Splices not too far out !

[ADR147]

He wouldn't. He wouldn't know it was raining if the water was running down the back of his neck.

ah but you have visited, all be it on a low stock week!

[jb134]

ah but you have visited, all be it on a low stock week!

Very disappointing tbh. Am looking for an old player. A Faulkner would be nice. Am still looking for a two piece and I still owe you a score. Now get your finger out.

[ADR147]

Very disappointing tbh. Am looking for an old player. A Faulkner would be nice. Am still looking for a two piece and I still owe you a score. Now get your finger out.

i have a fair few - what specs? i have a superb newman!

[Borselino]

He wouldn't. He wouldn't know it was raining if the water was running down the back of his neck.

I got a good rain coat lol

[Borselino]

really - come visit me I have 300 or so top class cues including around 20 parris cues here, I would be happy to explain a bit about what I do. I will even pick you up from the airport. I would be happy to bet when you left you would see the entire cue world differently, ask anybody who has visited.

I think I pass if cues are as good as opinion will leave it

[Ramon]

I think I pass if cues are as good as opinion will leave it

Haha, this one is good !!! Looks like , we have a new comedian on the board !!!!!

[robertmac]

When I purchase something I expect it to be
well made and good value for my money.
If a cue arrived which had the splicing out
I would send it back for a complete refund
and I would buy from a cuemaker who
would not allow such a cue to ever get to
the customer.

[sanman]

This argument regarding JP has been bandied about for ages. Long story short. Ultimate cue at ultimiate prices must have ultimate quality of workmanship and ultimate choices and quality of materials used. Else its a sin bin cue.

[Borselino]

Haha, this one is good !!! Looks like , we have a new comedian on the board !!!!!

Fact not comedy

[jb134]

not neccessarilly true



again not neccessarilly true.

A cuemaker has spent six months honing his chosen ultimate shaft, shaving it little by little. a few millimetres at a time, taking a bit off one side, when it moves, to keep it straight, then a bit off another side for the same reason.
Leaves it for six months after the final planing and it's still dead straight, so then begins the splicing process. Planes the butt end down from the pencil mark made on the shaft, gets it spot on, then the other side and gets it spot on also.
Glues on the ebony, waits a couple of days, puts it up to his good eye and looks down the shaft and low and behold, what a p1sser !! that planing of the butt end for the splicing has released some tension in the wood and it has moved a few millimetres out of dead straight.

So now what ?
Well what he does now is not to start again and sell the cue he's spent a year over as a sin bin, it's an ultimate shaft for certain, has the tight straight grain and resonates as it should when struck with the palm of the hand (years of cuemaking craft and experience tells him this) so he planes off a little bit more when splicing the other two splices on so he has a a couple of millimetres more ebony to work with on that side in order to be able to keep the cue straight, shaft and butt in alingment using the makers own taper, which identifies his cues more than the badge does, and gives it the characteristics that top players demand and pay a premium for.

So the splices are a bit out come the end, but the cue has an ultimate shaft and a years work and care and attention to it hasn't gone to waste.
And that's just one scenario where the splices can be out.

I'm not talking about Parris in particular, this sort of thing happens to any and every cue maker out there who genuinely takes their time over the choosing and shaping of a shaft by hand.

Some people on this forum are painting John Parris like some sort of cuemaking Fagin, ridiculous. He may have some sort of production line going on with certain people doing only one job, but if it's done by hand then it's hand made and probably the only way to get through the orders he has without resorting to dodgy import practises.

To my mind if a cue has millimetre perfect splices I would have doubts that it's a genuine hand crafted cue. That sort of accuracy is usually only available through machining. Yes you can make a cue that is spot on, but not every single bloody time, that's simply being human and the difference between hand made and machined by hand.

As for the picture of the cue in question, looks a lot like my own, which has two opposing splices that are longer (but even with each other) than the other two (also even with each other), probably for the reasons I have detailed above. Nothing to be at all concerned about as it could be that even more work has gone into it to keep it straight.

As always a very informative and well thought out, not to mention factually correct post. What it boils down to is the part in bold. ASSUMING the part in bold is the reason for the uneven splices, it is your contention that, as timber is a natural product and this thing can happen, the cue maker should not take the hit as it is not his fault. A perfectly reasonable point of view and one that is hard to argue with.

However, my question is why should the customer take the hit and pay ultimate prices for a cue with splices a mile out when the spring in the timber is no more their fault than it is the cue makers?

[itsnoteasy]

This argument regarding JP has been bandied about for ages. Long story short. Ultimate cue at ultimiate prices must have ultimate quality of workmanship and ultimate choices and quality of materials used. Else its a sin bin cue.

This is exactly how I feel about it, otherwise what is the premium you pay for, it can't be playability, because that's subjective. This may be a great cue but it's not the very best in all departments and that's what Ulitimate means to me.

[vmax4steve]

As always a very informative and well thought out, not to mention factually correct post. What it boils down to is the part in bold. ASSUMING the part in bold is the reason for the uneven splices, it is your contention that, as timber is a natural product and this thing can happen, the cue maker should not take the hit as it is not his fault. A perfectly reasonable point of view and one that is hard to argue with.

However, my question is why should the customer take the hit and pay ultimate prices for a cue with splices a mile out when the spring in the timber is no more their fault than it is the cue makers?

Because he's paying for an ultimate shaft not an ultimate butt. It's about having the right tool for playing the game, it's not about the aesthetics of the tool being used.

I have an interview between Jonathon Ross and Ronnie on a compilation dvd, in which Wossie asks about the importance of the cue to snooker players.
Ronnie says that the cues that are made today are all fairly similar, unlike the old ones that are very different from each other, that the bloke who makes his cues knows exactly what he wants in a cue, that he can get a new one within weeks of making that call, that he can be making centuries after a couple of frames with it.

He never once mentioned the splices, what decorative wood he likes on the butt, the colour or design of the badge, how many chevrons he wants.
This is what the collectors are seeking, not the players. The players want something they can play the game with and John Parris provides that for many of the top pros, and for you as well at a premium.

[svendh]

what if john offered a discount for that fault and otherwise made a new cue? sorry guys but this is just a flamewar to me.

[jb134]

Because he's paying for an ultimate shaft not an ultimate butt. It's about having the right tool for playing the game, it's not about the aesthetics of the tool being used.

I have an interview between Jonathon Ross and Ronnie on a compilation dvd, in which Wossie asks about the importance of the cue to snooker players.
Ronnie says that the cues that are made today are all fairly similar, unlike the old ones that are very different from each other, that the bloke who makes his cues knows exactly what he wants in a cue, that he can get a new one within weeks of making that call, that he can be making centuries after a couple of frames with it.

He never once mentioned the splices, what decorative wood he likes on the butt, the colour or design of the badge, how many chevrons he wants.
This is what the collectors are seeking, not the players. The players want something they can play the game with and John Parris provides that for many of the top pros, and for you as well at a premium.

I understand that. If you have read my posts over the years, you will see that I fully agree that playability is much more important than aesthetics. However, an ultimate shaft with a perfect butt must still be worth more that an ultimate shaft with a butt that has been intentionally misaligned to allow the cue to appear straight.

[itsnoteasy]

what if john offered a discount for that fault and otherwise made a new cue? sorry guys but this is just a flamewar to me.

Great! If he had contacted the buyer and said , I think this is a great playing cue, but it has a minor fault, then it's up to the buyer(for all we know he may well have) I'm not a Parris hater, I have only played with one ,for twenty mins, best cue I have ever held, and to be honest with you I never even looked at the splicing(not that I can remember anyway). I am just a bit disappointed that he let this slip through, if that's what happened.