break cue question: new Gulyassy tip/ferrule

If you are looking for a break jump cue that is the best I can personally build you one in a matter of weeks. I make the best break jump cue on the planet and will put mine up against all. I will make one for you with the size handle, the weight and the shaft taper you think is best for you. I will also talk to you about what would satisfy your breaking and jumping needs before the cue is built. I can only make about 5 or 10 break jump cues a month and this is why I use manufacturers for my cue. You very rarely see a cue I made personally for resale. I will stand behind my cues for the rest of my life but because of abuse I do not offer a lifetime warranty but I have never turned anyone down for problems with my cues. My number is 864-458-7662. I am here for you.
Mike
 
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned McDermott in this thread. They own the rights to the Sledgehammer Cue, the one that started this whole phenolic tip/ferrule combo. They won the rights from Mike, and I'd be surprised if they don't start pulling rank on the guys like J&J, Fury, Gulyassy, etc. who still use the one piece phenolic tip/ferrule combo. The new Sledges break better than the old asian manufactured models, and I was very impressed when I hit with one of the new models. Personally, I use a standard McDermott to break with (I like leather, never liked the feel of the phenolic tip, and the cueball bounced around too much for my liking), but when it comes to the one piece tip thing, I think the Sledgehammer is worth a look, too.
 
I still own the patent on the ferrule/tip and no one can pull rank on me. I sold McDermott the Sledgehammer name only and I receive a royalty for every cue they sell with my invention. I also sold a license to Nick Varner for his use of my invention. For your information as far as pulling rank you should know that my patent attorney quoted me a price of $1,000.000.00 for a court battle with one of these bigger companies. My future is unclear at this point with my patented ferrule/tip, but for 17 more years I have the US patent on the ferrule/tip.
 
gulyassy said:
I still own the patent on the ferrule/tip and no one can pull rank on me. I sold McDermott the Sledgehammer name only and I receive a royalty for every cue they sell with my invention. I also sold a license to Nick Varner for his use of my invention. For your information as far as pulling rank you should know that my patent attorney quoted me a price of $1,000.000.00 for a court battle with one of these bigger companies. My future is unclear at this point with my patented ferrule/tip, but for 17 more years I have the US patent on the ferrule/tip.
I install a one piece water buffalo horn ferrule on people's cues to avoid such an issue. No one can come back after me because of patent infringement.

Sorry for the confusion, Mike. My understanding was that McD had the legal rights to the Sledgehammer name, as well as the patent that went along with it. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
 
gulyassy said:
If you are looking for a break jump cue that is the best I can personally build you one in a matter of weeks. I make the best break jump cue on the planet and will put mine up against all. I will make one for you with the size handle, the weight and the shaft taper you think is best for you. I will also talk to you about what would satisfy your breaking and jumping needs before the cue is built. I can only make about 5 or 10 break jump cues a month and this is why I use manufacturers for my cue. You very rarely see a cue I made personally for resale. I will stand behind my cues for the rest of my life but because of abuse I do not offer a lifetime warranty but I have never turned anyone down for problems with my cues. My number is 864-458-7662. I am here for you.
Mike

I wholeheartedly agree with this approach if you have the time, patience and money. Mike plays world class and is a first class cuemaker. I would also suggest Steve Lomax and even Kevin Varney for the personal touch.

Like I said earlier - best is a loose term that is mighty subjective. Especially when it comes to the break. Jumping is something that is much easier to compare and test but even that varies from person to person and from skill level to skill level.

The two jump break cues that I have been personally involved with are the Bunjee JB which I designed and modeled after Joe Piccone's, and the Fury which was designed by Kaz Miki of Mezz Cues. Both of these cues perform very well as breakers and excellent as jumpers. I say very well because I feel that the break is very subjective and that there are a lot more factors to a good break than the cue. Jumping, again, is far more objective, and I have yet to find a cue that honestly does a better job than the Bunjee and the Fury. The same job certainly, but better overall, no. Of course that is my opinion but it's based on several tons of experience with just about every jump cue made.

So, yes, I definitely recommend the custom route for the personal care and attention that a small operation can give you. If you are looking for pure performance then it's worth it to do some comparisons of your own if possible to find the best value for the money.

I have a personalized Steve Lomax Bunjee Blaster and I love it. I don't use it because I work for Fury but if I didn't work for Fury then I would use that one because I love the look of it and the idea that Steve made it for me.

I stand behind Mike 100% though. He is definitely one of the good guys in this biz and anyone buying a cue from him will get their money's worth plus some! And if you get to play him some you'll become a better player as well when you learn to suffocate your opponents like he does. Mike has a soft touch with the cueball that you don't see too often these days.
 
Irish634 said:
Asian made products may have decent or good quality, but why not keep the money in the USA and support an American trying to make a living?

Well, that's a whole 'nother topic to debate, the economics of the whole thing. Let's just say that the ball is round and the money does flow all the way around it.
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
I install a one piece water buffalo horn ferrule on people's cues to avoid such an issue. No one can come back after me because of patent infringement.

Sorry for the confusion, Mike. My understanding was that McD had the legal rights to the Sledgehammer name, as well as the patent that went along with it. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Most patents are not attached to brand names. The patents that cover Predator's shaft components don't mention Predator anywhere and likewise Mike's patent does not mention any brand of cue.

And while patents are definitely something that cost more to defend than to get you should know that in some situations you could be infringing if you use a different material to achieve the same goal. But that is way out of my depth as an armchair lawyer.

My boss has much more knowledge of patents and patent fights having been on the winning side of several such disputes.
 
One last thing - it's really freaking hard to buy a "bad" break jump cue these days - because of the tremendous amount of competition and innovation in this area there are almost no bad ones out there. Where they all rank in terms of performance is certainly a hot topic for debate but I think most of us would agree that almost all of the JB/BJ cues on the market are jam up for the tasks they are designed for.
 
catscradle said:
... Personally, I don't care if the Chinese make as good a product for less money. I'll do my little bit to float our economy. We can't keep on importing forever without going bankrupt. There is enough we have to import, we should avoid it where we can.

Irish634 said:
Asian made products may have decent or good quality, but why not keep the money in the USA and support an American trying to make a living?

Yeah, what John Barton said about the money revolving around the ball. Sorry, cat and Irish, but to me, as a retiree living on a fixed income, your ideas just flat DO NOT make good economic sense. The same would apply to the outlook of a young and low-wage earner, who is also interested in learning pool, and using EFFECTIVE equipment, but unfortunately CANNOT AFFORD the American manufacturers' pricing. Several other similar and cogent examples could also (but, for brevity, will not) be presented here.

This "Buy Only American" humdrum is not only BS, but POMPOUS, SELF-AGGRANDIZING BS!!! You're lucky you're in a position to "throw away" those EXTRA dollars so many other AMERICANs would otherwise cherish just to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. Hopefully, you also donate some of this overflow to worthwhile charities.

Anyway, 10-20 years from now, this whole problem will solve itself, when all of the overseas equipment will be technologically equal to USA's, and their own pricing, in tandem with the historically ever-falling dollar currency exchange rates, will have them all priced out of the US economy -- and THEN, it WILL be cheaper and PREFERABLE (quality-wise) to "Buy American."

Yes, the early warnings were Germany in the 1970's, Japan in the 1980's, South Korea in the 1990's. But now, here come Red China and India -- you will NOT BELIEVE what's going to happen to the world economy in the next 15 years!

I'm being neither anti-American nor anti-business, here. You just have to face the FACTS. Where I can, I ALSO support American cuemakers FIRST -- there's just a point where this becomes downright foolish.

Everything I own that's pool-related, at this point in time, is manufactured in the USA, except the Aramith SuperPros I use on my home pooltable. However, EVERYTHING I bought has been at near fire-sale prices -- some very interesting opportunites have presented themselves to me over the course of over 50 years of playing pool.

Right now, American technology leads the pool equipment manufacturing field in just a couple of extremely minor areas. None of these areas make any difference in the ACTUAL PLAYABILITY and QUALITY OF CONSTRUCTION of the current first-rate foreign products. The Japanese and Filipinos have now matched us in almost all areas of pool technology and, shortly, they, along with the UK, Germans, French, Italians, Russians, Taiwanese and Red Chinese will all be on the forefront, with the USA struggling MIGHTILY to maintain its own spot.

These first-rate foreign products are now warp-free, buzz-free, highly damage resistent and now will last for a lifetime, just like the best of the American cues. Additionally, many of them now come with product guarantees and warranties.

I am a Patriotic American and, like cat and Irish, hate to see things going this way, but you HAVE TO FACE THE FACTS OF THE CHANGING ECONOMIES OF SCALE!!! If you really feel you have to do something about this, just remember that the "Buy American" hail and tenor is not necessarily THE thing to do -- with China's and India's growth in the next 10-20 years, these economies of scale are going to tip over the other way of their own accord and

!!! PRESTO!!!

the USA's nasty "current account deficit" problem will SOLVE ITSELF:D :D :D

So, in the meantime, Buy WHATEVER Makes Sense To You -- don't listen to the screaming Mimis (or, is that "me-me's"?).
 
mailman said:
Yeah, what John Barton said about the money revolving around the ball. Sorry, cat and Irish, but to me, as a retiree living on a fixed income, your ideas just flat DO NOT make good economic sense...

Long story short. Yes the money flows around to some extent, but in the end the name of the game is manafacturing. The country doing the manafacturing has a positive cash flow and the country doing the consuming has a negative cash flow. At one time we had the greatest positive cash flow in history and we are still living off that money; ultimately that reservoir of cash will dry up or at least be severely depleted. Right now we are like a the grandson of a guy who busted his ass and made a lot of money, we're still living off that money and it can't last forever. You're retired, I'm almost retired, we won't live to see the true impact of the vast majority of manafacturing flowing off-shore, but just look at the jobs available for working class 20 somethings now vs. what was available 30-40 years ago; it is a hint of what is to come.

It is not about American egocentrism, it is about long term viability of the country and our kid's futures.
 
PoolSponge said:
Since I have no vested interest in the sales of any cue by any cue maker but I have played a few of the questioned cues I will voice my opinion.

For about 5 years I played a Predator BK and then had a shaft referruled with a phenolic tip/ferrule. It hit great. Much better, IMHO, than a BK2.

About 3 months ago I switched to a Gulyassy JB. Love it. I can control the cue ball very well, perhaps not as well as the Predator, and it seems to hit a bit harder and as a result I am pocketing more balls easier.

Shortly after acquiring the Gulyassy I had the chance to try out a Varney JB. By far the best break cue I have ever tried. I hits "a ton" as many would say and you get effortless spreads. The tip/ferrule is truly unique as it is excellent for jumping and breaking without sacrificing anything for either.

I have tried an older X-Breaker. It jumps unbelieveably but I wasn't fond of the thicker taper and found, by comparison, that the hit was a little dead. I couldn't argue the results, it did break well, but the feeling was not one I could get used to.

Lightning Bolt. I am not sure why someone would buy one, but I have seen some players that use them that really like them. If you have a speed break not relying on power you may like this cue. It jumps very well as that even as a whole cue it weighs nearly nothing. Not my cup of tea.

J&J JB. Without question, IMHO, the best "bang for the buck" cue I have tried. It delivers a powerful break and jumps well. I did notice that the shaft had a little more "give" than I would have liked, hence I was losing the CB more than with the other "higher end" breakers. But in the end, for anyone who is looking to improve their break and spend under $100 this is, again in my opinion, the cue for you.

Aska makes a decent JB as well. It has a short tip/ferrule combo and is relatively well balanced. It wouldn't be in my top 5 but it deserves a comment as it did perform higher than I expected from what I feel is a little known company.

Cuetec JB. Another of the good bang for the buck cues. I had one for several years before going to a Falcon JB. Cuetec is great as that it is maintenance free and will stay straight and hit relatively the same for years to come.

Falcon JB. My second break cue was a Falcon JB. As for a jumper it didn't stack up evenly with the others noted above, but I found it was decent to break with. For someone who doesn't want a phenolic tip/ferrule this is a good cue.

And that concludes my list of cues I have tried. In order of my preference I would select in the following order:

1) Varney
2) Gulyassy
3) Predator
4) X-Breaker
5) J&J

I have a J&J J/B. It's decent for the money, like you said. The ferrule and shaft leave something to be desired but again, it's good for the money. I paired mine up with an Adams shaft with an old Moori hard tip and I have no complaints about the setup. The pin(on mine) is a 5 16/18 and a quick release for the forearm so you can easily find better shafts to pair with the cue(I've seen others that have duo quick release joints). Not bad if you're on a budget like I was when I bought the cue.
 
PoolSponge said:
You might feel speed equalls power, but I will then ask you this. Which hurts more, getting hit by a bicycle doing 40mph or a truck doing 35mph?

I understand the analogy, and it certainly makes sense. The problem is, the mass of a truck compared to the mass of a bike is a GIANT difference. This would be like saying "is it better to break at 25 mph with an 18 oz cue or 20 mph with a 150 oz cue." The small difference in mass between cues (maybe a little more with the Lightning Bolt) I do not think is enough to offset the difference in speed. Keep in mind that the mass difference is also based on the mass of your arm. This means that the difference of (arm + 18 oz cue) vs. (arm + 12 oz cue) is very minimal.

Just my $0.02
Kerry
 
KMRUNOUT said:
I understand the analogy, and it certainly makes sense. The problem is, the mass of a truck compared to the mass of a bike is a GIANT difference. This would be like saying "is it better to break at 25 mph with an 18 oz cue or 20 mph with a 150 oz cue." The small difference in mass between cues (maybe a little more with the Lightning Bolt) I do not think is enough to offset the difference in speed. Keep in mind that the mass difference is also based on the mass of your arm. This means that the difference of (arm + 18 oz cue) vs. (arm + 12 oz cue) is very minimal.

Just my $0.02
Kerry
Don't forget that the mass of the cueball does slow down the cue a little. A heavier cue drives through the white ball easier due to its increased mass. So, even though 12 oz versus 18-19 oz doesn't seem like much, the heavier cue is influenced less by the mass of the cueball being struck by the cue.
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
Don't forget that the mass of the cueball does slow down the cue a little. A heavier cue drives through the white ball easier due to its increased mass. So, even though 12 oz versus 18-19 oz doesn't seem like much, the heavier cue is influenced less by the mass of the cueball being struck by the cue.

Every opinion I've read from a physicist says that once the mass of the cue equals or exceeds the mass of the cueball, it becomes moot. That is, in terms of transferring energy, we need nothing over a 6.25 oz (I think that is the weight of a cueball) cue for maximum transfer. That doesn't seem intuitively obvious to me either, but that is what the physicists say.
I think more weight helps with accuracy of cue delivery, but that is a separate issue from energy transfer.
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
Don't forget that the mass of the cueball does slow down the cue a little. A heavier cue drives through the white ball easier due to its increased mass. So, even though 12 oz versus 18-19 oz doesn't seem like much, the heavier cue is influenced less by the mass of the cueball being struck by the cue.

I think I was saying the same thing. If you move a cue weighing 20 oz into the cue ball at the same speed as a cue weighing 18 oz., I think there is little argument that the 20 oz cue produces the harder hit. However the difference is extremely minimal, and I do not think that it is directly related to the difference between the 2 cues. I am saying that because your arm and hand factor into the mass equation, I believe that a change of 1, 2, even 8 oz. is a very small percentage difference comapared to the overall mass of your arm + the cue. Also, the fact of the matter is that you CAN'T move the heavier cue as fast as the lighter one. However, what you might be able to do is move the heavier cue ACCURATELY at a speed that is faster at contact than the lighter one. I have little doubt that I can swing that Lightning Bolt cue at a rediculous speed. Problem is, who knows where the tip will be if I try to do that.

I agree with Catscradle in that there seems to be a benefit to a slightly heavier cue at least with respect to accuracy. Moving your hand off course in your delivery is certainly going to result in LESS movement of a heavier cue. What I mean to say is that you have to screw up with more effort in order to push a heavier cue off line. That is why I could never use the Lightning Bolt, because it is so light I simply can reliably make it go super straight. Maybe if I had a straighter stroke...

KMRUNOUT
 
I saw Mike Gulyassy's phone # on this thread, and liked what he said in his post. I called him up, and he answered right away. He talked to me a bit about cues and shafts. Nice guy. I just wanted to say that so far he seems like a good guy to deal with. I will be purchasing a break cue shaft from him as soon as my budget allows!!

Thanks Mike,

Kerry
 
KMRUNOUT said:
I think I was saying the same thing. If you move a cue weighing 20 oz into the cue ball at the same speed as a cue weighing 18 oz., I think there is little argument that the 20 oz cue produces the harder hit. However the difference is extremely minimal, and I do not think that it is directly related to the difference between the 2 cues. I am saying that because your arm and hand factor into the mass equation, I believe that a change of 1, 2, even 8 oz. is a very small percentage difference comapared to the overall mass of your arm + the cue. Also, the fact of the matter is that you CAN'T move the heavier cue as fast as the lighter one. However, what you might be able to do is move the heavier cue ACCURATELY at a speed that is faster at contact than the lighter one. I have little doubt that I can swing that Lightning Bolt cue at a rediculous speed. Problem is, who knows where the tip will be if I try to do that.

I agree with Catscradle in that there seems to be a benefit to a slightly heavier cue at least with respect to accuracy. Moving your hand off course in your delivery is certainly going to result in LESS movement of a heavier cue. What I mean to say is that you have to screw up with more effort in order to push a heavier cue off line. That is why I could never use the Lightning Bolt, because it is so light I simply can reliably make it go super straight. Maybe if I had a straighter stroke...

KMRUNOUT
I agree wholeheartedly. I use a 19.5 ounce breaker - same weight as my player. It's that muscle memory thing.
 
KMRUNOUT said:
I saw Mike Gulyassy's phone # on this thread, and liked what he said in his post. I called him up, and he answered right away. He talked to me a bit about cues and shafts. Nice guy. I just wanted to say that so far he seems like a good guy to deal with. I will be purchasing a break cue shaft from him as soon as my budget allows!!

Thanks Mike,

Kerry

Oh-oh, another break cue. :)
 
Back
Top