Amazing. If I had done that to one of my shafts, I would have thrown it in the trash--not realizing it could be repaired. I have followed your threads about cue repairs, and your skills are remarkable.
How Important Is it to Own/Use a Break Cue
- Thread starter Constantine
- Start date
8intheside
Well-known member
to each their own. I don’t think it makes a major difference., as I don’t think it makes a major difference in getting an expensive named brand playing cue. I’ve seen players completely smash the break and Runout with a cue off the wall.
of course that's doable but if you're playing tournament pool do you want to fk up a really good playing tip? Probably not. There are really good j/b cues avail for under 150bux. No need to blow big coin on one.
MTfish
Registered
I like using a cheap break-jump for convenience. Do any pool rooms now still have Dufferin house cues? Those seemed to both play and break better than the Valley ones I see everywhere now. I was real comfortable breaking with those, especially at my "home" room where I knew where my favorite was stashed.
sudocrushms
Well-known member
This is one of the reasons I switched from the BK shaft to a 12.9 to break with. It's still got a Kamui SAI on it, but i rarely hammer my breaks and even then i can't hit it as hard as many people can (Kaci
). I usually find myself dialing back the power to avoid clusters or balls getting hit before they get to their pocket. Also means I have a 30" break shaft so it's the same as my playing cues.
billiards_watch
Well-known member
I don't believe in break cues but I finally bought one because I found a guy that likes to play 8ball. Since I bought one then it had to be something different so I got a phenolic tip.
With the template racks for 9ball, you don't really need a break cue. Depending how people rack 9ball you can still break either way.
If you're going to buy one then go with a phenolic. It has to be something different and not just another cue with a hard tip.
With the template racks for 9ball, you don't really need a break cue. Depending how people rack 9ball you can still break either way.
If you're going to buy one then go with a phenolic. It has to be something different and not just another cue with a hard tip.
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The Old Jaybird
Well-known member
I have 2 break cues, one on each end of the rainbow.
A 25 ounce Orlandi sneaky pete style, about 57 inches long, thick shaft with a hard tip.
An 18 ounce off brand "carbon fiber" cue, in need of a new tip. Cost me like $80, 25 years ago.
To the OP, just buy a solid cheap cue in the weight you like and use it.
A 25 ounce Orlandi sneaky pete style, about 57 inches long, thick shaft with a hard tip.
An 18 ounce off brand "carbon fiber" cue, in need of a new tip. Cost me like $80, 25 years ago.
To the OP, just buy a solid cheap cue in the weight you like and use it.
For those that use a house cue:: how do you know how hard the tip is ???
Me, the break shaft has an XX hard (but still pig leather) tip.
Me, the break shaft has an XX hard (but still pig leather) tip.
djoverboard
Registered
Recently bought a break/jump with a phenolic tip/ferrule. After shooting with a few i couldn't deny the difference when hitting with the phenolic. Absolutely necessary? No, but I'm glad I bought it.
SSDiver2112
Escott Cues
Thank you. The guy was from out of town. He had taken it to someone and they told him it was unrepairable. He held onto it because it was such an expensive shaft and had hopes that maybe it could be repaired someday.
As to the break cue question. Using a house cue works and I’ve done it many times but playing tournaments or league or just in general. It’s nice to have cue that you know exactly how it will respond when you’re breaking every time.
billiards_watch
Well-known member
With your fingers. LOL
It's not hard to jab your finger nail into the tip and know if its hard or soft.
I have the benefit of insights of Cole Dixon regarding the break. He used his shooter. PERIOD Wanted the most precision possible. That was his Joss East with stainless joint ivory ferrule with a waterbuffalo tip. Precision over power. When the San Francisco break and run pot got huge....Cole got a call and a sponsor gave him the ticket.
I have Radar that goes with my Break-Rak, I have yet to see a cue that actually hits the ball faster (I have never tested a soft tip on one of my cues to see if it slows the break speed). I have 2 break cues, one with wood, one with carbon fiber and have tried phenolic, Bulletproof, and hard tips and none seem to make a difference. At home on my 9' table I generally use a break cue, at tournament or league which are on bar boxes I use my playing cue with an LD shaft and a medium tip. I asked McDermott if I would damage my LD shaft by breaking with it, its the same same shaft they put on their break cues.
In the 60’s you broke with your cue and the were no jump cues, gloves or expensive chalk. We had one cue. We survived.
No- I really don't over think everything that much. I could break with almost anything on any table set up - but- if just happen to be in the mood to fine tune a break cue to a game/ match- those would be my choices. I like to experiment with cues/ to understand how cues affect play/ just as a hobby- not like I actually follow any of this stuff as a religion.,
I observe different reactions from different cues and from all that experience/observation- I do have in my mind what I think may work best for me- not meant to apply to anyone else's game/preferences.
Thanks for the free psychoanalysis though - I 'll save some money and cancel my psych doctor's appointment this week
I think along the lines of ....uh picking up the vibe of the cue. Cole being my cue expert spoke along that vein. He was traveling with 5 or 6 shafts and 2 butts. The one butt broken at the joint. It was repaired and solid.
I purchased, along with A shaft was the subject of a conversation 6 months later. His statement was, " I wouldn't be able to play with that cue Now. weight
Length
Balance
Shaft flex
Ferrule flex
Tip flex or compression
Hard tip, hard Ferrule and flexible shaft would be his 9 ball cue. For straight pool a stiffer shaft with same Ferrule and tip. 19 and 3/4 ounces and 59 and 3/4 inches is where it resides now. Waterbuffalo is up to the break and with my power or lack thereof it doesn't mushroom.
The care and feeding or uh feeling of My Cue is a religious thing. I will never leave it leaning in a tavern.
depends on the player.
if you are a runout player your break is most important.
if an average guy who hardly ever breaks and runs out he should not need a special cue but should find a strategic break that gives him the best advantage after the break.
but players like baseball, swing for a home run every time when they should be looking for a hole in left field to hit it in.
if you are a runout player your break is most important.
if an average guy who hardly ever breaks and runs out he should not need a special cue but should find a strategic break that gives him the best advantage after the break.
but players like baseball, swing for a home run every time when they should be looking for a hole in left field to hit it in.
I think it all comes down to why players own their own cues in the first place, as the top 4 items I feel a player owns their own cue is:
- tip they want
- shaft taper and shaft material they want (maple, LD, CF, etc.)
- weight and balance point they want
- butt with the finish they want, smooth (wood or CF) vs wrapped
billiards_watch
Well-known member
No need for a break cue with CF playing shafts. That was the selling point of CF shafts and that is you can break with it. I know many people would buy a carbon "break cue" just for the shaft alone. Around my area break butts are sold without shafts.
A tip costs around $50 to replace and tip included. A break cue is anywhere from $500 to $2000. These tips won't get damaged if you break with your carbon fiber shooting shafts. If they do then replace it.
Everyone gets hustled by the industry. Its very similar to the golf industry. There will be new models every year and break cues sells better than shooting cues. Your shooter is your putter but you're always going to get the new driver (break cue). Break cues are marketed towards the avid players. We already have our shooters and they're pretty expensive. Break cues suppose to be slightly "cheaper" so we are more incline to buy them.
Don't give in.
A tip costs around $50 to replace and tip included. A break cue is anywhere from $500 to $2000. These tips won't get damaged if you break with your carbon fiber shooting shafts. If they do then replace it.
Everyone gets hustled by the industry. Its very similar to the golf industry. There will be new models every year and break cues sells better than shooting cues. Your shooter is your putter but you're always going to get the new driver (break cue). Break cues are marketed towards the avid players. We already have our shooters and they're pretty expensive. Break cues suppose to be slightly "cheaper" so we are more incline to buy them.
Don't give in.
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Slow pitch softball is my wheelhouse. I coached and taught base hits can't be stopped. A home run that was a line drive that escaped was okay. A home run swing would get the hitter benched. Well placed line drives for a single was almost unstoppable.