Who makes the best wooden shafts?

T

TheBasics

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Howdy All;

We read a lot about who makes the best cues, I thought I'd ask about shafts.
A few years ago there was some discussion about a particular shaft that one of the Pros,
thinkin' it may have been Ruslan Chinakhov, during a match at Griff's???
Anyway, my question is who makes the best wooden shafts, a particular cue maker or
a manufacturer? I'd prefer to leave the Kielwood and the Lake Superior wood out of it
as they are kind of a "Specialty" .
Thanks for ya'll's thoughts.

hank
 
Last edited:
I'll play, so with ones that I have used,
1st choice, Jacoby Ultra
2nd choice, My standard wood at 12.8 mm from on my DZ cue. Little softer hitting though
3rd choice, My stock Schon shafts, very consistent crisp hit. Have 4 of them with a 30" turned down to 12.5 I play with
4th choice, mismatch of different shafts, McDermott, Joss, Brunswick, house cues, Quality all over from crisp-Joss, to mush vibration prone and in between.
As to standard wood shafts, I think it's a crapshoot as to what you get, yet all my Schon shafts are nice, as was the shaft on my DZ. I'm sure any quality cue maker is sorting their shaft wood to give you a good shaft, but the reality is that with standard wood shafts, there probably is going to be differences.
When looking at the grain structure of my Schon shafts vs DZ shaft vs my Joss shaft, they are totally different, yet they all play really good.
I have not played with any other wood shafts other than bar cues, and some of those are fantastic to the point of I wanted to buy one from the bar and have it made into a 2 piece cue.
 
Last edited:
Are you asking about workmanship, longevity, will it stay straight and true year after year? If that's what you're asking I'd say Mezz, and Jacoby.

Sent from my moto g stylus 5G (2022) using Tapatalk
 
There are many who use quality wood, turn it gradually and produce a good shaft. At the end of the day, it’s about identifying a taper you like that works for you without thinking…

Let’s not forget ferrule and tip combination.

For me, durbin, bob Danielson, some older tigers, dpk, jacoby edge, the ash shaft I have from Steve Dunkel… all never gave me a thought of adjusting. Ymmv


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
No such thing as a "best" shaft. What criteria do you judge a shaft by? I've been building and repairing cues for a while now and some of the shafts that's popular seem to break all the time, so in my thinking a shaft that breaks due to normal use is not a good shaft..
Deflection seems to trump other concerns, which I personally find silly. It possible to build a shaft with reasonable low deflection, yet it want break under normal use.
 
Kim Bye said:
No such thing as a "best" shaft. What criteria do you judge a shaft by? I've been building and repairing cues for a while now and some of the shafts that's popular seem to break all the time, so in my thinking a shaft that breaks due to normal use is not a good shaft..
Deflection seems to trump other concerns, which I personally find silly. It possible to build a shaft with reasonable low deflection, yet it want break under normal use.
Click to expand...
Kim Bye, Howdy;

By Best I am referring to reputation as a whole. :unsure: May as well throw in the and why ? as well.
In the WTB section There are folks that appear to want the Gen-1 Predator shafts, some look
for certain custom makers and some for larger Companies. Just trying to get an idea for later is all.
Trying to see what attributes are more generally favored.


Thanks

hank
 
TheBasics said:
Kim Bye, Howdy;

By Best I am referring to reputation as a whole. :unsure: May as well throw in the and why ? as well.
In the WTB section There are folks that appear to want the Gen-1 Predator shafts, some look
for certain custom makers and some for larger Companies. Just trying to get an idea for later is all.
Trying to see what attributes are more generally favored.


Thanks

hank
Click to expand...
That's what I thought Hank. What popular and what's good isn't necessary the same thing. I see this a lot with shafts, cues, tips, chalk etc. Generally people think what they use themselves is best, add to that the fact that most players don't really test equipment back to back or start with an objective position. I've made and repaired enough shafts to know what I wouldn't do based on playability and what holds up in the long run.
 
TheBasics said:
Howdy All;

We read a lot about who makes the best cues, I thought I'd ask about shafts.
A few years ago there was some discussion about a particular shaft that one of the Pros,
thinkin' it may have been Ruslan Chinakhov, during a match at Griff's.
Anyway, my question is who makes the best wooden shafts, a particular cue maker or
a manufacturer? I'd prefer to leave the Kielwood and the Lake Superior wood out of it
as they are kind of a "Specialty" .
Thanks for ya'll's thoughts.

hank
Click to expand...
Best wooden shaft? Dennis Searing.
 
TheBasics said:
Howdy All;

We read a lot about who makes the best cues, I thought I'd ask about shafts.
A few years ago there was some discussion about a particular shaft that one of the Pros,
thinkin' it may have been Ruslan Chinakhov, during a match at Griff's.
Anyway, my question is who makes the best wooden shafts, a particular cue maker or
a manufacturer? I'd prefer to leave the Kielwood and the Lake Superior wood out of it
as they are kind of a "Specialty" .
Thanks for ya'll's thoughts.

hank
Click to expand...
At age 77 and 65 years of pool shooting I have used about all of them.
My choice would be the regular JOSS shaft. Consistent solid hit
 
Lots of good wooden shafts out there, from solid maple to low-deflection. Can't go wrong with any Predator wood ld imo.
And don't tell the carbon boys this but three out of the final four UK Open boys are using wood shafts (and the 4th, Josh Filler, dominated the world up until recently with a wood Z3).
Shhhh--- it's our secret!😉
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top