Difference between a hand made cue and a mass produced?

[shredder]

From what I gather, cues from makers such as Riley are primarily mass produced. They make a bunch of them on machines to maximize profit.

Then on the other hand we have cue makers that hand make cues either for their own stock or to specs from customers.

I understand there's a certain feeling by playing with a special made, unique cue, but is the "feeling" of owning something unique the only point in having one? What're the differences in playing with a mass/machine produced cue from Riley etc. vs. a hand made one?

For sake of argument, let's assume they use the same materials, same splices and everything.

[tommo146]

perfectly honest because they are not the best materials ! they play terrible normally warp my mate had one that ended up like a banana.......mass produced cues are ok when u first start playing after that when your standard improves you get a good one lets say £500 handmade then you never have to buy another one ! all these endorsed cues are just crap had one many years ago with jimmy whites name on best thing it could of been used for is bonfire night truly dreadful

[shredder]

So it's "only" a question of materials? Not so much that it's made on a machine in mass-produced style?

[rightoncue89]

It depends what you are comfortable with, there are a few pros who play with standard rack cues etc.

Handmade cues tend to look alot nicer and classier, because they use exotic woods and things.
And hand splices are much nicer looking than machine spliced.
But that is just cosmetic.

A cue is a cue in my eyes, some are pretty, but i dont feel that a cue affects my play in a good or bad way, if it a weight, length and tip size i like.
Then it will work.

[fred.england]

Machine spliced or hand spliced!!! It doesn't make any difference. It's if it suits you.
Aesthetically, a hand spliced cue looks better and has generally had more time spent in its construction but a well made machine spliced cue can, and will often play better than a cheap hand spliced cue. It solely depends on what feels right in your hands. If you know the specs that suit you, go to a dealer and try both out! I played with a superb machine spliced cue for many years and it served me very well. It eventually gave up the ghost and I invested in a hand spliced MW.
As I said earlier, a good machine spliced cue is not to be knocked. It's all about personal preference.

[Dave Walton]

The difference is really down to the finish, mass produced cues generally are varnished or laquer finished which will quickly become sticky on your bridge hand and prevent you from cuing smoothly, a decent handmade cue will be oil or wax finished which gives a better feel and doesn't get anywhere near as sticky, not all hand spliced cues will be oil finished though, cheaper hand spliced varnished cues are out there, better machine spliced cues are sometimes oil finished also. Really the biggest difference between a top end handmade cue and a mass produced cue regardless of how its spliced are the quality of the materials used, seasoned wood choosen for the look of the grain and flex of the shaft etc and the craftsmanship and skill of the maker whereas mass produced cues will use ash most cue makers would turn down and be turned down completely on lathes and sprayed with varnish rather than hand finished with oil. Playabillity wise its if the mass produced cue was refinished there probably won't be a massive difference, as far as mass produced cues warping, any cue can warp and it doesn't matter how good the cuemaker is, if wood decides it wants to move it will, although every step is taken to help prevent a cue from warping by top makers, more often than not the reason mass produced cues end up warping is because of how they're looked after rather than anything else

[ADR147]

it could take me all night to type this answer so i will make it brief, basically it is about buying something where the maker cares about the result.

[pearce]

If you really want to know why handmade cues are so much better, go to Mike Wooldridge's website Handmade Cues and read the work that goes into them.

[cyberheater]

Didn't Dennis Taylor win the world championship with a machine spliced cue?

[shredder]

Thanks rightoncue, Fred, Dave, ADR and Pearce. Basically what I figured, but had to ask.

[warren132]

I have said it for years makes no difference to me if the cue is hand made or machine made..or if it looks nice ! what should matter the most is how it feels and how you can play with it !