Richard Chudy (RC3)
West Palm Design
in Ebony and Ivory
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This design was created by Richard for the West Palm Beach ICCS a number of years ago, and he names them the "West Palm Cues." He has since made several along the same lines, but to my knowledge, none exactly like it. As far as I know it is a "one of one."
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This is one classy cue. It is typical of Chudy's work - sheer class and elegance. Simple, but complex. It is a basic ebony, silver and ivory cue. On the other hand, it is inlaid with intricate patterns of ivory and silver, creating an overlay look, and engraved as only a master engraver like Richard can do.
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Richard made three "West Palm" design cues for the International Cue Collector Show that was held in West Palm Beach in 2005. He brought three of them to the show. All were quickly sold. One was in maple, one in rosewood (if my memory is correct), and the one shown here in ebony. I always thought this one was the pick of the litter and originally sold for the highest price.
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I hope these pictures do a good job of showing the true beauty of this stunning cue. The inlay patterns are unique and hard to describe in words.
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Richard is known for his meticulous work and solid construction of high quality cues. He never made a lot of cues - maybe 30 a year or so at the height of his career - and in recent years has made very few. They are all very good playing cues as well. (I have always thought his cues played a lot like Jerry McWorter's sticks, and that's saying a lot.)
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He builds it with long ebony points against an ebony background, and separates them with ivory veneer. Then he engraves a fairly complicated pattern at the base of each point highlighted in white. Richard is known for the high quality of the engraving in his sticks.
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| The long ivory veneers on the points sweep out at the end to form a cradle on which a small ivory diamond rests. This if very reminiscent of a pattern Jerry McWorter often uses - not surprising since Jerry and Richard worked closely together at the time and shared a lot of ideas. They are two of the more artistic cue makers in the industry and I always believed there were a lot of similarity in their cues at the time this cue was made.
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Looking at this cue today, I think it is very legitimate to say Richard was well ahead of his time when he made this one. These silver and ebony overlays are exquisitely done and it is the kind of work you see only in the finest cues.
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One other small similarity between Richard's cues and McWorter and Ginacue is the embossed line in the leather at the top and bottom of his wrap. They are the only three cue makers that have consistently done that on their cues throughout the years.
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The closer you look at this cue, the more you realize how good the work is.
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He uses a simple ring pattern, which is smart because they don't distract from the elegance of the overall cue. It's made from a series of simple silver squares going around the cue at all traditional locations.
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Another close-up view of the fine inlay work and outstanding engraving.
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He wraps the handle with a nicely textured black leather that looks great and is expertly applied.
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Although it is difficult to determine, I believe one of the shafts has seen light play. It's really difficult to discern but under a class I think I see signs of use. What makes me think so most is that the tip on one shaft has been replaced and is not original to the cue. Nice tip, though - an old Moori, I think. Still, the shafts are in excellent condition.
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Among the great features of this outstanding cue are the G-10 pin, built with a solid ivory flat-faced joint. It comes with custom made RC3 joint protectors of ivory, ebony and matching silver rings, with the engraved RC3 logo. On the end of the pin is an inlaid ivory wafer with the cue's serial number and logo almost microscopically engraved.
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| It comes with custom joint caps, and the butt cap is made from ebony and ivory, engraved with the RC3 logo.
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Richard finished this stick with aivory butt cap, and it comes with two 13mm shafts. As mentioned earlier, one of appears to be unplayed, but the other has been very lightly used. You have to look closely to see it. The butt is in excellent condition for a cue of this age and appears as if new. Overall, the stick is in excellent condition. It weighs 19.6 ounces.
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This is a great deal on a super high-end cue by a top cuemaker whose cues have become very difficult to obtain, and of course, because of when it was made, all white in the cue is ivory. It is a one-of-a-kind, and extremely collectible.
PRICE: $10,750 PLUS SHIPPING
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