Sledgehammer break / jump cue( View reviewed item )  I purchased the sledgehammer break / jump cue for $300. It was new and was packaged in plastic bubble inside of a tube in perfect condition. This is my first break cue so I do not have a break cue comparison, only playing cue vs break cue.
At first stroke compared to my playing cue it felt like a light tree trunk. That’s an exaggeration but it is thick with mostly conical taper. I measured the tip diameter to be 13m. The shaft did not have that glass smooth feel which is not important for a break cue but about 30 seconds of 2k grit made it so. One thing nice about a break cue, because it is not used so much the smooth feel lasts a very long time.
There is no bend or flex at impact, all power is transferred to the cue ball, especially with the very flat hard tip. Even though it is tagged at 19.3 oz it feels like 17 and moves very quick. I get a nice stable feel as I stroke. After the first break I thought, big deal, it broke and a ball went in, just like I do with a house cue. There was no sudden WOW, look at that break, money well spent. After a couple of breaks I realized how much power I was getting over my normal break and became more impressed with each break. In about 10 breaks I put one ball in most times, 2 balls twice and none once. That is not impressive or unusual but what did impressive me was when I realized I had never seen one ball drop. Usually I know every ball that goes in, just a flash of color is all it takes and I got it. These breaks I never even saw the object ball go in, or even move, just heard the crack of the impact then immediately heard a ball slam the pocket with force. The wing ball pockets very fast. Each break was well spread, balls everywhere which is good for run outs. After about 100 breaks I occasionally get spurts of no balls sunk which is normal for breaks, they are very variable. I get very few unscattered racks, almost every rack is well spread out over the entire table including the 9 ball. Sometimes it stays but about 50% it is across table.
It is easier to control the CB during the break. Due to the stiff shaft and tip design english is minimized so it is easier to get repeated consistent results with cue ball control, trying to keep it in the middle of the table. I only had unwanted high english a couple of times. Normally I have to be very careful to not apply high or left english or the cue ball will take off behind the rack, sometimes it will make it out and sometimes it will get blocked. Being careful to center hit the cue ball basically provides a stun hit and bounces the cue back to the center and transfers more energy to the rack. English losses power due to some cue action sliding off the side of the cue. Like the difference of a car with a head on collision or a half head on glancing off to the side. The cue is easier to hit harder without generating unwanted english.
If you want a laugh, try it on a few shots like a playing cue. It sounds very much like an aluminum stick without a tip. Just a weird sounding PLANK. The sound is not really noticeable during a break but try it on a normal shot and you jaws will drop.
The Sledgehammer is a bit pricey compared to other jump/break cues but I feel my purchase was worth it. Money well spent.
(I have no review on the jump abilities since I have not developed a jump skill at this point in time.)
Added: December 31st 2003
Reviewer:
Related Link: Sledgehammers home page
Hits: 25382
Language: english
Score:  (9/10)
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