Tweet
My last update was written back in Feb this year. At that time I was using an old 1990s Cannon cue that was number 140 in my search for a cue!!
I will begin this update with the incredible news that I have actually now found The Holy Grail.........a cue that a) I love and b) that I can play with, BUT more about this later.
After I sold my Cannon cues I bought an old 'red glue' Parris Classic cue from a friend who was a snooker pro many years ago. The cue was lovely but at 57in long just felt slightly too short so I quickly sold it on and then bought yet another old Cannon cue which I played with for a few weeks before deciding it wasn't 'The One' and sold it on!
I then bought an 'Exquisite' cue (one piece ash) from my old mate Andrew Ramsay. This was my first Exquisite cue and when it arrived I was impressed as it looked and felt lovely. This was cue number 143 in my loooooooooong search! I played ok with the cue but it had lots of arrows which put me off so off it went back to Andrew!
I then bought three old antique cues at a cue auction at my local club. A 'News Of The World' one piece ash cue, a Permac Olympic one piece maple, and a very old Tom Newman one piece ash cue which seemed to play very well but it was only 55in long. I sent it to Alan Day, who is a local cue doctor and he lengthened the cue to 58in long but he 'cleaned' the ferrule from 9.4mm (which I loved) to 9mm exactly (which i didn't love!!) so I sold it on along with the Permac and the NOTW cue!
Next cue was a lovely GBL 'Vanquish' cue that I bought from Stu at Greenbaize. This was Cue Number 147 in my Search!! The cue was just about as perfect a cue as its possible to build. Dead straight side grain with perfectly spaced arrows. It was one piece ash and I loved the cue BUT it didn't love me. I tried and tried to use it but just couldn't play decent snooker with it so eventually I took it back to Stu and he agreed to let me exchange it for a Maximus Ultimate cue when they arrived........so I had quite a long wait for the delivery.
In the meantime I had sold just about all of my cues and needed a playing cue so I bought a 3/4 Joined ash John Parris Regency cue from a good player who had used it in a few PTC events and had bought himself a Paragon cue so needed to sell this cue to pay for it. This was my cue number 148. Sadly, again it was a lovely cue but just didn't 'feel' right so I sold it on!
I then bought Stephen Maguires one piece maple Robin Cook cue directly from Stephen. Even Maguires father (Pat) was surprised that Stephen had sold the cue as he and others thought that Stephen would keep the cue for ever. I loved owning the cue and having the chance to play with a cue that only a few weeks earlier had been used at The Crucible where Stephen only narrowly lost to Ant McGill 10-9.
Next cue in my search was an old green plate 3/4 joined ash Hunt & Obyrne cue from the 1980s that I bought from a local player who had owned it from new. I played decent snooker for a few months with this cue but eventually decided that it wasn't the one and sold it on!
I then bought an old 'red glue' ash 3/4 joined Parris Ultimate cue followed by an old 3/4 Joined ash John Parris Limited '7' cue. I knew that the Ultimate wasn't 'the one' after only a few hours but the day that I received the Limited cue I knocked in three 40+ breaks the first time that I used it. Sadly, that was as good as it got and the cue (Number 152) was sold on along with the Ultimate!
I then bought another one piece maple cue from Stephen Maguire. It was the 'Limited' cue that was made for him by Ton Praram. It really was a beautiful cue and I tried my hardest to use it but failed!!
I then bought a Taylor made cue (same maker who made Stuart Binghams cue). It was one piece ash and stunning shaft on it. Again it was one of those cues that looks perfect in every way, but i just couldn't play decent snooker with it. One of my team mates wanted the cue as his name is Taylor so he loves it!! That was cue number 154.
My next cue was a one piece ash Trevor White cue which again was stunning to look at, as perfect as a cue can be only I couldn't play well with it so off it went to a new home!
I then bought a lovely old Hunt & Obyrne ash 3/4 joined Black Plate cue from the 1990s but after trying it out for a couple of weeks it also went off to a new home.
Cue number 157 was one of the very few cues that I have ever bought where I knew it wouldn't be any use to me as a playing cue but ever since I saw some 'Arch Fine Cues' in Harrods store in London for many thousands of pounds I have wanted to own one. The one that I bought was the basic black ebony butted 3/4 joined ash cues that was still very expensive when new. Arch made their own joints which are a work of art but the cues are very heavy and not really suitable as playing cues. Mine is 59.25in long and weighs 22.5oz!! Stunningly well made cue and came complete with matching mini butt and long extension in a beautiful case.
Stu Green then received delivery of his Maximus Ultimate cues and I was the first customer to actually see them!! I spent nearly an entire day trying them out and eventually narrowed it down to two cues, both stunning shafts but one cue was 18oz and the other was 18.5oz and I finally realised that it was easier when 'in the balls' to play with the 18oz cue so that is the one that I chose as my playing cue for the new season. By now I had sold all other cues so the only two cues that I now owned were this Maximus Ultimate and the Arch cue.................but just before Stu had received the Maximus cues I had seen that a young Welsh Snooker Pro was selling his Trevor White cue as Trevor had just made him a new cue so I bought his old cue from him and it arrived the same week as I got the Maximus cue!!
The Trevor White cue is a one piece ash cue, 57.75in long, 9.4mm tip and 18oz in weight and from the moment that I picked it up I just thought that I loved it. It has a plain black ebony butt and came with both extensions. I have now been using this cue for the last few weeks and am playing (for me) consistent decent snooker. I am slowly building confidence in the cue and I just know that it is a fantastic cue that I am able to play well with. I know that my technique is pretty rubbish but using this cue has helped me to regain confidence. It is cue number 159 in my 15+ year search for a cue and for the first time in a long time I am totally happy with a cue.
I know that 159 different cues over 15+ years is a pretty stupid thing to do but I have enjoyed myself and if it means ending up with the same cue then I would do it all again!! I have played pretty much to the same standard with most of the cues that I have owned even reaching quite a few local finals over the years!
I must thank Trevor White for building this cue a few years ago, it is 'The One'!!
Oldgit
I will begin this update with the incredible news that I have actually now found The Holy Grail.........a cue that a) I love and b) that I can play with, BUT more about this later.
After I sold my Cannon cues I bought an old 'red glue' Parris Classic cue from a friend who was a snooker pro many years ago. The cue was lovely but at 57in long just felt slightly too short so I quickly sold it on and then bought yet another old Cannon cue which I played with for a few weeks before deciding it wasn't 'The One' and sold it on!
I then bought an 'Exquisite' cue (one piece ash) from my old mate Andrew Ramsay. This was my first Exquisite cue and when it arrived I was impressed as it looked and felt lovely. This was cue number 143 in my loooooooooong search! I played ok with the cue but it had lots of arrows which put me off so off it went back to Andrew!
I then bought three old antique cues at a cue auction at my local club. A 'News Of The World' one piece ash cue, a Permac Olympic one piece maple, and a very old Tom Newman one piece ash cue which seemed to play very well but it was only 55in long. I sent it to Alan Day, who is a local cue doctor and he lengthened the cue to 58in long but he 'cleaned' the ferrule from 9.4mm (which I loved) to 9mm exactly (which i didn't love!!) so I sold it on along with the Permac and the NOTW cue!
Next cue was a lovely GBL 'Vanquish' cue that I bought from Stu at Greenbaize. This was Cue Number 147 in my Search!! The cue was just about as perfect a cue as its possible to build. Dead straight side grain with perfectly spaced arrows. It was one piece ash and I loved the cue BUT it didn't love me. I tried and tried to use it but just couldn't play decent snooker with it so eventually I took it back to Stu and he agreed to let me exchange it for a Maximus Ultimate cue when they arrived........so I had quite a long wait for the delivery.
In the meantime I had sold just about all of my cues and needed a playing cue so I bought a 3/4 Joined ash John Parris Regency cue from a good player who had used it in a few PTC events and had bought himself a Paragon cue so needed to sell this cue to pay for it. This was my cue number 148. Sadly, again it was a lovely cue but just didn't 'feel' right so I sold it on!
I then bought Stephen Maguires one piece maple Robin Cook cue directly from Stephen. Even Maguires father (Pat) was surprised that Stephen had sold the cue as he and others thought that Stephen would keep the cue for ever. I loved owning the cue and having the chance to play with a cue that only a few weeks earlier had been used at The Crucible where Stephen only narrowly lost to Ant McGill 10-9.
Next cue in my search was an old green plate 3/4 joined ash Hunt & Obyrne cue from the 1980s that I bought from a local player who had owned it from new. I played decent snooker for a few months with this cue but eventually decided that it wasn't the one and sold it on!
I then bought an old 'red glue' ash 3/4 joined Parris Ultimate cue followed by an old 3/4 Joined ash John Parris Limited '7' cue. I knew that the Ultimate wasn't 'the one' after only a few hours but the day that I received the Limited cue I knocked in three 40+ breaks the first time that I used it. Sadly, that was as good as it got and the cue (Number 152) was sold on along with the Ultimate!
I then bought another one piece maple cue from Stephen Maguire. It was the 'Limited' cue that was made for him by Ton Praram. It really was a beautiful cue and I tried my hardest to use it but failed!!
I then bought a Taylor made cue (same maker who made Stuart Binghams cue). It was one piece ash and stunning shaft on it. Again it was one of those cues that looks perfect in every way, but i just couldn't play decent snooker with it. One of my team mates wanted the cue as his name is Taylor so he loves it!! That was cue number 154.
My next cue was a one piece ash Trevor White cue which again was stunning to look at, as perfect as a cue can be only I couldn't play well with it so off it went to a new home!
I then bought a lovely old Hunt & Obyrne ash 3/4 joined Black Plate cue from the 1990s but after trying it out for a couple of weeks it also went off to a new home.
Cue number 157 was one of the very few cues that I have ever bought where I knew it wouldn't be any use to me as a playing cue but ever since I saw some 'Arch Fine Cues' in Harrods store in London for many thousands of pounds I have wanted to own one. The one that I bought was the basic black ebony butted 3/4 joined ash cues that was still very expensive when new. Arch made their own joints which are a work of art but the cues are very heavy and not really suitable as playing cues. Mine is 59.25in long and weighs 22.5oz!! Stunningly well made cue and came complete with matching mini butt and long extension in a beautiful case.
Stu Green then received delivery of his Maximus Ultimate cues and I was the first customer to actually see them!! I spent nearly an entire day trying them out and eventually narrowed it down to two cues, both stunning shafts but one cue was 18oz and the other was 18.5oz and I finally realised that it was easier when 'in the balls' to play with the 18oz cue so that is the one that I chose as my playing cue for the new season. By now I had sold all other cues so the only two cues that I now owned were this Maximus Ultimate and the Arch cue.................but just before Stu had received the Maximus cues I had seen that a young Welsh Snooker Pro was selling his Trevor White cue as Trevor had just made him a new cue so I bought his old cue from him and it arrived the same week as I got the Maximus cue!!
The Trevor White cue is a one piece ash cue, 57.75in long, 9.4mm tip and 18oz in weight and from the moment that I picked it up I just thought that I loved it. It has a plain black ebony butt and came with both extensions. I have now been using this cue for the last few weeks and am playing (for me) consistent decent snooker. I am slowly building confidence in the cue and I just know that it is a fantastic cue that I am able to play well with. I know that my technique is pretty rubbish but using this cue has helped me to regain confidence. It is cue number 159 in my 15+ year search for a cue and for the first time in a long time I am totally happy with a cue.
I know that 159 different cues over 15+ years is a pretty stupid thing to do but I have enjoyed myself and if it means ending up with the same cue then I would do it all again!! I have played pretty much to the same standard with most of the cues that I have owned even reaching quite a few local finals over the years!
I must thank Trevor White for building this cue a few years ago, it is 'The One'!!
Oldgit
Comment