Most Cue makers design the shafts a little on the thick side to allow for personalization and modification. I just can't see how people are not even trying to give cues and honest chance before dumping!!!

Just and observation from an OLD MAN!

Sincerely,
Kid
Dynomite
Click to expand...


If I get a cue..I promise, it wont be test hit...I am gonna drive that thang around the block to see if I like it or not.....If the tip is in good shape..I will just clean it up..

I do have a Joss that is unhit. I bought it new for 1200 in 1992, and it has never even been chalked or a ball hit with it. But thats the only one I have like that. I got a Joss West from a guy there in Columbus Ga and it hit so well that I never even used the new cue..it was in a case for like 10yrs before I remembered having it:o
 
But remember. That "new" car that you buy may already have a hundred or so miles on it, since other customers may have taken it out for a test drive before you got there.

Steve
 
Test hit can be a gray area. Test hit can mean one thing to a person like hitting 5 balls, or maybe I have played with it for a month to test the hit...

Some cue makers "test hit" their cues before sending them out to make sure there is nothing wrong with the cue. These are still new cues even though they have been test hit. I think this is a very good thing that they do to prevent problems a customer may get when they receive the cue. Same thing for when you buy a car. Others have test driven it most likely which you can tell by the miles on it. The car is still "new" according to the dealer. It is just one of those things that is what it is.
 
A friend use to peddle Pool Cues in his travels, he used TAN Color Chalk, and alway let people TEST HITS with TAN. After the TEST HIT, the Tips still LOOKED NEW?
 
Dynomite,

I see your arguement, but to me, its not a huge factor. If there is no damage to a cue, and the shafts are still a size I like, I dont really care if it has had some play. Thats what I am going to do with it as soon as I get it. Also, you can't really compare it to cars which have a lifespan. Cues don't exactly have a lifespan and if you don't sand them down, a shaft will last indefinately. That chevy is gonna die at 90,000 miles like clockwork.

Now if you are purchasing the cue to put in a display case and not use, then I could see it being more of an issue.

I also totally agree with you about people ordering a high end cue and then never even using the cuemakers shafts.

Ian
 
Kid Dynomite said:
I am see more and more ADS on this forum saying "test hit only" or "Never chalked" i thought used is used??? You drive a car off the lot or title it and its "USED".

I am finding this harder and harder to believe? It seems too easy to get a new tip or get a ob1, predator & etc. after market to try the cue out with.

i just cant see buying a cue and not checking to make sure it plays the way you want and need it to!!!!!

even worse is smearing the cues hit when you are too scared to use the shaft DESIGNED by the cue maker to go with it in assessing the playability. Cue makers may need to send a 3rd shaft so the owner can claim never hit and maintain resale value of 2 Original shafts.

Most Cue makers design the shafts a little on the thick side to allow for personalization and modification. I just can't see how people are not even trying to give cues and honest chance before dumping!!!

Just and observation from an OLD MAN!

Sincerely,
Kid
Dynomite
Click to expand...

By your argument or way of thinking, there are no new cues, or appliances, or cars on this earth. Nobody buys a cue directly from the manufacturer. There are importers, distributors and then dealers who have purchased these cues before you get them. If the cue has not been played with it is considered new. Fancy collectible guns are sold with a seal around the trigger so that it can be determined if the gun has been fired since leaving the manufacturer. For years the only guarantee that a cue had was for the deale, not the customer. If the cue warped or some other damage would appear the manufacturer would replace it to the dealer. The cue had to be new, meaning never sold, so if the there was any chalk on the tip the manufacturer would determine the cue was used and would not replace to the dealer. It is for that reason that dealers usually would let you hit a few balls but not use any chalk.

Dick
 
yup

CocoboloCowboy said:
A friend use to peddle Pool Cues in his travels, he used TAN Color Chalk, and alway let people TEST HITS with TAN. After the TEST HIT, the Tips still LOOKED NEW?
Click to expand...

when I was always carrying 2-3 cues "for sale" I was using tan chalk so the cue's shaft did not acquire bluing. :cool: Never advertised NEW, but the cue always looked a LOT nicer. Pool room owners hated seeing the tan chalk, and I found it did not stay on NEAR as well as blue so I quit using it, but that would be for another thread. :smile:
 
The cuemaker will also want to test hit with the cue before sending it out.

Life is short, don't sweat the small stuff :)
 
I would think a new cue would only be "test hit" by the maker or his tester of choice only.Once it is sold and shot with once it would be "Like new".A car is still conciderded new until it is sold the first time,anything after that it is "like new" or used
 
I believe they refer to test hit as meaning, that they strictly concentrated on their stroke and how the cue felt in their hand. This would mean that there could be no dings in the cue. Where as if you play a few games with a cue you are more concentrated on the game and might put a little dinger in a shaft. If you hit a million balls with a cue and your hands are clean and you don't allow the cue to hit anything other than the tip than you still have a new cue.
 
swrooster said:
I thought a test hit meant before marriage.
Click to expand...


Green for the afternoon funnae :grin:


KD, personally, I take test hit to mean it's seen little action.....no blueing of the shafts, very limited play, it was never a "player" at any point....I do not see it as new, but a nice clean cue still holds similar value to new if the market is there for it....
 
I learned this from a one eyed player named Popeye.

I don't hit a ball to test the hit of a cue. First I hit the joint with the palm of my hand, if it "twangs", the hit is too soft for me. Next I hold the butt and let the top half of the cue fall on the table. If it bounces over 50% of the distance I dropped it, then it hits too hard. Next I bit the butt plate, if it dents or cracks, the finish sucks and it's a cheap cue. If a cue passes these tests, it's good to go.

Happy to help.
 
Unless someone is buying the cue to be a collector piece, never to see the light of day near a pool table, what is the difference? If I trust a cue maker enough to make me a cue, I fully expect him to make sure it has a good hit, and on internal flaws. The only way to do that is to test it.
If I decide to sell it in 6 months, or 6 days, it doesn't matter because it will still have been used. Cues are made to hit cue balls.

Steve
 
I've often pondered the "I save one unused shaft as a selling point". Never understood this. If I'm buying a cue I didn't order from the cue maker I will always try both shafts. If you don't want me to do that, I won't be buying your cue. I've only very seldom bought a cue with one shaft.
 
NewStroke said:
I learned this from a one eyed player named Popeye.

Next I bit the butt plate, if it dents or cracks, the finish sucks and it's a cheap cue.
Happy to help.
Click to expand...

That explains the chip in the finish you were tring to get touched up last week!

Larry
 
I have a bunch of cues never hit or chalked.

If I resold them I would say so.


The price I ask for or pay for a cue is up to me , not any catch phrasing. 'Unhit' could have any effect in either direction. Either it may imply an overall condition or a lack of knowledge of the cue by the seller.

;)
 
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