Presented by Simon "The Diamond" D'Vali
The UK's foremost authority on collectable cues
TheDiamond@Pro9.co.uk
Collector's Cue Gallery
Click the picture to download the full size photograph by Simon D'Vali.
High-End Cue Gallery
There have been a few requests for some gallery photos of my past and present cues so in-between the big articles, I will do a series of mini articles with a few pictures followed by a brief description of the cues.
"Read More..." for the details.
Click the picture to download the full size photograph by Simon D'Vali.
From left to right:
1) Jensen (cue maker: Mike Johnson): This cue is a replica of an early Szamboti with no points. Mike has been making cues since 1969. It has a bacote forearm and butt sleeve with a wonderful black leather wrap. Steel piloted joint with maple stitch ringwork at the joint and butt cap. Cue is now owned by Dave McCarthy.
2) Bear (maker Falcon cues under licence by Dynamic Billiards): This ebony and ivory beauty is a one off custom Bear cue made for Steve Knight. Fransisco Bustamante and Tom Storm got a fancy cue each at the same time. 5 unique cues were made. It made an appearance at the Mosconi Cup and I wish I knew where it was in the world now!
3) Jensen (cue maker: Mike Johnson): Mike made this classic looking cue for Danny Jones (Handsome Danny). Danny Jones was a famous road player in the 60s which all stopped when he won the World Straight Pool title. He has been mentioned in several books but most famously took a young Cornbread Red (Billy Joe Burge) under his wing and taught him the rules of the road and much about the game. (Book is called ‘Cornbread Red’ by Bob Henning…excellent read). The cue is loaded with ivory and has classic lines of those stunning Szamboti cues (Mikes biggest influence was Gus Szamboti). Very traditional and is one of the finest playing cues I have ever encountered (in my opinion!). I gave this cue to my dear, departed friend Chad ‘Kid’ Deramus and he used it for years up until his tragic death this year.
Click the picture to download the full size photograph by Simon D'Vali.
4) Dale Perry: A very fancy Dale Perry made when there were only 2 to 3 people working in Dale’s workshop.
This was a very expensive ebony cue when it was made. Dale now sells a lot of cues on ebay and is making quite a high number per year. This has reduced values of his cues significantly but I must say, if anyone is in the market for a low cost custom cue, you can’t go far wrong with one of these. They play incredibly well.
5) Paul Mottey: This Mottey (again in the Szamboti tradition) was my main playing cue for a whole year (I know….a whole year without changing cues!). It is one of my all time favourites because Paul made this players cue with the best tiger maple forearm I have ever seen. Wood of this quality is normally reserved for the really high end cues. Oh, and it plays great too. It has a black lizard wrap and ivory stitching above and below the wrap. Cue is now owned by Colin Bradley….and I will buy it back anytime J
Click the picture to download the full size photograph by Simon D'Vali.
6) Paul Mottey: I bought this at the same time as my fancy players Mottey. It is an ebony on ebony cue which means ebony points are spliced into an ebony forearm with only the veneers in the points revealing the true nature of the splice (A Szamboti trademark…..do you think people like Szamboti?). It has an ivory piloted joint, ivory ‘Hoppe’ ring and a black lizard wrap.
7) Richard Lanz: Chad gave me this amazing cue a few years ago. I knew nothing about Richard Lanz but learned he was a relatively new maker and a lot of people in the business were talking about his great work. All the maple is curly and the brown wood is cocobola. It is very thin and the hit is very stiff. His cues are very rare and he doesn’t make many a year (he is nearly 70 years old).
There we go, a little detail and quick to write. Tune in soon for the next instalment.