Which is better?

9 ball

9 ball

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am thinking of changing the tip on my break cue to a phenolic tip but what I want to know is what is better a phenolic tip/ferrule combination or just a tip as normal?.

Any help is appreciated.

P.S

Is it easier to jump with a phenolic tip and does it give you more power off the break?.
 
Putting more weight on the tip (e.g. solid phenolic ferrule) would add more deflection, so personally I'd go with a lightweight ferrule and a phenolic tip. However, you're not likely to see too much of a difference anyway.

Yes phenolic tips make it much easier to jump. How much added power they give on the break is a bit debatable, IMO. If you have a more controlled break that's just lacking pop, then I'd say phenolic can add some punch. But if you already break em hard, you might want to stick with a hard leather tip. Control is more important than power.
 
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the ohenolic tip will definitely encourage you to hit more centre ball as it wont let you get away with striking off centre. it is more suited for breaking.

as for jumping it makes a huge huge difference. by my own admission i can barely jump at all with a leather tip (albeit with a full cue) yet i am quite good and accurate with the phenolic.
 
Break speeds on the pro tour should be measured like driving distance in golf. Are the phenolic tips providing better breaks? I'm not so sure. Looking at the guys that are really pounding the rack is like watching the guys on the golf tour that lead in driving distance. I'm not sure the leaders in these categories are winning the most tourneys. Phenolic is just an incredibly hard tip that doesn't compress at all. I prefer a leather tip on my breaker - either a WB tip or a pressed triangle recipe that I learned from Kevin Varney. IMO, leather is better because it allows you to do more on the break. I can play the cut break with leather, the slow spin break, and when playing 8-ball I can still go after the 2nd ball in the rack.

If pure speed is your goal, try phenolic. Don't expect it to be the magic pill, though.
 
You could also look into a white diamond tip.....
I put a WD on one of my break cues and liked it...
 
9 ball said:
I am thinking of changing the tip on my break cue to a phenolic tip but what I want to know is what is better a phenolic tip/ferrule combination or just a tip as normal?.

Any help is appreciated.

P.S

Is it easier to jump with a phenolic tip and does it give you more power off the break?.
Click to expand...

If all you use is a center ball break then the phenolic is a better choice. I play in a lot of different places and have to use different breaks to work so I use a WB leather tip.
 
9 ball said:
I am thinking of changing the tip on my break cue to a phenolic tip but what I want to know is what is better a phenolic tip/ferrule combination or just a tip as normal?.

Any help is appreciated.

P.S

Is it easier to jump with a phenolic tip and does it give you more power off the break?.
Click to expand...

All the advice here so far I agree with, but since you have a P.S. in your post about jumping - phenolic is the way to go. I'm decent at longer jumps with a full cue that has a leather tip on it, but the first time I tried a buddies break cue with a phenolic tip I was sold. Jumping made simple if you ask me. So, if you are going to use the cue for both go phenolic, but don't try to get to creative on your breaks with it (english wise). :D
 
To answer both Shawn & Poke N Hope's questions firstly, Shawn I do use a water buffalo tip on my break cue and I can break with control with it but I am not making anything on the break 9/10 times.

To answer your question Poke N Hope I use a centre break 100% of the time and hardly move the cb around so its good to know that a phenolic tip will give me that little bit extra on the break and for jump shots.


Keep the advice coming guys the more the merrier.
 
Klopek said:
If you're going with phenolic, go with the ferrule/tip combo. Less chance of the tip popping off. Don't worry about squirt, how much english you plan on using on the break?.

Phenolic or not, a good break doesn't require side spin. Some may choose to use it, but I strongly question the need or value of it.
Click to expand...


I only ever use centre ball striking on the break as spin accidental or not has caused my cb to jump off the table, also how easy is it to fit a ferrule/tip combo myself if I was to go with that choice klopek?.
 
Klopek will just the tip on its own give me the same results as the ferrule/tip combo would?.
 
Two final questions I promise klopek, ok here goes is putting a phenolic tip on your cue as easy as putting a normal tip on your cue or not?.

Also how easy is it to cut a phenolic tip down to size if its a tad too big?.
 
putting a phonelic tip on is no where near as easy as a regular tip.

phonelic is a very hard material and does not shave down very easily. personally, i use a capped saber-t ferrule and a white diamond tip and love it. breaks a ton from center table with 0 spin or holds chalk and grips well for some spin and english for the 2nd ball 8-ball break or if you like to add top or draw or something.

I would highly recommend though, no matter what you decide to go with, have a profesional do it.
 
Socks if I was to buy a 14mm phenolic tip bearing in mind my cue is 13mm and just put it on and not shave it down would it look stupid and defeat the purpose of having a phenolic tip?.

P.S

How would you go about shaving down a phenolic tip?.
 
yes, it would look very stupid. in addition it would probably break, not only the tip, probably your shaft too.

if you didi it yourself, the only way you could shave it down without a lathe by hand would be with sand paper. again, because you cannt get the rpm and smooth cut by hand with sand paper that a lathe with a cutting tool can, your going to get an uneven trim, which would create weak spots and increase the chances of cracking and causing damage.

don' tbe cheap. your cue is an instrament. if you want quality, you have to invest in quality.
 
9 ball said:
To answer both Shawn & Poke N Hope's questions firstly, Shawn I do use a water buffalo tip on my break cue and I can break with control with it but I am not making anything on the break 9/10 times.

To answer your question Poke N Hope I use a centre break 100% of the time and hardly move the cb around so its good to know that a phenolic tip will give me that little bit extra on the break and for jump shots.
Click to expand...

Center break as in center-ball on the CB. Or center break as in breaking from the dead center of the table? If it's the latter, you might learn to 1) read the rack and 2) break from multiple places on the table. Just by learning how to rack, you can virtually guarantee the wing ball 80% of the time. I suggest the racking secrets DVD. PM me and I can give you a brief tutorial, but I don't want to put it up here to ruin the secrets of an excellent DVD that is worth buying for anyone.
 
thoffen said:
Center break as in center-ball on the CB. Or center break as in breaking from the dead center of the table? If it's the latter, you might learn to 1) read the rack and 2) break from multiple places on the table. Just by learning how to rack, you can virtually guarantee the wing ball 80% of the time. I suggest the racking secrets DVD. PM me and I can give you a brief tutorial, but I don't want to put it up here to ruin the secrets of an excellent DVD that is worth buying for anyone.
Click to expand...


I have the dvd and its excellent but I use centre ball striking and centre table breaking because I can control the cb more and get it to squat in the centre everytime.

P.S

Has anyone heard of these phenolic tips and are they any good?

http://cgi.ebay.com/5-MAGNUM-HIGH-IMPACT-Jump-Break-Cue-tips-AWESOME-POWER_W0QQitemZ7248472359QQihZ002QQcategoryZ75188QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem
 
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