Here is a quick video I found from a, happy, long-time Schon Cue owner. I'm don't know the owner, but I can tell you we are the same age and we bought our Schon Cues at about the same time. He bought his in 1989. I bought a Schon cue around 1990 from Ed Matushoneck up around Wilkes-Barre, PA. I really liked how that cue played and it was a beautiful cue, too. Hmmm....why did I sell it?? I can't remember. Anyhow, check out his review. Also, I like the GTF case. They are GREAT cases.

You can check out great deals on Schon cues and GTF cases on the right side of the page...as usual.

Let me know what you think of Schon cues or GTF cases.

Cheers,
Skippy

Check out this short video with Dan Dishaw interviewed by Inside Pool Magazine at the 2010 Derby City Classic.  Dan is a fine cuemaker.  He shows his new design that integrates some classic butterfly splices.  I really like this cue.  Let me know what you think.

If you're interested in picking up a Dan Dishaw cue, go to www.DishawCues.com or contact him at:

Cheers,
Skippy

P.S.  Dan's cues are hard to find used, but you can look for them on this page or cues from other fine cuemakers.

One of blog readers is selling his 20 year-old Meucci Original 84-4 cue. If you're looking for a Meucci cue, then this might be a better deal than getting a new one.  Check it out, before it is gone. This cue has already been sold.

Check out other Meucci Cues listed to the right ---->

According to Dan, this cue is in MINT condition.  From my experience, the older Meucci's play better than new ones.  I'm not sure why.  Could it be the age of the shaft that makes them play better? Any opinions on this, give a comment. If I'm full of crap, let me know.

Cheers,
Skippy

I saw this Tiger cue and really liked it, so I thought I would share it with you.   It is called "Cocobolo".  I love the simplicity of the cue.  I like the "classic" color combo in the 4 point veneers (black, red, orange & natural), along with the cocobolo wood and birdseye maple forearm.

The thing that I like most about this cue is the "stack" wrap.  This is a type of wrap that Tiger installs that uses two different types/colors of leather.  It gives it a unique look.  I'd be interested to know what the wrap "feels" like in your hand.

Anyone out there who knows, please comment.

At just over $700 from PoolDawg.com, the Cocobolo cue isn't a bad deal.   Especially, considering the cue comes with the Tiger X-Shaft Ultra, which is a great shaft that is getting a lot of good press and developing a loyal following.  Also, the shaft has a unique "Tiger ferrule" and a laminated Sniper cue tip.

Let me know what you think of this cue.

Cheers,
Skippy

You might be familiar with Tiger Products, because of their great laminated cue tips like the Sniper and Everest tips.  You may not know that they make pool cues, too and they are VERY popular.

The first thing you should know about the Tiger pool cue is the unique shaft design.  They call it the Tiger X-Shaft Ultra. The shaft is a laminated shaft, but different than other laminated shafts on the market. It is called the X-Shaft, because there are 4 quadrants laminated around a center square core.  See picture below...

Illustration of Tiger X-Shaft Design

One of the unique aspects of this design is the orientation of the grain in the 4 quadrants of the radial peices.  The grain is all facing outward in an "X" pattern, hence the name.  This is supposed to be the reason for the consistent play, radially.

I would love to hear some opinions from anyone that has used this shaft.  I'm torn between transitioning to this shaft or a Z-shaft from Predator.

Here is a short video about the Tiger X-Shaft...

I found a short video of the Tiger Products shop.  check it out below...

One of the things that I noticed in the video was the application of a "layered leather wrap".   I've seen the Tiger Pool Cue with that wrap and it looks really nice.  If anyone has tried one, in person, let me know what your impression was of that wrap, please.  I'd love to get some feedback.

One last video about Tiger pool cues.  This video shows some of the cues available on the market today, including their
Tiger Icebreaker Jump Break Pool Cue Stick.  The cues are not overly fancy, but I like them.  I tend to like simple cues with traditional designs.  These cues look nice for the price-point.   Check out the video and the cues on this page and let me know what you think.

Here are a few of the cues from the video...


Tiger Icebreaker Jump Break Pool Cue Stick


Tiger Limited Edition Shawn Putnam Signature Series (SHP1)


Tiger Limited Edition Shawn Putnam Signature Series (SHP2)


Tiger Professional TPC2 - Cocobolo with Stack Leather Wrap Pool Cue


Tiger SP Professional Cues Ebony and Purple Heart

One of the things that really surprised me was the number of high-level players that play with these cues. According to Tiger, they only sponsor 5 players. Therefore, I would assume that these players use a Tiger pool cue, because they prefer it. Check out this impressive list of players:
Troy Frank, Larry Nevel, Ernesto Dominguez, Brandon Ashcraft, Tiffany Nelson, Corey Duel, Dave Hemmah, Efren Reyes, George SanSouci, James Baraks, Megan Minerich, Ikumi Ushiroda, Melissa Herndon, Melissa Morris, Alison Fisher, Gerda Hofstatter, Kelly Fisher, Tony Crosby, Max Eberle, Mazin Shooni, Rodolpho Luat, Tang Hoa, Stefano Pelinga, Shawn Putnam, Jeff Abernathy, Panela Treadway, Danny Harriman, Mike Massey, Corey Harper, Neil Fujiwara, Nick Nikolaidis, Jose Parica, Edwin Montal, Buddy Hall, Thorsten Hohmann, Josh Brothers, Jamison Neu, Jim Wych, Jeff White, Joey Korsiak, Robb Saez, Dennis Orcullo, Ismael "Morro" Paez, Kim Davenport, Chris Szuter, Michael Tosado, Louis Ulrich, Tina Pawloski, Jimmy Mendoza, Okinawa Slim, Karen Corr, Kim Shaw, Francisco Bustamante, Paul Gerni & many more.

That is an impressive list.

It is unclear to me if these players all use a Tiger pool cue or if they use a Tiger "product" of some sort. That being said, you should definitely consider these nice cues if you're in the market for a new cue or shaft.

Cheers,
Skippy

I love this cue!  This is classic Gus Szamboti work.  It isn't fancy, but in my mind it is what a cue is "supposed" to look like.  I'd love to be able to play with a Gus Szamboti cue to see how it plays.

This cue is owned by the legendary Danny DiLiberto and was used to achieve his personal best run of 14.1, which must have been a pretty big run.

This is Danny DiLiberto's personal Gus Szamboti cue.

This cue is featured over at Cuezilla.com.  If you haven't checked out that site, you should.  They have some very unique cues that you can enjoy and give your rating and opinions.  It is a great site for cue enthusiasts.

Here is their description of the cue...

The pictured Gus Szamboti cue features four ebony points each with four veneers of black/mahogany/blue/natural into a Birdseye maple nose. The butt is Ebony with Birdseye Maple boxes and two stitch rings. The cue is all original and was made for Danny Deliberto. There is documentation that makes claim to it being used in Danny’s highest run in 14.1 straight pool. This cue also features four Ivory spearhead inlays in the base of the points...(go to Cuezilla...)

I love the look of a full-spliced cue and the classic spear-heads that Gus used in his designs.  This cue may seem very plain to many pool players and cue fans, but I love the classic design of this cue.

What do you think of this cue?  If you've played with a Gus Szamboti cue, let me know what your experience was.

Cheers,
Skippy

P.S.  Gus' son, Barry, is now carrying on the family legacy and makes some awesome cues as well.

Hi folks. I was contacted by one of my readers about a Jim Rempe Meucci cue that he acquired.

This cue is pretty cool. It has an inlaw (or scrimshaw?) that is an outline of Jim Rempe in his shooting stance. I've never seen this Meucci cue before. Have you?

He is trying to get some background on it and find out if any others were produced. Check out the pictures below. Please, comment if you have any insights, questions or facts about this particular cue stick. My readers are GREAT...I'm sure someone out there has seen this vintage Meucci before.

Rare Jim Rempe Meucci cue - complete cue.

Meucci cue picture 1

Meucci Pool Cue picture 2

Rare Jim Rempe Cue pic 3

Rare Jim Rempe Meucci cue - butt cap.

Rare Jim Rempe Meucci cue - butt cap closeup

Leave a comment or contact me if you have any helpful information or thoughts about this cue.

Cheers,
Skippy

There is always a lot of debate on the subject of pool cues and deflection. One of the cues that always inspires a lot of strong opinions is the Meucci Black Dot shaft.  Bob Meucci has invested a lot of time and energy into bringing the deflection debate to the fore-front of pool cue discussions.  I've seen him travel to shows like the Valley Forge Expo and work tirelessly to show how his cues stack up against the rest of the field.

Now he has introduced the Power Piston butt, which he claims helps reduce deflection even more.  I can't say that I can make a scientific argument about his methods of measurement, but something seems a bit off when I see his results.

What do you think?

I'd love to hear your opinion on this subject.  Have you played with one of his black dot cues before?  Please, share what you've found.  I think people need to hear some unbiased reviews before buying.

Here is Bob's video showing his latest expirement with his Meucci black dot cue.

Cheers,
Skippy

Recently, I was contacted by someone who has a rare Jim Rempe series cue.  We discussed the cue and were trying to determine it's history and value.  This cue is pretty cool.   The first thing you notice is the extra insert that splits up the wrap area.

Check out the insert and graphics inside the wrap area.

Vintage Jim Rempe cue by Meucci

I've never seen a Meucci cue quite like it before.  You can tell to look at it that it is from the 80's time-period.  If you don't know, Jim Rempe was "The King" back then.  He was still playing world-class pool and was the face of Meucci cues.  There were many pro pool players sponsored by Meucci back then, but Rempe was the leader of the pack, IMHO.

I was hoping that someone out there that might know more about it.  The owner purchased the cue brand new some time in the late 80's from a cue dealer named Joe Davitt (I think in the .  He had talked with Jim Rempe about the cue years ago.  Rempe called the cue a "JR Special" and thought it could be quite valuable.  Also, he talked to Bob Meucci (Owner of Meucci Cues) about the cue.  Bob thought it was a rare cue with a very limited production of maybe 50 cues.  That being said, it looks like this cue is quite unique and valuable.

Collectible Muecci Cue with very few produced

JR Special Meuccie Cue - Forearm

He might part with the cue someone is serious of acquiring it.  He has the original shaft that came with the cue.  He also has an It's George eelskin case that he purchased at the same time 20+ years ago...

It's George Eelskin tube cue case

Do you have any ideas about the history or value of this cue?  If so, please comment below or send me a personal message through my contact me page.

If your interested in making an offer on this cue, contact me through my conact page or call me at 240.344.6035

Cheers,
Skippy

In this video, Ralf Souquet opens up his cue case and reveals all of his secret pool gadgets and the other necessities of a traveling billiards-superstar.

Ralf Souquet (aka "The Kaiser") is a truely legendary player from Germany. He has been playing competitive pool for over 2 decades at a very high level. He has an amazing tournament record including over 250 wins including many European titles and US titles in an array of pool disciplines. He has world championships in 9ball, 8ball and 10ball. He is a US Open 9 Ball Champion and a US Open 14.1 champion. Bottom-line, if there is a big tournament, don't ever count out Ralf, he is a true champion.

OK...Let's find out what a world-travelling professional pool-playing superstar keeps in his pool cue bag of tricks...

Ralf has been playing with a Joss cue for some time and is working out an endorsement deal with them (at the time of this video). He uses a Predator 314 2nd generation shaft with his cue. His Joss cue is a one-of-a-kind, but here are some other Joss designs...



Joss JOS62 Bloodwood, Figured Maple and Holly Diamonds Pool Cue Stick




Joss JOS61 Bloodwood, Ebony and Holly Pool Cue Stick




Joss JOS07 - Holly Inlays Pool Cue Stick

These are just a few examples of Joss' work. I've always liked their cues. IMO, they are a high-quality cue for the money.

Ralf was carrying a Predator Air Jump cue like this one...



Predator Air Jump Cue

Let's keep looking, because Ralf's case is jam-packed with gadgets and supplies. Here are some of them with links, so you can stock your case, just like THE KAISER...



A Towel to wipe his hands and/or cue




A bunch of Moori Tips




A Cue Cube to shape his tip.




A Brad Scuffer, which is another way to scuff his cue tip.




A Q Wiz to clean and polish his cue shaft. This little gadget works great. I agree with Ralf when he says it is one of his favorite items.




This Cue Dude cue holder looks ingenious! I'm planning on trying one of these. I've seen many versions of cue holders, a lot of them home-made, but this one is very compact and more gentle on your cue...compared to the ones that I have seen.



Ralf carries the Justa Bridge, which is, maybe, the best bridge design I've seen so far. It slips on the end of your break cue or a house cue. It's well worth the little extra money over the cheaper bridges or a house bridge.



He also carries a Moosehead type bridge for a little bit of convenience over the Justa Bridge.

Ralf also carries Blue Diamond chalk, which seems to be popular with many of the pro pool players. He carries, yet-another, tip shaper/burnisher and some lucky charms...it seems to work for him. You'll see he carries some other supplies, too, like pain relievers, etc. That is a good idea.

Anyhow...here is the video interview from insidepool...I hope it helps you.

Cheers,
Skippy