I know this may be a personal preference, but I thought I would ask anyway. What do most of you break with. A break/jump cue, another cue you have bought to specifically break with or with your playing cue? I just recently sold my production cues and ordered a custom Espiritu. I do not break with this cue nor do I intend to. I am thinking about ordering another one, possibly a plain jane to use purposely for breaking. What are your thoughts about this?
Using custom cues for breaking...yay or nay.
- Thread starter XzyluM
- Start date
Yes, I know breaking will cause the tips to mushroom more and eventually wear the tips out a lot faster than normal play would. I also know it may depend on whether the tip is soft, medium, or hard. However, I've read around that breaking with your playing cue can cause the joints and other parts to eventually wear out and such. Not sure if this is just a rumor or what. What's your opinion on breaking with your normal playing cue and whether it may cause some other damage rather than the tip mushrooming?
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crown said:
I used my custom playing cue to break with, but it didn't break that well. It has a 12mm tip with a pro taper. I picked up a nearly new sneaky pete with a fat tapered shaft. I replaced the linen ferrule with an Ivor-X capped ferrule and installed a phenolic tip. It breaks very well. I also built a short handle for my break stick. I unscrew the sneaky pete butt and screw on the short handle for a jump stick. I have about $45.00 in it. My tips on my playing cue last longer these days.
Well, for the longest time i was using my Schon LTD for breaking, and regular use.
But back in early April i started to try using my Viking VM15 which is a 21oz on breaking vs my Schon which is 18.5 oz. And i found i could create more power with my Viking. And then a week later i had a Phenolic tip put on my Viking, Nuff Said.
Now i guess it would be personal preference on the persons part. But normally i see people either using a jumb/break stick, or a house cue to break.
But back in early April i started to try using my Viking VM15 which is a 21oz on breaking vs my Schon which is 18.5 oz. And i found i could create more power with my Viking. And then a week later i had a Phenolic tip put on my Viking, Nuff Said.
Now i guess it would be personal preference on the persons part. But normally i see people either using a jumb/break stick, or a house cue to break.
I use a seperate break cue. I do this to save the tip on my playing cue. Watching how hard most players shoot I don't see any reason for them to use a seperate cue because their break shot is not any harder than their normal shot. Watch how hard players will hit the ball for a draw shot or a long shot and most are hitting as hard as their break shot.
i'd never break with a playing cue unless i was using the "Soft Break" that has come to be associated with the Sardo rack.
its like this: you can go 4 wheeling with a new Cadillac, but why would you want to? its not made to do this. likewise, why break with your playing cue when you can have a break cue specially made for breaking? i'd highly recommend using a different cue for the break stick.
personally i just sold my Madison Bob Custom Break Cue because i didnt have any luck with it. After what Earl told me in Vegas i had Muellers make me a break shaft for a Cuetec Butt and it seems to break fine.
regards,
DCP
its like this: you can go 4 wheeling with a new Cadillac, but why would you want to? its not made to do this. likewise, why break with your playing cue when you can have a break cue specially made for breaking? i'd highly recommend using a different cue for the break stick.
personally i just sold my Madison Bob Custom Break Cue because i didnt have any luck with it. After what Earl told me in Vegas i had Muellers make me a break shaft for a Cuetec Butt and it seems to break fine.
regards,
DCP
I dont break with my cue because it is a playing cue, not a breaking cue. I also dont want to scrath the surface of the forearm ( Ebony) while breaking.
Custom playing cues are not the best tool for breaking thats available.
Any custom made break cue that is ~18oz with a stiff shaft and phenolic tip will break beatter than any custom playing cue. That is, unless you play with a phenolic tip on your playing cue
Custom playing cues are not the best tool for breaking thats available.
Any custom made break cue that is ~18oz with a stiff shaft and phenolic tip will break beatter than any custom playing cue. That is, unless you play with a phenolic tip on your playing cue
The first cue i ever bought was a piece of sh#t. Then i bought a Falcon Jump Break for $110 including case, and played and broke with that for a few months. It played great, but it wasnt very good for breaking as the shaft had already been turned down. Then i ordered a new Falcon Playing cue, got that and played solid with it for a long time. I then went to a local cue maker to order a break shaft for the Falcon j/b and ended up ordering a brand new Jump Break cue, which i designed myself. This cue had a 13mm Shaft and a Phenolic tip. It was an outstanding break cue. To try and add a little more juice to my break i had another shaft custom made to my specs with a 14mm Shaft and Phenolic tip. This cue breaks better than any cue i have ever tried. But now im left with an extra 13mm Shaft with a phenolic tip that i will never use. So i had it turned down to 12.5mm and a leather layered playing tip put on it. This was simply the best playing cue i have ever used!! Now im in a little bit of a dilemna, my break/jump cue plays better than my Falcon cue by a long shot, and its the best breaking cue, but i have to change shafts! Its a pain in the ass to change shafts every time you break or Jump, so now i just break with the playing shaft, which doesnt work so well. So about 2 months ago i ordered a new playing cue, same specs as the break cue, with a little bit nicer ring work and inlays and a leather wrap with a 314 shaft. This cue should be ready in July and i will have the best setup on the planet. As a bonus, Doug (www.fostercues.com) is generous enough to give me the predator shaft as soon as i have $300CDN deposited on the cue. So im getting the shaft this week so i can start getting used to it. I CANT WAIT!!
Has anyone ever tried playing with a phenolic tip? when i had a phenolic tip on the 13mm shaft i tried playing with it a few times, and man could i Juice the ball!! I literally drew it table length and halfway back starting from table length away!! It actually played great and i cant recall miscueing with it... In fact, i can't think of a reason i wouldnt play with it, other than the funny sound when you make contact, and the funny feel. anyone else ever try it?
Has anyone ever tried playing with a phenolic tip? when i had a phenolic tip on the 13mm shaft i tried playing with it a few times, and man could i Juice the ball!! I literally drew it table length and halfway back starting from table length away!! It actually played great and i cant recall miscueing with it... In fact, i can't think of a reason i wouldnt play with it, other than the funny sound when you make contact, and the funny feel. anyone else ever try it?
I use a bender for my playing cue and I break with rick howard's mace jump/break cue. The mace breaks awesome!! I prefer using a seperate break cue because I keep the tip of my break cue fairly flat to reduce the amount of unwanted spin if I accidentaly put some while breaking.
I don't break with my custom cue, but only because I like a soft tip and it mushrooms. If I liked a hard tip I'd just go ahead and break with my custom.
a lot of players ADVOCATE breaking with their playing cue. i think varner is big on this. i think his explanation, that you should break with what you're comfortable with/what you use all the time, is lame.
the break is a VERY specialized shot. it requires a certain kind of power, because power is its goal. so you break with a cue that gives that power,,,,and it's no different than a golfer using a club to drive. you're not going to see him use a putter to drive off the tee. he COULD use a 1 iron to putt, but he ain't. he's gonna use a putter.
baseball players have different gloves, and i think(i'm not sure) a hockey goalie uses a different stick. a break cue makes perfect sense.
the break is a VERY specialized shot. it requires a certain kind of power, because power is its goal. so you break with a cue that gives that power,,,,and it's no different than a golfer using a club to drive. you're not going to see him use a putter to drive off the tee. he COULD use a 1 iron to putt, but he ain't. he's gonna use a putter.
baseball players have different gloves, and i think(i'm not sure) a hockey goalie uses a different stick. a break cue makes perfect sense.
Hell, it's hard enough to maintain the tip.
I have a break cue and making me a break jump soon.
I have a break cue and making me a break jump soon.
bruin70 said:
I dont NIck Varner advocates breaking with the same cue because when I saw him at the senior open at MIzeraks last year he was using the sledgehammer and he was promoting his new cues. He didnt break with his playing cue at all when I saw him.