A Guide to the Best of Southern California : HANDMADE : On the Stick

He has a reputation around the world for making some of the very best pool cues a hustler can buy. Working in an unmarked North Hollywood workshop, 66-year-old Bert Schrager, along with an apprentice, designs, sculpts and polishes about 100 one-of-a-kind cues a year.

A basic model, with a bird’s-eye maple handle and Canadian maple shaft, goes for $450 and includes a replacement shaft. Those cut from kiln-dried blocks of purple heart, coco bola and other exotic woods run about $600. Select a few extras, such as a handle with intricate inlays of 14-karat gold, silver, pearl, turquoise or abalone, and the price may shoot up to $12,000.

But enough about looks. Schrager cues perform, in the hands of amateurs and professionals--including a former world champion--because they are custom-built, varying in size, weight and balance to suit the player. And because Schrager, who peddled 25-cent cue tips bar to bar during his lean early years as a cue maker, won’t put his name on anything that isn’t perfect. And collectors know it; one recently paid $38,000 for a secondhand Schrager.

Still, the master craftsman finds rewards in lesser accomplishments. Schrager will repair or refinish ($100) other models, and he still makes tips ($8).

Bert Schrager, by appointment only; (818) 764-0187.