The Viking Quick Release joint is Viking's own design, machined in-house from stainless steel and brass and standard across the Viking line rather than an upgrade. Quarter King carries 123 Viking Quick Release cues, priced from about $20 to about $2,900, almost all from Viking itself.
Quarter King Billiards is an authorized Viking dealer. Free shipping on orders over $98 (contiguous US) and 30-day returns. Every spec on this page is checked against the manufacturer's published data by our Wilmington, NC store team.
4.9/5 average from 136 customer reviews across Viking Quick Release.
Viking designs and manufactures its own joint pin and female insert from stainless steel and brass, and installs every joint on CNC-controlled machinery to keep the assembly concentric. Viking states the joint holds to a tolerance of .0005 inch and takes about five turns to secure the shaft to the butt. Despite the metal pin and insert, Viking builds the mating faces around the joint wood-to-wood, and offers different joint collar combinations to shift the resulting hit softer or harder depending on the model.
Compared with other quick-release systems, Viking's five-turn engagement sits between Predator's Uni-Loc, which locks in about one and a half turns, and a Radial-style pin, which can take seven or more threads to fully seat. Viking's own butt construction backs the joint up with finger-jointed wood sections for straightness and balance, so the joint isn't the only piece doing the work of keeping the cue true over time. Viking also installs the same weight-bolt system across its cues independent of the joint, letting a player fine-tune overall balance without touching the joint itself, so weight adjustments and joint maintenance stay as two separate, independent tasks that a player can handle on their own schedule.
The combination of a precision metal pin with wood-to-wood contact at the joint face is meant to deliver both durability and a feel closer to a traditional cue than an all-metal joint would give. Viking positions the quick-release mechanism as a standard feature rather than a paid option, framing it as something competitors charge extra for. It suits players who want a durable, USA-built two-piece cue that can be broken down and reassembled repeatedly without the joint loosening over time.
Viking accounts for 117 of our 123 Viking Quick Release cues, with K2 building the remaining 6 to the same joint spec, and prices ranging from about $20 to about $2,900. The lineup spans entry pieces up to collectible models, including the Element Series FIRE and Element Series WATER, along with the Ragnar System Youth Cue and the Carmeli Blue Diamond by Viking. Shop the full range under Viking and K2.
Viking's Quick Release pin is proprietary to Viking, built to the same spec by K2, and is not interchangeable with Predator's Uni-Loc or with generic thread pins like 5/16-18, despite all three being described as quick-release or flat joint styles in casual conversation. If you need a replacement or upgrade shaft, stay within Viking-spec parts, check tip diameter under shaft size, and confirm the fit with our shaft fit finder or the glossary before ordering.
Viking's own stainless steel and brass quick-release joint, machined in-house on CNC equipment. It secures a shaft to a butt in about five turns with a stated .0005 inch tolerance.
Both. The pin and insert are stainless steel and brass, but Viking builds the mating faces around the joint wood-to-wood for a feel closer to a traditional cue.
No. Viking includes it as a standard feature across its cue line rather than as a paid upgrade.
No. They are separate proprietary designs from different companies and are not interchangeable, even though both are described as quick-release joints.
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