Cue Hit

[cut shot]

I have read many threads on how a certain cue hits. Exactly what they mean by this I really don't understand. After trying out many production and custom cues all I am able to do is break it down to 4 types of hits. Harsh, Hard, Medium and soft. Any thoughts on this?

 

[azbicyclis85376]

I have read many threads on how a certain cue hits. Exactly what they mean by this I really don't understand. After trying out many production and custom cues all I am able to do is break it down to 4 types of hits. Harsh, Hard, Medium and soft. Any thoughts on this?

Think you have established your own Score Board, (4 types of hits. Harsh, Hard, Medium and soft. ). Hit is in the Mind of the Hitter, like Fell is in the mind of the Feeler.

 

[1pRoscoe]

Try out different cues, take easy shots with them to see how each one sounds, feels, reacts. You'll soon see that each cue hits differently, too broad to catagorize that way.

 

[cueman]

I have read many threads on how a certain cue hits. Exactly what they mean by this I really don't understand. After trying out many production and custom cues all I am able to do is break it down to 4 types of hits. Harsh, Hard, Medium and soft. Any thoughts on this?

The term "hit" refers both to how the cue moves the cue ball, also called cue ball action, and how it feels when hitting the cue ball. "Feel" has nothing to do with the cue ball action, but just refers to how the cue feels when striking the ball. It makes it hard to put a cue in a category of "hit" because of the overlap in cue ball action and feel both being contained in the term "hit". It is easier to explain the action the cue has or the feel the cue has. But action and feel often contradict each other.
Example: Older Meucci cues were considered by many as soft hitting cues because of the soft feel. But those soft plastics in the cue increased cue ball action a lot, so others considered them to hit hard because they gave more cue ball speed. If a baseball player hits a ball out of the park they say he hit it hard. So it would seem the Meucci hits the ball harder, but feels softer. Kinda like a super ball. So on and on you could go with contradicting examples, but hopefully I explained this clearly enough. We sell a ferrule called our "High Action" ferrule which feels soft, but increases cue ball action. So when asking about a cue ask about the cue ball action and how does it feel. Stainless joint cues feel hard when they hit the cue ball, but often don't produce as much cue ball action. So most put stainless joint cues in the hard hitting category. So I would say the term "hit" is in most peoples mind is maybe 70% feel and 30% cue ball action.
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com

 

[cut shot]

Thanks Chris! I know what to look for now. I was judging the hit by the feel of the cue striking the cueball. I tried one that seemed to energize the cueball and really move it around. I will be on the lookout for this cueball action in the future.