Lol the guy that thinks chalk will change your tip shape calling someone a tool.
This is great stuff
Another entertained customer, like JV. His vitriol & pompous attitude vanished when presented with more detailed info from credible sources... you're apparently not quite as quick on the uptake. If you are actually interested in an intelligent discussion on the subject vs just taking keyboard pot shots - then take a few min to review the stuff I posted earlier and then come back and help us all with a rational explanation on how abrasive chalk
can't do what I and others experience on softer/medium tips.
We're all adults here. No one is talking about using chalk to actually shape your tip. And no one is talking about drilling your tip mindlessly into chalk like bangers do. But after original shaping to ones prefered shape, proper use of abrasive older style chalks will indeed help to maintain that shape. It's not like I invented the idea, this is somewhat well known and obvious. This discussion is bordering on ridiculous; the fact that this is a contentious issue is pretty wild. Have you never seen cheap beater house cues in dive bars with tips that are actually nicely shaped and well worn, and ferrules with deep blue scratches? Tables, balls and cues in these environments never see maintenance or tip shaping. Yet the tips wear down and need replaced. What's causing that?
The only thing I can surmise is that perhaps some folks prefer hard tips and chalking doesn't really have much impact on those, so they never considered or experienced how medium/softer tips react to grainy chalks over time. That would be a reasonable explanation for the difference in perspectives, although it doesn't justify all the attitude and arrogance.
I never really thought about this stuff either, until I started using CF shafts. They are so stiff, that like many others I migrated to softer tips. The well known negative of softer tips is that they generally need more maintenance and thus wear out much quicker. Experimenting with different chalks over the last 2 years or so, I realized that once I got a good shape on a Kamui soft or an Ultraskin medium - playing a lot on home table with nicer quality chalks, at first I was scuffing them a bit every week or so to keep them in good shape. But then after starting to play much more out in poolhalls/bars, I noticed that using the more abrasive chalks seemed to keep them in good shape and I didn't have to do much to them at all, and they wear out much slower when I don't have to actively scuff them with tools. BUT, they still wear out.
Like many, I also much prefer the new style chalks which are much cleaner for the home table env and Taom v10 is definitely best in this regard. But, I found that Roku, Toams etc are such a delicate fine compound and require so little brushing/application, that the minor abrasion/factor effect doesn't really happen. Over time, I found by simply using Russian Magic at home (which is sort of middle of the road, much more abrasive/grainy than the fancy new stuff, but much cleaner than Masters etc), and using Masters or whatever other cheap stuff is on the tables at my halls/bars - my tip doesn't really need any work, after I've shaped it. I hate working on my tip, and just like most any experienced pool player, I'm used to regular consistent chalking during PSR, so for me the uber clean factor of Taom is great but in the balance, it's not that big of a deal and I just prefer to stick with basic stuff and simply wipe my table down about 1x per week, and vacuum it about 1x per mo.
It's no big deal, just a minor observation. Many folks seem to have switched to CF shafts and softer layered tips, so I thought this info might be worth contributing to the thread. If my experience doesn't match yours, that's all fine. Trying hard to keep this a respectful, interesting discussion. It's always "interesting" when folks are so ingrained into their own myopic views - when challenged/presented with alternate perspectives & data they just dig in, no matter what.
Can't believe I typed so much into a thread about freaking chalk. I'm way over my personal AZB screen time limit (used up my 10 yr budget on this f'ing thread), I'll take my silly views and bow out now.
Peace & love