Katana Dragon Cues is a color-driven, laminated-maple design sold in seven forearm colors, each as two separate cues rather than one cue with a shaft option. We carry 14 published Dragon cues, 13 in stock, priced from about $420 for the wood-and-carbon-core version up to about $520 for the full carbon-fiber version. Below the grid we cover both shaft builds, the joint and wrap spec, and what buyers and forum players say about the line before you order.
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Katana Dragon Cues is a color-driven, laminated-maple cue design sold in seven forearm colors: orange, blue, charcoal, red, black, sunburst and pink. We carry 14 published Dragon cues, 13 in stock, priced from about $420 up to about $520. Each color is sold as two separate cues rather than one cue with a shaft option: a wood-and-carbon-core version and a full carbon-fiber version, each with its own SKU, which is why the line runs to 14 separate product listings across seven colors. Like the rest of the Katana catalog, Dragon carries no independent brand history of its own, Katana itself is a house-branded line rather than an independent cuemaker, and we could not verify an introduction year for Dragon specifically from any source we trust.
Every Dragon color is sold as two distinct cues rather than one cue with a shaft choice: one built on a maple shaft with a carbon core, sold as its own product, and one built on a full carbon-fiber shaft, sold as a separate product. In our catalog that split runs even, 7 wood-shaft listings and 7 carbon-fiber listings. The wood-and-carbon-core cue pairs a European-taper maple shaft with a carbon core running through the center, aimed at a player who wants a more traditional shaft feel with some of carbon's added stiffness. The carbon-fiber cue swaps the maple for a 7-to-12-inch pro-taper carbon fiber blank with an etched Katana logo, aimed at a player chasing the lowest deflection number and the least shaft flex. On the KAT2501 color specifically, the wood-and-carbon-core cue runs about $430 and the carbon-fiber cue runs about $520, both below the manufacturer's suggested price.
Neither Dragon shaft is the same part as the 10-piece radially laminated shaft used on Katana's other KAT-series cues. The catalog spec sheet we track lists a distinct build for each: the wood version as a European-taper, carbon-core maple shaft, and the carbon version as a 7-to-12-inch pro-taper carbon fiber blank, both finished with a white ferrule rather than the 3/8-inch fiber-linen ferrule used on the standard shaft. We did not find AZBilliards discussion specific to either Dragon shaft's feel or deflection, so we are not extending the standard shaft's reputation, good or bad, to these two.
Dragon cues pair their shaft with a white ferrule rather than the fiber-linen ferrule used on Katana's standard KAT-series cues, and a black collar with a stainless steel joint insert on all 14 listings. Every Dragon cue uses a Uni-Loc joint.
Dragon cues come in seven forearm finishes: orange (as on the KAT2501), blue (KAT2502), charcoal (KAT2503), red (KAT2504), black (KAT2505), sunburst (KAT2506) and pink (KAT2507). Each finish pairs triple brass rings with a laminated, stained maple forearm and a matching butt sleeve in the same color, and all seven wear the brand's black Irish linen wrap. The brass rings serve both jobs a wrap collar normally does on a cue: they dress up the transition between the forearm and the rest of the cue, and they add a small amount of weight right where the grip starts, which is part of why the wood-shaft and carbon-fiber-shaft versions of the same color can balance a little differently in hand.
Since the wood-and-carbon-core and full carbon-fiber Dragon cues are separate products rather than one cue with a shaft option, choosing within this line comes down to two decisions: which of the seven forearm colors you want, and which of the two shaft cues you're buying in that color. A player who wants the shaft to feel like traditional maple, with a carbon core underneath for extra stiffness, should look at the wood-and-carbon-core listing; a player chasing the lowest deflection and the least flex should look at the full carbon-fiber listing instead. Both cost more than the base of Katana's standard KAT-series lineup, and both share the same forearm finish, brass rings, wrap and Uni-Loc joint in that color, so the shaft is genuinely the only functional difference between the two. Published retail copy describes the line overall as playing "as bold as it looks" while "lighthearted but deadly accurate," language that frames Dragon as a design-forward, mid-tier line rather than a tournament-grade build.
| Model | SKU | Shaft | Wrap | Weights | Price | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Wood Shaft | KAT2501 WOOD | 29" European taper, carbon core maple | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $430 | In stock |
| Orange Carbon Fiber | KAT2501 CARBON | 29" 7-12" pro taper carbon fiber | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $520 | In stock |
| Blue Wood Shaft | KAT2502 WOOD | 29" European taper, carbon core maple | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $430 | In stock |
| Blue Carbon Fiber | KAT2502 CARBON | 29" 7-12" pro taper carbon fiber | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $520 | In stock |
| Charcoal Wood Shaft | KAT2503 WOOD | 29" European taper, carbon core maple | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $430 | In stock |
| Charcoal Carbon Fiber | KAT2503 CARBON | 29" 7-12" pro taper carbon fiber | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $520 | Out of stock at the moment |
| Red Wood Shaft | KAT2504 WOOD | 29" European taper, carbon core maple | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $430 | In stock |
| Red Carbon Fiber | KAT2504 CARBON | 29" 7-12" pro taper carbon fiber | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $520 | In stock |
| Black Wood Shaft | KAT2505 WOOD | 29" European taper, carbon core maple | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $430 | In stock |
| Black Carbon Fiber | KAT2505 CARBON | 29" 7-12" pro taper carbon fiber | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $520 | In stock |
| Sunburst Wood Shaft | KAT2506 WOOD | 29" European taper, carbon core maple | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $430 | In stock |
| Sunburst Carbon Fiber | KAT2506 CARBON | 29" 7-12" pro taper carbon fiber | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $520 | In stock |
| Pink Wood Shaft | KAT2507 WOOD | 29" European taper, carbon core maple | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $430 | In stock |
| Pink Carbon Fiber | KAT2507 CARBON | 29" 7-12" pro taper carbon fiber | Black Irish linen | 1.4 lb, weight bolt | $520 | In stock |
Orange is the warmest stain in the run, a saturated amber-orange laminated into the maple forearm and butt sleeve, framed by the same triple brass rings used across the line. Set against the black collar and linen wrap, it reads as the boldest finish on the rack, the one least likely to blend in against a wall of house cues. Both KAT2501 builds in the table above carry it.
Blue takes the opposite approach: a cooler stain that lands closer to navy than sky blue once it is laminated and sealed under the same brass rings. Next to a green cloth table it sits quieter than the orange, red or pink finishes, without changing anything about the joint, wrap or shaft options listed for the KAT2502 pair.
Charcoal is the closest color here to a conventional dark cue, a near-black gray stain rather than a bright hue. It is also the only color with a gap in the table above: the carbon-fiber KAT2503 build is out of stock as of this writing, so the wood-shaft KAT2503 is currently the sole way to order this finish.
Red runs at full saturation, closer to fire-engine red than a muted burgundy, and shows the sharpest contrast against the brass rings of any finish Dragon offers. Unlike charcoal, both KAT2504 builds are in stock, so red is available in either shaft platform without the wait its charcoal counterpart currently carries.
Black is the most subdued finish in the lineup: a solid black stain that blends into the black linen wrap and collar rather than standing apart from them, leaving the brass rings as the only visual break on the forearm. From across a room it is the KAT2505 pair most likely to read as an ordinary house cue.
Sunburst is built differently from the other six. Instead of one flat stain, it graduates from a darker edge into a lighter center, the two-tone fade more associated with older, vintage cue finishes than a single solid color. That gradient is unique to the KAT2506 pair within this series.
Pink closes out the run and is the least common color in this price bracket, a solid pink stain rather than a pastel wash or a graduated tone. Like the four other in-stock finishes, it ships in both the wood-shaft and carbon-fiber KAT2507 builds shown in the table.
Every Dragon forearm and butt sleeve is laminated maple under a color stain, built up in layers rather than cut from a single blank, which is what lets these seven finishes hold an even color. Triple brass rings separate the stained sections from the rest of the cue on every color; besides the visual break, a metal ring adds a bit of weight right at the joint end, part of why cue makers use them at transitions like this.
Carbon-core maple, the wood-shaft build, is still a maple shaft in feel and hit, but a rod of carbon fiber runs through the center of the blank beneath the wood surface, stiffening it and helping it resist the taper roll and warping a plain maple shaft can develop over years of play. A full carbon fiber shaft, the other Dragon build, is carbon fiber all the way through rather than wood with a carbon addition, which is what gives it a lower deflection number and a stiffer feel under the bridge hand than either plain maple or a carbon-core maple shaft. For more on shaft and joint terms used across our catalog, see the glossary.
All 14 Dragon cues use a Uni-Loc joint and a linen wrap; there's no wrapless or leather-wrap option in this series. Shaft size splits evenly, 7 cues at 12.50mm and 7 at 12.70mm, tracking the wood-shaft and carbon-fiber-shaft split described above, with classic wood and carbon fiber each accounting for 7 of the 14 listings. Every Dragon cue also has a changeable weight bolt, so you can fine-tune balance without swapping the whole cue. Thirteen of the 14 Dragon cues are in stock as of this writing; the one gap is an inventory position, not a sign a color or shaft build has been discontinued. If you're shopping by shaft spec across the wider Katana range, our shafts category and the Uni-Loc joint page cover everything that matches.
Dragon suits a player who wants a distinct look, a specific forearm color rather than plain wood grain, along with a choice between a traditional-feeling wood-and-carbon-core cue and a full carbon-fiber cue in that same color. Retailer positioning frames it as a mid-tier, design-forward cue rather than a tournament build, which fits the $420 to $520 price band we carry it at.
Katana's cue-wide warranty applies to Dragon cues too: our own catalog data lists it as a "Limited" warranty, while a major retailer's spec table for the KAT2501 calls the same coverage a 1-year manufacturer's warranty. Neither source lists exclusions. AZBilliards members discussing Katana's cue lineup generally, not the Dragon shaft specifically, note the 1-year warranty term and the Uni-Loc joint, rather than a proprietary alternative, as their two hesitations before ordering any Katana cue, Dragon included. What we can confirm from our own catalog data: all 14 Dragon cues ship with joint protectors, none ship with a case, and every one is made in China. If you need a case, our Katana Cases line is built to go with it.
We did not find AZBilliards discussion specific to either Dragon shaft, the European-taper carbon-core maple build or the full carbon-fiber build, so we are not extending sentiment about a different shaft to this line. Katana's standard low-deflection shaft, used on the brand's other KAT-series cues rather than on Dragon, is itself split on AZBilliards: some players call it good value next to OB and Predator, others rate it among the weaker low-deflection shafts they've tried, with a common tip to swap the factory tip regardless of which side of that debate you land on. None of that discussion names the Dragon line.
See the full Katana Pool Cues category for the standard KAT-series cues alongside Dragon, or browse every pool cue we carry.
They're two separate cues in the same color, not one cue with a shaft option. The wood-shaft cue pairs a European-taper maple shaft with a carbon core; the carbon-fiber cue runs a full pro-taper carbon blank. On the KAT2501 color, they're about $430 and $520.
Seven forearm colors: orange, blue, charcoal, red, black, sunburst and pink, each with triple brass rings and a matching butt sleeve.
No, none of the 14 Dragon cues in our catalog ship with a case. Each comes with joint protectors and a changeable weight bolt instead.
Yes, all 14 Dragon cues in our catalog have a changeable weight bolt.
Retailer positioning frames it as a bold, design-forward mid-tier cue rather than a tournament-grade build.
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