Can I use my main cue for break cue?

Question

I just bought Predator 5K1 cue. I haven't buy break cue yet.

My friend told me it's going to cause a damage for my 5K1 if I use it for break cue. Is it true?

Answer 1

A lot of players use their player as a break cue as well, with no problems. Shane VanBoening come to mind, and he breaks them very well with his playing cue. Many others feel that a dedicated break cue is better.

If you are worried about it at all it probably will have a negative effect on your game, so I would say either break with a house cue or get yourself a break cue and play with peace of mind.

Answer 2

It    is    what   you   feel   right    doing.   Personally   I   don't   break   with    my    Mcdermott   cue   but   I   have   seen   people   with   nicer   cues   break   with   theirs.   Just   do   what   feels   comfortable   to   you.

Answer 3

Well I'm with most of the other guys who have answered. I have a Meucci Rev 2 as my main and I bought a Players D-FLRM as a break cue. Ill try to use this as an example just cause you own a Lamborghini doesn't mean your gonna take it off road...thats why they created trucks....Same thing here I didnt pay $900 just so I can break with it and warp the shafts..(when I break I tend to bow the shaft on the table) So I bought a Players cue which to be quite honest I really like the feel and hit...In fact I would recommend them as a very good beginner cue. Considering I only paid $70 its been holding up great although I am gonna put a harder tip on it but even the tip is handling the abuse that Ive put it through. I guess for me if your gonna spend $250 or more on a stick then whats another $70 to $100 to get a break stick and help protect your investment.

Answer 4

The only real reasons to have a different cue to break with is to save your tip from flat spots if you have a hard break and if you prefer to have a different weight and balance.  If I had a cue that got damaged from breaking, I wouldn't use that brand ever again.  Unless it is self damaged.  Some people on the break follow thew will drive the shaft into the table and bow it.  If that happens over and over again it will start to have an effect on your shaft.  

As for a break cue if you are thinking about it.  I use a $40 players sneaky pete with a phenolic tip and hit it great.  You don't need to invest a lot of money into a break cue, no matter what over priced predator cues may tell you.  Good luck, and keep rackn em up!

Answer 5

Breaking with your new cue stick shouldn't hurt it at all. The only thing that may happen involves your tip and ferrule. If you shoot with a medium or soft tip then I wouldn't break with it. The tip will flatten out and probably mushroom. You wouldn't want to shoot a game with a flat tip. If you have a hard tip on your new cue then this problem will be minimal but may still occur. The ferrule will take a beating too if used for breaking but the main problem will be with the tip. I agree with these guys that a separate cue for breaking is a good idea. You're better off to spend 50 or 60 bucks on a break cue than have to reshape the tip on your game cue all the time.

Answer 6

Never use your personal cue for breaking; it ruins the tip for the game.  Use a house cue.

Answer 7

Go right ahead.  My personal philosphy is that I'm not about to out and spend money on a cue that I'm afraid to break with.  The cue I use for breaking I got as a freebee from a shop I go to, It was a new product line from a table company they just started carrying so the guy gave me one of the jump/break cues (they're selling them for $75 now) and told me to let him know how it plays, so he'd know what to tell people.  It's fine, it's a solid hitting cue, the only thing I did was change the tip.  Prior to that I had been using a stealth, now I changed tips on that and use it for regular use.  

Bottom line I own 7 cues, not afraid to break with any of them.  Choose to break with 1 just because of the way I have my tips set, different hardnesses and weight cues for different games and different shots.

Good Luck

-Michael

Answer 8

The main danger to using your primary playing cue for breaking is causing premature wear to the tip. I don't know about you, but if I slap a $20-$30 tip on my cue, I'm not going to do anything that wears it out too fast.

I don't know that I've heard anyone have this problem, but Predator cues do have thinner ferrules on them than most cues (to reduce weight at the tip) which could potentially break. I can't say that for sure though.

Anyway, there's no other way you're going to damage your cue unless you're one of those people who intentionally bends the shaft on the table when breaking. But you just spent $400 on a nice cue, why don't you spend another $100 or so and get a decent break cue and not worry about it? I have a Kaiser j/b that cost me $70, and J & J makes one for around $100 as well.