If you like Triangle tips -- Some information and a mystery

BillPorter

BillPorter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
A few weeks back I read a thread that mentioned 15mm Triangle tips. One poster claimed that the 15mm tips were more consistent than the 14mm Triangles and another poster said that Tim Scruggs preferred the 15mm tips. Here is a link to that thread: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=205935&highlight=triangle+15mm

Well, that was enough for me and I ordered a box from Atlas Billiard Supply. I tried one and was very pleased with it. Then I tried a test that Kevin Varney once suggested and tossed a dozen of the tips into a glass of water. 11 out of 12 sunk right to the bottom. I remember doing this test with 14mm Triangles and having about 40% of them float. The idea of the test is that the more dense tips will sink.

Now for the mystery. If the 15mm tips are better (more consistent and especially more consistent in terms of density), why are they so hard to find? I could not find them available anywhere except Atlas Billiard Supply. Even the manufacturer of the tips (Tweeten Fibre Company) does not list 15mm as an available size for Triangle tips (http://www.tweeten.us/cuetips.html). And also mysterious to me is the fact that Atlas sells the 15mm in a box of 40 tips, but when you get the tips, it says 50 tips on the box (even though there are only 40 tips inside). So what happened to the other 10 tips? Curious minds want to know.
 
I'm guessing they didn't want to print labels for a 40-tip box because they don't sell as many. But you knew up front you were getting 40 tips. No intentional deception there.
 
I've used Triangle and LePro's for years and after I put them on I break with them a few dozen times and then re shape and wet around the edge of tip. I very rarely get a tip that isn't good thay way. There still the best bang for the buck IMO and easy to install. Johnnyt
 
i have been using the 15mms for quite awhile now. i had heard somewhere that several top cuemakers who are known for using triangles use the 15mm version as they are much better and I decided to try for myself and discovered that it is indeed true. also for the lepro, the 15mm version of that is also much better.

i did speak briefly with the president of Tweeten telling him how much i liked the 15mm lepros and triangles and to never stop making them. he said not to worry, they have plenty and would keep making them.

i also know of no other place that sells them besides atlas. i am guessing they only have 40 per box, because it is a specialty item and they are using the 14mm tip boxes and didn't make a bigger sized box for 15mm tips. thus they can only fit 40 tips per box.
 
Frankenstroke said:
I'm guessing they didn't want to print labels for a 40-tip box because they don't sell as many. But you knew up front you were getting 40 tips. No intentional deception there.
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Right, I knew I was getting 40 tips in the box. There was no deception. I just thought it odd that the label said 50 tips. You may well be correct in thinking that Tweeten may have just not wanted to print a different label, especially considering that there is probably a low volume of these 15mm tips sold.

I think the fact that the 15mm tips come only 40 to the box instead of 50 suggests that the 15mm tips are slightly more expensive to manufacture.

My main reason for posting about this is to suggest that if you like to use Triangle tips, it makes sense to me to go with the 15mm version. Everything I hear suggests that they are a better choice than the 14mm tips.
 
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What difference does the size make to a tip?

Also, can someone tell me what to look for when you drop a tip into water - is sinking better than floating, or vice versa?
 
I wonder if the 15mm tips are not just 14mm tips that are pressed more? I always bought boxes of 13mm and press them myself and get 14mm tips out of them and they wont all fit back in the box.

that would make some sense right?
 
if you make a bigger tip, the tip has to be thicker otherwise you end up with a very thin tip. apparently this is what makes the 15mm tips better, they have to use a thicker part of the hide, and this is seemingly a better quality leather.

i've not tried the sinker/floater thing, but i know someone who ran an experiment and found that it doesn't work very well. some floaters played well and some sinkers were duds. i've not found a reliable way to sort out the good and bad ones myself. with the 15mm there are so few bad ones, you don't really need to sort them.
 
McChen said:
if you make a bigger tip, the tip has to be thicker otherwise you end up with a very thin tip. apparently this is what makes the 15mm tips better, they have to use a thicker part of the hide, and this is seemingly a better quality leather.

i've not tried the sinker/floater thing, but i know someone who ran an experiment and found that it doesn't work very well. some floaters played well and some sinkers were duds. i've not found a reliable way to sort out the good and bad ones myself. with the 15mm there are so few bad ones, you don't really need to sort them.
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I have a couple of 13mms - so they're less likely to be as good as 14mms, which in turn are less likely to be as good as 15mms - is that right?
 
Triangle is one tip that I have never tried. With all the good press, I will be ordering some.
What is the hardness rating on the Triangle, or for the people that use them, what is your opinion on how they play?
Compared to the Le Pro and others.

Off topic for a second. A cue maker told me that the Le Pro were also more consistent in the 15mm size.
 
Klopek said:
The 14mm tips are tight inside the standard 50 tip box. When you add a mm to each tip, that would be 5mm larger across on every side. This is probably why they can only fit 40 in the box. :)
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And to think that in my youth I scored really high on the quantitative section of the GRE!? Of course, you are exactly right and I'm embarrassed that I didn't think of this myself. You can't quite fit five 15mm tips along the inside edge of the square box.:)
 
TheThaiger said:
What difference does the size make to a tip?

Also, can someone tell me what to look for when you drop a tip into water - is sinking better than floating, or vice versa?
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I am only going on what a cue maker, Kevin Varney, once posted. He claimed that the ones that sink will be the better tips. But another poster in this thread said he knew of someone who tried to test this out and found that the water test really wasn't that good an indicator of how the tip would play.
 
BillPorter said:
I am only going on what a cue maker, Kevin Varney, once posted. He claimed that the ones that sink will be the better tips. But another poster in this thread said he knew of someone who tried to test this out and found that the water test really wasn't that good an indicator of how the tip would play.
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I scuff the tip back first & then fill a sink with water. Throw a handful in and the ones that sink are the winners. The sinkers are more dense & cut cleaner as well as hold their shape better too. The floaters often fluff up and are very stringy. If you take note before you scuff them...the sinkers most of the time have the most smooth back. The ones that have deeper grain lines on the back & are less smooth...they tend to float. Not a 100% perfect scientific test...but works well for me.:wink:
 
Blue Hog ridr said:
What is the hardness rating on the Triangle, or for the people that use them, what is your opinion on how they play?
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They are usually rated as a "hard" tip, but they don't produce a "clink" or "ping" sound like some hard tips. They sound like a relatively soft tip to me. A good Triangle tip plays as well as any tip out there IMHO. I have played with many different tips, including quite a few pricey, layered tips, and don't think anything plays significantly better than a good triangle. Of course, this is pretty much a matter of personal preference.

BTW, I just found another source of the 15mm Triangles. At least they show that size on their Website: http://www.cuebux.com/triangle-tips.html
 
I just ordered 20 tips triangles and 20 tips Lepro's both 15mm's, can't wait! :)

but why they list quantity sellings per tip only, I was looking to buy a box, didn't find.

P.S. BillPorter thanks for the rep, ive been looking to buy a 15mm tips lepros+triangles my favorite tips ever!! rep for you my friend
 
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BillPorter said:
They are usually rated as a "hard" tip, but they don't produce a "clink" or "ping" sound like some hard tips. They sound like a relatively soft tip to me.
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What the pool world needs is standards! I have heard and read Triangles are a hard tip. I have several and they are not a hard tip. I think at best they are near medium. Triangle in a 13 mm use to be med hard but I don't know any more. 14's are on the soft side like a Elk or Blue Diamond.

The mfg's change their mixture so who knows what comes next? For Instance the WB brand use to be a med tip but now they are hard. Lepro use to be a med tip in 13 & 14 but now they approach hard. Until someone ( like a mfg) does something consistent no one can be sure their info is correct. Its called guess or modify the tip yourself. I compress elks and triangles, so I get real close to the same tip every time. I compress a specific amount for each brand but I prefer elks.

Ask or read at your own risk if you want tip info. No one knows what you feel. At best its in the ball park.

Rod
 
TheThaiger said:
I have a couple of 13mms - so they're less likely to be as good as 14mms, which in turn are less likely to be as good as 15mms - is that right?
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i haven't noticed any difference in the smaller sizes, only the 15mm seems to be better

if anyone gets the 15mm's from cuebux, can they confirm they really do have the right size? if they do, it would be great to have another supplier besides atlas.
 
Rod said:
What the pool world needs is standards! I have heard and read Triangles are a hard tip. I have several and they are not a hard tip. I think at best they are near medium. Triangle in a 13 mm use to be med hard but I don't know any more. 14's are on the soft side like a Elk or Blue Diamond.

The mfg's change their mixture so who knows what comes next? For Instance the WB brand use to be a med tip but now they are hard. Lepro use to be a med tip in 13 & 14 but now they approach hard. Until someone ( like a mfg) does something consistent no one can be sure their info is correct. Its called guess or modify the tip yourself. I compress elks and triangles, so I get real close to the same tip every time. I compress a specific amount for each brand but I prefer elks.

Ask or read at your own risk if you want tip info. No one knows what you feel. At best its in the ball park.

Rod
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If there's a cheaper way of making something, someone somewhere will make it cheaper if they can sell it. I'm not saying that's what's happened with Triangles but i have two boxes that are over 10 years old and they have never done me wrong.
 
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