Jump/Break Cue, with or without Wrap?
- Thread starter JFCastle
- Start date
I'm no wrap all the time, on all of my cues. Linen usually feels to slick, and although leather is nice, I usually find myself with my hand partially off the wrap. No matter what my grip position is, no wrap is consistent all the time. I've also never had my hand slip on a no wrap.
Trying to find a break cue that is close in feel to your shooting cue is a good idea, even though you don’t break nearly as much it’s one of the most important shots in the game and a cue that feels the same on every shot is ideal.
Wrap all the way to the buttcap, first time I tried one I’ll never go back to another cue.
Wrap all the way to the buttcap, first time I tried one I’ll never go back to another cue.
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Interesting advice about making the break cue feel like the playing cue. My playing cues are all linen wraps. I've only ever had a non wrap break cue. I'll try breaking with a low end cue with wrap to see how it feels.
I have had all 3. Leather wrapped Samsara. No wrap Gilbert. And now my linen wrapped Mezz. I liked all 3.
I think, for me, it was being consistent in stance, grip and movements. The break is the only shot you have where you can basically do it exactly the same every single time. I paid more attention to my fundamentals than the wrap.
I do agree to some extent on matching your playing cue. You will be less likely to think about it being different. For some people that is a really big deal, for others, not so much.
I think, for me, it was being consistent in stance, grip and movements. The break is the only shot you have where you can basically do it exactly the same every single time. I paid more attention to my fundamentals than the wrap.
I do agree to some extent on matching your playing cue. You will be less likely to think about it being different. For some people that is a really big deal, for others, not so much.
NO WRAP!
The reason I say this is defined as the ability to carry the load. When you hit a ball, the energy transfers from the tip down the shaft, thru the joint and down the cue butt. (On a side note, this is why it's so important to have straight grain, energy travels along the grain, if the grain runs off, so will part of the energy.)
As it travels down the cue with a wrap, it will lose any and all energy in the amount equivalent to the thickness of the wrap. Leather or Linen has no ability to carry the load needed in this situation.
It's a small loss but in a game where the small things matter, everything is important, not everyone can be Efren and win Worlds with a $20 cue.
If you want to get technical, take the mass of the cue without a wrap, then cut a wrap channel and re-weigh it.
Now take the Mass and multiply by the speed of light, square the result, do this for the cue once without the channel and once with the channel. Don't weight the wrap, it's a non structural item.
When your mathematical equations are done, let us know the results,,,,,,,,,many already know the result by playing with similar cues we made, one with a wrap, one without and all things similar.
Thanks for the great question.
You want to have a break/jump cue with a good grip on it, linen is pretty slippery. No wrap or rubber wrap would be best there.
@CuesDirectly - thanks for sharing that, I never would have thought about it that way.
Purely personal preference, but I've never liked the feel of a wrapless cue. I've had wrapless, leather, and rubberized (sport) grip break cues. My current break cue has a leather wrap. From a wrap perspective, I liked the feel of the sport grip the best. In fact, I liked it so much that my playing cue now has a sport wrap.
Purely personal preference, but I've never liked the feel of a wrapless cue. I've had wrapless, leather, and rubberized (sport) grip break cues. My current break cue has a leather wrap. From a wrap perspective, I liked the feel of the sport grip the best. In fact, I liked it so much that my playing cue now has a sport wrap.
Hi David, you lost me somewhere around the speed of light thing lol. I do understand what you are getting at though. Seems like wrapless is the way to go scientifically. There are those that play by feel and superstition though too.
Didn't the old timers just use their playing cue for breaks most of the time? I would say that perhaps it was doable back then because the breaks weren't as violent and powerful it seems. I liken it to the game of tennis. If you watch a tennis game from 40 years ago the serves look like slow motion compared to a serve nowadays.
Maybe I'm wrong about the old timers although I would venture to say that the game 40 years ago was majority 14-1 in which the break shot is actually to the person that lost the lag.
The only thing I can see where you add in the speed of light calculation is when you are measuring how much energy mass has and vice versa. You probably know E-MC square. So you take the mass of the cue, along with that light speed calculation you get the energy the cue holds. Which is OK if you are trying to blow up a city, but not sure how well this would translate to break power LOL.
All we need now is some Predator marketing guy to start measuring their shafts and cues in "Megaton Power!!! BAM!!!" "REVO 2, now with 30 megaton warhead tips and 23% more aiming thingies!!"
Really the force in the break is mass of the cue along with how fast you swing it along with how well you hit the cueball solid and how well you hit the rack solid to get the most force. Then add in the various cut breaks, adjusting speed and angle of the break, and really no single thing will make the break better since you can adjust 6 other things along with that one thing. Change tip? OK, now what? You still need to aim properly and hit the ball based on the table and rack. Change cue? How about your accuracy on hitting the right spot and speed at which you swing? Still a bunch of other variables.
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