Is there a noticable difference besides shape?
I use master in blue and it does what its supposed to.
Any input welcome.
I use master in blue and it does what its supposed to.
Any input welcome.
school me on chalk...
- Thread starter desertshark
- Start date
Master is all you need to know in my opinion. I just tried blue diamond, but I like master just as well and like the price many times more. Save your budget ans stick with a winner.
Masters is definitely great for the price. I recently purchased a couple pieces of Blue Diamond off of ebay and this will be my new chalk from here on out. I use a Kamui SS tip and I love the way it coats the tip.
AD
AD
My impression as well...but...buying a couple of cubes of blue diamond yielded a nice box to keep extra chalk in without messing up my case.
Yeah that's kind of what I figured. I've been using it since I learned to play at a tender age of 7. How can almost 30 years be wrong lol.
As far as the case mess, I got a case that came with a plastic case and some cheap thing to put it in. I flip the chalk in there so the hole is on the bottom and stuff it in the button pouch thing. No issues. When I play I take it out of all that, dont like the case, pocket hanger or any of it.
And when I picked up the master I got a dozen for $2.50
As far as the case mess, I got a case that came with a plastic case and some cheap thing to put it in. I flip the chalk in there so the hole is on the bottom and stuff it in the button pouch thing. No issues. When I play I take it out of all that, dont like the case, pocket hanger or any of it.
And when I picked up the master I got a dozen for $2.50
Last edited:
Well, I'll probably be in the minority here, but I honestly think Blue Diamond coats the tip better than other chalks I've used. I'm of the opinion that Kamui would do that job even better, based on the reviews provided. I don't mind paying 3 bucks for a piece of chalk if there is a bit of an improvement yet I have held off on paying 30 bucks on a chance.
The Blue Diamond is just slightly better, probably not even noticeable if you have a solid pre shot routine that includes chalking with your Masters chalk. Regardless, I think about the fact that 3 bucks for a piece of chalk(Blue Diamond) that will last me for 5 months is a tiny investment. For that reason alone, I'm thinking of being one of the "fools" that tosses out 28 bucks for Kamui chalk. As foolish as I already think it can be, the people who have bought it tend to swear by it, and when I think of the roughly dollar a week it costs to use... well, I spend way more than a buck a week foolishly.
The Blue Diamond is just slightly better, probably not even noticeable if you have a solid pre shot routine that includes chalking with your Masters chalk. Regardless, I think about the fact that 3 bucks for a piece of chalk(Blue Diamond) that will last me for 5 months is a tiny investment. For that reason alone, I'm thinking of being one of the "fools" that tosses out 28 bucks for Kamui chalk. As foolish as I already think it can be, the people who have bought it tend to swear by it, and when I think of the roughly dollar a week it costs to use... well, I spend way more than a buck a week foolishly.
I can see your point Paulie. I was just curious. I may pick up a few other pieces just to see since I already have some back up on hand.
Has anyone used predator?
Oh and you guys chalking after every shot? Know I do I go through a cube a month.
Has anyone used predator?
Oh and you guys chalking after every shot? Know I do I go through a cube a month.
Master's work fine and worked fine for me until I got me a cube of Kamui.
I just don't like to chalk after every other shot and that's what you have to do using Master's. Or at least every 5 shots. If you don't do that, then miscue is about to happen.
With Kamui I chalk every other rack when playing a game and maybe every other 50 shots when practicing and I like that. When I shoot I don't wanna be distracted by anything, especially chalking my tip. And it's been working great for me.
As far as the price goes - I think that 30$ goes a long way. I had my cube of Kamui for over 5 months now and still haven't used 1/3 of it yet. At this rate it's gonna last me definitely over a year. At least.
Kamui is the best chalk that works for me.
But if I liked to chalk all the time like a lot of players that I see do, I would definitely go with Master's.
I just don't like to chalk after every other shot and that's what you have to do using Master's. Or at least every 5 shots. If you don't do that, then miscue is about to happen.
With Kamui I chalk every other rack when playing a game and maybe every other 50 shots when practicing and I like that. When I shoot I don't wanna be distracted by anything, especially chalking my tip. And it's been working great for me.
As far as the price goes - I think that 30$ goes a long way. I had my cube of Kamui for over 5 months now and still haven't used 1/3 of it yet. At this rate it's gonna last me definitely over a year. At least.
Kamui is the best chalk that works for me.
But if I liked to chalk all the time like a lot of players that I see do, I would definitely go with Master's.
I use Masters and that is all you need.
I also have Kamui chalk, but the only thing I use it for is to chalk my break cue once per session (its a Mezz PB Pro and the tip just doesn't take any other chalk) and whenever I reshape the tip on my breaker I put it on it and use Masters over it. The only reason I do that is because my tip doesn't seem to glaze over at all when I do that.
LoL oooh yea I also have a cube of Blue Diamond in my bag, but it's pretty well unused. If anyone can find me in a pool hall I'll give it to ya for free. Not that I think the chalk is bad, but because I don't bother using it.
I also have Kamui chalk, but the only thing I use it for is to chalk my break cue once per session (its a Mezz PB Pro and the tip just doesn't take any other chalk) and whenever I reshape the tip on my breaker I put it on it and use Masters over it. The only reason I do that is because my tip doesn't seem to glaze over at all when I do that.
LoL oooh yea I also have a cube of Blue Diamond in my bag, but it's pretty well unused. If anyone can find me in a pool hall I'll give it to ya for free. Not that I think the chalk is bad, but because I don't bother using it.
I bought a cube of Kamui after Danny DiLiberto showed me his piece he had been using for over 6 months and I realized it wasn't gonna be 30Bucks a month... More like 30 bucks every year unless some asshat steals your cube when you aren't paying attention..... Which is exactly what happened to my first piece.... Actually was stolen from my hotel room but that's a different story....
I actually play with phenolic and with masters I have to hit it with sandpaper to keep chalk on it... I came home from Tunica and had to play masters division... I ended up misscueing 4 times in the match using blue masters... Chalking every time...
Normally I likely would have roughened my tip but there was no need with the Kamui so I didn't realize it was getting slick.. I got another cube of Kamui later that week and still didn't rough the tip but the misscues stopped....
Chris
I actually play with phenolic and with masters I have to hit it with sandpaper to keep chalk on it... I came home from Tunica and had to play masters division... I ended up misscueing 4 times in the match using blue masters... Chalking every time...
Normally I likely would have roughened my tip but there was no need with the Kamui so I didn't realize it was getting slick.. I got another cube of Kamui later that week and still didn't rough the tip but the misscues stopped....
Chris
Unless I've missed something over the last 25 years of playing pool, chalk is the substance that helps increase the friction between the cue tip and the cue ball, thereby allowing you to make the cue ball move to the next desired location. Right?
As we all know, miscues happen for two reasons: (1) a really bad stroke (i.e. dropping your shoulder or jumping up), and (2) not enough chalk on the tip to adequately grip the cue ball. (If I'm missing a 3rd reason, please let me know.)
Once you've played pool long enough, you understand the incredible importance of chalking your cue tip before every shot. Therefore, nearly all miscues are due to a bad stroke. My question: Is more expensive chalk going to fix a bad stroke?
As far as the actual differences between chalk brands, who knows? Each company has their proprietary blends of chemicals. The real question regarding the differences in chalk: Is there a significant difference in performance from brand to brand that justifies the very significant differences in price?
For instance, I'm sure every player has used Master chalk at one point in their pool playing career. As far as I'm concerned, Master works just fine. As a matter of fact, it works perfectly. And the price is incredibly reasonable, ranging from free on the rail of the table to $0.25 per cube (and that's full retail).
Now, let's examine all other chalks more expensive than Master, such as Blue Diamond, Kamui, and the new Predator chalk. Do these chalks offer a SIGNIFICANT improvement over Master to justify their lofty prices. By the way, if you don't think that $2 for chalk isn't expensive, you're fooling yourself. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, 2 bucks ain't that big of a deal. But, in general, $2 for a 1 inch cube of chalk is quite ridiculous. And don't even get me started on a $30 cube of Kamui!
Anyway, back to whether or not expensive chalk offers a SIGNIFICANT improvement over Master, I'll just say this: If those expensive chalks offered ANYTHING that Masters chalk cannot provide, every single pro pool player, snooker player, and billiard player would use them. EVERY. SINGLE. PRO. The fact that ANY pro still uses Master proves the other chalks are just hype.
And don't give me that foolish argument that you only have to chalk your tip once every three games with brand X chalk. My response to that is: whatever. If you're playing a big set or the finals of a tournament, are you really going to chalk your tip once every couple games? No, you're going to chalk every shot.
As we all know, miscues happen for two reasons: (1) a really bad stroke (i.e. dropping your shoulder or jumping up), and (2) not enough chalk on the tip to adequately grip the cue ball. (If I'm missing a 3rd reason, please let me know.)
Once you've played pool long enough, you understand the incredible importance of chalking your cue tip before every shot. Therefore, nearly all miscues are due to a bad stroke. My question: Is more expensive chalk going to fix a bad stroke?
As far as the actual differences between chalk brands, who knows? Each company has their proprietary blends of chemicals. The real question regarding the differences in chalk: Is there a significant difference in performance from brand to brand that justifies the very significant differences in price?
For instance, I'm sure every player has used Master chalk at one point in their pool playing career. As far as I'm concerned, Master works just fine. As a matter of fact, it works perfectly. And the price is incredibly reasonable, ranging from free on the rail of the table to $0.25 per cube (and that's full retail).
Now, let's examine all other chalks more expensive than Master, such as Blue Diamond, Kamui, and the new Predator chalk. Do these chalks offer a SIGNIFICANT improvement over Master to justify their lofty prices. By the way, if you don't think that $2 for chalk isn't expensive, you're fooling yourself. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, 2 bucks ain't that big of a deal. But, in general, $2 for a 1 inch cube of chalk is quite ridiculous. And don't even get me started on a $30 cube of Kamui!
Anyway, back to whether or not expensive chalk offers a SIGNIFICANT improvement over Master, I'll just say this: If those expensive chalks offered ANYTHING that Masters chalk cannot provide, every single pro pool player, snooker player, and billiard player would use them. EVERY. SINGLE. PRO. The fact that ANY pro still uses Master proves the other chalks are just hype.
And don't give me that foolish argument that you only have to chalk your tip once every three games with brand X chalk. My response to that is: whatever. If you're playing a big set or the finals of a tournament, are you really going to chalk your tip once every couple games? No, you're going to chalk every shot.
Last edited:
Try a cube of Kamui. Even if you hate it, at least you'll know.
I'd rather not know and keep my thirty bucks.
Seriously though, I tried Kamui at Valley Forge a year or two ago. Chalking is part of my pre-shot routine so I would go through it far too fast to justify the expense.
The main reason I like Kamui is that I hate chalking my tip! With passion! Like I said before, when I shoot pool I don't like to be distracted from shooting pool by anything, especially if it makes me stop and chalk my tip.
I watch many players that use Master's and most of them , if not all ,constantly chalking their tips during their game.
That's why I switched to Kamui.
I watch many players that use Master's and most of them , if not all ,constantly chalking their tips during their game.
That's why I switched to Kamui.
im really in the minority and use triangle chalk. i did buy the two pack of BD and will try it after my new cube of triangle goes out.
give triangle a shot. basically same price as masters but i feel it coats better. :smile: and they also come in a two pack that i use for my case
give triangle a shot. basically same price as masters but i feel it coats better. :smile: and they also come in a two pack that i use for my case
I'm a Tweetens man also....and I love Triangle especially in damp conditions.
Master does the job in normal conditions, I've found.
People keep giving me Blue Diamond and Magic but Tweetens feels fine.
Kamui doesn't even FEEL like chalk....
...but I guess it's alright in a 'make-up' match...
Here is the lowdown:
A) If you are not getting miscues (however you use it) your application of that chalk is just fine, and there is no reason to change.
B) If you use more than 1 cube every 6 months playing 5-7 hours a week, your chalking technique is in question.
{ Me, I use (use, not advocate) masters blue. I can draw back 12 diamonds from a table length shot, I play 3 hours per day, use a hard 11.5mm tip, and I get about 1.5 years on a cube.}
A) If you are not getting miscues (however you use it) your application of that chalk is just fine, and there is no reason to change.
B) If you use more than 1 cube every 6 months playing 5-7 hours a week, your chalking technique is in question.
{ Me, I use (use, not advocate) masters blue. I can draw back 12 diamonds from a table length shot, I play 3 hours per day, use a hard 11.5mm tip, and I get about 1.5 years on a cube.}