Help with a good list of some of the highest quality Snooker cues?

[carbondalekid386]

I am new to Snooker, and would love to get a high quality Snooker cue, if it makes a big difference, when it comes to the hit and playability of the cue.

Are the highest quality Snooker cues made in the UK, and please give a good list of some of the highest quality Snooker cue makers from the past and present?

Are vintage Snooker cues as good as cues that were made in more recent times, or are they not as good, when it comes to the hit and playability of the cue?

Anyways, thank you very much for some recommendations on the highest quality Snooker cues, from the past and present, if that makes a difference.

The hit and playability of the cue is the most important to me, but I also love cues with beautiful woods in it, like nice Birds eye maple, and Burl woods to name a few examples. I understand that Ash(?) is the main part of the cue, but I am speaking of the splices on the lower end. I love a lot of colorful, and beautiful splices (if I am saying that right), with several different woods.

One last thing is Price point. How much do the best Snooker cue makers in the world charge for their cues, at the minimum?

Thanks for any thoughts about anything that I noted about.

[mikee]

I think snooker cues are one of the few things that are better these days ,more hand made options and better quality cues around and more people making them .As for what’s better for you is impossible to say .you could find the right cue for you really cheap ,it’s what works and feels good ,not what exotic woods it has .Just try loads and get what works or feels right .

[Neil Taperell]

Few things to consider :

Budget - What are you expecting to pay , this will then give you an idea of what cue makers are in your price budget

Try before you buy - A big purchase , are you able to try high end cues down a snooker club ? I.E Do you know anyone with these type of cues

I would say that the high end cues are made in the UK .

Few examples of Cue Makers :

Trevor White
Robert Osborne
Stamford
Mike Wooldridge
John Parris

[itsnoteasy]

Playability is all that counts, all the rest is just decoration. Only you will know what's right for you but you could find it for a minimal layout or indeed a lot.

[Matcssd]

I have just had a handmade cue from Dean Jones. Absolutely fantastic. He has a table which you can use to try various cues to see what suits you.

[Ramon]

Back in 80's & 90's we had a few well known and decent cuemakers .
Nowadays there are so many cue makers that you can't even keep up remembering their names ffs.

Eagle cues -
erusalem cues -
Trump cues -
Hassan Akim cues -
manuel cues -
Physical cues ,
Fantasy cues -
Asia cues -
Africa cues -
middle east cues -
Take it OR leave it cues - Or , in the worst case ( Take it AND leave it cuess ) .
Mind fk cues
thai cues -
give me a break cues
leave me alone cues


Sooooo on >>>>>>>>>>>>>> ............ !!!!!

I personally agree with Neil's statement and what he earlier said. , though . I second that .
I would also add Dave Coutts to that list . years ago I did contact Robert Osborne , unfortunately he did'nt take new orders . I said who would you recommend? he said:

Dave Coutts !!

One of the new generation cue makers who impresses me huge with his work is Adam Rogo . Also member here on tsf .
following his work on facebook from time to time an have heard lots of good things regarding his work.

[ken147]

Tony Glover makes great cues.

[Neil Taperell]

Ah yes , he does Ken . Had one of his many moons ago .

[Cue crafty]

https://en-gb.facebook.com/gavin.mengham

Gavin's worked with Mike Wooldridge for 10yrs now (still does) but also makes his own line "G-cues". Great quality and a little different.

I would echo couple of the views above too though - I love my cue, and its a £250 Tom classic Thai cue, there are some great Thai cue brands that deliver a nice forward weight and a great hit. Maximus or Phoenix as examples are quality cues that play as well as anything really and I've tried a couple of mates Parris cues out and didn't think they felt any better.

[thai_son22]

https://en-gb.facebook.com/gavin.mengham

Gavin's worked with Mike Wooldridge for 10yrs now (still does) but also makes his own line "G-cues". Great quality and a little different.

I would echo couple of the views above too though - I love my cue, and its a £250 Tom classic Thai cue, there are some great Thai cue brands that deliver a nice forward weight and a great hit. Maximus or Phoenix as examples are quality cues that play as well as anything really and I've tried a couple of mates Parris cues out and didn't think they felt any better.

I'll agree with this. Thai cues are the way to go in terms of the price you pay for the playability of the cue you receive

[itsnoteasy]

https://en-gb.facebook.com/gavin.mengham

Gavin's worked with Mike Wooldridge for 10yrs now (still does) but also makes his own line "G-cues". Great quality and a little different.

I would echo couple of the views above too though - I love my cue, and its a £250 Tom classic Thai cue, there are some great Thai cue brands that deliver a nice forward weight and a great hit. Maximus or Phoenix as examples are quality cues that play as well as anything really and I've tried a couple of mates Parris cues out and didn't think they felt any better.

I have a Tom classic cue, it is too stiff for me otherwise it coukd be my playing cue. To be fair to it I find all cues too stiff for me but I keep buying them looking for a back up to my J6 cue, incase something happens to it. It's very well made, lovely looking shaft, well balanced and I put a titanium ferrule on it as it came with a thick walled brass one and it threw the cue ball a bit. Total cost, with postage, 200 pounds, well worth the money imo.

[Cue crafty]

I have a Tom classic cue, it is too stiff for me otherwise it coukd be my playing cue. To be fair to it I find all cues too stiff for me but I keep buying them looking for a back up to my J6 cue, incase something happens to it. It's very well made, lovely looking shaft, well balanced and I put a titanium ferrule on it as it came with a thick walled brass one and it threw the cue ball a bit. Total cost, with postage, 200 pounds, well worth the money imo.

Yes they are stiff, so that's worth a mention. Which reminds me the OP asks about vintage cues, these were generally I think a lot less stiff but they were also a fair bit lighter and because of that many had weight added which leads to a bit of a minefield in terms of finding one that suits and is stable. Even Dominic Dale a vintage cue lover uses Thai brand cues these days because they suit the modern game well.

You should ask j6 to make you a replica but I guess that's an impossible task too.

[itsnoteasy]

Yes they are stiff, so that's worth a mention. Which reminds me the OP asks about vintage cues, these were generally I think a lot less stiff but they were also a fair bit lighter and because of that many had weight added which leads to a bit of a minefield in terms of finding one that suits and is stable. Even Dominic Dale a vintage cue lover uses Thai brand cues these days because they suit the modern game well.

You should ask j6 to make you a replica but I guess that's an impossible task too.

That's not a bad idea but I think his cues would be out my price range now. I was lucky enough to get one when he was kind of starting out.

[vmax]

I have a Tom classic cue, it is too stiff for me otherwise it coukd be my playing cue. To be fair to it I find all cues too stiff for me but I keep buying them looking for a back up to my J6 cue, incase something happens to it. It's very well made, lovely looking shaft, well balanced and I put a titanium ferrule on it as it came with a thick walled brass one and it threw the cue ball a bit. Total cost, with postage, 200 pounds, well worth the money imo.

You should look for something with a pro taper which means the tip end is like a dowell and only starts to taper to the butt about fifteen inches from the ferrule. My old machine spliced racker that I won all my pool trophies with had a pro taper, 11mm tip and no ferrule but had great feel due to the pro taper which makes it less stiff at the business end.
American pool cues are pro tapered but for a different reason as they believe that the tip is delivered less accurately due to the rising taper of traditional snooker cues, a good theory but theory and practise are two different things.
The thing is that pro tapers don't work very well with cues that have small ferrules, a 9mm dowelled shaft in the bridge would feel quite narrow, probably why my old racker felt so good with an 11mm tip.

[Ramon]

You should look for something with a pro taper which means the tip end is like a dowell and only starts to taper to the butt about fifteen inches from the ferrule. My old machine spliced racker that I won all my pool trophies with had a pro taper, 11mm tip and no ferrule but had great feel due to the pro taper which makes it less stiff at the business end.
American pool cues are pro tapered but for a different reason as they believe that the tip is delivered less accurately due to the rising taper of traditional snooker cues, a good theory but theory and practise are two different things.
The thing is that pro tapers don't work very well with cues that have small ferrules, a 9mm dowelled shaft in the bridge would feel quite narrow, probably why my old racker felt so good with an 11mm tip.

correct me if i'm wrong,, but i think it also depends on kind of wood !!

higher temperatures—combined with pollution from auto exhaust and farms—
are making t wood less in term of density .

The wood physical characteristics- elasticity, and strength,
depends on the climate where the tree is grown.
Difference in characteristics means difference in playability of t wood .
as simple as that .
these vintage cues ,,CC is talking about ,, were mainly made from English ash.
piece of wood which is grown in Europe ( less warm and more humid climate ) .

I remember my first cue ( craftsman ) many years ago.
The ratio between stiffness /density of
that piece of wood was just about perfect . both around was 9/10.
i could create as much as spin as i wanted and the cue had 00 deflection .
I called David Brown at the time to ask him what kind of ash he had used .
He said , English ash.
I am wondering what kind of wood ,thai cuemakers are using .
I did ask Ton Praram few years ago ragarding this matter . He preferred not to share
information.

Which is from a business point of view , understandable !! it's his right not to do so if he do'nt want to.