For whatever reason as of late I've been picking up new break cues like crazy. This discussion will not touch on the "jump" portion of these break cues because it warrants a completely different focused discussion.
For the last two years I had been using a sledgehammer and if I played in a bar I was sporting a j&J with a phenolic tip that worked quite well in all honesty. I felt like something was lacking though and that perhaps a better cue would help out my break (which wasn't bad).
So I started thinking...what are the metrics that define a break cue and would clearly play a factor in how well it breaks. If anyone else here has additional metrics they would like to add please post them.
1. Shaft diameter - Most break cues have a large shaft diameter that is somewhere around 14mm. I find this may be a problem with some of th ebreak cues i've used.
2. Does it have a jump joint (quick release). This definitely affects the hit and might even effect the breaking ability of the cue.
3. Shaft taper - Most break cues ahve a thick taper like a billiarsd cue. I belive this trend might be part of the problem.
4. Ferrule type - combined tip/ferrule combo, composite, brass ferrule, G10?
5. Joint type - Too many to list. I must note that I'm finding cues with the wood screw, similar to what a billiarsd cue has that is used on the hammerhead j/b cue is pretty phenomenal. It seems to "connect" harder than any other cue and for whatever reason makes a very satisfying sound when I break. Iv'e not seen a lot of steel piloted joints used in break cues. They seem to not hit quite as hard.
6. Wrap or no wrap....arguably this could matter. Most break cues I see lack a wrap.
7. Shaft wood - Most break cues are using a stiff maple. Some people tend to switch it up by using ebony and purple heart or ash. Purple heart definitely seems to really "slam the balls" and makes a unique sound when used. There is also composite materials such as whats on a cuetec, but I don't see the value in these materials and question how well they can actually hit.
8. Tip type - leather, combined with the ferrule, phenolic, g10 etc. Maybe the most important characteristic. I haven't had a chance to try the xbreaker yet.
9. "extra gizmo" - this could be the things like the power enhancer in the xbreaker.
10. weight and balance - This seems to be less of a factor than many people would think.
At the DCC this year I picked up a purple heart shaft sneaky pete at a good price and had a phenolic tip installed. It broke well and it then occurred to me why it broke so well. The shaft diamater and taper on the sledgehammer was simply uncomfortable to me especially when breaking 8-ball (breaks not leveraging the side rail).
The sledgehammer really seemed to "pop the ball" quite well but the shaft had such a large diameter it was uncomfortable in my hand. While I knew the stronger taper made the cue break hard I began to realize I was probably losing power because of it.
In the past I owned a Mace break cue by Rick howard. At the time it was an amazing break cue. I used the same cue recently and realized that it was nothing special in comparison to the amazing j/b cues we have now. Before the mace I used a cuetec earl strickland model with a leather tip that actually broke quite well. That cue is still in action in bars by me in and around louisville kentucky.
The purple heart shaft cue had its own set of problems though. It was sporting only the phenolic tip (not the one piece ferrule/tip) and the joint screw wasn't incredibly tight. I'm probably going to have the phenolic trip removed entirely and have a new leather tip installed to use this as a shooting cue. I felt like I lost a lot of power in this cue due to the weak jointing and the tip selection. For whatever reason I always felt like I was miscuing when I broke with this cue. It broke fairly hard, but not even as well as the sledgehammer. The taper was somewhere in between a standard taper from a playing cue and a billiards taper.
A friend of mine was asking for advice on a break cue he could get on ebay in the $125 range. I looked around and recommended he get either a J&J with phenolic tip/ferrule or the hammerhead j/b (sneaky pete). He ended up getting the hammerhead and I said what the hell and bought one too since it was so insanely cheap.
The cue arrives and I'm honestly blown away at how well it breaks especially given the price of the cue.
To describe the core characteristics of the hammerhead.
1. Combined phenolic tip and ferrule.
2. Shaft - 13mm with a somewhat strong taper, but not extreme like a billiards cue. The taper could seem less strong because it only tapers up to 13mm
3. Joint - wood pin with the pin in the shaft like a billiarsd cue and a jump joint.
These characteristics in my opninion have resulted in a VERY strong breaking cue.
This is also not to say that the same break cues will work the same for everyone. We all have different preferences and personal characteristics, such as hand size, stance etc that will effect the results
Remaining thoughts
What hasn't been done or tried yet in the break cue world?
1. Metal break cues - For some reason I think this would be a failure. I've been wrong before, but this just seems like a bad idea.
2. I've yet to see a break shaft using alternate woods such as purpleheart in a laminated format (ie predator)
3. Excessively long joint pins. I wonder what could be done to extend the concept of the strong breaking cue using the wood pin in the shaft. Wood-to-wood pins are VERY nice (the ones used in the hammerhead) and I believe this may be one of the most important factors in a solid break cue.
4. A laminated shaft of any kind with a combined phenolic tip/ferrule - This has been tried I'm sure, I've just not seen it.
Would be interesting to acquire iron willie for a few days to test out these break cues from a scientific standpoint.
What would be the perfect break cue for me?
1. Less extreme taper. Somewhere between a billiard cue and my playing cue.
2. No jump joint. Break and jump cues have different goals and this is just one more piece to the puzzle.
3. No wrap - preference
4. Combined tip/ferrule - so far this is the best setup i've tried, but G10 that comes highly recommended could be very strong as well.
5. Wood pin in the shaft (like a billiards cue) - This seems to be a huge factor in how hard the cue breaks
6. 13MM shaft - 14mm feels uncomforable in my hand and I don't feel like a get as much action.
7. Weight - Light?
I'm pretty much convinced at this point that the wood pin in the shaft combined with the smaller shaft (possibly less extreme taper) and phenolic tip ferrule is a huge winner.
Any other ideas here...I'd love to see some of the cuemakers here run with some of these ideas.
For the last two years I had been using a sledgehammer and if I played in a bar I was sporting a j&J with a phenolic tip that worked quite well in all honesty. I felt like something was lacking though and that perhaps a better cue would help out my break (which wasn't bad).
So I started thinking...what are the metrics that define a break cue and would clearly play a factor in how well it breaks. If anyone else here has additional metrics they would like to add please post them.
1. Shaft diameter - Most break cues have a large shaft diameter that is somewhere around 14mm. I find this may be a problem with some of th ebreak cues i've used.
2. Does it have a jump joint (quick release). This definitely affects the hit and might even effect the breaking ability of the cue.
3. Shaft taper - Most break cues ahve a thick taper like a billiarsd cue. I belive this trend might be part of the problem.
4. Ferrule type - combined tip/ferrule combo, composite, brass ferrule, G10?
5. Joint type - Too many to list. I must note that I'm finding cues with the wood screw, similar to what a billiarsd cue has that is used on the hammerhead j/b cue is pretty phenomenal. It seems to "connect" harder than any other cue and for whatever reason makes a very satisfying sound when I break. Iv'e not seen a lot of steel piloted joints used in break cues. They seem to not hit quite as hard.
6. Wrap or no wrap....arguably this could matter. Most break cues I see lack a wrap.
7. Shaft wood - Most break cues are using a stiff maple. Some people tend to switch it up by using ebony and purple heart or ash. Purple heart definitely seems to really "slam the balls" and makes a unique sound when used. There is also composite materials such as whats on a cuetec, but I don't see the value in these materials and question how well they can actually hit.
8. Tip type - leather, combined with the ferrule, phenolic, g10 etc. Maybe the most important characteristic. I haven't had a chance to try the xbreaker yet.
9. "extra gizmo" - this could be the things like the power enhancer in the xbreaker.
10. weight and balance - This seems to be less of a factor than many people would think.
At the DCC this year I picked up a purple heart shaft sneaky pete at a good price and had a phenolic tip installed. It broke well and it then occurred to me why it broke so well. The shaft diamater and taper on the sledgehammer was simply uncomfortable to me especially when breaking 8-ball (breaks not leveraging the side rail).
The sledgehammer really seemed to "pop the ball" quite well but the shaft had such a large diameter it was uncomfortable in my hand. While I knew the stronger taper made the cue break hard I began to realize I was probably losing power because of it.
In the past I owned a Mace break cue by Rick howard. At the time it was an amazing break cue. I used the same cue recently and realized that it was nothing special in comparison to the amazing j/b cues we have now. Before the mace I used a cuetec earl strickland model with a leather tip that actually broke quite well. That cue is still in action in bars by me in and around louisville kentucky.
The purple heart shaft cue had its own set of problems though. It was sporting only the phenolic tip (not the one piece ferrule/tip) and the joint screw wasn't incredibly tight. I'm probably going to have the phenolic trip removed entirely and have a new leather tip installed to use this as a shooting cue. I felt like I lost a lot of power in this cue due to the weak jointing and the tip selection. For whatever reason I always felt like I was miscuing when I broke with this cue. It broke fairly hard, but not even as well as the sledgehammer. The taper was somewhere in between a standard taper from a playing cue and a billiards taper.
A friend of mine was asking for advice on a break cue he could get on ebay in the $125 range. I looked around and recommended he get either a J&J with phenolic tip/ferrule or the hammerhead j/b (sneaky pete). He ended up getting the hammerhead and I said what the hell and bought one too since it was so insanely cheap.
The cue arrives and I'm honestly blown away at how well it breaks especially given the price of the cue.
To describe the core characteristics of the hammerhead.
1. Combined phenolic tip and ferrule.
2. Shaft - 13mm with a somewhat strong taper, but not extreme like a billiards cue. The taper could seem less strong because it only tapers up to 13mm
3. Joint - wood pin with the pin in the shaft like a billiarsd cue and a jump joint.
These characteristics in my opninion have resulted in a VERY strong breaking cue.
This is also not to say that the same break cues will work the same for everyone. We all have different preferences and personal characteristics, such as hand size, stance etc that will effect the results
Remaining thoughts
What hasn't been done or tried yet in the break cue world?
1. Metal break cues - For some reason I think this would be a failure. I've been wrong before, but this just seems like a bad idea.
2. I've yet to see a break shaft using alternate woods such as purpleheart in a laminated format (ie predator)
3. Excessively long joint pins. I wonder what could be done to extend the concept of the strong breaking cue using the wood pin in the shaft. Wood-to-wood pins are VERY nice (the ones used in the hammerhead) and I believe this may be one of the most important factors in a solid break cue.
4. A laminated shaft of any kind with a combined phenolic tip/ferrule - This has been tried I'm sure, I've just not seen it.
Would be interesting to acquire iron willie for a few days to test out these break cues from a scientific standpoint.
What would be the perfect break cue for me?
1. Less extreme taper. Somewhere between a billiard cue and my playing cue.
2. No jump joint. Break and jump cues have different goals and this is just one more piece to the puzzle.
3. No wrap - preference
4. Combined tip/ferrule - so far this is the best setup i've tried, but G10 that comes highly recommended could be very strong as well.
5. Wood pin in the shaft (like a billiards cue) - This seems to be a huge factor in how hard the cue breaks
6. 13MM shaft - 14mm feels uncomforable in my hand and I don't feel like a get as much action.
7. Weight - Light?
I'm pretty much convinced at this point that the wood pin in the shaft combined with the smaller shaft (possibly less extreme taper) and phenolic tip ferrule is a huge winner.
Any other ideas here...I'd love to see some of the cuemakers here run with some of these ideas.
