Break Cues

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cumisk

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I am going to be in the market for a break cue soon and was wondering if anyone could recommend one. I used to have a Fury Jump/break but didnt get along with it. I think it was the smallness of the tip, struggled to get a solid consistent hit with it. I tried out a friends J & J jump/break recently and made the 9 and two other balls off the break the first time I used it, maybe I was just lucky but it seemed to give a very solid hit. Like everyone, I am looking for a solid hit and also be able to park the cue ball. Which cues do you guys recommend and why? It would be really helpful if you could describe the feeling of the hit.
 
I also had the Fury and same thing, tip seemed too small....I have had 6 break/jump cues and so far I like the J&J the best. 13.4mm tip, breaks hard and jumps a mile....Can't beat the price....Get ahold of "chrisonline", pm him and he can get you whatever model you want and he is great to deal with...For the price you can't go wrong taking a chance with one. Besides, you already said you like your friends J&J...You hitting with your friends was not luck...Thats how they all hit....
 
x breaker

a search here on x-breaker should provide lots of info on a superb b/j cue. i would just repeat whats been said, so i will. it might not be the easiest nor the cheapest breaker but surely one of the better, and it jumps as wide as you could ever need with minimal effort. i personally love it, even on slow speed 2nd ball breaks. quality and service is second to none and i would imagine the price will hold up well would you ever want to go heavier.
 
I think its a crap shoot....I know people that use a JJ that have one of the hardest breaks in the state.....I also know someone that has gone from a cuetech to a Pred. Break and has improved the break dramatically......(yeah you know who you are);)

I personally use a modified Sledghammer...(I put a tip on it) and slimmed down the shaft (did not change the taper) and I feel like my break is above average as far as ball spread.....(enough so that people have approached me to help them break like I do)

You can spend anywhere from $99 - $399 for a break cue and wind up with the exact same break...
 
cumisk said:
I am going to be in the market for a break cue soon and was wondering if anyone could recommend one. I used to have a Fury Jump/break but didnt get along with it. I think it was the smallness of the tip, struggled to get a solid consistent hit with it. I tried out a friends J & J jump/break recently and made the 9 and two other balls off the break the first time I used it, maybe I was just lucky but it seemed to give a very solid hit. Like everyone, I am looking for a solid hit and also be able to park the cue ball. Which cues do you guys recommend and why? It would be really helpful if you could describe the feeling of the hit.
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I got a deal on a j & j off ebay love it for the money it is great??
but
It might be psychological cause I pocket a ball and it sounds like I hit it a ton
 
break cue

I have had about 4 different break cues .I have to say I like the
JJ but I put a white diamond tip on it and wow .I also like a friends
Lucasi jump break cue it hit real solid .So to make a long story short
I now have a Lucasi jump break with a white diamond tip and it fits me
and my break perfect . The guy I sold the JJ loves it .So what I am saying
is this .Its hard to find the right break cue but I found the one I like and
those white diamond tips are worth taking a look at as well :)
 
Thanks for all your feedback everyone, I think I have been convinced about the J&J, it gives a solid hit and its cheap, seems like an absolute no brainer to me, why spend hundreds of dollars on something that looks pretty? Its all about getting a repeatable solid hit at the end of the day :).

Now all I need to do is find out where I can get one of those white diamond tips you are talking about... I cant say I have heard of those, we have blue diamond tips in England which are a popular choice for snooker cues but these things are soft absorbant things, totally not suitable for breaking.

Matt90 said:
I have had about 4 different break cues .I have to say I like the
JJ but I put a white diamond tip on it and wow .I also like a friends
Lucasi jump break cue it hit real solid .So to make a long story short
I now have a Lucasi jump break with a white diamond tip and it fits me
and my break perfect . The guy I sold the JJ loves it .So what I am saying
is this .Its hard to find the right break cue but I found the one I like and
those white diamond tips are worth taking a look at as well :)
Click to expand...
 
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Myself and what seemed to be half of the people at the BCA nationals use a Predator BK2. The hit is fantastic and accurate. Best break cue I have had out of about 6 (I had a Stinger X-breaker Players 2 Sledgehammers and a Scorpion.) But then again I still would recommend the New Sledgehammer (tried it at vegas it was very very nice (almost considered buying one)) or the early sledge models (with the big pin) the Stinger (hard to conrtol IMO but if you can it is super nice) or the X-breaker (it left streak marks in the felt when I used it and thats why I got rid of it, and there are like 34321 threads on both of the joints). But I prefer the BK2 to all of them it seems to hit them the hardest and it just feels good on every break even when I know I hit it like crap.

Eric.
 
i use a snooker cue for breaking(andy gibb)..i loved how it breaks,what do you guys think of it?
 
Maybe I am showing my ignorance here but.. you are not serious surely? :confused:

vin said:
i use a snooker cue for breaking(andy gibb)..i loved how it breaks,what do you guys think of it?
Click to expand...
 
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my thoughts are usually in the minority, but here goes...........

the #1 most important thing during the 9-Ball break shot is simply to make sure the rack/balls are tight. make sure the balls are racked good. the rest is a crapshoot.

i have had production break cues, custom break cues, had break shafts made, had phenolic ferrule/tip shafts, etc, etc. i just dont buy it when someone says that such and such cue really improved my break shot. unless they were playing with a broomstick before the switch. some people seem to think that a certain cue is magical, mystical, or supernatural and makes balls. sorry, just dont buy it.

i remember a couple years ago when i wasnt having any luck with the break. i picked up a $10 one piece house cue and broke the rack, made three balls, and ran the rack.

yes, get a decent cue that you like, but make sure that rack is tight!!!

DCP
 
A tight rack goes without saying. I dont go for all of those newfangled fancy tight rack devices. All you need is a light tapping into the slate bed using a holy mouse mat (tapping template), after this the balls just roll into position - you dont even need a triangle :).

I do also think your break cue can make quite a difference. In my experience small or soft tips dont provide a consistent solid hit. A hard tip with a big surface area (13mm or so) ensures you make good contact and transference of power to the cue ball.
 
cumisk said:
Maybe I am showing my ignorance here but.. you are not serious surely? :confused:
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i am serious :D its not that thin snooker cue..its shaft is actually thick for me
 
Predator & Auerbach Custom Cues gave us a Break Cue, back in 2002. I use them everyday to play with & demonstrate with. Those cues have been used by thousands of people, at some of the major tournaments around this country. Players have praised them both for their hit.
 
Question ...

NINEBALLART said:
I also had the Fury and same thing, tip seemed too small....I have had 6 break/jump cues and so far I like the J&J the best. 13.4mm tip, breaks hard and jumps a mile....Can't beat the price....Get ahold of "chrisonline", pm him and he can get you whatever model you want and he is great to deal with...For the price you can't go wrong taking a chance with one. Besides, you already said you like your friends J&J...You hitting with your friends was not luck...Thats how they all hit....
Click to expand...

My J&J (have 2 shafts) is 14 mm tip (maximum allowed). It was advertised that way, plus I have a gauge (bought a 6" $4.00 one I keep in long pocket, comes in handy). I also bought one for my brother and it is 14 mm too. Have you put your tip under a gauge?

The idea is, the bigger the tip, the better for breaking, and it is better for jumping also.

Tapering down a break shaft undermines the purpose of it in the first place, and will cause a whip like effect instead of a solid effect.
 
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Snapshot9 said:
My J&J (have 2 shafts) is 14 mm tip (maximum allowed). It was advertised that way, plus I have a gauge (bought a 6" $4.00 one I keep in long pocket, comes in handy). I also bought one for my brother and it is 14 mm too. Have you put your tip under a gauge?

The idea is, the bigger the tip, the better for breaking, and it is better for jumping also.

Tapering down a break shaft undermines the purpose of it in the first place, and will cause a whip like effect instead of a solid effect.
Click to expand...


As long as you don't "change" the taper there is not necessarily any harm in slimming it down a bit (IMO)

I slimmed down the shaft on my sledgehammer and it still jumps and breaks as good as it ever did... I also now have "much" more control of the CB.


I think just like the weight of a cue there needs to be a balance of what you can control in your hands versus the effects of a different set up...An extreme example would be...I could go out an cut down a metal telephone pole...the size and weight and thickness of that would surely mean more power.......If I was as big as King Kong and could move it.... The opposite is I could fuse me a long plastic straw and slap a tip on it....It would be so light and thin that I could whip that thing through the CB at a million miles an hour....Yet the CB might not even make it to the rack...

I am just not buying into the 13.5mm shaft is the right shaft for every break cue and every person using that break cue...... JMO :)
 
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