CLICK HERE FOR MY NOTES

After losing the auction for the McDermott Prestige IV cue (serial number 1, AND it came with an additional I-2 and I-3 shaft!) on eBay a couple of weeks ago (after not being able to update my snipe bid at the last second, it went for a final price of $1,240, which means I got out-bid by $20 at the last second), I stumbled on an auction for this cue, with an opening bid of $999 and a Buy-It-Now price of $1,250. After a lot of contemplating and contacting the seller by email, and wondering if I should just bid (thereby ending the Buy-It-Now option) or just buy it outright, I finally bit the bullet and bought it. It's serial number 58 of 100, and is brand-new, unplayed and unchalked. The seller turns out to be an employee of McDermott, and has had the cue for several years sitting under his bed, but now needed the cash and said he listed it one final time (his previous attempts to sell it had the cue listed at close to the retail price of $2,600 to $2,800 [example links: Seyberts.com, ShootersBilliards.com, Billiards.com, BilliardWarehouse.com, BudgetCues.com); the MSRP of this cue from McDermott is $3,350], and if it didn't sell he had planned to simply put it back under his bed. As the dealer cost on this cue alone is nearly $2,000, I simply couldn't pass this up. It's very similar to my McDermott M2-9A "Knight" cue, but with more intricate inlays (including bone, which my M2-9A "Knight" cue lacks), so I need to decide if it'll be a collection cue or turned into a playing cue. If I decide to make it a playing cue, I will more than likely order another McDermott I-2 shaft with matching ringwork for it, as I love the I-2 shaft on my M2-9A "Knight" Elite series cue.)

Even though the M2-9A "Knight" Elite series cue technically has more total inlays (118 on the M2-9A "Knight" cue vs. 109 on the Prestige 1), the Prestige 1 cue has higher-quality inlays (while both cues use West African Ebony wood, the Prestige 1 cue uses 24k gold, bone inlays, Mexican bacote wood, South Asian Sea mother of pearl, and South American purpleheart wood), and as such is much more detailed and is a true limited-edition cue, with only 100 of them being made by McDermott.

Update, January 19, 2009: I've decided to make this my main playing cue, and it's been sent back to McDermott to have the leather wrap changed (to the same "lizard print" wrap as my M2-9A, as I don't really like the older "buffalo print" leather wrap), have the weight changed to (as close to) 19 ounces as possible, and have a McDermott I-2 shaft made with matching rings. My son likes playing with the M2-9A instead of his no-name el-cheapo cue (duh, who wouldn't, right?), so he's going to be getting that one. I also found out that the "bone" in the Prestige 1 isn't actually bone (or ivory) at all; it's actually just the type of plastic material they use that looks like bone. Still, it's very nice. I'm torn, though, as I love the M2-9A and it's turquoise inlays, but the Prestige 1 inlays are very nice as well. Either way, I can always switch back if I want, since I'm sure my son wouldn't complain about having to play with the Prestige 1 cue. :)


Click the photos for a larger, more detailed view
M8PR-1
Prestige I
Tip Triangle, medium hard
Ferrule Ivorine III®
Shaft North American Hard Rock maple
Collar Impact Control Ring
Joint McDermott Quick Release
Pin 3/8"x16 stainless steel
Forearm West African Ebony with 4 South American purpleheart, South Asian Sea mother of pearl, Mexican bacote, and bone points
Sleeve West African Ebony with 69 South American purpleheart, South Asian Sea mother of pearl, Mexican bacote, and bone inlays, 24k gold medallion
Ring German brass and 24K gold
Wrap Top grain lizard-embossed black leather
Bumper Soft Durometer Polymer Composite
Butt Construction Tri-Core (3 piece)
Weight System Interchangeable weight bolt system, from 19 to 21 oz.
Warranty LIFETIME, including warpage - click here for details
Maintenance FREE Lifetime Maintenance - click here for details
Stock # M8PR-1
West African Ebony is used in the forearm and sleeve; 4 long floating points featuring South American purpleheart, South Asian Sea mother of pearl, Mexican bacote, and bone in the forearm.
69 exquisite South American purpleheart, South Asian Sea mother of pearl, Mexican bacote, and bone inlays enhance the sleeve
German brass and 24K Gold rings and medallion complete this exceptional cue
109 total inlays
Top-grain, Lizard-embossed, black leather wrap.
Serial-numbered and Limited to 100 cues total. (My cue is serial number 58.)

  • Cue weight information

    • Butt: 15.5 ounces*

    • Shaft weights:

      • Stock: 4.2 ounces

      • McDermott I-2: 3.6 ounces

    • Total cue weight:

      • With stock shaft: 19.6 ounces

      • With McDermott I-2 shaft: 19.1 ounces

  • Cue length: 58½" (tip of shaft to bottom of bumper)

    • Balance point (from bottom of bumper on butt)

      • Butt only: 14¼"

      • With stock shaft: 20"

      • With McDermott I-2 shaft: TBD

* The cue butt weight was 16.3 ounces, and was changed by McDermott when I sent it to them to make the I-2 shaft with matching ring work, as I prefer a 19 ounce (total) cue, give or take ¼ to ½ ounce. Not sure how, exactly, they got the weight down (see my notes below on 2/13/09), but they did. The final weight is perfect, and the cue feels excellent in my hand. :)

Click any of the dates below for updated notes.

Update, 2/13/2009

Per Jayme Cernicka, Customer Service Manager, McDermott Cue (via email): "The lowest I could adjust the weight was 15.5 ounces (19.75 with shaft.) Your cue had a 1 ounce bolt in the cue, and I changed it with a 0.5 ounce bolt, which is the lightest we offer." I emailed Jayme back and asked him the ramifications of removing the weight bolt entirely, and simply having the cue naturally weighted; if we remove the 0.5 ounce weight bolt, that should drop the cue butt to 15 ounces (and therefore, a total overall weight of 19.25 ounces with the shaft), which is damn near perfect for me. Lots of players prefer "naturally weighted" cues, meaning there is no weight bolt, and only the wood and inlays used in the cue contribute to the final weight. I don't see any problems with doing so, other than there will be nothing in the cavity where the weight bolt goes, so I'll need to take care not to allow moisture and dirt in there (although it is covered by the McDermott bumper, so that really shouldn't be an issue.)

Update, 3/11/2009

Jayme Cernicka at McDermott has informed me that my cue is done, and the final weight with the new I-2 shaft for it is a perfect 19 ounces! :) Unfortunately, he also said they found a hairline crack in the finish at the brass rings, so they will be replacing the collar/rings and refinishing it. It’s possible there was a tiny gap between the rings when they were originally glued up. Glad they found it before they sent it back to me, but it means another delay, and I've already been waiting since January 14 for the cue to be returned.

Update, 4/4/2009

FINALLY received my cue from McDermott yesterday afternoon. The new leather wrap is SO much better - even better than the lizard-print wrap on my Knight cue! The new leather wrap is smooth, soft, supple, and very shiny. It REALLY compliments the cue so much better than the previous buffalo-print leather wrap. The cue feels noticeably lighter, too; I haven't weighed it myself yet, but I'm suspecting it's actually lighter than 19oz. The leather is wrapped very tight, and it almost feels "too skinny", though I'm sure that's just because I'm used to the Knight. Or maybe McDermott shaved the wrap area to reduce the weight? Probably not, but I emailed Jayme to ask him. I'll be shooting with the Prestige in the open 9-ball tournament today at Stroker's 2 in Tampa, so I'll get a chance to see how it performs with the new I-2 shaft they made for me. :)
Notes:  

McDermott Prestige I cue, serial number 58 out of 100. The serial number for the cue is engraved on the pin, as shown in the image to the right.

Based on the information below regarding the style of the joint, this dates my McDermott Prestige I cue to being made sometime during 1997 - 1998, making it 10 to 11 years old.
Top: Prestige 1 cue with old style Quick Release pin

Bottom: M2-9A "Knight" Elite series
cue with new style Quick Release pin

The joint on this cue is not the same as the one on the McDermott M2-9A "Knight" Elite series cue, although both are advertised as having the McDermott Quick Release joint. Per Jayme Cernicka, Customer Service Manager, McDermott Cue, via email: "The Prestige cue has our original QR joint we offered in 1997-98. We changed the threads on the QR pin shortly after that due to a patent infringement." The image to the left is a visual representation of both joints; the Prestige 1 cue (with the original 1997-98 Quick Release pin) is on the top, and the M2-9A "Knight" Elite series cue (with the newer, current Quick Release pin) is on the bottom. Note how the threads are different, with the older style having larger threads and a shorter overall pin length.

Update, 2/13/2009: I've been told by McDermott that the old McDermott Quick Release thread is 3/8”-10 with a special table at the base of the pin.

The wrap on the Prestige 1 is also different. While both the Prestige 1 and the M2-9A "Knight" Elite series cue are advertised as having "lizard-embossed black leather", the Prestige 1 actually has the older style. Per Jayme Cernicka, Customer Service Manager, McDermott Cue, via email: "The leather on the Prestige cue was our standard leather back then. We refer to this leather as a buffalo print. We started offering the lizard leather around 2003 and then it became our standard leather shortly after based on popularity." The image to the right is a visual comparison of the wrap on both cues; the M2-9A "Knight" Elite series cue (with the current lizard-embossed leather) is on the top, and the Prestige 1 cue (with the older "buffalo print" leather) is on the bottom.

I plan to have McDermott replace the leather wrap on the Prestige 1 cue with the current lizard embossed leather, as I prefer the lizard embossed style to the older buffalo print style.

 Top: McDermott M2-9A "Knight" Elite series
cue with lizard embossed leather wrap

Bottom: McDermott Prestige 1
cue with buffalo print leather wrap

Prestige 1 billiard image