Butts

Snooker cue butts are the most expensive and most personal part of a cue — the butt is where the splice sits: ebony or rosewood wedges glued into ash. On factory cues the splice is often printed; on handmade ones it is real, cut and glued, and that is mostly what the price difference buys.

You buy a butt on its own when you have a good shaft and the old butt cracked, or you want to move to a heavier one. Check the weight (a butt is usually 11–13 oz out of 17–19 oz total), the joint type — 3/4 and 1/2 are not interchangeable — and whether there is a socket for an extension. To complete the cue pick a shaft and an extension; ready cues are in snooker cues. BidBil lists Peradon, BCE, Riley and butts from Polish makers.