'Hand Made' Cues - Do they have any inherent value?

[Big Splash!]

That plays a part, but never to the tune of £600. Some cues cost more simply because the market will support that price. Mostly down to badge. The ticket price at this higher price point will never represent inherent value. It represents market value.

Robin Cues used to make a cue as good as any, better than Parris/MW/TW IMO. He'd only charged about 350. Anymore and you're paying for flannel. Unless it's truly hand made and took a long time, then £600 can be justified if the cue took 20hrs at £20hr plus materials, tax, etc. Anything near a grand or above is taking the **** out of people who need to smack themselves up the head.

[Shockerz]

O levels! Denim jackets. Pod shoes. Spiky dyed hair. 501s. Raleigh bikes. Powerglide cues.

No mobiles, no problem! Life was simpler and easier. Yeah man, late nights in the club, with Davis against Taylor on the box and everyone round it eating chips, people smoking, folk drinking. Good times. Imagine a cue maker then saying you'll have to wait 5yrs and pay me at least a grand for a cue mate. He would have been laughed at! Different now. lol

I used to wear stay pressed fluorescent blue jeans with a Harrington jacket and long hair. Gola trainers until I could a pair of Adidas Kick. My first cue was a Maple Riley Steve Davis Cue and I knew nothing of cue makers or coaches where I was from.

I was going out with my girlfriend at the time (who I married) and was told if I brought her home late one more time there would be trouble (that was the Davis / Taylor final), luckily he knew I'd be watching that rather than getting his daughter into trouble (That would come later!).

Loads of kids on the estate and everyone in the town knew everyone and it was great. We were all equal as we all had nothing.....

[ADR147]

Yeah I gues returns would be few and far between if what was ordered was sent. I guess someone like ADR would give a better opinion on this subject.

very few cues get returned to me - one or two table rollers but damaged by couriers or lost by couriers is more common.

[Big Splash!]

I used to wear stay pressed fluorescent blue jeans with a Harrington jacket and long hair. Gola trainers until I could a pair of Adidas Kick. My first cue was a Maple Riley Steve Davis Cue and I knew nothing of cue makers or coaches where I was from.

I was going out with my girlfriend at the time (who I married) and was told if I brought her home late one more time there would be trouble (that was the Davis / Taylor final), luckily he knew I'd be watching that rather than getting his daughter into trouble (That would come later!).

Loads of kids on the estate and everyone in the town knew everyone and it was great. We were all equal as we all had nothing.....

That sounds sweet bro. Yeah, Adidas Samba for school kick abouts. Stay press trousers, immense! Did you ever have a Choose life t-shirt or Frankie Says Relax t-shirt?

Cues 'lost' by couriers. Pack of crayons maybe, 5ft parcel - hmmmmm

[Shockerz]

very few cues get returned to me - one or two table rollers but damaged by couriers or lost by couriers is more common.

When you day table rollers do you mean someone thinks the cue isn't straight because they've rolled it on a warped slate?

[Shockerz]

That sounds sweet bro. Yeah, Adidas Samba for school kick abouts. Stay press trousers, immense! Did you ever have a Choose life t-shirt or Frankie Says Relax t-shirt?

The only T shirts I wore were the Adidas football shirts as I was always kicking a ball somewhere against something or getting chased by blokes as I'd kicked the ball against something I shouldn't have.

Great, great times....

[itsnoteasy]

Late seventies was dawn to dusk football, during the holidays , tennis during Wimbledon, golf during the open , all seemed to involve smashed windows , thinking back I don't think we were as good at things as we thought we were.

[Big Splash!]

The only T shirts I wore were the Adidas football shirts as I was always kicking a ball somewhere against something or getting chased by blokes as I'd kicked the ball against something I shouldn't have.

Great, great times....

I loved this when I was a kid though I think mine was brown with yellow stripes -


INE: swinging across streams till it went dark, roller skating, kissing girls, getting in trouble for coming home late. Best Summer times.

[ADR147]

Buffalo make fine cues it seems. Powerglide of old made the best cues in the 80s, and the ash was air-dried for 12-24yrs. That's a fact. Until they ran out, got bought out and started making oven cues in China, no better or worse than any other oven cue I guess. Folk can go on about Parris, TW, TP, etc but the most successful cue wielded remains a Powerglide that Hendry used; 7 world titles with one cue. To build a great cue, you have to imbue playability, as J6 understands, as a fine cue maker. He makes great cues. Others make junk. But air-dried wood is still maturing, all the time. It retains playability not seen in cooked cues. Ramon said his finest cue was air dried and he's owned everything. Unfortunately, he can't say this now due to a pointless ban. If you don't have the hands, you won't know any difference but those of us with feel can sense 1/4 more life in an air dried cue. It's like whisky, it's only alive and maturing in the barrel. Bottle it and it's dead. Cook timber and it's dead. Heat up anything thermally for a month and the material will change. All materials change with heat, even rock. That's just basic physics. All the life is sucked out of KD; it's carroty, splits and is horrible to work with and turn. AD is the exact opposite. Everyone knows that!

I go on holiday for a bit and this muppet is back with 422 posts in 6 weeks...... I am happy to state it is impossible for anybody to say air drying wood will improve the cues playing characteristics, if it did everybody would be air drying the wood!

[Shockerz]

Late seventies was dawn to dusk football, during the holidays , tennis during Wimbledon, golf during the open , all seemed to involve smashed windows..

Ah now we're talkin!!!!

We used to use the garage doors as goals and climb over the local council tennis court fences so we could have a game with our wooden racquets.

Couldn't afford golf, that was for rich kids when we were young even though my Grandad was the local head greenkeeper!

Thinking back I don't think we were as good at things as we thought we were.

You speak for yourself mate. We won the world cup every day and I always scored the winner.....

[Big Splash!]

I go on holiday for a bit and this muppet is back with 422 posts in 6 weeks...... I am happy to state it is impossible for anybody to say air drying wood will improve the cues playing characteristics, if it did everybody would be air drying the wood!

Hmm, but you've never made a cue. Whereas Buffalo make an awful lot, including for Russian Pyramid. And they've chosen air-dried for their top shelfer snooker cue. As for AD not improving characteristics, feel free to provide some proof if you have time.

Anyway, folk have been having a gas while you were away.

[Shockerz]

I loved this when I was a kid though I think mine was brown with yellow stripes -

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That's the one. Here's me 36 years ago at football trials! Lovely hair, harmony hairspray me thinks!

[Big Splash!]

^ Effin brilliant. Wow man, you had trials at big clubs! Gerron. Great shirt.

[Shockerz]

^ Effin brilliant. Wow man, you had trials at big clubs! Gerron. Great shirt.

Yeah had a few trials at various clubs. Legs are still skinny but my stomachs swelled up for some reason?

[itsnoteasy]

Definitely better than me at football, I was just local league standard and that's in Scotland where everyone with two feet got a schoolboy contract with someone or other.