I've Got To Ask......
Two years ago, I finally relented and purchased a used break/jump cue. I bought a McDemott Stinger on e-bay for $90 shipped. I had never used a break cue before then and basically just relied upon pounding the rack of balls with the best house cue I could locate on the wall rack at the pool halls.
Now maybe I don't hit the cue ball as hard as everyone else that has tried my break cue but everyone that tried it loves it......for me, it's okay but I really don't see any better break results using it than with just using a good house cue. The jump cue feature is a nice plus but I never try jumping a cue ball so I do not derive much playing edge from that added feature.
So here's why I'm posting this thread.....I have never personally found my B/J cue to be that much of an added weapon and for the prices being quoted nowadays, I'm thinking ya gotta be nutso to spend $300 or $400, let alone $800 on "any" B/J cue.....Predator, Joss's Thor, or Schon's version. I've seen some custom cue-makers B/J cue sell for that.....a Paul Mottey B/J cue just sold on e-bay last week in the $600 range......other cue-makers have had theirs sell for even more......so I can see where a Paul Mottey signed and dated 3 piece break jump cue might command that price because of its rarity but even that cue can't be that much better as a break cue than others.....or am I out in left field on this one????????
$800 for any break jump cue, except perhaps a collectible one made by some esteemed cue-maker, seems ludicrous to me...........does anyone else agree with my thoughts or does an expensive break/jump cue warrant the price because of its performance. Heck, I see the women pool players on ESPN break the racked pool balls with a lot less force and power than I hit the pool balls with and they pocket balls a lot more often and wind up with a better table layout than I experience breaking the rack. Do they use some super break cue....like perhaps the new Schon cue might turn out to be?
Seems to me that it's simply more an issue of the cue physics of breaking the racked balls and most break cues all perform very similarly with few standing out any better than the others..........your views and opinions would be very much welcome.