Are Kamui Clear tips a gimmick???

Two thumbs up for Kamui's consistency.

I think Kamui tips have the best consistency of any tips that I have ever used. That being said, I did not like the Super Soft Kamui Black tips.

Cue tips are just like automobiles. People have different tastes in automobiles and they will with cue tips, too.

I personally have tried all except the HARD, black Kamui tips and have now fallen in love with the TAN or BROWN as some call them and I use the medium tip.

As far as the CLEAR is concerned, I have noticed any problems with using the CLEAR. It gets LOTS of comments from my opponents but right now I have a regular Tan Kamui tan on my cue. When it comes time to replace it, I will use the Clear next time, just to test the water. I have a VERY short ferrule and sometimes let my tip get very short so the CLEAR may provide a little protection when the tip gets really short as I am apt to allow them to do.

Try them all and see what YOU LIKE. That's all that matters.

For a while I thought the BLACK was the best for my area because I play in a very humid environment but l now like the TAN even better than the black. :shrug:

JoeyA

Cuemaster98 said:

Having gone through all kinds of tips....my advice has always been...try all the tips you can find and you'll be the judge as to what is the best for you. Some players...just love the triangle and there's nothing you can do especially when they been playing fine with it for over 50 years. I personally like hard hitting tips as to me it more consistent and provide me with more power (love my CM360 Fearless tips). The benefit of SS or Soft tip is that it can be molded and harden naturally to your stroke over time of play...but it required time to break into the tips.

Regardless of the tip you choose, you need to first understand if you want a hard hitting or soft hitting tips. Hard hitting tip give you more elasticity/bounce/power....most soft absorb your power/has less bounce so require more stroke power to move the ball but it has more feel to them ... Generally softer tips are good for spinning the ball and harder tips are good for playing natural shot that closer to center. Regardless of all the tips out on the market, the best tips is always going to be different for everyone. You'll hear a lot people that say so and so tip is the best...but most probably haven't try anything else to know the difference.

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Best advice in the thread!

JoeyA

Neil Lickfold, from New Zealand did some experimenting with discs cut from CDs.

When I went Gold, I think that I lost quite a few PMs so don't have the results that he sent me.

One of these days, I will get a Forstner bit and cut a few discs and see.

I do like the look myself and wouldn't find them to be distracting.

What I do find distracting is guys who shoot with dirt blue ferrules. I don't know how they can do that.

The worst thing that can happen is I make a couple of my shafts look prettier.

Blue Hog ridr said:

Neil Lickfold, from New Zealand did some experimenting with discs cut from CDs.

When I went Gold, I think that I lost quite a few PMs so don't have the results that he sent me.

One of these days, I will get a Forstner bit and cut a few discs and see.

I do like the look myself and wouldn't find them to be distracting.

What I do find distracting is guys who shoot with dirt blue ferrules. I don't know how they can do that.

The worst thing that can happen is I make a couple of my shafts look prettier.

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lol.. i agree, distracting and embarrassing.

IMO, they are awesome and feel different then the regular KB. What I love about these tips is when you hit the cueball on the outer
edge, it feels like your hitting center ball.Every shot feels solid with no odd feeling
ever. Best tip I've ever played with.BTW mines a medium.

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Lets look at it this way.

Ferrule material. Aegis (linen melamine), Titan, different Ivorines, (very hard), Juma, PVC, phenolic and G-10.

Varying degrees of hardness.

What is the Clear pad made of. lets say its acrylic because its clear. Whatever it is made of, its a hard material.

You take a 1/32 or 1/16th of an inch acrylic material and glue one hard material on top of another hard material, (your ferrule), and all of a sudden, you can tell a huge difference with a Kamui Clear tip over a regular tip.

All you are essentially doing is extending the length of your ferrule by the thickness of the Clear pad. If anything, you now have a glue line in between your ferrule and the tip pad and have lessened the integrity of the hit that your ferrule material once gave you. Very thin tip pads are necessary for Ivory ferrules and for protection on break cues. I use Linen Melamine ferrules, (medium Hard) because coupled with a medium tip, it gives me the hit that I like.
Why would I feel the need to change that by placing a clear pad of unknown material in between my ferrule and tip.

It is like being able to kiss the most beautiful women in the world, but with a piece of computer paper in between your lips.

I say utter Hog Wash.

Blue Hog ridr said:

Lets look at it this way.

Ferrule material. Aegis (linen melamine), Titan, different Ivorines, (very hard), Juma, PVC, phenolic and G-10.

Varying degrees of hardness.

What is the Clear pad made of. lets say its acrylic because its clear. Whatever it is made of, its a hard material.

You take a 1/32 or 1/16th of an inch acrylic material and glue one hard material on top of another hard material, (your ferrule), and all of a sudden, you can tell a huge difference with a Kamui Clear tip over a regular tip.

All you are essentially doing is extending the length of your ferrule by the thickness of the Clear pad. If anything, you now have a glue line in between your ferrule and the tip pad and have lessened the integrity of the hit that your ferrule material once gave you. Very thin tip pads are necessary for Ivory ferrules and for protection on break cues. I use Linen Melamine ferrules, (medium Hard) because coupled with a medium tip, it gives me the hit that I like.
Why would I feel the need to change that by placing a clear pad of unknown material in between my ferrule and tip.

It is like being able to kiss the most beautiful women in the world, but with a piece of computer paper in between your lips.

I say utter Hog Wash.

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It might be because I'm depraved, but I don't mind computer paper, it would
go with my Commodore 69:wink:

timothysoong said:

Kamui tips go hard pretty fast.

Ive had a kamui soft installed, and did about 100 long straight stop shots per day. After 3 weeks, they went even harder than a moori Q.

Imo, get a ultraskin. They affordably cheap and plays better than kamui or moori. Contact Tom for some.

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I respectfully disagree.

Bob, maybe you would consider trying a Wizard tip.

Many have compared them to a Moori. I carry them and have used them but not so much with a Moori that I can make a qualified comparison other than I think that the Wizard plays well.

They are very reasonably priced and decent quality. If you see one on a shaft, you wouldn't tell the difference between the 2.

Just a thought and it would only cost you a couple of bucks to see for yourself.

More than one way to skin a cat, or a Burbot when I am ice fishing.

The only experience that I have with a kamui, is the Kamui SS Brown. It was done in one month. It flattened out and mushroomed every time that I went to the hall. A cue maker suggested that I dress the sides of the tip with CA.

Now, doesn't that just go against the idea of not getting glue impregnated in the layers?

Kamui black clea

I've had the kamui black clear hard tip on my cue for about 5 months and I play 5-6 times a week (I work at a pool hall) and I absolutely love it. Great control on the cue ball a more consistent hit and I also find they don't mushroom as much as any other tip I will be using this tip until they are no long available! Great buy for the 23$ u spend on the tip.
Tip rankings:
#1 - Kamui black clear (no issues to date)
#2 - moori (mushrooms/layer issues)
#3 - Talisman pro hard (the hardness of the tips are never identical)

I have Kamui Black on my current cues and have two cues underway with a total of five shafts.
All of the new shafts have Kamui Clear tips and I got them at the best price I've seen on the Forum .
And Shooter08 (Tom) shipped direct to my cue-maker which made things even easier for me.

Matt B.

I love the kamui clear med tip. I use it with my ivory ferrule and it hits great. I was using the predator medium tip and I like the kamui clear better.

I don't know man. I had bad luck with the SS Brown.

I bought 3 Players HXT shafts with the soft Kamui on them. I figured that I would give them an honest try out. They do play well but same thing. They tend to lose their shape
after a couple of sessions and have to be constantly playing with them.

That is one thing that you don't have to do with an Ultra Skin.

I was hoping to take back my words about Kamui and give these a good rating but can't so far. They do seem to glaze as well and have to scuff more than a person should have to. The best I can say is that I feel that they do play pretty well but not any more impressive than many other tips out there.
I guess I got spoiled on good Milk Duds and Ultra Skins.

If I were to get or make a shaft without a ferrule, I may put a piece of CD disc material under the tip to try it out, but doubt that I would go out of my way
to try a Clear.

It would be a clear pad under a Skin. With a ferruless shaft, it might be a good thing.

JoeyA said:

I think Kamui tips have the best consistency of any tips that I have ever used. That being said, I did not like the Super Soft Kamui Black tips.

Cue tips are just like automobiles. People have different tastes in automobiles and they will with cue tips, too.

I personally have tried all except the HARD, black Kamui tips and have now fallen in love with the TAN or BROWN as some call them and I use the medium tip.

As far as the CLEAR is concerned, I have noticed any problems with using the CLEAR. It gets LOTS of comments from my opponents but right now I have a regular Tan Kamui tan on my cue. When it comes time to replace it, I will use the Clear next time, just to test the water. I have a VERY short ferrule and sometimes let my tip get very short so the CLEAR may provide a little protection when the tip gets really short as I am apt to allow them to do.

Try them all and see what YOU LIKE. That's all that matters.

For a while I thought the BLACK was the best for my area because I play in a very humid environment but l now like the TAN even better than the black. :shrug:

JoeyA

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I'd have to agree..i've only used black though. Like they say, once u go black ya never go back.

I have two shafts, I use kamui clear medium on one and a pressed triangle, stained and burnished up real nice. It's sealed with a shark oil product.

Kamui Tips

Kamui Tips are probably one of the most consistent tips available. The clear models were invented because many installers and regular players were not installing them properly, either using too much glue or waiting too long after applying the glue to the tip, etc... I feel that the "Clear" models might change the feel slightly but not much and are less likely to be glued on incorrectly.

I recommend the Kamui "Black" or "Clear Black" Series but I also stock the "Natural" (Brown)series as well. The SS (Super Soft) feels like a soft and has a lot of grap but will mushroom a few times until it is really broken in, trimmed and re-burnished (a great bar box tip). The S (Soft) feels more like a medium-soft or medium and is my preferred tip of choice and it is a great place to start. It will mushroom a little bit at first but will not mushroom after the tip is broken in, trimmed and re-burnished once or twice. The M (Medium) is a harder tip that has a "click" sound to it and does not really mushroom at all although I would scuff it with a nickel or dime shaper a little more often, as it can glaze over a little more easily like harder tips tend to do. It is definitely a better tip for getting a little more high follow on a shot and for snappier stroke shots, etc

DO NOT USE TIP PRIKS or PORCUPINES or TAPPERS (paddle type) Shooters that use that tool are basically creating more nap to the tip but it all gets smashed down and your tip will disappear more rapidly and you become a cue repairman's best friend. Tip Priks and Tappers also create flat spots on your tip especially when they are used the way many players I see use them (like they are hitting a racquet ball) I recommended scuffers like the "Willard's" or the "Ultimate Tool" types. Depending on the tip and the hardness, one or the other, metal or sandpaper will work better.

Players that overly chalk are just sanding off the tip and over-loading it, which can cause miscuing. Also chalking with well used chalk that is shaped like a large hole will sand your ferrule down, basically putting a nice groove in the middle of it. I also see a lot of players chalking their cues in a straight up position which just "showers" the shaft with chalk causing a blue mess. As we all know most pool table cloth is not cleaned regularly so our bridge hands always turn blue and then we transfer a lot of chalk to the shaft that way.

Note, when you miscue, take a look at your tip and 9 times out of 10, players are not anywhere near the middle or off center of the tip, but at the very edge of the tip. Their are no tips in the industry that won't miscue when you are hitting that far out of the perimeter of the cueball! If you think you need to be that far out on the perimeter of a cue ball to make a shot it is probably just better to play a different shot or a safety instead.

In the past Moori tips from Japan were the premier tip to use. Years ago Mr. Moori stopped sending the tips to the USA. He only sold them in Japan I believe. They are made at his home, not in some factory or something. Just recently I was able to get some new Moori mediums from my distributor. Mr. Moori only sent out "Mediums" recently to the USA. The "Slow (Soft) and "Quick" (Hard) models are not available at this time.

Any other Moori tips sold in the past few years were either older stock or have been counterfeits and that's why Moori has gotten a bad reputation. I HAVE BRAND NEW REAL MOORI MEDIUMS!!!

I sell and install several types of tips, some of which are listed on my repair site: http://www.motorcitycuerepair.com I include a shaft clean-up, seal and wax and am an expert at removing most dents and dings without sanding the crap out of your shaft like most lazy cue repair men do. There are techniques to removing dents and getting the chalk stains out (taking 600 grade paper to your shaft is NOT THE ANSWER! Hope this info has helped

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Yes obv the clear does not affect the play.

i have a clear black medium on my playing cue and i love it. holds chalk great just like the original, and i love the hit when combined with my ob1+ shaft. i've never been distracted by the clear layer when cueing as mentioned by some. nor have i ever noticed any reflections or anything of the sort. in the end it's all personal preference when it comes to tips though. there's very little way to truly find out what you will like other than trial and error.