Dime Radius or Nickel Radius?

Dime Radius or Nickel Radius; which do you prefer and why?

  • Dime

    Votes: 39 44.8%
  • Nickel

    Votes: 33 37.9%
  • Doesn't matter to me

    Votes: 15 17.2%

  • Total voters
    87
  • Poll closed .

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
are you sure you guys are using convex and concave properly. patrick???

a normal cue tip is shaped sort of convex.
Sorry, just saw this. Yes, the drawing is of a concave tip (which is what I answered about in my post).

pj
chgo
 

smoochie

NotLikeThis
I didn’t want to create new thread but here’s my result on experimenting with this on the same cue/tip

Nickel-

Pros: Better pocketing ability, more forgiving. I feel that everything goes in with that tip shape.

Cons: Can miscue when go offset to draw the ball and overall less spin and less draws on the cue ball even on low speed shots.

Dime-

The opposite. Being you can shoot at extreme offset and draw easily with power or even low speed draws. I don’t miscue with this shape

however the setback is that sometimes you miss shots with how the tip spins the ball.

All of this from personal testing. So you choose! Do you want more accuracy or more offset cue ball shooting and easier draw on the cue ball. I’m still undecided.
 

buckshotshoey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I didn’t want to create new thread but here’s my result on experimenting with this on the same cue/tip

Nickel-

Pros: Better pocketing ability, more forgiving. I feel that everything goes in with that tip shape.

Cons: Can miscue when go offset to draw the ball and overall less spin and less draws on the cue ball even on low speed shots.

Dime-

The opposite. Being you can shoot at extreme offset and draw easily with power or even low speed draws. I don’t miscue with this shape

however the setback is that sometimes you miss shots with how the tip spins the ball.

All of this from personal testing. So you choose! Do you want more accuracy or more offset cue ball shooting and easier draw on the cue ball. I’m still undecided.
I took a plastic tip sander and heated it with a heat gun, and made my own shape.
It about a penny radius, or slightly larger then the dime. I feel it gives me the best of both.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
Do you want more accuracy or more offset cue ball shooting and easier draw on the cue ball.
I think that's a false choice - max spin is better with a rounder tip, but a flatter tip isn't "more accurate" (more forgiving). See my post #50 in this thread.

In other words, I think the rounder the tip the better.

pj
chgo
 
Last edited:

smoochie

NotLikeThis
Truthfully, for 99.9% of us it makes no differenc

I think that's a false choice - max spin is better with a rounder tip, but a flatter tip isn't "more accurate" (more forgiving). See my post #50 in this thread.

In other words, I think the rounder the tip the better.

pj
chgo
I posted based purely on my own personal experiment and thats how I feel.

I'm unsure of the difference between "More accurate" and "More forgiving" I feel that they're likely to be meaning the same, in other words I feel that when I do the nickel shape i.e. more flatter than a dime (rounder) ---- so if I am on the nickel my pocketing ability is better, more accurate, more forgiving in the sense of making me pocket more balls. I'm firmly believing this as an own personal experiment for days.

I instantly felt the difference changing to a dime (more rounder), I can draw better, hit more offset (left, right, bottom) and create more spin, HOWEVER. as I said in my previous post, here with this shape sometimes I tend to miss more balls due to unwanted spin, I feel that sometimes the hit THROWS the object ball slightly to left or right depending on what english I am putting, which did not happen on the nickel with the same exact shot, even though on both shots I hit in the exact same place of the cueball, but in both shapes the english were different obviously, one threw the cueball which needs to be adjusted for.

Anyway the first line of my post said that it is personal experimentation and I do understand if you're having different results.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
I'm unsure of the difference between "More accurate" and "More forgiving"
The most common reason players like flatter tips is that they believe slight stroke errors won't have as big an effect because a flatter tip hits closer to their intended tip/ball contact point than a rounder one would. That's technically true, but the difference is so tiny it's insignificant (as I illustrate in my diagram in post #50 of this thread).

Maybe you meant something else...?

pj
chgo
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The most common reason players like flatter tips is that they believe slight stroke errors won't have as big an effect because a flatter tip hits closer to their intended tip/ball contact point than a rounder one would. That's technically true, but the difference is so tiny it's insignificant (as I illustrate in my diagram in post #50 of this thread).

Maybe you meant something else...?

pj
chgo

Why would one NOT want to hit “CLOSER to their INTENDED” target?
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
Why would one NOT want to hit “CLOSER to their INTENDED” target?
Of course one would (even me) - if it mattered and didn't cost too much.

But (as I said above) it doesn't matter to your accuracy and it does cost some of your ability to get maximum spin.

pj
chgo
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If you think tip shape is a big impediment to your game, you probably have other things that need significantly more work than your tip.
 

smoochie

NotLikeThis
If you think tip shape is a big impediment to your game, you probably have other things that need significantly more work than your tip.
I'm in shock by this statement. Nobody here claiming that a shape is a big impediment, but even FOR YOU I'm sure you have one tip shape that you prefer and makes you perform better. I'm 100% certain that when you install a new tip you ask the guy to make it a certain shape, if that's the case then I don't understand your statement lol.

Each person wants to experiment with shapes to find his own, its not so much of an impediment as in finding what you like/prefer. again I'm baffled by what you just said honestly. The ONLY way that your statement would make sense is if you come back and tell me that you don't care what tip shape the guy who installs your tip does, in other words you'd answer the guy "Hey man just shape it anyway you want". Then I'd understand your statement.
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm in shock by this statement. Nobody here claiming that a shape is a big impediment, but even FOR YOU I'm sure you have one tip shape that you prefer and makes you perform better. I'm 100% certain that when you install a new tip you ask the guy to make it a certain shape, if that's the case then I don't understand your statement lol.

Each person wants to experiment with shapes to find his own, its not so much of an impediment as in finding what you like/prefer. again I'm baffled by what you just said honestly. The ONLY way that your statement would make sense is if you come back and tell me that you don't care what tip shape the guy who installs your tip does, in other words you'd answer the guy "Hey man just shape it anyway you want". Then I'd understand your statement.

I am saying that I can play with either shape and adjust.

I prefer a larger tip than most people and I prefer a nickel.

It doesn’t take very long to figure out what you prefer.

It just takes hitting a few racks of balls.
 

CocoboloCowboy

Cowboys are my hero's
Silver Member
Easy answer is, no right answer, if there was company who make “WILLARD SHAPER” would not make DIME $ NICKEL TOOL.

Another question who owns both Dime & Nickel Willard at same time❓❓❓❓❓❓🤔
 

smoochie

NotLikeThis
I am saying that I can play with either shape and adjust.

I prefer a larger tip than most people and I prefer a nickel.

It doesn’t take very long to figure out what you prefer.

It just takes hitting a few racks of balls.
Good so tip shape is something you consider when you install a tip....then your previous comment made no sense but lets go past it.

You may hit few racks to figure out what you like, then grow older and try new shape and guess what there's a chance you will like another thing just like any other thing in life. All I am saying is that it is ok to hit few racks and find what you like but some other people may dig deeper into it for the fun of it, no impediment there at all.
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Good so tip shape is something you consider when you install a tip....then your previous comment made no sense but lets go past it.

You may hit few racks to figure out what you like, then grow older and try new shape and guess what there's a chance you will like another thing just like any other thing in life. All I am saying is that it is ok to hit few racks and find what you like but some other people may dig deeper into it for the fun of it, no impediment there at all.
I am already old.

I worked in a pool hall for years as a kid and teen and experimented with everything. I installed the tips and ferrules on the cues and I figured out what I liked and it was a large tip and nickel radius.

I have played thousands and thousands of hours and hit multiple thousands of balls.

Nickels for me.
 
Last edited:

newcuer

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Like smoochie, I find I miscue more on draw shots with a nickel radius (on my 12.4 Revo). That is pretty much my deciding factor on why I prefer a dime radius.
 

Jaden

"no buds chill"
Silver Member
Yes. It is only a slightly larger radius Then a dime. What so funny about it?
nothing really. Just that it comes down to personal preference. quibbling over whether you like it closer to dime or nickel seems a little like deciding whether or not in n out or five guys have better burgers...

Jaden
 
Top