Help needed!

[frankenbike]

One last question. If you could get a cheaper hand spliced cue...such as...

http://royalsnooker.com/html/snooker_cues_elegance.html

or a more expensive machine spliced cue such as...

http://www.craftsmancues.com/acatalo...lson_cues.html
or
http://www.craftsmancues.com/acatalo...cuda_cues.html (the £55 cue)

then which would be the better to go for?
does anyone know about or play with any of the cues above?

thinkin that if i can up my budget slightly and get a hand spliced cue then would it be worth it?

thanks again for all your help

[Jay1]

Hey again mate. I've been doing some research of my own today that might help you on those questions.

A cheaper Hand splice cue, such as that Baracuda, is likely to be imported. Some of these cues are not of the greatest quality, they can use inferior ebony buts and not the best ash in the shafts. Although equally they can be just as good as their uk counterparts. The feeling I got from the people I spoke to is that they are more hit and miss and less of a sure thing than a UK hand spliced cue.

One of the benefits of hand sliced from a decent manufacturer is that they often chose a higher quality shaft for their hand splice cues, however this isn't always the case. You can find equally good shafts in a machine spliced cue. The thing is though, if you are buying blind (over the net for example) a hand splice from a decent manufacturer is more likely to have superior wood in the shaft.

Having said that if you can look at the cues, or trust the person you are buying from to pick you out a decent one from their stock, you can get just as good a cue in machine spliced form. Often the only reason for the added cost of hand splicing is the amount of work they take, and nothing to do with the woods used. At the end of the day, if you can be confident that the cue has a good shaft, thats what matters. If it's straight and has nice straight grain ash and is nicely balanced then it shouldn't matter too much whether it's hand or machine spliced, not at the prices we're looking at any way.

2 guys I spoke to are Stu at http://greenbaize.com and Robert at http://bluemoonleisure.com

Both were really really helpful. Greenbaize seem to have an excellent selection of decent cues and a few at the lower end of the market. Stu is an ex pro player aswell so obviously knows his stuff. Bluemoon have a widerrange at the sort of prices you are looking at, including a couple of cheaper hand spliced like the Baracuda. Roberts opinion was though that a decent machine spliced, like one of the mastercues (or their own branded ones that are made by mastercue) would be a better allround cue. And he would go through and hand pick you one so you know you are getting something decent. Also both said if they send out and you don't like, just send it back no problems at all.

I would suggest giving one of them a call for some advice. Like I said both very very helpful.

[frankenbike]

again that helps a lot! sounds daft goin through all these questions for the amount i want to spend but at least the information will be there in future as well for if i do get more into it and want a more expensive cue! and im hoping that even at my budget that my money is well spent!

cheers for the help! i'll look at the two sites and make sure i mention the help i've received from this forum if i get things from them!

[Jay1]

I would seriously suggest making a couple of calls. It's all well getting advice on here but it's supprising what you learn when you actually talk to someone who knows there stuff and they can answer your questions straight up. I really appreciated the advice I got on here and found out bits and bobs elsewhere on line, but just by asking questions of those 2 guys this morning I learnt so much more.

[GreenBaize]

no problem glad to help

[frankenbike]

Hi GreenBaize,
I've just sent an email to the email address on your website containing a few questions. I know email aint the best way to get intouch but i im tryin 2 fit all this in whilst working! lol, im a man....multitasking isnt natural 2 me and i find emails easier!

cheers

[frankenbike]

And Jay.....thanks again mate! your information so far has taken me a long way! never knew it was this complicated!!!