I have used a Predator BK break cue and a Stealth Jump cue (SJ from now on) for about 2 years now. (The SJ is the jump-only model designed by custom cue builder Ned Morris I believe) A friend of mine recently purchased a Sledgehammer (SH from now on) so I had a chance to try a direct comparison between them for an evening. I'll break it down into sections:
OVERALL BUILD QUALITY AND APPEARANCE:
The SH was a basic model with no ringwork, stained brown (presumably) maple forearm and a black linen wrap. As with all SH models it has a large radial-style main joint pin and a short quick-release (Non UniLoc) joint in the handle for the jump section. Everything on the SH was nicely put together. The wrap felt just right to me, not too slick and not too rough. It is also very intelligently extended almost all the way to the end of the butt, as many people break with their grip hand almost on the end, and you can get it with no wrap if you prefer as well. The QR joint handled well and did loosen at any stage during the session. The Sledgehammer logo is written in white on the butt cap, which I think looks good, albeit with an industrial engineering look to it.
The BK model I have is wrapless and has a (presumably) maple butt stained black. (If you hold it up in strong sunlight you can see the stain, although in all other normal lighting it looks solid black) It has a large yellow Predator decal logo on the butt that I personally find garish, so much so I have contemplated having a cue mechanic refinish the butt just to get rid of it. There is also a yellow "314" logo on the shaft joint collar. The BK has a Uni-Loc Quick Release joint, but it does not seem as well finished/polished as the Uni-Loc used on my Dale Perry playing cue. I find I need to reverse turn the joint a half turn or so to get it lined up just right when assembling due to the very close fit between the pin and the insert in the shaft. This extra turn seems to defeat the time saving when assembling, but it does come apart very quickly. The BK appears to have black phenolic around the joint collar, and on the butt it is not flush, that is there is a slightly chamfered lip around the butt joint face. The shaft joint collar is also black phenolic and cut perfectly square. When assembled the chamfer on the butt causes a small but noticeable groove in the joint area, and this is slightly rough which has on occasion led to scratches on my bridge-hand knuckle when using a "pro" rail bridge with the thumb tucked in alongside the shaft. It has been like this from new, as was another BK I have seen. The BK's joint needs a noticeable extra hard turn to get it fully locked down. I find after the first break I can tighten it a bit more, after which it is fine for the rest of the session. It also takes a bit more strength to break it down after doing this.
My BK has no wrap, but the model with it has it in the standard position, so of no use if your break grip is at the end of the butt.
The SJ came originally in a Stealth-logo velvet slip case (I only mention it as neither the SH or BK came in anything, not because any serious player would ever carry it around like that) and came with wooden joint protectors with no finish and a third butt extension intended for middle-of-the-table jump shots. I have never used the extension yet, preferring to kick if snookered in the middle of the table, as a jump from there has only a maximum landing strip of 4.5', making it very easy to send the cue ball off the table even if you make the jump itself. The SJ uses what appears to be a short 3/8 10 pin for both the main joint and the extension. The pin fits very tightly in the shaft. Once assembled the joint is very firm and does not move at all. I believe from new they put a little wax on the pin to help it with the very tight fit. The SJ butt appears to be Cocobolo cored with maple or some other light wood. The finish on the butt is not very high quality and wears easily, especially if you keep it in an external pocket of a cue case as most of us do.
BALANCE/TAPER:
The BK has a long thin shaft taper and the butt thickens up considerably through in the grip area, leading to a feeling that all the weight is in your grip hand and almost none on your bridge hand. The BK shaft is similar but slightly different than a regular Predator playing shaft
In contrast I felt much more weight on my bridge hand with the SH (even accounting for the 1oz extra weight) and it had a noticeably thicker taper than the BK, especially on the shaft in the section close to the bridge.
The SH was slightly heavier overall than my BK (20oz vs 19oz) but felt much heavier when in shooting position due to the very different balance setup.
The SJ has a thick taper similar to the SH taper, and the tip looks a little larger than 13mm.
TIP/FERRULE:
The BK has a laminated tip of unknown make with a standard Nickel radius shaped from the factory. The topmost layer of mine separated after about 18 months. It has a short 1/2" ferrule made out of some kind of plastic-feeling material (It has no noticeable grain like a linen-based ferrule) and is noticeably softer than most other ferrule materials I have felt. It has also developed a noticeable chamfer in the ferrule that I assume is wear from sliding on the cloth during heavy breaks.
The SH I tested had the black phenolic tip/ferrule (I assume this is functionally identical to the natural/brown version.) Like all SH models this is a single piece of phenolic material. I was surprised to find the shape of the SH one-piece phenolic tip was a Dime radius. (I have no idea if this is typical of all SHs or just this one) I did not test shaping the SH tip with anything, so don't know how easy this would be to change with normal hand tip-shapers. I had no problems applying chalk to it.
The SJ has some kind of thin, very hard tip which is almost totally flat from the factory, and a very short ferrule if unknown material. It is noticeably difficult to chalk this tip evenly.
JUMPING: When broken down into a jump cue the SH felt incredibly light, lighter than the SJ and maybe 3/4" shorter than the SJ, so it must be right on the edge of the 40" minimum length. I have always used the "dart" overhand jump stroke with the SJ. My jump shots are functional in that I can clear the obstruction and hit the object ball about 75% of the time, but have never been very accurate so rarely make the object ball. Nor have I been able to jump from any closer than about 4-5" from the obstructing ball. (A friend with the same SJ cue can jump with less than 2" gap with the same dart stroke) I noticed that most pros I've seen recently are using the underhand jump stroke, basically a regular stroke with an open bridge jacked up to 45 degrees or more and, due to the short and thin jump cue butt, holding the cue in a fist grip with the arm tucked in to the ribs. Usually they sight down the shot with the jump cue level almost like a regular shot, and then elevate into jump position.
I had tried this technique with the SJ and was never able to get the cue ball high enough in the air to clear the obstructing ball. With the SH I was able to achieve it within 2 tries. The biggest problem I had was not failing to jump but failing to hit the cue ball altogether due to the very short bridge required to jump like this and the odd feel of the slightly shorter SH jump section compared to the SJ. I can see with practice that I may be able to achieve more consistently accurate jumps with the SH and this stroke than the SJ and the dart stroke, but am not sure I would be able to jump closer to the obstructing ball.
BREAKING:
I have always liked the feel of the BK for breaking. The shaft taper lends itself to a long follow through with your hand right on the end of the butt, although recently I have taken to using a very short punchy break for 9 Ball with my hand closer to the joint than normal, and it works very well this way too due to the shape of the butt and the balance. Personally I am not a big fan of regular Predator shafts for normal playing, but the BK shaft is different from a regular Predator shaft. (If anyone believes the BK is identical to a regular Predator cue just play a regular game with the BK, the feel is totally weird compared to a regular Predator, or any other normal cue for that matter.)
The SH feels very different. The much thicker shaft meant my "punch" break with a closed bridge on the table (Cue ball 1 diamond in on the head string) did not feel too comfortable. I would have to practice more with the SH to get used to it for that break. A rail break is what the SH seems to be primarily designed for and to me it felt better like this.
The other key thing about the SH is the absolute absence of the normal feedback feel from any cue. If you hit dead center it is almost like hitting the sweet spot on a tennis racket, it does not feel like you've hit the ball at all and yet it flies perfectly down the table at high speed. I did not mis-cue at all with the SH during my session, which is a worry some people have about the phenolic tip.
CONCLUSIONS:
The one-piece ferrule/tip of the SH is a definite advantage for robustness and initially appears to be nearly maintenance free. (I'd have to play with one for a long time to know for sure how well it wears in heavy use.) I'm a little concerned about how to roughen or reshape the SH tip if it required it. Obviously a regular tip like the BK can be maintained and replaced if necessary with standard tools, and also changed to different makes/models of tip of desired.
The jump section of the SH seems to work just as well as the dedicated SJ cue for basic jump shots. This is a great compliment for the SH, as usually a combination break/jump has to make performance compromises on one or other element, and of course carrying only 2 sticks instead of 3 is more convenient. However you'd have to be a better jump shot player than myself to really test the limits of the 2 sticks to know which was best.
The biggest issue I have in the SH design is in feel and balance. I was not sure I like the almost total absence of feedback, but given you only use it once per rack and that the end result is the most important factor in a break I am sure I could learn to live with it. I'd really like to try an 18oz model to see if that improves the balance for my break style.
I purchased the BK and SJ before the SH was widely available. Given that the SH is around the same price as the BK on it's own and the SJ adds around another $100 if I had to make the same purchasing decision today I would give the SH very strong consideration.
OVERALL BUILD QUALITY AND APPEARANCE:
The SH was a basic model with no ringwork, stained brown (presumably) maple forearm and a black linen wrap. As with all SH models it has a large radial-style main joint pin and a short quick-release (Non UniLoc) joint in the handle for the jump section. Everything on the SH was nicely put together. The wrap felt just right to me, not too slick and not too rough. It is also very intelligently extended almost all the way to the end of the butt, as many people break with their grip hand almost on the end, and you can get it with no wrap if you prefer as well. The QR joint handled well and did loosen at any stage during the session. The Sledgehammer logo is written in white on the butt cap, which I think looks good, albeit with an industrial engineering look to it.
The BK model I have is wrapless and has a (presumably) maple butt stained black. (If you hold it up in strong sunlight you can see the stain, although in all other normal lighting it looks solid black) It has a large yellow Predator decal logo on the butt that I personally find garish, so much so I have contemplated having a cue mechanic refinish the butt just to get rid of it. There is also a yellow "314" logo on the shaft joint collar. The BK has a Uni-Loc Quick Release joint, but it does not seem as well finished/polished as the Uni-Loc used on my Dale Perry playing cue. I find I need to reverse turn the joint a half turn or so to get it lined up just right when assembling due to the very close fit between the pin and the insert in the shaft. This extra turn seems to defeat the time saving when assembling, but it does come apart very quickly. The BK appears to have black phenolic around the joint collar, and on the butt it is not flush, that is there is a slightly chamfered lip around the butt joint face. The shaft joint collar is also black phenolic and cut perfectly square. When assembled the chamfer on the butt causes a small but noticeable groove in the joint area, and this is slightly rough which has on occasion led to scratches on my bridge-hand knuckle when using a "pro" rail bridge with the thumb tucked in alongside the shaft. It has been like this from new, as was another BK I have seen. The BK's joint needs a noticeable extra hard turn to get it fully locked down. I find after the first break I can tighten it a bit more, after which it is fine for the rest of the session. It also takes a bit more strength to break it down after doing this.
My BK has no wrap, but the model with it has it in the standard position, so of no use if your break grip is at the end of the butt.
The SJ came originally in a Stealth-logo velvet slip case (I only mention it as neither the SH or BK came in anything, not because any serious player would ever carry it around like that) and came with wooden joint protectors with no finish and a third butt extension intended for middle-of-the-table jump shots. I have never used the extension yet, preferring to kick if snookered in the middle of the table, as a jump from there has only a maximum landing strip of 4.5', making it very easy to send the cue ball off the table even if you make the jump itself. The SJ uses what appears to be a short 3/8 10 pin for both the main joint and the extension. The pin fits very tightly in the shaft. Once assembled the joint is very firm and does not move at all. I believe from new they put a little wax on the pin to help it with the very tight fit. The SJ butt appears to be Cocobolo cored with maple or some other light wood. The finish on the butt is not very high quality and wears easily, especially if you keep it in an external pocket of a cue case as most of us do.
BALANCE/TAPER:
The BK has a long thin shaft taper and the butt thickens up considerably through in the grip area, leading to a feeling that all the weight is in your grip hand and almost none on your bridge hand. The BK shaft is similar but slightly different than a regular Predator playing shaft
In contrast I felt much more weight on my bridge hand with the SH (even accounting for the 1oz extra weight) and it had a noticeably thicker taper than the BK, especially on the shaft in the section close to the bridge.
The SH was slightly heavier overall than my BK (20oz vs 19oz) but felt much heavier when in shooting position due to the very different balance setup.
The SJ has a thick taper similar to the SH taper, and the tip looks a little larger than 13mm.
TIP/FERRULE:
The BK has a laminated tip of unknown make with a standard Nickel radius shaped from the factory. The topmost layer of mine separated after about 18 months. It has a short 1/2" ferrule made out of some kind of plastic-feeling material (It has no noticeable grain like a linen-based ferrule) and is noticeably softer than most other ferrule materials I have felt. It has also developed a noticeable chamfer in the ferrule that I assume is wear from sliding on the cloth during heavy breaks.
The SH I tested had the black phenolic tip/ferrule (I assume this is functionally identical to the natural/brown version.) Like all SH models this is a single piece of phenolic material. I was surprised to find the shape of the SH one-piece phenolic tip was a Dime radius. (I have no idea if this is typical of all SHs or just this one) I did not test shaping the SH tip with anything, so don't know how easy this would be to change with normal hand tip-shapers. I had no problems applying chalk to it.
The SJ has some kind of thin, very hard tip which is almost totally flat from the factory, and a very short ferrule if unknown material. It is noticeably difficult to chalk this tip evenly.
JUMPING: When broken down into a jump cue the SH felt incredibly light, lighter than the SJ and maybe 3/4" shorter than the SJ, so it must be right on the edge of the 40" minimum length. I have always used the "dart" overhand jump stroke with the SJ. My jump shots are functional in that I can clear the obstruction and hit the object ball about 75% of the time, but have never been very accurate so rarely make the object ball. Nor have I been able to jump from any closer than about 4-5" from the obstructing ball. (A friend with the same SJ cue can jump with less than 2" gap with the same dart stroke) I noticed that most pros I've seen recently are using the underhand jump stroke, basically a regular stroke with an open bridge jacked up to 45 degrees or more and, due to the short and thin jump cue butt, holding the cue in a fist grip with the arm tucked in to the ribs. Usually they sight down the shot with the jump cue level almost like a regular shot, and then elevate into jump position.
I had tried this technique with the SJ and was never able to get the cue ball high enough in the air to clear the obstructing ball. With the SH I was able to achieve it within 2 tries. The biggest problem I had was not failing to jump but failing to hit the cue ball altogether due to the very short bridge required to jump like this and the odd feel of the slightly shorter SH jump section compared to the SJ. I can see with practice that I may be able to achieve more consistently accurate jumps with the SH and this stroke than the SJ and the dart stroke, but am not sure I would be able to jump closer to the obstructing ball.
BREAKING:
I have always liked the feel of the BK for breaking. The shaft taper lends itself to a long follow through with your hand right on the end of the butt, although recently I have taken to using a very short punchy break for 9 Ball with my hand closer to the joint than normal, and it works very well this way too due to the shape of the butt and the balance. Personally I am not a big fan of regular Predator shafts for normal playing, but the BK shaft is different from a regular Predator shaft. (If anyone believes the BK is identical to a regular Predator cue just play a regular game with the BK, the feel is totally weird compared to a regular Predator, or any other normal cue for that matter.)
The SH feels very different. The much thicker shaft meant my "punch" break with a closed bridge on the table (Cue ball 1 diamond in on the head string) did not feel too comfortable. I would have to practice more with the SH to get used to it for that break. A rail break is what the SH seems to be primarily designed for and to me it felt better like this.
The other key thing about the SH is the absolute absence of the normal feedback feel from any cue. If you hit dead center it is almost like hitting the sweet spot on a tennis racket, it does not feel like you've hit the ball at all and yet it flies perfectly down the table at high speed. I did not mis-cue at all with the SH during my session, which is a worry some people have about the phenolic tip.
CONCLUSIONS:
The one-piece ferrule/tip of the SH is a definite advantage for robustness and initially appears to be nearly maintenance free. (I'd have to play with one for a long time to know for sure how well it wears in heavy use.) I'm a little concerned about how to roughen or reshape the SH tip if it required it. Obviously a regular tip like the BK can be maintained and replaced if necessary with standard tools, and also changed to different makes/models of tip of desired.
The jump section of the SH seems to work just as well as the dedicated SJ cue for basic jump shots. This is a great compliment for the SH, as usually a combination break/jump has to make performance compromises on one or other element, and of course carrying only 2 sticks instead of 3 is more convenient. However you'd have to be a better jump shot player than myself to really test the limits of the 2 sticks to know which was best.
The biggest issue I have in the SH design is in feel and balance. I was not sure I like the almost total absence of feedback, but given you only use it once per rack and that the end result is the most important factor in a break I am sure I could learn to live with it. I'd really like to try an 18oz model to see if that improves the balance for my break style.
I purchased the BK and SJ before the SH was widely available. Given that the SH is around the same price as the BK on it's own and the SJ adds around another $100 if I had to make the same purchasing decision today I would give the SH very strong consideration.
