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Recently I received 2 King Cues I ordered from Stu at Green Baize. As there's been some interest in this new company I thought I'd share my thoughts on their cues with you all.
The cues I ordered were a 3/4 Excellence with 4 splices of Makha wood over red veneers and a 1pc Supreme with 4 rosewood splices over white veneers. Both cues were in UK 8ball specs, 57" long, just over 16oz, 8 - 8.2mm tips. I'd spoken to Stu on the 'phone, and explained that I was looking for light cues with good shafts, and that was what I got. Both cues came with the factory tip, which we believe to be Master Cue tips, pre-compressed for a bedded-in feel.
Upon receiving the cues my first impressions were a little mixed - generally I'm a fan of rosewoods and not so much of Makha wood and/or burl woods, but this time it was the opposite. The Makha on the Excellence is absolutely beautiful, a glowing golden colour very tastefully highlighted by the red veneers whereas the piece of rosewood on the Supreme had lots of swirls and streaks in it which are not to my taste, and I found the wood to be a bit dull-looking. It did suffer from comparison with the Excellence.
Both cues had lovely shafts with few and nicely evenly-spaced chevrons which are in line with the badge on the butt of the cue - a nice piece of attention to detail. The 3/4 cue has a firmer shaft than the 1pc, but both felt nicely responsive without being whippy at all, just the sort of thing you need for UK 8ball. I was very happy with the shafts indeed.
The main splicing is well-done without being exceptional. Once again, I found the Excellence had the edge on the Supreme, as all 4 main splices were perfectly level at the top with small disparities at the bottom with all 4 splices appearing to be of the same thickness. The splicing on the Excellence, while still being very good, was not quite of the same evenness. There were small differences at the tops of the splicing, with one splice being longer than the others, and there were large disparities at the bottom of the fingers. However, I think we all know it's easier to make 3/4 cues with even splicing than 1pc's, just because of the splice lengths.
The secondary splicing on both cues is, quite simply, perfect. All splices level, of the same thickness and well-chosen and -fitted. Same for the veneers.
The Excellence, despite being a 3/4 cue jointed at 16", is very light at about 16.6oz. It has an exceptionally good balance point at about 18" from the butt end. The Supreme is a tad lighter at 16.1oz and balances at about 15" from the butt. Both cues have a butt socket for extensions.
The Excellence has a sort of Spirolok quick-release joint - very well-fitting which takes 1.5 turns to open and close. I am very taken with this joint. It seems to be very well-machined, there's no play in it at all and it's as smooth as a hot knife through butter. My all-time favourite joint is the slim Spirolok, but this one runs it a close second IMO.
I tried both cues during a period of about 1 hour - not enough time to really master each of them, but enough to see what they could do, and they can do everything you need them to do! I had a preference for the Excellence, which I found more pleasant to play with but when I put the Supreme through her paces she performed the full range of shots too. Both cues are players, which is all you can ask for in a cue anyway. Firm, stable and yet responsive shafts with a really good 'feel' while playing. Good feedback in the hand, even from the 3/4, nice smooth shafts, comfortable, shaped butts - a joy to play with.
King cues have a lovely smooth oiled finish on the shafts, and have left a lacquer-type finish on the butts. This may be to some people's tastes and not to others. Personally, I quite like it as I feel my grip is more secure, but I have dry hands, so it may not be the same for those of you who perspire when playing.
To sum up, I'd say that King Cues are better overall quality than Master Cue, and not quite as good as Green Baize's GBL cues, and are very good value-for-money. Of course, I've only seen 2 of their cues, and can only judge from what I've seen, but Stu said that these 2 are very representative of the quality of King Cues. They have a very large range of spices and veneers, some 120 possible combinations in their standard range, I believe, and prices for all pockets. I'm very impressed with the cues, and will be trying the Excellence again as it's one of the nicest hitting cues I've ever used and I've been looking for a light 3/4 cue for a while now.
Oh, one last thing: I tried a Master Cue mini-butt in the butt socket of the King cues and it fits very snugly indeed, so if you've got a Master extension lying about then your quid's in!
The cues I ordered were a 3/4 Excellence with 4 splices of Makha wood over red veneers and a 1pc Supreme with 4 rosewood splices over white veneers. Both cues were in UK 8ball specs, 57" long, just over 16oz, 8 - 8.2mm tips. I'd spoken to Stu on the 'phone, and explained that I was looking for light cues with good shafts, and that was what I got. Both cues came with the factory tip, which we believe to be Master Cue tips, pre-compressed for a bedded-in feel.
Upon receiving the cues my first impressions were a little mixed - generally I'm a fan of rosewoods and not so much of Makha wood and/or burl woods, but this time it was the opposite. The Makha on the Excellence is absolutely beautiful, a glowing golden colour very tastefully highlighted by the red veneers whereas the piece of rosewood on the Supreme had lots of swirls and streaks in it which are not to my taste, and I found the wood to be a bit dull-looking. It did suffer from comparison with the Excellence.
Both cues had lovely shafts with few and nicely evenly-spaced chevrons which are in line with the badge on the butt of the cue - a nice piece of attention to detail. The 3/4 cue has a firmer shaft than the 1pc, but both felt nicely responsive without being whippy at all, just the sort of thing you need for UK 8ball. I was very happy with the shafts indeed.
The main splicing is well-done without being exceptional. Once again, I found the Excellence had the edge on the Supreme, as all 4 main splices were perfectly level at the top with small disparities at the bottom with all 4 splices appearing to be of the same thickness. The splicing on the Excellence, while still being very good, was not quite of the same evenness. There were small differences at the tops of the splicing, with one splice being longer than the others, and there were large disparities at the bottom of the fingers. However, I think we all know it's easier to make 3/4 cues with even splicing than 1pc's, just because of the splice lengths.
The secondary splicing on both cues is, quite simply, perfect. All splices level, of the same thickness and well-chosen and -fitted. Same for the veneers.
The Excellence, despite being a 3/4 cue jointed at 16", is very light at about 16.6oz. It has an exceptionally good balance point at about 18" from the butt end. The Supreme is a tad lighter at 16.1oz and balances at about 15" from the butt. Both cues have a butt socket for extensions.
The Excellence has a sort of Spirolok quick-release joint - very well-fitting which takes 1.5 turns to open and close. I am very taken with this joint. It seems to be very well-machined, there's no play in it at all and it's as smooth as a hot knife through butter. My all-time favourite joint is the slim Spirolok, but this one runs it a close second IMO.
I tried both cues during a period of about 1 hour - not enough time to really master each of them, but enough to see what they could do, and they can do everything you need them to do! I had a preference for the Excellence, which I found more pleasant to play with but when I put the Supreme through her paces she performed the full range of shots too. Both cues are players, which is all you can ask for in a cue anyway. Firm, stable and yet responsive shafts with a really good 'feel' while playing. Good feedback in the hand, even from the 3/4, nice smooth shafts, comfortable, shaped butts - a joy to play with.
King cues have a lovely smooth oiled finish on the shafts, and have left a lacquer-type finish on the butts. This may be to some people's tastes and not to others. Personally, I quite like it as I feel my grip is more secure, but I have dry hands, so it may not be the same for those of you who perspire when playing.
To sum up, I'd say that King Cues are better overall quality than Master Cue, and not quite as good as Green Baize's GBL cues, and are very good value-for-money. Of course, I've only seen 2 of their cues, and can only judge from what I've seen, but Stu said that these 2 are very representative of the quality of King Cues. They have a very large range of spices and veneers, some 120 possible combinations in their standard range, I believe, and prices for all pockets. I'm very impressed with the cues, and will be trying the Excellence again as it's one of the nicest hitting cues I've ever used and I've been looking for a light 3/4 cue for a while now.
Oh, one last thing: I tried a Master Cue mini-butt in the butt socket of the King cues and it fits very snugly indeed, so if you've got a Master extension lying about then your quid's in!
That is very nice. Thanks for the link.
those look nice - those green spliced ones remind me of Kawasaki race bikes, maybe a bit bright for a cue tho
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