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Welcome to the USBA
The USBA is the governing body for all Carom Billiard
games in the USA, in particular, 3-Cushion Billiards.
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Testimonials
Mike, 2017
Ron, the cue arrived, and I want to tell you how pleased I am. The balance is perfect, the hit is firm but still sensitive, the points are crisp, and the wood you chose is excellent. As I've said before, you have a way with maple, not to mention ebony. Above all that, the cue just feels good. I tell myself that's the ebony, even though I know the finish comes between my hand and the wood. Nevertheless, the feel is there and has to come from somewhere. By the way, is the LD shaft the one with the black ring at the base of the joint? Anyway, thanks for putting in so much good work on such an unassuming appearing cue. There are more flashy cues out there, but this one feels good, hits well, and is precisely to my specifications. I don't know what more you can ask of a cue than that. Oh, yeah, and, as always, the joint protector are tiny works of art.
Thanks and all my best
--Mike
Richard, 2016
The last one you made me for small games, I tried 3c with it last night, I made a lot more shots, and my misses were very close.
It allows such smooth cueing with its weight and I remember you said small tip means more spin, and seem like its beneficial for how I play the 11mm tip with the soft moori. It's gotten hard now no more deformation, it just feels right playing with that cue. More than the other two I have.
I've even been playing straight pool with it, just with the 12mm shaft that has the kumui medium, really really good break shot, they spread very well, it's becoming my number one player.
Jack, Boston, 2010
Hi Ron,
I received my Carom Cue in the mail today. Thank you!! I love it. The feel, the hit and it's a beautiful cue to boot. I don't think there's a better deal in the USA today. 2 shafts (made to my specs), joint protectors and shipping included. Keep up the good work.
Archie , East Coast, 2003
Hi Ron! Got the cue yesterday
and shot with it last night. There is not a better feeling cue
anywhere. The balance is remarkable without metal everywhere. I
love it!! The snakewood sure set it off didn't it? It is a fine
looking cue. Thanks for making it for me and I will appreciate
it even more as I play with it and get to know it. I wish you
the best. You and your work are tops in my book.
John , Southern Cal 2003
Ron, the cue arrived
without any problems at all. I got in about three hours
with it this evening, split about evenly between the two
shafts. Surprisingly (to me, anyway) I think I may prefer
the laminated shaft by a little bit, though obviously I'll
know better after several weeks instead of a few hours. You
can't imagine how pleased I am...well, maybe you can, I
guess, since I'm sure you know how good a product you're
producing. The size of the tip and butt, the length, the
weight and its distribution, the feel of the hit, even the
sound, is exactly what I'd hoped for, though I couldn't have
described it. Thank you very much.
Petr, France 2003
Hello,
Ronald, this is Petr Shoat in Strasborg, France. I
purchased two cues from you in Las Vegas in July 2001.
I am very happy with them. I just saw your new travel
cue on your website and want to order one, 520 grammes,
11mm tips, please. Please send me the cost delivered to
me and I will send a bank chek immediately. Also, I was
in a billiard room in Mannheim Germany last month and
met another player with one of your cues, Peter
Druckmann. We introduced ourselves when we recognized
each others cues. See, you are becoming famous here,
too.
JPB, Idaho 2002
I've never had a
custom cue before and like the idea I have a one of
a kind that I helped design. I also hit around with
my Lucasi after playing with the custom cue for a
while and could not believe how much better the
Kilby felt. It was much nicer than the Lucasi and I
like the Lucasi. I also compared it to a Huebler I
have. I didn't like the Huebler to begin with which
is why I got the Lucasi, so the comparison might be
unfair. Needless to say, I much preferred the Kilby.
So for those of you willing to try something
different who see some merit in Kilby's philosophy
about cuemaking, give him a shot.
Bob, NJ -- First Cue 2003
WOW! WOW! and
Double WOW! It arrived this morning around 11:00
AM. At 11:01 I was on the table with it. Feels,
not just great, but stupendous! Almost like it's
alive in your hands. Very stiff, but soft hit -
if that makes any sense. I love it. It feels
like I've been playing with it forever. I was
afraid of a frustrating transition time, but it
appears that is not going to be the case. Ron,
you really outdid yourself on this one, and
you're right, there will be people who will walk
up to me and ask about the cue. If you weren't
"discovered" before, you will be now. Thanks
ever so much. I think we'll be doing another
project soon.
Bob, NJ -- Second Cue 2003
What can I
say? It's magnificent! Can't wait to hit
some balls with it tonight. Indexing the two
butt pieces insures that I tighten it
properly - nice side benefit. Really looks
super - will definitely garner some oooohs
and ahhhhs at the PH tonight. Again a real
home run! Can't thank you enough. Adios.
Jack, Tampa FL, Second Cue 2003
Hi Ron, Cue arrived this afternoon, I am
one very pleased pool player.
Man you are some kind of craftsman, not
only does this cue look great, the
balance is perfect for my stroke. There
is no way this cue can live here without
a mate. I mean who will it talk to when
the pool table light goes out? I would
like another to keep this one company,
it is important for your cue to live in
a pleasant environment, don't you agree?
J. Morgan, Annie Oakley Guns. Tampa, Florida
Being a gunsmith I often deal with
close tolerances and precision
fitting parts, contributing to a
quality product. The pool player
that is after a superb quality cue
that meets and exceeds these
requirements would be very pleased
playing with a Ron Kilby made cue. I
play with four of these quality
cues, and I have never felt better
about my game.
Raphael, Montreal Canada -- 2004
Mr. Kilby, I've had the cue now
for two weeks and it exceeded
every expectation. But there is
a problem -- I have to share it
with my wife! So, please build
another, same design, same
weight -- I don't expect to get
this one back in the near
future! Wonderful work!
Hal, Houston - 2004
Omigod!!! I know I bent your
ear a lot trying to get an idea of the hit, and now I understand why it
was difficult! I've been playing pool 40 years and nothing (!!!)
compares to how this cue plays. I've had it almost a month now and my
wife thinks I've been kidnapped! I've already been offered more for it
than I paid! You said I'd probably order another one -- well, get
ready, as soon as I talk my wife into paying the ransom, I want another
one!
Jeff, Wisconsin - 2004
I'm floored by the way
this cue plays...this is exactly what I've been looking for. The
hit/feedback are just perfect all the way across the powerband. Great
consistent feel and no harshness in the hit at all - even when you
really really smack a ball. You weren't kidding when you said your
cues play like 1 piece cues...I love it!
Peter, Germany - 2004
Just one word
Ron: FANTASTIC!
This is by far the best balanced as well as best looking cue I
have ever seen! Unbelievable...
Many thanks, now as I hold it in my hands I can only say that
photos do no justice to this little gem --- not at all...
Kim S. H., Korea - 2004
Mr. Kilby, the
cue is everything I had hoped for. I know we sent many
notes to each other on this, but I was still nervous when it
finally arrived. Most of my Korean friends thought I
shouldn't order a cue from the U.S., but now they all want
to play with it. Thank you for making it a little shorter,
it fits me very well. I will send you my telephone number;
if you can come to Seoul, we shall play together.
B. Stanley The Great State of
Texas (He insisted I put it that way) -- 2004
Ron, I've
been playing with the pool cue you made me for almost
two months now, and I have never played better. I'm
using the pool shaft for 9-ball and straight, and the
carom taper for bartable 8-ball -- what a hammer!
Chris C., Northern Latitudes, 2005
The wood
is beautiful, and so is the craftsmanship. You
know how you usually have to play for a while to
get used to a new cue? Not this time.
It was perfect
in every way from the start. I'm not kidding. I
couldn't believe it. I had total confidence in
all my shots. I think I had my highest run in
years, but I was too absorbed to really notice.
It's by
far the best cue I've ever used, one- or
two-piece, and in 35 years I've had a lot. Now I
know why billiard players like wood joints so
much. Why would anyone want a metal joint?
You have another customer for life!
Andy F., East Coast, 2005
The hit and playing characteristics of a
pool cue are very subjective things to
judge. It depends on the combination of
many factors (weight, balance point, joint
design and material, shaft taper, tip, and
much more) that meld into an overall
performance that you either like or you
don?t. And this determination seems to vary
from person to person. All I know is that
my new Kilby cue matches my style of play
perfectly.
Since I got the cue I have spent over
fifteen hours with it at the table and it?s
like power steering. I have never been able
to shoot as accurately or as easily with any
other cue. I am also a musician (drummer)
and the only parallel I can use to
illustrate my experience with your cue is
this. If I have to play all night on a drum
kit that isn?t ?right? I?m exhausted by the
end of the evening. Not only that but my
playing will degenerate little by little
over the course of the gig. Shooting a lot
of pool with a cue that isn?t ?right? will
yield the same type of results over the
course of a long session. I find I can play
many continuous hours of pool with my Kilby
without losing my edge. This is a very
satisfying experience, which builds
confidence as I go.
I
wasn?t even looking and I?ve found my
favorite playing cue. That is unless the
next cue I have you make for me can possibly
feel any better in my hands. Thank you very
much.
Nasos V. Greece, 2008
Dear Ron,
The cue arrived yesterday after staying in
greek customs for 2 days. Man, this cue is
so beautiful I didn't even notice paying the
$100 duty charged! The thing that catches my
eye the most when buying cues is the wood
selection. Hats off to your inventory... I
am truly dazzled by the amount of lines and
curls on the bubinga handle and the bocote
butt section is already a subject discussed
in my billiard hall!!! The matching wooden
set of joint protectors just completes this
flawlessly crafted piece of equipment.
Questions: What are the three beautiful
rings made of and how old are the woods?
This cue is a beauty but the fact remains
that this becomes secondary when stroking
the ball to make the point... The feeling of
this cue in my hands is something my poor
knowledge of the english language can't
possibly describe! The weight and the
balance is as if I was there with you and we
adjusted it together! Although I strickly
use moori medium tips (it's the first time
I've had Talisman tips and to be honest they
didn't fit my style) I can already see that
this cue fits me perfectly. I could apply
the exact amount of spin (english) needed to
complete a track EVERY time and without
effort (from day one mind you).. I'll
definetely be in heaven when I switch to my
familiar tips!
When I started playing 3 cushion billiards,
my first cue was an Adam cue basic model.
After two years I moved to a nice Schuler
cue, bought from Greek champion Nikos
Polychronopoulos, which I have until now. Of
course I've played with other Longoni and
Adam cues, Layani, Alcalde, etc. so I've
seen it all! Or so I thought...With this cue
I can totally feel the stiffness of the
shaft which glides with ease through my
firmly closed bridge (THIS is what I call a
player's cue shaft finish!) and the feedback
of the hit is just magnificent. Now I can
fully understand your statement about
selecting tone-woods and the satinwood is
surely up there with the best. I played a 50
point set with a friend on a brand new
Chevillotte table and averaged a little
below 0.850 which is super since I haven't
played for a long time and with a brand new
instrument (and unfamiliar tips)!
Ending I would like to thank you for giving
me a partner, or companion if you like, for
the rest of my life. I can truly bond with
this one.
We'll keep in touch since I'll be coming
back for more soon!
Frank Sargent, 2013
Hi, Ron.
Sorry to have taken so very long to write
and to send to you the testimonial I
promised. Much happened to distract me from
billiards for the past three or so months
and I'm only now catching up on too many
things.
I hope and trust that this message finds you
and your loved ones doing well, along with
making classical guitars and instruction and
coaching in fencing. When we wrote in early
February, you and your team were on your way
to the Junior Olympics in Baltimore. I hope
all went well for you and your team.
So here's my testimonial. It was a pleasure
to write it:
"My Kilby cue is 57? long with a 29?
one-piece butt of old and beautiful Bolivian
Rosewood, with no wrap, an ivory joint
collar, and standard joint and butt
diameters. The shafts are 28? long solid
maple with a taper similar to a Komori, and
.625 long x 12.6 mm cylindrical Ivorine III
ferrules with Hercules hard tips. The
Rosewood is so dense that the cue weighs 19?
ounces without a weight pin.
It?s hard to describe the difference between
how a well made wooden-jointed cue feels
versus other cues with other types of
joints, but I?ll try?
I?ve played billiards with pool cues for
over forty years, until 1996, when Paul
Huebler made for me a 56? 20-ounce cue with
a flat-face, wood-to-wood joint, a steel
joint collar, and convex shafts with .75?
long 12.75? Ivorine ferrules. It?s the
hardest hitting cue I?ve ever used, harder
still with Hercules hard tips. That cue is
the other end of the cue universe from my
Kilby.
I also have two twelve year old Hanbats, my
first wooden-jointed cues, and the Kilby
feels like the Hanbats, but takes things
much further in the right direction. One of
the other testimonials, by Andy F., a
musician, said ?If I have to play all night
on a drum kit that isn?t ?right? I?m
exhausted by the end of the evening. Not
only that, but my playing will degenerate
little by little over the course of the
gig.? I've had that experience, even with
some well-respected carom cues. By contrast,
I get more out of my Kilby - more English,
follow, draw, and more distance than I
expect - with less effort and less fatigue,
even though I'm a fast player who often
plays five hours or more by myself.
Another Kilby owner, Bob of NJ, said ?Almost
like it's alive in your hands. Very stiff,
but soft hit - if that makes any sense.? It
does make sense, now that I?ve experienced
it, even with very stiff shafts with long,
thick Ivorine ferrules and Hercules hard
tips.
Jeff from Wisconsin said ??no harshness in
the hit at all - even when you really really
smack a ball. You weren't kidding when you
said your cues play like 1 piece cues...I
love it!? Me, too. I asked a friend who
plays with one-piece cues to give my Kilby a
try. He said it felt more like a one-piece
cue than anything he?d ever used. As for
power shots, I recently played a
smash-through on a long rail and caught the
rail four or five times within five diamonds
before snapping out of the corner and
reaching the other long rail with enough
English to open the angle wide enough to hit
a ball I otherwise would have missed.
Smash-through double-the-rails shots are
easier now too, and I?ve even made a few
hook shots on a short rail (though honestly,
I often luck into them when playing a
perpendicular double-the-rail with lots of
follow.)
Something else is the ?feedback? I get from
my Kilby. That?s harder to explain, but I?ll
take a cue (pun intended) from Andy F and
try another musical metaphor. I once played
a bass fiddle for a few years. Later on I
tried playing a Fender Jazz Bass, a very
good electric bass guitar, and even though
it?s a terrific instrument, it felt almost
lifeless by comparison. With an acoustic
bass, I felt the vibrations caused by what I
did with it and I came to associate what I
felt in the instrument with what I had just
done, with how I was playing, and this
feedback was a valuable guide for me and my
playing improved. My Kilby cue is like that.
I can feel what I?ve done with it and that
helps me find my way toward how best to use
it, how to stroke different kinds of shots.
The results, as I?ve said, can be
surprising.
So then, if you?re looking for a traditional
wooden-jointed carom cue, very well made,
with the knowledge and skill of someone who
also makes classical guitars, Ron Kilby is
the man. You?ll get something marvelous and
beautiful, and for a price that can?t be
matched."
Hope you like what I wrote, and that it
brings you as much new work as you can
handle.
All my best regards and best wishes,
Frank Sargent
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