Kamui Tips Q/A

Zerksies said:
I've been using clear Blacks for the past four years and i have no clue what people are talking about with this Glazing issue. I've put on over a dozen tips in that time and not once i've seen this glazing issue. I'm just guessing people don't know how to maintain tips.
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I have had Kamui brown medium's on a Revo for last 6 years they never glaze
 
Frosty said:
Truthfully, Kamui and others opened a bag of worms with the whole S, SS, M, MH, H crap. It’s really nothing more than a marketing fantasy to sell more tips.

Don’t you find it kind of funny that prior to all of you layered tip companies coming out of the woodwork with your 47 different varieties of hardness, color, etc. that the pool world functioned for a long, long time with single layer tips that essentially were very similar in hardness?

At the end of the day it’s a tiny piece of leather getting pounded repeatedly against a hard phenolic sphere. How long do you suppose it is before it’s hard as a rock? All these S,SS tips differ in, is how much maintenance time you spend trimming mushrooms and reshaping it before it settles into a hard form, but that sells more tips so I’m sure that isn’t a concern right?

You speak to hard hitters causing glazing in your tips, I’m thinking it’s more what you’re chemically treating them with, because there’s something unnatural about them. I installed a black once long ago and it launched the cue ball like it was a super ball. Just leather doesn’t do that, and whatever you do to it that gives that effect is probably what’s behind your glazing issue.
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Yes, many agree with you and many do not. To Kamui it is more than a marketing gimmick whether you believe in it or not, but I understand what you're saying.

There are some people out there that still prefer not to have a layered tip out there, and that's okay.

Just note on one hand you're saying there's no real difference between the hardness ratings and on another note you're saying it does something that other tips do not. As to what we're chemically treating it with, I'll get back to you on that, but I doubt it makes a huge difference. I'm willing to be wrong about that though.

As for changing in processing time/temp, I believe that COULD be more significant than they thought.
 
KamuiInsider said:
Yes, many agree with you and many do not. To Kamui it is more than a marketing gimmick whether you believe in it or not, but I understand what you're saying.

There are some people out there that still prefer not to have a layered tip out there, and that's okay.

Just note on one hand you're saying there's no real difference between the hardness ratings and on another note you're saying it does something that other tips do not. As to what we're chemically treating it with, I'll get back to you on that, but I doubt it makes a huge difference. I'm willing to be wrong about that though.

As for changing in processing time/temp, I believe that COULD be more significant than they thought.
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You misconstrued my comment so let’s set the record straight. It isn’t just Kamui, but all tip companies that are guilty of the marketing gimmick of SS, S, M, MH, H in offering all these multiple hardnesses in their tips. My point is this is something new that didn’t exist before because people once understood that when you pound a small piece of leather against a hard phenolic sphere, it’s going to harden it quick, and all these multiple hardness level tips truly offer as a result, is a tip that you have to constantly trim and shape until it reaches its final form. It’s a marketing gimmick because all these fools that use Super Soft and Soft tips thinking it “generates more spin” because they believe that propaganda are just constantly trimming and shaping their tips which leads to more tip sales.

Regarding what I say your tips do that is unusual is the same thing I experienced trying your hard and Zan’s hard tips. It launches the ball off the tip like the super balls we played with as children, that’s not natural for a piece of leather to do that. I believe that effect is due to chemical treating, and I believe that same chemical treatment is what causes your glazing issues as well.

At the end of the day, between your different varieties Black, clear black, athlete, etc etc and each of those varieties coming in 3 to 5 different levels of hardness, how many different tips does Kamui actually offer, like 97 or so? If that isn’t a gimmick about boosting sales to the idiots that will try all 97 varieties thinking the next one they try will be the magic key that unlocks their game, then I don’t know what else to call it. It used to be a companies would market one real good tip that they BELIEVE in, because it was actually a good tip.
 
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Frosty said:
You misconstrued my comment so let’s set the record straight. It isn’t just Kamui, but all tip companies that are guilty of the marketing gimmick of SS, S, M, MH, H in offering all these multiple hardnesses in their tips. My point is this is something new that didn’t exist before because people once understood that when you pound a small piece of leather against a hard phenolic sphere, it’s going to harden it quick, and all these multiple hardness level tips truly offer as a result, is a tip that you have to constantly trim and shape until it reaches its final form. It’s a marketing gimmick because all these fools that use Super Soft and Soft tips thinking it “generates more spin” because they believe that propaganda are just constantly trimming and shaping their tips which leads to more tip sales.

Regarding what I say your tips do that is unusual is the same thing I experienced trying your hard and Zan’s hard tips. It launches the ball off the tip like the super balls we played with as children, that’s not natural for a piece of leather to do that. I believe that effect is due to chemical treating, and I believe that same chemical treatment is what causes your glazing issues as well.

At the end of the day, between your different varieties Black, clear black, athlete, etc etc and each of those varieties coming in 3 to 5 different levels of hardness, how many different tips does Kamui actually offer, like 97 or so? If that isn’t a gimmick about boosting sales to the idiots that will try all 97 varieties thinking the next one they try will be the magic key that unlocks their game, then I don’t know what else to call it. It used to be a companies would market one real good tip that they BELIEVE in, because it was actually a good tip.
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You are 100% correct. You really only need two hardnesses, medium/soft and medium/hard. When I started selling tips, I sold 6 hardnesses. After the first year I dropped super soft and a couple years later dropped hard. Offering middle grades is challenging becuase what I may consider a medium soft, others will think it's too soft or too hard. There is also no reason to have 10 different colors, clear pads, or indicator layers. There is also no reason to add additional chemicals into the tip construction process other than what is required for tanning. You don't have to dye them black, red, blue, green or whatever color you think people will like. Stick to natural brown. The reason Kamui tips glaze over is well know to Kamui (and myself) and I'm waiting for Kamui Insider to tell everyone the reason. I'm sure they feel it's necessary on their part considering where most of their sales are to. That is why they sell the other gimmicks like the tip scuffer and chalk to conteract the glazing issues.

Kelly
Former Kamui user for close to 10 years.
 
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gutshot said:
You are 100% correct. You really only need two hardnesses, medium/soft and medium/hard. When I started selling tips, I sold 6 hardnesses. After the first year I dropped super soft and a couple years later dropped hard. Offering middle grades is challenging becuase what I may consider a medium soft, others will think it's too soft or too hard. There is also no reason to have 10 different colors, clear pads, or indicator layers. There is also no reason to add additional chemicals into the tip construction process other than what is required for tanning. You don't have to dye them black, red, blue, green or whatever color you think people will like. Stick to natural brown. The reason Kamui tips glaze over is well know to Kamui (and myself) and I'm waiting for Kamui Insider to tell everyone the reason. I'm sure they feel it's necessary on their part considering where most of their sales are to. That is why they sell the other gimmicks like the tip scuffer and chalk to conteract the glazing issues.

Kelly
Former Kamui user for close to 10 years.
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As soon as I have an answer for you regarding "additional chemicals", I'll send one!

Note that we only have two colors and 4 hardnesses. The clear pad keeps the glue separate from the tip, we do not claim that it changes the play of the tip.

Typically only recommend M/S unless someone KNOWS they prefer H/SS.

The shaper has been out of production for years, but it's pretty and it works great. I'm happy to sell them, and if someone doesn't have the money, I'm happy to recommend 400 grit sandpaper. The chalk is something I would recommend for anyone's game whether they used a Kamui tip or not. The .98 and Roku are insanely popular to most who have tried it and know not to overchalk. Yes, I work for Kamui, but I don't stand by poor products. I personally haven't had the issues that others have had, otherwise I'd change tips. :) But since enough people HAVE reported the glazing issue I am working on getting an answer. Please bear with me though because we all have very full plates!

I'm happy to send in your message to Kamui as well, Kelly. I do appreciate everyone's feedback!
 
KamuiInsider said:
I've been seeing/hearing a lot of misconceptions about Kamui tips going around and I figure this is the best place to help clear things up or get player feedback! I am well connected to Kamui US and Kamui Japan. While I am of course a little biased, I am open to hearing criticism while also shining light on things like "tip picking and using abrasive chalk on your kamui tip will render it almost useless!" Maybe you want to know what the heck an Athlete tip is! My time is limited, but I will answer as I am available. Any question I don't know the answer to I may ask Japan directly. Please be respectful and I hope this will be helpful to all of you!

PS I am new to AZ, so if there's a better forum to post this under, let me know. 😅
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In the last 2 or 3 years I have tried many tips, after trying tips and not really giving them a real chance I decided that after trying a new tip I would I would leave it on for a minimum of 2 months whether I liked it or not, I learned that most tips play very different when 1st installed then even 2 months later, I have a home table and practice at least 1 hour a day with a couple missed days sprinkled in, I usually liked medium tips,the Athlete tip was one of my favorites, like all leather tips I tried it too changed how it played, the TAOM Fusion was advertised with a similar design, It couldn't have been more different, I was not a fan of hard tips and this tip felt very hard, I left it on for 2 months even though initially I didn't like it, after awhile I started really liking the hard tip but even this tip changed over time, the Bulletproof Recoil synthetic tip came out, I was intrigued because it wasn't made of leather but still BCA legal, I have been using them ever since, I find them to be more consistent than any other tip I have ever tried, leather is from animal hide and therefore inconsistent, my theory is in mixing the fibrous material you get more consistent results for the life of the tip, how a tip plays is highly subjective and no one tip is the "best" tip for everyone, I will say that leaving a tip on for at least 2 months before giving up on it took me in directions I didn't expect, would I try a different tip? I would on your cue, it would have to blow me away with a few strokes to even consider that tip, I really have no reason or desire to change this tip.
 
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