I got a few Hammerhead jump and break tips and a piece of Hammerhead rod to make a ferrule out of it. I thought to write up my thoughts on the tips and show a few pictures 
I started off by installing a Hammerhead tip on my old Players J/B that now has a G10 ferrule to see how the tip performs and how it looks when installed. Sorry for the lack of picture here, I forgot to take one :thumbup: Anyway, I noticed when installing the tip that it feels quite slippery and soft, compared to most other synthetic materials I have handled. It cuts with ease with sharp tools and the tips come with installing instructions. I used Loctite 480 Blackmax glue for the install. It is a bit messy but it is also super strong stuff and it was recommended on the installation instruction.
The colour of the tip mostly resembles that of a hearing aid. A skin like, pale colour as it is seen on the Renfros website. It is just fine for a tip but I didnt want a whole ferrule to look like that. I got an idea for the ferrule job here, more on that later on this post.
I made some slight scuff marks on the tip with 180 sandpaper to give the chalk something to grip on and polished the sides. I let the glue set for 24h before trying out the cue to make sure the tip stays on. After a quick try out session I went on to make a whole ferrule / tip combo out of Hammerhead material for another cue just like the first one.
As I said earlier on, the material isnt the prettiest out there. I didnt want a chalk stained hearing aid glued on my cue so I took a different approach to make it work and look right :wink: I made a threaded ferrule out of Hammerhead, made a little groove on it to take on a G10 sleeve to hide the sides.
5/16x18 thread inside and compression fit g10 sleeve to be glued on.
Glued on and left to set under pressure for 24h
Then it was just a matter of trimming down the tip and ferrule to be all set.
Done.
On to the more important part; how it functions.
The tip needs a bit of caution when chalking, just wiping it on wont hold much chalk on the tip. That is pretty much the case with most phenolic tips anyway and its a habit for me to chalk with caution when jumping or breaking. I started off by jumping a few dozen balls with it. The ball lifts off okay and it felt nice to jump with. Makes a pleasant *pop* sound on hit. I had some issues with close jumps though, I got a bit more miscues than usually when I had to elevate a lot to get over a close ball. Maybe not the best jump tip I have tried but I guess it works for some people
Then on to breaking. For starters I should propably tell you that I have a pretty powerful break and I often like to use some english especially on 9 ball breaks to get the CB where I want it. On the very first break shot the popping sound really catched my ear. It sounds like pure power and it does indeed transfer a lot of energy on the CB. I got a little more hop on the 8ball break than I usually get but it worked nice though and I got decent breaks with it most of the time. I did have a few miscues that I am not used to having when breaking, Hammerhead seems to be quite harsh on you when it comes to off center hits :sorry: I didnt like it much for 9 ball break, I was losing the CB too often and I didnt have the feel of controll that I am accustomed to with other break tips I like. I might add that as I had two identical shafts to play with, one with just the Hammerhead tip and the other with the ferrule combo I felt the same with both so it was not caused by the untraditional ferrule construction. The material is just too slippery for my liking and I could not get used to it even though I took more than a week trying to adapt. It works for sure, dont get me wrong but there are other tips and materials that work better for me.
A long story short; Hammerhead is a very powerfull, yet quite unforgiving tip that delivers a big punch on break. It will work well if you have a very advanced break and always stay on the center of CB. It jumps like most phenolics and it comes packaged nicely and with great instructions for proper installation.
Hope that someone found this post usefull or interesting. It was a pleasure working on this material, getting to know its properties and characteristics.
I tried my best to make sure that I kept this review 100% truthfull, nothing added or left out of what I felt was the story. Everything written in this post is based only on my personal experiences working and playing with the material. I am not an expert on plastics, nor a pro-level player so please understand that your opinion may vary from mine. :wink:
I started off by installing a Hammerhead tip on my old Players J/B that now has a G10 ferrule to see how the tip performs and how it looks when installed. Sorry for the lack of picture here, I forgot to take one :thumbup: Anyway, I noticed when installing the tip that it feels quite slippery and soft, compared to most other synthetic materials I have handled. It cuts with ease with sharp tools and the tips come with installing instructions. I used Loctite 480 Blackmax glue for the install. It is a bit messy but it is also super strong stuff and it was recommended on the installation instruction.
The colour of the tip mostly resembles that of a hearing aid. A skin like, pale colour as it is seen on the Renfros website. It is just fine for a tip but I didnt want a whole ferrule to look like that. I got an idea for the ferrule job here, more on that later on this post.
I made some slight scuff marks on the tip with 180 sandpaper to give the chalk something to grip on and polished the sides. I let the glue set for 24h before trying out the cue to make sure the tip stays on. After a quick try out session I went on to make a whole ferrule / tip combo out of Hammerhead material for another cue just like the first one.
As I said earlier on, the material isnt the prettiest out there. I didnt want a chalk stained hearing aid glued on my cue so I took a different approach to make it work and look right :wink: I made a threaded ferrule out of Hammerhead, made a little groove on it to take on a G10 sleeve to hide the sides.
5/16x18 thread inside and compression fit g10 sleeve to be glued on.
Glued on and left to set under pressure for 24h
Then it was just a matter of trimming down the tip and ferrule to be all set.
Done.
On to the more important part; how it functions.
The tip needs a bit of caution when chalking, just wiping it on wont hold much chalk on the tip. That is pretty much the case with most phenolic tips anyway and its a habit for me to chalk with caution when jumping or breaking. I started off by jumping a few dozen balls with it. The ball lifts off okay and it felt nice to jump with. Makes a pleasant *pop* sound on hit. I had some issues with close jumps though, I got a bit more miscues than usually when I had to elevate a lot to get over a close ball. Maybe not the best jump tip I have tried but I guess it works for some people
Then on to breaking. For starters I should propably tell you that I have a pretty powerful break and I often like to use some english especially on 9 ball breaks to get the CB where I want it. On the very first break shot the popping sound really catched my ear. It sounds like pure power and it does indeed transfer a lot of energy on the CB. I got a little more hop on the 8ball break than I usually get but it worked nice though and I got decent breaks with it most of the time. I did have a few miscues that I am not used to having when breaking, Hammerhead seems to be quite harsh on you when it comes to off center hits :sorry: I didnt like it much for 9 ball break, I was losing the CB too often and I didnt have the feel of controll that I am accustomed to with other break tips I like. I might add that as I had two identical shafts to play with, one with just the Hammerhead tip and the other with the ferrule combo I felt the same with both so it was not caused by the untraditional ferrule construction. The material is just too slippery for my liking and I could not get used to it even though I took more than a week trying to adapt. It works for sure, dont get me wrong but there are other tips and materials that work better for me.
A long story short; Hammerhead is a very powerfull, yet quite unforgiving tip that delivers a big punch on break. It will work well if you have a very advanced break and always stay on the center of CB. It jumps like most phenolics and it comes packaged nicely and with great instructions for proper installation.
Hope that someone found this post usefull or interesting. It was a pleasure working on this material, getting to know its properties and characteristics.
I tried my best to make sure that I kept this review 100% truthfull, nothing added or left out of what I felt was the story. Everything written in this post is based only on my personal experiences working and playing with the material. I am not an expert on plastics, nor a pro-level player so please understand that your opinion may vary from mine. :wink:
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