There are many manufacturers of pool cues, each with its own unique take on the design, technology, and features of its merchandise.
Identifying which brand made your pool cue can help you make better decisions as to how to upgrade your parts, the compatibility of custom elements, and where to get replacements or warranty perks.
Ways To Identify Pool Cues
Different manufacturers have their own signatures when it comes to pool cues. While most brands mark their merchandise with their logo or official stamp, others don’t.
But in any case, it’s possible to identify the manufacturer of your pool cue through signature features that the brand is known for. From the base of your cue to its overall design, here are ways you can identify your pool cue manufacturer.
1. Check the Butt of the Pool Cue
More often than not, the markings, stamps, or logo of the manufacturer are displayed at the butt of the pool cue.
You can usually find identifiers as to who is behind the making of your cue through these signature details they add. This is especially true for big brands who put their trademarks on their merchandise.
However, individual or solo cue manufacturers don’t often mark their merchandise with signatures or logos. It’s the same case for customized pool cues. If your cue was made by an individual manufacturer, it might be harder to identify them.
2. Check the Joint of a Two-Piece Pool Cue
If your pool cue still comes with the original parts and you haven’t upgraded the joint, then chances are, all the parts are made by the manufacturer to suit the specific features of their cues.
With that, there might be an indication of who is the maker behind your pool cue through markings embedded or printed in different parts, such as the joint.
Check the joint for any signature or logo that can help you identify its brand. Unwind it from the shaft and check the insides for any indications.
Also, be wary of the design of your joint. Bigger, fatter joints were used for old, first-generation cues, while sleeker designs are seen in modern-day joints.
Although this won’t tell you a lot about who made the cue, it can give you an idea of the age of your cue and narrow down your options.
3. Inspect the Artwork and Inlays
Often, brands take on that signature look to make their cues look and feel like their own. Designs would usually reflect the branding of the manufacturer.
So look for cues with similar designs, and you’re bound to find similarities that lead to the maker of your cue. You can also go a little deeper and determine what materials were used to make the artwork and inlays.
Once you figure this out, you can find the manufacturers that specialize in this type of design with those particular materials to help you eliminate brands that don’t fit the profile.
4. Take the Pool Cue to a Woodworking Shop
Woodworking shops can help you identify the type of wood used as the base material for the cue. And often, brands stick to one type of material for all their collections, save those that belong to specific series’.
Getting a better idea of the wood used to make your cue can help you narrow down your options and come up with a list of brands that make use of that particular wood for their cues. Then you can do the process of elimination to make your search more targeted.
5. Ask Around
Some people can help you identify the brand of your pool cue. These include local cue makers and even managers of billiard shops who know a thing or two about the sport. Other billiards players can also be familiar with your cue design and let you know where they think it’s from.
You can also take photos of your cue and post them in online forums about billiards and pool. Enthusiasts are more than willing to share their insights about what they think. Don’t forget to share details that will help them make the determination, such as the type of wood used.
Brand-wise Identification
Major brands who have made a name for themselves in the industry have already established that signature look and features that make pool cues their own. Hence, becoming aware of what these brands are known for can help you determine if your cue belongs to them.
1. Identify Mcdermott Pool Cues
Mcdermott pool cues are handcrafted using a process that composes of 150 steps. Because of this, it can be easy to determine their signature style and look.
Something that Mcdermott is known for is its dedication to giving players more liberty when it comes to customizing their cues. Hence, they have a signature weight bolt system that the users can adjust to find their perfect cue weight.
This weight bolt system can be found in all of Mcdermott’s first-generation cues. They have also created the new Variable Balance Point weight technology that features a full-length carbon fiber core inside the cue.
If your cue is weight adjustable, then Mcdermott can be behind it.
Mcdermott is also known for using exotic woods as the base material for their cues — woods that other brands don’t typically make use of. So determining the wood yours is made of and its rarity can help you identify if the maker is Mcdermott.
2. Identify Joss Pool Cues
Pool cues made by the Joss brand are relatively easy to identify, not because the brand name is paraded on the cue, but because each item has a unique serial number.
Finding this number can help you determine if your cue is from Joss and whether or not it is a genuine Joss creation. You can find this serial number embossed inside the steel joint.
Further, all cues from the Joss brand come with a 13mm Joss shaft, which is the standard for all Joss cue models.
You can have yours customized or upgraded according to your preferences. But if your cue has never been touched, it will come with the standard 13mm shaft from the brand.
Another identifier is the design of the cue. While different Joss models come in a broad range of colors and design, there is typically that center division of wood and wrap. The wood design of Joss cues usually ends in the middle.
3. Identify Viking Pool Cues
Viking is one of the oldest manufacturers of pool cues, which is seen in its traditional design. Antique artworks and inlays are what the brand is known for, although they can also offer customized cues that may look different from their brand standard.
If your pool cue hasn’t been upgraded or customized, the design of the bottom shaft would be the same as the design of the cue’s butt in an original Viking cue.
Aside from paying attention to its overall traditional design, Viking pool cues are relatively easy to identify because all of them have engraved markings.
At the butt of a Viking pool cue is a signature that displays the brand name. Below the brand name is an indication that says that the cue was made in the USA.
The capitalization of the signature also matters to help you determine its authenticity. Authentic Viking cues would spell the brand’s name as “Viking,” with the letter V capitalized and all other letters in lower case.
Further, the “USA” marking would be centered under the brand name and displayed in all caps.
All Viking joints take about five turns in order to secure it on the shaft. When the two parts are screwed together, the division is completely closed.
4. Identify Brunswick Pool Cues
Like the other brands in this list, Brunswick pool cues are also easy to identify. This is because the brand displays a marking of their name on the handle of the cue.
Depending on the series or model of the Brunswick cue, the signature can be engraved or embossed in different colors and designs. Traditional ones would have a gold-colored marking indicating the brand name.
Brunswick is also known for its unique designs and inlays. Many of the artworks displayed on their cues are very detailed and intricate, boosting the aesthetic appeal of the cue while complementing the classy and simplistic look of the high-quality wooden shaft.
Some other identifiable features include the inlays, with Brunswick usually displaying over 30 inlays in their cues.
Another is their use of mother of pearl accents to complement the base material, which is usually displayed along the divisions of parts in the cue stick.
5. Identify Palmer Pool Cues
Palmer Pool Cues are identifiable by their signature symbol, which is engraved on every cue they manufacture.
Usually, a single cue will have more than one of these symbols engraved on its body and highlighted with a mother of pearl inlay to make it stand out and become instantly visible.
The symbol looks like a diamond with division lines on the sides to create dimension and more depth to the design. They carefully and precisely add them to the design to make it look seamless and aesthetic on their sticks.
Although they are not the only brand that uses mother of pearl inlays, they do use the thickest types, which they source directly from Germany.
Palmer pool cues can vary in color and artwork design, but they usually lean to the basic and traditional colors of light and dark wood or black with a coated finish.
6. Identify Huebler Pool Cues
Huebler pool cues are among the easiest to identify because they also display their signature in every cue they manufacture.
The markings in the cue are Huebler’s made-in-USA logos displayed just below the joint. There are also markings on the butt cap of the vertical logo from the brand. The typical signature would look like this:
Cue By HUEBLER MADE IN USA
The brand’s name would be displayed in the biggest size, with the other elements centered on top and at the bottom of the brand name. A pool cue with these identifying markings would be true and authentic Huebler creations.
It’s rare to find Huebler pool cues that do not have a logo, but there can be some, especially for models that have been upgraded or whose parts have been replaced.
To identify these, one can take a look at the shaft. The standard design of Huebler cues would have a nylon insert to the shaft. Pool cues from this brand would also have a 5 16-18 thread.
7. Identify Meucci Pool Cues
Meucci cues are also fairly labeled, with a Meucci brand logo displayed in cursive on the bottom-most end of the cue. The marking would usually be displayed right below the most vibrant design. However, for other models, they can be placed in inconspicuous places.
While it’s a long shot to find a Meucci pool cue without the brand’s signature imprinted on the shaft, you might still want to know if yours is a Meucci creation.
Without the signature, it may be difficult to identify a Meucci pool cue, considering that the brand offers cues in many different colors, designs, and finishes. However, there are distinguishing factors.
Staying true to their branding, most Meucci pool cue designs would have scribbles and cursive-like artworks that are highlighted throughout the shaft.
Other than that, the brand also plays with different finishes and usually goes beyond their conventional standard designs. They’re also fond of using smoked wood finishes.
Related: Meucci Pool Cues Review: Which One Is Best For You? (Updated)
8. Identify Lucassi Pool Cues
Lucassi pool cues also have a marking that displays the brand’s signature logo. This is usually displayed at the bottom of the shaft, in a clear and readable manner.
Aside from the signature, one can also determine the authenticity of their Lucassi pool cue by means of a production number also embedded on the shaft.
At the bottom of the stick, there is a production number that can help identify a Lucassi pool cue. It can also tell you when the cue was manufactured.
For example, a Lucassi pool cue with a production number of LHF48 would mean that it was made in April of 2008. The first number is the month, while the second number reflects the production year.
The signature logo of Lucassi, as well as the production number, are easily visible on the stick. In fact, it can be seen when rolling the stick on a flat surface.
With these signature markings, it’s relatively easy to identify a Lucassi cue and determine its authenticity.
To Conclude
Identifying the manufacturer behind your pool cue can help you determine the value of your stick. It also allows you to make better decisions as to which parts are replaceable, what is compatible with them, and who can assist you for warranty purposes.
But in order to correctly identify your cue, you need to focus and really inspect the different factors that make up your cue. There are signs there that point to its maker — you just have to look for them.
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