Why 2 shafts when 1 is enough??

Break a new tip in during practice and have it ready for match play. Have another one already broken in and use in match play. If there's a problem with one, your backup is ready to go, you can also blow out a corner of a tip during match play (various reasons) and you'll have the safe second in the bag. Scuba divers also like to have two regulators when they are in the pool, rephrase/deep ocean, swimmin' with the big fish ;). If you just bunt a ball around and don't have a big swing and don't use allot of draw, one shaft should do.
 
KMRUNOUT said:
Hard to figure out how both of those can be true...
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I was just stating that when I go in a pool hall I carry an 3 X 6 case with that many cue pieces. And as I said I have 8 cues with 16 shafts. I was trying to get across that I an a cue addict. Sorry for the confusion. :)
 
The majority of cues I have owned have had two shafts. Back when I started playing, a lot of people had one shaft for Straight Pool and one for 9 ball. Often these were two different diameters, the idea being that the smaller tip would be easier to apply more english easier when playing 9 ball.
I was more inclined to have both shafts the same size and would alternate them so that the patina on the shafts and also the tips would wear about the same. Both shafts would be playable in any situation. I still do this today and have for many, many years. I've always stipulated that shafts be the same size or as close as possible. Originally, I was more concerned with getting a dent or having a tip pop off in a tournament or during a money game.
I have never subscribed to the theory of having an extra unplayed shaft as a selling point and have never had any problem selling a cue with two shafts, usually for more than I payed for it. It's always been easier to sell a cue with two shafts as opposed to a cue with one.
 
I have 2 shafts for many of my cues. I have different tips on them for different tables. I hate the damn slow cloth on Valley's. So a hard and a medium tip on my shafts. I am going to have a break cue with 2 shafts eventually. One with a Samsara and one with either a phenolic or a White Diamond. I am using a 3x7 right now and would love a 4x8.
I also carry a spare cue with me. It has 2 shafts. I carry it because on my 9 ball team there are fellows who don't have a cue of their own. And sometimes fellow teammates just like to borrow my spare. Mainly because they are not feeling comfortable with their main player.

Mark Shuman
 
LAlouie said:
I would ALWAYS prefer 2 shafts because I have ALWAYS found one shaft to play better than the other.
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It isn't that one shaft plays better, just different. I've always played with both, alternating on odd and even days. Because I play with both all the time, I don't have a problem switching if something happens to the one I'm currently using.
 
The key for me has always been to try and use each shaft equally. Put the same tip on both shafts. Take turns between both shafts, so when it is time to replace a tip, BOTH will need to be done.
At first it sounds like a waste of having an extra shaft, but in a situation where a tip does come off, I get a dent in the shaft, or any other unforeseen event, the other shaft is basically the same as the one that can't be used.
The less adjustments I have to make with the 'backup' shaft, the better. The tip on the 'backup' is broken in the same as on the 'out of commission' shaft. So now, instead of using a shaft I'm not used to, it's a variable I don't have to consider.

Basically, I would rather have a full size 'spare tire' instead of a 'donut'.
 
My main playing cues have two shafts each. I have 314/2's for them for rotation and 8-ball games, and I like to use the standard maple shafts that come with the cues for banks and one-pocket games. I seem to bank better with standard deflection shafts.

And of course, the other shaft can be used as a back-up IF something bad should happen to the one I am currently using.

Maniac
 
Using my phone to type this, typos alert!! Haha
The spare tire as a spare shaft analogy surely fits. Dont be mistaken, i wholly agree with the possibly that crap happens and you need a sth spare as backup.

Broken shafts is one thing. I dont buy the tip size idea b/c surrly it is all about the stroke at the end of the day. I play 14.1 and 8/9 ball without trouble. Or maybe im just fortunate. I mean, looking at snooker players, they dont take 2 or more cues around. On a ranking event, i have never seen a player having troublr with their tips, even with laminated tips. Lol

After reading evveryones input, what i dont buy is the extra cue with 2 shaffts, going 2x4. Extra shafts are defo useful and practical. I havent seen anyone's butt having problems or heard of such stories (yet). if anything, it seems that theres a strong case to go 1x3 after hearing ur experiences.

The idea that having an extra shaft is to help the resell value is definitely as intriguging idea. Anyone else have thoughts on this??

By starting this thread, Maybe this is a sign of realization that i am a bigger cue addict than i think i am!!! I feel slightly ashamed and embarassed now. :( gaaaaaa!
 
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Tramp Steamer said:
It's a throw back from the time of poor tip glues.
There was, however, a cue that was developed by a fellow named Jasper Isinglass, that incorporated two shafts on the same butt at the same time. The shafts ran parale...parali...along side one another, and used a common joint.
One of the shafts was straight and the other was slightly bowed. The idea, of course, was to use the straight shaft for normal shots and the curved shaft for shots where intervening balls had a player blocked. This comes up quite regularly in One Pocket.
Needless to say the "Twofer", as it was called, never caught on. Many thought it was way ahead of it's time. Others said it was a waste of good maple. :)
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And then there was William Whippersman, who invented the rapid fire cue, with six rotating shafts. You could shoot several times at once with this cue, gaining an immediate edge over your opponent, who would usually look on completely baffled by what he was seeing. Whippersman tried using this cue in a money game with Madman Phil and he didn't care for the trickery. Phil grabbed that cue out of Willie's hand and proceeded to rapid fire it on his head. That was the last time anyone ever saw Willie or his six shafted cue. :rotflmao1:
 
Using my phone to type this, typos alert!! Haha The spare tire as a spare shaft analogy surely fits. Dont be mistaken, i wholly agree with the possibly that crap happens and you need a sth spare as backup.

Broken shafts is one thing. I dont buy the tip size idea b/c surrly it is all about the stroke at the end of the day. I play 14.1 and 8/9 ball without trouble. Or maybe im just fortunate. I mean, looking at snooker players, they dont take 2 or more cues around. On a ranking event, i have never seen a player having troublr with their tips, even with laminated tips. Lol

After reading evveryones input, what i dont buy is the extra cue with 2 shaffts, going 2x4. Extra shafts are defo useful and practical. I havent seen anyone's butt having problems or heard of such stories (yet). if anything, it seems that theres a strong case to go 1x3 after hearing ur experiences.

The idea that having an extra shaft is to help the resell value is definitely as intriguging idea. Anyone else have thoughts on this??

By starting this thread, Maybe this is a sign of realization that i am a bigger cue addict than i think i am!!! I feel slightly ashamed and embarassed now. :( gaaaaaa!
 
When I started playing seriously in 1973 pretty much all the good players I knew used a smaller tip for 9 ball. Consider, for a moment, why are predator shafts smaller than what is considered normal today? Might be why some claim to get more english easier than with standard shafts. Admitted that trend with different size tips died out pretty much over the years.
Not sure I understand the op's last post? I carry three of my playing cue's four shafts and my break cue and shaft, though I play very few blast break games anymore. Only 10 ball these days. Straight pool and One Pocket.
 
I am very clumsy, I drop my cue against things and it gets a nick. I have a matching shaft for my cue so when I do such stupid stuff I can just pull out another shaft and keep playing as I put a wet paper towel to pull out the nick on the other shaft. I current favorite cue is a JUDD. I also have the same problem with nicks on my Olivier cue.

My 1981 schon cue is built like a tank. Maybe because the wood is so aged, it does not get nicks when the other cues do. I have four shafts for the Schon, different diamiters, different lengths, different tapers. I used to use the different shafts depending on what sort of table I was playing on. Bar table, snooker, 9 foot table 9 ball. Now I just play on the 9 foot tables and the JUDD is the best for me.
 
I always try to carry two of the same shaft, or as close to the same as possible. I was at a bar once and didn't realize the ceiling was so low and when I picked my cue up I caught it in the darn ceiling fan! Oh boy was I pissed!

The team we were playing in for league started laughing and were very happy I had done that cause my team always kicked their butts. They were all laughing cause they saw how much it chewed my shaft up. I broke the cue down and grabbed the other shaft looked at them and laughed right back.

Then the best part was that I ran the table on it cause I was so pissed! Needless to say they shut up after that!

I also had a tip come off one time during a game, and I swapped shaft that time too! So I always carry an extra if I can.
 
Snapshot9 said:
I only have one shaft for my playing cue, but I have 2 shafts for my break cue. It seemed to me if you were going to crack a ferrule or pop a tip, that it would be on the break cue rather than the playing cue.
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I cant agree with that logic.

Break cues (generally) are designed a bit beefier, decreasing failure risk.

And one can do without a break cue...
 
Black-Balled said:
I cant agree with that logic.

Break cues (generally) are designed a bit beefier, decreasing failure risk.

And one can do without a break cue...
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Agree with your logic here! And that is why I only have one shaft for the break cue! LOL

I have two for my jump cue because the cue maker gave me an extra one! LOL
 
Black-Balled said:
I cant agree with that logic.

Break cues (generally) are designed a bit beefier, decreasing failure risk.

And one can do without a break cue...
Click to expand...

And to actually address the issue:
I have 2 playing shafts with different tips on them. Sometimes one feels better than the other and being able to change at any time is crucial.
 
2 shafts = 2 chicks at the same time, imo :D

My 3x3 carries my player, breaker, and jumper...but I have probably the best cue man in the state (Kent Taylor) maintaining my cues. If a tip popped off, I would be VERY surprised.
 
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