Value of an 'Ultimate' shaft

[newman]

I'm curious why some are prepared to pay a massive premium for an 'Ultimate' or similar shaft? Are these made differently to the 'non-Ultimate' variety? Or do they just look prettier with the 'evenly-spaced arrows that are often mentioned? All these modern shafts must come from the same manufacturing process but there's a massive mark up once a cue-maker classes them as 'Ultimate' or 'Selected' etc. Do most of the players that buy these cues expect them to improve their game or are they bought just as investments to sell on for a quick profit?
Are we just buying into the 'designer mentality' where we pay a huge price for having a sought after item that could be classed as a status symbol. Apparently Ronnie O'Sullivan uses a cue such as this but would he play just as well with a cue that sells for a quarter of the price? Just a though.

[narl]

The ultimate is a shaft that's hand planed from start to finish and are mostly about looks. The other shafts in the parris cue range are turned to an oversize taper then hand planed the rest of the way.

This is from the made to measure section on the parris site back in 2001

The ash or maple shaft on the Paragon & Ultimate cues are tapered completely by hand. A 1.5" square piece of timber 60" long, is gradually taken down, allowing time for the wood to settle at each stage. With shaft preparation taking between six months and a year, this time consuming process requires a high degree of skill and accuracy. To the best of our knowledge we are the only cue manufacturer to use this method of tapering shafts.

https://web.archive.org/web/20010202...arriscues.com/

Scary how relatively cheap the cues were back then, £285 for an exclusive.

[bolton-cueman]

I personally think all this 'Ultimate shaft' business is nonsense.... people dictating that a shaft has to have 62 evenly spaced chevrons or 'tight side grain' are simply ludicrous.

Chevrons and side grain has no effect on how a cue plays at all.

If anyone on here were given 2 cues one with a shaft planed by hand from a blank and one turned down to a large dowel on a lathe then tapered / planed by hand could tell the difference I'd eat my shoe.

And I have big feet so my shoe could feed a family of 4 for a few days.

[j6uk]

i hope thats shoes and not just one. i imagine leather would be more nourishing for the brain

[culraven]

I personally think all this 'Ultimate shaft' business is nonsense.... people dictating that a shaft has to have 62 evenly spaced chevrons or 'tight side grain' are simply ludicrous.

Chevrons and side grain has no effect on how a cue plays at all.

If anyone on here were given 2 cues one with a shaft planed by hand from a blank and one turned down to a large dowel on a lathe then tapered / planed by hand could tell the difference I'd eat my shoe.

And I have big feet so my shoe could feed a family of 4 for a few days.

Of course chevrons and grain affect the playability of the cue, putting aside how these aspects may make the cue react differently, many people use the grain to assist in sighting, others are put off by them?
For me personally I like a cue with a smooth underbelly on the bridge hand, nice long section where the chevrons change direction, but I agree it wouldn't bother me if it was hand planed or gnawed by beavers so long as the end result was the same.

[bolton-cueman]

i hope thats shoes and not just one. i imagine leather would be more nourishing for the brain

Shoe. Singular.

I can just find a matching style and nick the display one from Timpsons to replace it.

[bolton-cueman]

Of course chevrons and grain affect the playability of the cue, putting aside how these aspects may make the cue react differently, many people use the grain to assist in sighting, others are put off by them?.

the density / physical construct of the wood affects playability. Chevrons have nowt to do with it.

Unless its air dried ash.

Then the world is your lobster.

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

So what does affect the hit of a cue, then? Some hit like **** and others hit great - can't just be personal preference, surely?

[jrc750]

I bet it's all in the tip

[bolton-cueman]

I bet it's all in the tip

air dried or kiln?

Thats the big kahuna question

[bolton-cueman]

So what does affect the hit of a cue, then? Some hit like **** and others hit great - can't just be personal preference, surely?

certainly not the chevrons / arrows / fictitious grain theories.

And don't call me Shirley.

[itsnoteasy]

Aren't the arrows winter rings and between them the lighter wood is the growth ring in the summer? Wouldn't that make the arrows denser wood? So therefore affect how a shaft plays depending on how many of them there are, to be fair I haven't got a clue just asking pish that pops into my head

[golferson123]

Value of an 'Ultimate' shaft

tight grain=slow growth. wide grain=fast growth. takes your pick

[bolton-cueman]

tight grain=slow growth. wide grain=fast growth. takes your pick

maple...

[itsnoteasy]

Does it affect a shaft Golfy?