Click image for larger view.

Click the image above for a high-resolution photo
J&J 4414 jump/break cue
Jump/Break Cue with Speed Joint, water buffalo tip*, Irish Linen wrap

This cue has a natural stained maple forearm and butt. The break jump conversion has a quick release joint. The wrap is black with white spec Irish linen. The shaft is extra stiff and designed for breaking and jumping. The joint is piloted, 5/16” x 18 stainless steel with two black phenolic rings.

* The stock shaft that came with this cue originally came with a water buffalo tip. That tip has been replaced several times, and will soon be replaced with a Tiger ICEBREAKER® Phenolic/Leather Cue Tip. Depending on how the ICEBREAKER® tip performs (and more importantly, feels), I may switch to that shaft for the majority of breaking and/or jumping. I'm also looking at the Raven Jump Tip (probably the Green model) as well as the Picone White Diamond jump/break tip.

Update, September 13, 2009: The ICEBREAKER® tip has popped off twice now, and is no longer on the original wood shaft. I haven't yet contacted Tiger, whom I suspect will blame the installer (Wes, who does cues and tables for a living, and is very well known), so I'm now trying to decide if I want to go with the Picone White Diamond jump/break tip or use the Wizard Hard layered tip (after I compress it further, using the Milk Dud process.)

Touted by many as the "best bang for the buck" jump/break cue, J&J jump/break cues are an excellent combination-type cue, giving both very good, solid break and jump cue performance. The J&J jump/break cues (both the 4410 and the 4414) perform nearly as well as the Predator BK2 break cue, at a fraction of the cost (the Predator BK2 costs ~$350 to ~$500; the Predator BK2 break shaft alone runs ~$225, whereas the J&J jump/break cues can be bought for under $100, typically running ~$50.) Many people prefer the J&J Spark Break cue; my J&J 4414 has been outfitted with a J&J Spark Break shaft (costing a mere ~$30 direct from J&J; see details below), providing the best of both worlds.

Note: As of March 20, 2009, I've been informed by J&J that the 4414 is "officially discontinued", and that they "...may discontinue the 4410 cue as well." That's a shame, IMO, as the 4414 is a great jump/break cue. The 4410 is nearly identical, except it's done in all black, and the jump cue portion has a wrap (instead of wrapless, as the 4414.)
       

  • Cue weight information

    • Full Butt: 15.6 ounces

    • Shaft (both shafts 29Ľ" long, including tip)

      • Stock (Tiger ICEBREAKER® tip): 4.1 ounces

      • XS/SB-1 Spark Break (phenolic tip): 4.2 ounces (13mm)

    • Total cue weight

      • With stock shaft (Tiger ICEBREAKER® tip): 19.7 ounces

      • With XS/SB-1 Spark Break shaft: 19.75 ounces

      • Jump cue weight: TBD

  • Cue length: 58˝” (tip of shaft to bottom of bumper)

    • Balance point (from bottom of bumper on butt)

      • With stock shaft (Tiger ICEBREAKER® tip): 19ľ"

      • With XS/SB-1 Spark Break shaft: 20"

  • Jump cue length:

    • Jump butt only: 11˝"

    • With XS/SB-1 Spark Break shaft (phenolic tip): 41"
       

The stock shaft has been supplemented with the following shaft, mostly for jumping due to the full phenolic tip:

Shaft: J&J XS/SB-1

 Spark Break shaft with 5/16”x18 piloted joint, black collar. Break cue (13mm) taper, installed with super hard Magic phenolic tip, adding more power for breaking. This shaft is a spare shaft for the J&J Spark Break cues. It fits many J&J cues and other brand cues with a 5/16”x18 piloted joint. (Interestingly enough, J&J kept telling me that this shaft would not fit my J&J 4414 jump/break cue, which has a piloted joint. It does fit, perfectly fine. J&J kept trying to sell me the XS/BK-18T, which is basically the same shaft except it has a flat-faced joint, and a black ferrule.)

 
Update, March 14, 2009: I've been playing with the Tiger ICEBREAKER® tip on the stock shaft for a few weeks now. It's not a bad tip; it does allow me to use more English/spin on the break, but I don't think it performs as well as the J&J Spark Break shaft (which has a full phenolic tip.) For breaking, it's decent; for jumping, not as good. Since I can't jump balls worth a damn, I let one of the guys who works at my local pool hall try both (he's very, very good at jumping.) With the Spark Break shaft, he said it jumps very well, and he's able to get both distance and height, not to mention accuracy. With the Tiger ICEBREAKER® tip, he can't get as much height, and distance doesn't seem to be as good, either. The Tiger ICEBREAKER® tip holds chalk very well, and seems to be more forgiving on off-center shots, like a leather tip would be (since it has a leather center surrounded by a phenolic jacket, that makes sense.) However, I just don't like the "feel" of the Tiger ICEBREAKER® tip, compared to the Spark Break shaft with the full phenolic tip, and I've gone back to using the J&J Spark Break shaft as my main breaking (and trying to jump) shaft.

Update, March 22, 2009: I've been practicing my jump shot a lot, and I'm pleased to say that I'm now able to execute a successful jump at least 95% of the time, often hitting my target object ball. Just the past Saturday (March 21, 2009), I was playing in a local 9-ball tournament, and my opponent hooked me several times. I was able to successfully jump the cue ball and hit the object ball every time (except once, when I miscued), and I once even pocketed the object ball after making a successful jump (although to be honest, the object ball was a hanger and directly in front of the pocket, and it was a relatively easy shot.) Accuracy still isn't where I want it to be, but I can hit the object ball, at least, and thereby not give up ball in hand when I'm hooked behind another ball. I'm also working on cue ball control, so that when I do jump, I don't end up in bad or worse position on my next shot, if I happen to make the object ball. Being able to execute a successful jump shot is important, IMO, since it's much easier to jump the cue ball than to calculate the angles necessary to hit the object ball using a kick shot.

Updated info, March 11, 2009: One of the better players (he typically wins the Saturday 9-ball tournament) at my local pool hall (Stroker's 2 in Tampa) liked my J&J 4414 so much, he ordered a J&J 4410 (the black version) from J&J. Unfortunately, they sent him the standard shaft (with a hard leather water buffalo tip) instead of the phenolic tip he asked for (based on what I told him to get.) Interestingly enough, it turns out that the J&J 4410 IS a flat-faced joint, not piloted like my J&J 4414. That would explain why J&J kept trying to sell me the XS/BK-18T shaft, since it's flat-faced. I emailed J&J, and was told that "...they used the piloted joint originally, but then switched to the flat-faced joint about a year later." Also unfortunately, J&J is "sold out" of the XS/BK-18T shaft, which would explain why they sent him the stock shaft with the water buffalo tip. Needless to say, he's not happy, since my 4414 with the XS/SB-1 Spark Break shaft makes jumping the cue ball almost effortless, and the stock shaft with the water buffalo tip is nearly impossible to jump the cue ball with. I'm still looking at getting my son a J&J 4410, but IMO both breaking and jumping are much better with the phenolic tip, so I plan on waiting until J&J gets the XS/BK-18T shaft back in stock. Unless I can find a J&J 4414 or a 4410 with the piloted joint, which I would really prefer, as I could then pick up the XS/SB-1 Spark Break shaft, just like I have. At ~$30 (plus s/h), it's a great price for an excellent jump/break shaft.