Collectible Custom Cues

[Neil Fujiwara]

If you had unlimited funds, which cues would you collect and why? Or, if you already have bought some custom cues, why did you buy them and for what purpose?

Personally I own:
2 Tads-investments
PFD-was cheap
Pechauer/ Predator Venture-collectible
2 Ariel Carmeli cues-investments, personal interest. I will have a 3rd soon
Queen-local cuemaker, butterfly points (rare)
2 Predator 2's-you can guess why
SPWU-gotta love the wood joint
70's Joss-rare 3 point cue, investment

There are some others, but these are the ones that pop into mind. Let's see what everyone's got!!

[spartan]

i dont collect cues but i do have my old joss dan made for me along time ago and my dads old palmer from the 60s.

i would like to collect:

vintage balabushka wouldnt we all?
szamboti (barry or gus) classic cues and collectibles
bill stroud (josswest) great designs
southwest best hitting cue i have ever used
paul drexler everything about it is absoulotely fantastic
richard black i like his simple designes and solid hit.

[audiopro]

Besides the Nitti I have now, which I absolutely love... I would not mind owning a dozen or so Black Boars.. lol...

Also an original Balabushka, not the crap they brand now...

[skor]

I've posted that list before, I would love own those cues :

1. Balabushka - just so I could say "it's a Balabushka, Eddie gave it to me"
2. Schick - Amazing artwork
3. Szamboti - Clasic cues great art work
4. TAD - just like the Szamboti
5. Joel Hercek - For keeping the tradition and making a fine full splice cues
6. Samsara - they look great and play great
7. PFD Studios - Paul Drexler make great looking cues
8. Black boar - I would like a one of a kind BB just so New kid in the hall couldn't say that he has them all... j/k I just here only good things about them
9. Poal mottey - I really like his cues
10. Josswest - one of the best

I can add a few more:

11. southwest - from the Jerry Franklin era
12. Schon - great playbility and the also look good, I would probably get one to replace my old predator as the everyday playing cue.
13. Phillippi - Great cues, they look good and play good
14. Dale Perry - Makes great cues
15. Pete Tascarella - for keeping the Balabushka thing going
16. Nitti - so evry time greg will remind us that he has one I could say "me too" :)
17. Jacoby - the same model that zach got (beat me to it :( )
18. Russ Espiritu - nice cues


I will not buy a cue for it's value or as an investment because once I got a cue I will not sell it

[spartan]

i also like:

skip weston
pechauer (the real custom ones)
mike capone
ray schuler
vollmer kinda hits like a schon
old meucci
scruggs

[audiopro]

16. Nitti - so evry time greg will remind us that he has one I could say "me too" :)

will not buy a cue for it's value or as an investment because once I got a cue I will not sell it

ha ha.. You know it!!! Glad it made it to your list....

I have not seen, in person anyway, a better cue... I know they are out there, I saw New Kids Black Boars and all.. But so far, the Nitti's are the best I have seen in person....

I suppose, I need to get out more??? :)

[skor]

Check out this Samsara version to sneaky pete






I like it :!:

[spartan]

i like it but i dont like the gold trim around the point and the stripe where the points end. otherwise its a samsara lol

[audiopro]

Not very sneaky is it??? :lol:

[DEATHTRON]

17. Jacoby - the same model that zach got (beat me to it :( )

Its about to get a nice leather wrap with brown streaks... :twisted:

[spartan]

a stack leather wrap zach? i might get one done at the expo. i think tiger is doing them on the spot.

[audiopro]

I like some of the lizard and croc wraps.. At some point I may change my plain leather for the like...

[spartan]

i dont care for lizard wraps. greg have you ever tried a stack leather wrap?

[audiopro]

I have not tried one, but I do not think I like the idea behind them so well...

Did you see the pics New Kid posted of Black Boars? The wraps are awesome...

[spartan]

they look nice but i dont like the feel of them. my friend has a sanded leather wrap and its softer and i like the feel. i dont care for the linen on my p2 so i think i will get the stack leather. i like the feel alot.

[audiopro]

See we are opposite.. I can not stand a soft wrap...

http://earth.sitepros.net/seyberts/blackboar/image_006.jpg

Awesome cues!!

[spartan]

they are indeed awesome a soft wrap for me helps me keep my grip loose.

[DZ314]

See we are opposite.. I can not stand a soft wrap...

http://earth.sitepros.net/seyberts/blackboar/image_006.jpg

Awesome cues!!

8O *spooge* :lol: I love those cues, I must have one someday.

[dags_lax]

Currently own

Chester Krick
Joss
3 Novas
Schon
2 Jacksons
4 McDermotts
3 Vikings
Cutec
Karrella

Perhaps I can get Greg to post a picture.

On the wish list:
Southwest
Cognoscenti
New Runde
Runde era Schon

[audiopro]

PM sent dags...

[audiopro]

Wow, I just got this from dags. Here are his cues. I must say this is a very nice collection. I think we would all share a liking for this group of cues...

For a higher res pic go here:
http://earth.sitepros.net/seyberts/dags_cues1.jpg

Here is lower res image inline:

[spartan]

great cues dags. ones to be very proud of.

[DZ314]

Wow yeah, awesome collection there dags! :D

[skor]

Very nice collection dags, I really like the schon and the nova next to it, the sneaky pete also looks great, who made it ?

[spartan]

i think dags said it was a viking he uses for breaks. i could be wrong.

[skor]

Yeah I though it was a viking but wasn't sure, it looks much better the one that they have on their website

[spartan]

i love the look of sneaky petes when the all the points are all sharp and even.

[dags_lax]

It is indeed a Viking. And do have a phonelic tip on it for breaking.

The cue on the far left is a Chester Krick. It has the stiffist taper of any of my cues. I also have a phonelic tip on that as well. The Chester Krick with the stiff taper and at 18.3 oz and a G10 pin puts more energy into the cueball than any cue I have ever used. It breaks a ton.

[dags_lax]

The Jackson (the one with the turquoise spears), the McDermott Masterpiece, the McDermot Tournament Champion, and the Karrella (not pictured) have yet to be chalked.

[spartan]

i really like that mcdermott and your schon is beautiful. it dosent look ten years old. you must really take care of your cues.

[sanj]

Great collection Dags .

where did u get that sasmara and how much did u pay for it?

[Cecil B.]

A man offered to sell me a Balabushka and I don’t know much about them. Are they worth anything? I know the one Paul Newman had is valuable, what about the rest?

This one has two shafts both with wooden inner joints, but they both seated nice and tight. Perfectly straight. Nice balance, nice strike. One of the shafts had some epoxy down by the joint like it had been repaired. And a recently done, very nice black leather wrap.

I don't know anything about it's model or it's history. It does have a signature just below the joint.

What's the value of such a piece? and what's the downside.

Thanks

[skor]

You shouls contact Pete Tascarella, he is the #1 expert on Balabushka cues, he can verify the cue and give you an estimate on how much it's worth.
Balabushka cues can go between $10,000 to $50,000 depends on the condition and rarity of it

[LWW]

Nice set up.

LWW

[DZ314]

Most impressive.....

[SidePocket]

Tascarella - best hitting cue, best balance, tooled with same equipment used by Balabushka and is a great investment. They are going up in price all the time.....

[SidePocket]

Just make sure it is not an Adams in drag... If it has a signature - run away. Oh, by the way... I know of a Balabushka that would start bidding at $125,000 and go up to ?? from there. It was owned by Irving Crane, but it will not be for sale for a looooong time. You can get a copy of it though, but I wouldn't. Not the same thing.

The best cue for the any money of a living master is a Tascarella cue IMO.
The other great cue is Burton Spain. I also hear good things about Hercek cues although I have yet to try one. Searing makes very fine cues as well and I happen to have a one of one Dennis Searing cue I will be selling soon worth arround $5000. It's the only 8 pointer he made and comes with a letter of history by Searing. It was owned by the money man for a one of the greatest pool sharks and champions - Hose Parica! Any questions?... :-)





A man offered to sell me a Balabushka and I don’t know much about them. Are they worth anything? I know the one Paul Newman had is valuable, what about the rest?

This one has two shafts both with wooden inner joints, but they both seated nice and tight. Perfectly straight. Nice balance, nice strike. One of the shafts had some epoxy down by the joint like it had been repaired. And a recently done, very nice black leather wrap.

I don't know anything about it's model or it's history. It does have a signature just below the joint.

What's the value of such a piece? and what's the downside.

Thanks

[ian]

Anybody interested to buy Runde S Custom Cue?
I only tested for about 10 hits. I really love this baby; unfortunatelly, I have to let her go for an engagement ring. Please email me if anybody interested.

coszy@hotmail.com

http://www.seyberts.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=25761#25761

[sanj]

to sidepocket .
could you send me a picture of the Searing.
thanks.

[New Kid In The Hall]

Greg,

Glad to see that you love that Nitti cue you had built. Chris makes excellent cues, but I love ring work. If he ever starts making some fancier rings, I'll look into one.

Skor ... lol on the "so New Kid won't think he's got them all" comment.

Black Boar are the best, Greg, you need to see one and shoot with it. The only guy I ever knew who didn't think they were great had a crappy 9-ball only stroke...lol

[audiopro]

New Kid, long time no see... Glad to see ya post back up again... How hve things been?

And I would absolutely love to get my hands on a BB. As well I love the Richard Chudy cues... Here are some pics..

http://homepage.mac.com/rskapura1/rc3/PhotoAlbum49.html
http://homepage.mac.com/rskapura1/rc3/PhotoAlbum50.html

I love these:

http://homepage.mac.com/rskapura1/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2005-04-19%2017.06.05%20-0700/Image-C64F167DB12F11D9.jpg

[skor]

Skor ... lol on the "so New Kid won't think he's got them all" comment.



WOW old post, forgot about that list of cues that I would like to own, funny thing is that I got a Bill McDaniel cue and it's not on the list.....

[New Kid In The Hall]

Skor,

I just bought another Bill McDaniel yesterday. I think they're great. To each his own I guess. This is a very traditional Lazy Z model. Ebony butt, ebony hi/low points in a birdseye maple forearm. Ivory and silver inlay, ivory butt, joint, ferrules, and protectors. Black lizard wrap. Great cue.

Greg,

Just have been out of the loop in forums. Been spending my downtime playing more. The black/gold and ivory/silver Chuddy's are owned by my friend right here in Virginia. I've handled both cues. They are beautiful, but really just museum pieces. We don't even know how they play. We haven't hit 'em.

Richard Chuddy and Richard Black have some incredible cues on their websites. Check out the Richard Black Silver Crown and Ivory Crown cues. My buddy that owns the two Chuddy's owns 15 Richard Black cues.

I missed another Black Boar on Ebay because I forgot to stay up and bid. I didn't want to put in a proxy and give away what I was willing to pay and I lost out. It was an AS-10 model with rubies in the large ivory ovals on the butt. Nice cue, but what I really wanted was the 4 shafts it came with. 2 were over 13mm and I could have gotten Tony to custom turn them. Oh well. There will be another.

I see those pictures I posted were killing bandwidth, but what beauties, huh?

Later on.

[skor]

Skor,

I just bought another Bill McDaniel yesterday. I think they're great. To each his own I guess. This is a very traditional Lazy Z model. Ebony butt, ebony hi/low points in a birdseye maple forearm. Ivory and silver inlay, ivory butt, joint, ferrules, and protectors. Black lizard wrap. Great cue.

From your description it sound very much like mine, except for the joint and butt cup (I stayed with the ss joint and the derlin cup)
here is a pic of mine

[skor]

BTW I do think it's a great cue, it has a great balance and hit
one of your old posts with the pics of your mcdaniels really pushed me in that direction after I couldn't find the schon I wanted, so I guess in a way I need to thank you :D

[spartan]

Skor, I love that McDaniel cue you have. It really it pretty and the boars hide leather wrap looks great as well.

[New Kid In The Hall]

Skor, that's a great McDaniel cue!

I'll try to put up a few pics of my two cues tonight perhaps. I'm looking for another really kicked up one with the ring work more like his one-of-a-kinds on his billmcdaniel.com website...

[spartan]

looking at some of his cues it is hard to believe he does CNC work.

[Neil Fujiwara]

All CNC means is that it is computer controlled, you can make V-points with a mill or a pantograph if I am not mistaken.

[New Kid In The Hall]

I don't understand the comment either. Are you saying that you think the work is not intricate enough in your estimation to have been performed using CNC?

John Robinson does his inlay work on a manual pantograph. He doesn't use CNC. His work is fantastic.

[Neil Fujiwara]

Just recently I contact John about a cue that I wanted to buy. Back in 1995 I had a couple of his cues and really liked both the shaft and butt tapers, the thin handle feels really good. Plus with that particular joint they all hit pretty firm which is also something I look for.

Great work, great hit and a nice guy from what I hear.

[spartan]

Sorry I wasnt clearer. I meant since the points are pretty sharp they looked hand-cut. Personally I don't like cues with rounded points.

[Neil Fujiwara]

It also depends on what woods you use for a forearm or are cutting pockets into. One of the main reasons why a lot of cuemakers like using Ebony is because they use black epoxy to fill in the rounded pockets while inlaying sharp pieces. So you get the look of a spliced point, but in actuality it is a milled point.

[New Kid In The Hall]

Neil,

My first higher end cue was a Robinson ES-61 (full ebony with ivory, bloodwood, and silver veneers arrows, and rings, etc.) I sent it off to John to refinish it to new condition and add a leather wrap. His cues are superb craftsmanship and they play well. He still has a nice thin grip on his cues. I have two Robinson shafts with ivory ferrules for my cue and I had him put Moori III M on these, plus I had him put his joint on a 314 partial. Awesome on his cue.

Get another one Neil...they are still awesome cues.