boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
Zan GripHard is amazing. It installed very well, trims up good and super easy to burnish without much pressure/heat. I used a Japanese Kiridashi knife to trim. The linked knife made it way easier than using those brass handled disposable ones. If you plan on installing more than 3 tips in your life, get the one listed instead of the disposable. The disposable is about a 2-3 use and then it's junk. $5 more and you have a tool, not a landfill filler. I cut some excess overhang off with a Japanese double edge Feather Blade since they are the sharpest shaving razor available. It's a double edge and I just snapped it in half and put tape on the middle. Worked damn well for trimming excess and rough shaping the radius, very flexible. I then trimmed it 100% flush with the Kiridashi, this knife oh my, so good... perfect trim using my semi-crappy/semi-decent drill based lathe. No sandpaper needed, just dead nuts flush. I used a Tweeten metal tip sander and finished to a dime radius with a Last4Ever, then hit it a bit with the Tweeten as it cuts better. I put some Renaissance Wax on with my finger, careful not to get on the radius of the tip, just enough to darken the leather on the side fully. Burnished with leather. Rolled the radius on a Kamui Gator Grip tool.
As to the tip itself... I'm used to hard milkduds (homemade or ki-tech), I love hard tips. When I first chalked this tip, it felt dry. Very odd feeling as the milkduds feel different. Not bad, but different. The GripHard feels like you can feel the grit of the chalk through the grip hand and it holds chalk like crazy. I don't know how a tip this hard holds regular Master chalk so good, but damn it does. I've only put 5 hours of play on it, but it shows no glazing, no "thin chalk" at the edges, nothing. I play on the edges and this tip just has a thick coating of chalk all over, even after play.
Compared to a hard dud or a ki-tech it feels like there is less springiness to it. At first I was unsure, but let me tell you, this is a good thing. The tip feels like a surgical instrument in your hands, yet it is forgiving. Less chance of miscue, yet hard wired to your stroke. You can't blame the tip, you're hard wired to the cue. If you like hard tips, you understand what I mean, and the GripHard wires you like no other. Every hit is a revelation, your stroke wasn't the problem, it was a springy tip.
If you love hard tips, get these. PERIOD. FULL STOP.
Thanks @customcue for the suggestion!
As to the tip itself... I'm used to hard milkduds (homemade or ki-tech), I love hard tips. When I first chalked this tip, it felt dry. Very odd feeling as the milkduds feel different. Not bad, but different. The GripHard feels like you can feel the grit of the chalk through the grip hand and it holds chalk like crazy. I don't know how a tip this hard holds regular Master chalk so good, but damn it does. I've only put 5 hours of play on it, but it shows no glazing, no "thin chalk" at the edges, nothing. I play on the edges and this tip just has a thick coating of chalk all over, even after play.
Compared to a hard dud or a ki-tech it feels like there is less springiness to it. At first I was unsure, but let me tell you, this is a good thing. The tip feels like a surgical instrument in your hands, yet it is forgiving. Less chance of miscue, yet hard wired to your stroke. You can't blame the tip, you're hard wired to the cue. If you like hard tips, you understand what I mean, and the GripHard wires you like no other. Every hit is a revelation, your stroke wasn't the problem, it was a springy tip.
If you love hard tips, get these. PERIOD. FULL STOP.
Thanks @customcue for the suggestion!