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My Honest "Woods Cue" Review

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  • My Honest "Woods Cue" Review



    A little background on myself, I have been playing for almost 8 years. I have own a variety of snooker cues but I won’t claim to be an expert.

    So I ordered this cue from Kent of Woods Cue about 1-2 weeks back and the cue has arrived in my hands. I was asked to write a review (in lieu of a discount, I admit) but I will be perfectly honest here, but do take note that I am an easy going person, so I am not too concern about the aesthetics.

  • #2
    First off, Kent is quick with emails. I wanted a stock cue and is not willing to wait for a custom, so I asked Kent to let me have a look at what he had. He did post me a low-resolution picture and I picked what I suppose to be a better looking shaft. What I saw was an unfinished cue and he asked to give him time to put in the remaining touches.
    An email was sent punctually and a tracking number supplied. Within two days the package arrived and it looks like this:



    I suppose this is the standard way of packing a cue, with a hollow hard circular cardboard covered with adhesive on its ends.
    Unwrapping the package, I was a little surprised to see the tip and the top part of the cue exposed.


    While I wasn’t really concern with what is with the package, it came with a really tiny mini butt that is roughly 4-5 inches long.



    The mini-butt itself isn’t finished with anything but I still like it.

    Comment


    • #3
      Onto the “beauty” side of things, this cue isn’t going to please perfectionists.


      Two of the burl-wood to maple veneers looks poor, and some of the maple veneer to ebony splice isn’t too great as well.


      However I am quite pleased with the ebony to shaft splicing. Pretty even and clean work. All four of the ebony to ash splices look pretty clean and well made.
      Last edited by lbs; 16 November 2011, 09:09 AM.

      Comment


      • #4

        I am not too sure how you guys take to the cue joint but I prefer the old traditional Parris screw joints anytime, or the O’min vaccum joints. The joint release very quickly for this design but I personally feel it doesn’t give the best touch. Being an American Pool player I believe a wood-to-wood contact will give the best feel, which is an option seem in some of the Woods’ cue, though credit should be given to Mike Wooldridge for what I think being the pioneer of this joint…
        I am not too sure what the butt joint screw is, but I really hope there will be a standard connection one day…

        The splices on the bottom and top end of the cue doesn’t seem to be inline, but personally I am not particular.

        Comment


        • #5
          the shaft

          The shaft




          The view of the shaft with the badge facing the ceiling, and the bottom of the shaft respectively.

          Isn’t as good as Uncle Thai’s examples, which I believe is top notched. However do note that some of the other cues such as Master or even O’min has worse looking shaft than this. A shaft should be judged by how it plays and not how it looks…

          Comment


          • #6
            The Finish
            I have dry skin so the finish doesn’t bother me at all, in fact it feels a tad oily, but this is something you can tell Kent, judging from what I read in other reviews. Doesn’t bother me at all.

            The Hit
            This is a stiff shaft with little flex, but the hit is a little hollow. I think this might be a problem with the age of the shaft, correct me if I am wrong. I believe this might be a problem with the joint as well, but could be psychological.
            The cue feels “light” or balanced in my hands with no obvious weight being added—great news to those who love light cues.

            Summary
            Price is what you give up, but what stays with you is value, simple.
            Is this cue worth it? Only a few more weeks with this cue can tell. Right now I can’t wait to give this cue a few more hours of table time.
            Last edited by lbs; 16 November 2011, 09:02 AM.

            Comment


            • #7
              Good honest review, like most things in life, you only get what you pay for

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks for the good honest review.

                Looking forward to hearing how you get on with the cue.

                For the price I guess no one can expect too much but as mentioned the importance is how it plays and you may perhaps have as much chance of getting a keeper as with most cue makers....

                If this was my budget, I would probably go for just plain ebony butt as there is less to go wrong with only 4 splices to perfect.

                There is a statement from a certain cue maker who frequents this forum "You get what you pay for" so I guess disappointments only come from expectations

                Comment


                • #9
                  I've got a woods 3* cue. Not bad. Not fantastically made, but does the job. Very light shaft, and similar splicing issues to the ones mentioned above, but on the whole a decent enough cue for the money.
                  If you want to play the pink, but you're hampered by the red, you could always try to play the brown!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    nice cue for the money i suppose, good honest review, nice one...

                    Although.... a few ppls comments on "You get what you pay for"... Yes this is usually the case with most things but with cues it is not always the case is it.

                    ie.. does it mean if i pay parris for an ultimate it will be better than my trev for half the price?
                    Last edited by cally; 16 November 2011, 10:28 AM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Odd for a maker to send out a cue with broken tips on the splices. Why would you do that unless you dont care about the quality of your product and as such your business rep?
                      Unclevit C Brand - CueGuru Tip.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally Posted by Deepscrew View Post
                        Odd for a maker to send out a cue with broken tips on the splices. Why would you do that unless you dont care about the quality of your product and as such your business rep?
                        More of a surprise considering Woods knew that the OP was going to write a review on the cue on this forum

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          very good honest review, i was considering having a cue made by woods, but i think you have made my mind up for me, i'm going to save up and get one made by craftsman or mastercraft instead.

                          the price is reasonable but it just seems too much of a lottery to end up with a cue i would be happy with.

                          as said above its how the cue plays that really matters but it also matters that the cue maker has a bit of pride in their work..... there does not seem to be much pride in the reviewed cue at all.
                          http://e.imagehost.org/0813/Mellow_yellow_sig1.jpg

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            After more than a couple of hours with the cue...

                            first off, I would like to say that even though the review isn't glowing, Kent kept his word and refunded me the discount in paypal.

                            He wasn't defensive at all, and admit that this isn't the best cue they have since it is a stock cue. He advised me to re-tip the cue as well due to the low quality tip, which I didn't until listen until the tip start splitting from a few power shots... lol.

                            A good elkmaster and numerous frames/line ups later, I only have this to say...

                            This cue is great on playability. It isn't a looker, but the balance is good and it hits pretty good.. I am by no means a good player but I was able to hit my common break level pretty often.

                            Definitely my main cue for some time to come.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Do the splices look real or painted on ?

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