Will Hunt black plate cue No.82 and No.85

[jaffa.johnson]

From my experience on this forum and i,m only speaking generic , not all . A lot of people who say one cue or cuemaker is better than the next have not had the opportunity to look at or play with enough cues to make a comparison .

I remember one member swearing by one cuemaker saying they were better than the next bla , bla , but when i asked him what cues he,s owned or tried from other good cuemakers he could,nt answer me .

I think that is the case with a lot of people .

I think you are right.

I have owned many cues (for the average local player) and each cue was different. I have been fortunate enough to change cue specs to find out what works best for me and for my game to improve not get worse.

I mainly play pool but have had the odd game of snooker in recent weeks.

I only recommend cue makers I have used but will mention others names based on the question being asked. (price bracket, local to them etc etc).

I also believe that cue makers have created a market for themselves and people/cue makers are stuck in that particular market even if there cues are worthy of the highest regard makers.

I have been considering doing my cue story (bit like oldgit) but I didnt know whether that many people would find it interesting lol.

[hotpot]

For me the way the cue plays is much more important than the looks , thats not saying its not nice to have a nice looking cue it is .

Many people have commented on some of my cues and have played with them , they all say wow thats a lovely cue but they could,nt use it for love nor money , i usually say something like yes it may be a lovely looking cue but to you it,s useless .

So what makes a great cue ?

[Inoffthered]

The subject of who is the best just keeps coming round lol and there is no definate answer.

For all you longer experienced forum members.

Is this the trend?

Unfortunately, yes. ( Hope to get my TW this week haha ).

[Inoffthered]

Not sure if other ppl agree. I've found H&O cues rather stiff in comparison. The finish on them feels "dry", almost NOT finished. A beautiful piece of wood, but while not nailing it down to one element... they seem to lack 'character' ( this is subjective tho ).

Anyone else had a similar experience with H&O?

[jaffa.johnson]

So what makes a great cue ?

Good question. IMO

I think it needs to be put into context, a great cue in itself is something which is going to be carefully crafted and has a great feel to the cue.

Nicely spliced, settled, straight (not all that important in terms of playing), finished, balanced, feels good in hand

Just because you have a really expensive, well made cue, it doesnt mean its the cue for you. Hence why a lot of people buy and sell cues so frequently. (I guess the buzz of having a new cue also plays a part in this).

You then have the angle of a cue which feels good for you and plays well for you. You can have the cheapest, ugliest cue in the world but if it has a decent tip, a good player will be able to play good stuff with it.

When I first got into cues, I was using ash, longer cue, big tip. I have since change my specs, cues, woods until I thought I had found the perfect cue.

As my game has improved dramatically over the last 6 months, It seems I can play equally as well with all my cues because they are at a good length and tip size which works for me. I am referring to pool here not snooker.

I played in the quarters and semis of our local pool doubles a few sundays ago. I played with my expensive robin cook cue. I played pretty well and we lost in the semi final to the best player in our county and his partner.

I then dropped this cue at home and went to my local pub for a few more games and a few drinks for reaching the semi final which was an overachievement in itself.

Whilst in there I was playing with a riley pub stick (cost £4.50) which was then taking down to 8.5mm tip and finished accordingly. I played equally as well if not better with that as I was confident and generally just potting for fun. Me and my doubles partner beat the landlord and my brother 6-0.

[hotpot]

Not sure if other ppl agree. I've found H&O cues rather stiff in comparison. The finish on them feels "dry", almost NOT finished. A beautiful piece of wood, but while not nailing it down to one element... they seem to lack 'character' ( this is subjective tho ).

Anyone else had a similar experience with H&O?

It may be down to the cue/s you,ve tried , as you could try a dozen of them and may find they all play slightly different .

I,ve tried a few Parris and found them stiff and lifeless but again was probably down to the said cues and not a benchmark for the rest of his cues .

[trevs1]

I asked the question in post 26 because if I had to pick the best few cues I have ever seen, none were JP Ultimate's.

There is no denying that in general these cues are exceptionally good though, because they are, BUT, they do not stand out as being anything special that cannot be had from others makers, and arguably at less money too.

Perceived value is a remarkable thing, and the more something costs, the better people will believe it to be, which is not entriely accurate in EVERY case.

[jaffa.johnson]

I asked the question in post 26 because if I had to pick the best few cues I have ever seen, none were JP Ultimate's.

There is no denying that in general these cues are exceptionally good though, because they are, BUT, they do not stand out as being anything special that cannot be had from others makers, and arguably at less money too.

Perceived value is a remarkable thing, and the more something costs, the better people will believe it to be, which is not entriely accurate in EVERY case.

The perceived market is what I was describing below.

I also believe that cue makers have created a market for themselves and people/cue makers are stuck in that particular market even if there cues are worthy of the highest regard makers.

I have never owned a JP so I cannot justify criticising his work but I recently sold my friends welsh pool trading cue to safe t boy on here and he straight away commented saying the cue is better than his mates JP.

Jason Owen also told me he seen a JP ultimate and the splicings werent even level. Around an inch out I think he said which is a lot. Jason please confirm if you read this thread.

On the other hand of my experience, I have owned 2 x craftsman cues and both of these cues were brilliant. If it wasnt for me changing from ash to maple and me being an idiot and selling a cue a loved and played well with.

I would still be using a craftsman. A craftsman cue is relatively cheap compared to many other makers.

The only criticism I have of a craftsman cue is the finish but this is easily rectified.

[DWOT]

I really do fail to see how these cues look any better than that one I got off Andy Travis for £130, I also doubt they'd play as well either....

[hotpot]

Think i owe Jaon an apology for taking this thread way off subject .

[andy carson]

I asked the question in post 26 because if I had to pick the best few cues I have ever seen, none were JP Ultimate's.

There is no denying that in general these cues are exceptionally good though, because they are, BUT, they do not stand out as being anything special that cannot be had from others makers, and arguably at less money too.

Perceived value is a remarkable thing, and the more something costs, the better people will believe it to be, which is not entriely accurate in EVERY case.

fully agree trevor


ive held and tried a few various JP cues and thought they were average at best!!! not really deserving of his reputation.

and theres only one thing that makes a great cue stand out..... how it plays for its owner.

[jaffa.johnson]

Think i owe Jaon an apology for taking this thread way off subject .

Me too, sorry Jason.

[DWOT]

Did anybody see the Tennis tonight?

[jaffa.johnson]

Did anybody see the Tennis tonight?

Are you deliberately trying to take this thread of topic?

PS: - I watched most of it.

[poolqjunkie]

Perhaps the value of a Hunt cue is not just based on craftsmanship and wood quality but collectibility--Will Hunt has stopped making cues and not a lot of Will Hunt Black plates were made, plus his black plate cues are very well made and consistent in terms of craftsmanship and quality of wood, imo.
With all due respect to John Parris, I would not say Ultimate cues are in a higher class than black plate cues.