Best Chalk??? I wanna change.
- Thread starter atthecat
- Start date
I think BD is better than Masters, meaning you will miscue less, all other things equal. But I wonder whether it's my imagination.
One thing for sure - the cost is scandalous. BD is made in the USA (says so on the box). So, two questions. What difference in ingredients can possibly justify the difference in price? And who do you think actually manufactures it?
My guess is that it is made by Tweeten Fibre, the same company that makes Master and Triangle. And that the reason it is so expensive is that Tweeten insists on it being so expensive. They saw no reason to manufacture a chalk that competes with their own, but they don't mind doing it if BD just mines the "will pay any price for the best" segment of the pool market and charges accordingly.
Interesting fact - the only "legit" place you can buy it is pc-billiards.com, which appears to be Longoni's US distributor. You can find it on ebay and some AZB'ers sell it two at a time, but why doesn't Seyberts or Muellers sell it? My guess is that Tweeten insists on that also, so as not to allow too much competition for their own chalks.
Another theory - BD is the exact same chalk that Masters used to be.
All this is guesswork, of course.
One thing for sure - the cost is scandalous. BD is made in the USA (says so on the box). So, two questions. What difference in ingredients can possibly justify the difference in price? And who do you think actually manufactures it?
My guess is that it is made by Tweeten Fibre, the same company that makes Master and Triangle. And that the reason it is so expensive is that Tweeten insists on it being so expensive. They saw no reason to manufacture a chalk that competes with their own, but they don't mind doing it if BD just mines the "will pay any price for the best" segment of the pool market and charges accordingly.
Interesting fact - the only "legit" place you can buy it is pc-billiards.com, which appears to be Longoni's US distributor. You can find it on ebay and some AZB'ers sell it two at a time, but why doesn't Seyberts or Muellers sell it? My guess is that Tweeten insists on that also, so as not to allow too much competition for their own chalks.
Another theory - BD is the exact same chalk that Masters used to be.
All this is guesswork, of course.
I've heard that NIR sucks and is really messy, but I haven't tried it myself.
I, too, thought to myself, 'can a chalk really be that different from all the others?' I was a Masters user, and seemed to be happy with it. But I thought, what the heck?, I'll see what all the hype is about and bought a couple of the small boxes.
The cue I am currently using has a milk dud tip on it. I can tell you that the BD chalk goes on very smooth, and stays there....in fact, I can actually play an entire game with just one chalking at the beginning...if I so choose...which I did at my table on Saturday night. I wanted to see how long it would last...and it did. I like the BD, as others have said, because it is not messy like some of the others....Silver Cup being the messiest of them all. I will likely continue to use it...even at the higher price point.
As far as reducing the number of miscues...I can not attest to that, as I feel that miscues are more a direct result of a poor stroke as opposed to the chalk brand on the tip.
Lisa
The cue I am currently using has a milk dud tip on it. I can tell you that the BD chalk goes on very smooth, and stays there....in fact, I can actually play an entire game with just one chalking at the beginning...if I so choose...which I did at my table on Saturday night. I wanted to see how long it would last...and it did. I like the BD, as others have said, because it is not messy like some of the others....Silver Cup being the messiest of them all. I will likely continue to use it...even at the higher price point.
As far as reducing the number of miscues...I can not attest to that, as I feel that miscues are more a direct result of a poor stroke as opposed to the chalk brand on the tip.
Lisa
There are plenty of NEW players that haven't experienced the long term effects of Masters Chalk. These players could be easily influenced (marketing and advertising) of new labels of chalk.
This is basically true for all products. Brand Names are not as well respected by the younger purchasing power generation.
Why should the newer players that have only been exposed to 'Silver Cup' expect Masters to be superior? Just because an old pool player said so?
The only BAD chalk is when there isn't any available.
I've of the opinion that even the newer Flag Masters isn't as good as the old 'non- Flag'
This is basically true for all products. Brand Names are not as well respected by the younger purchasing power generation.
Why should the newer players that have only been exposed to 'Silver Cup' expect Masters to be superior? Just because an old pool player said so?
The only BAD chalk is when there isn't any available.
I've of the opinion that even the newer Flag Masters isn't as good as the old 'non- Flag'
The NIR is more like Masters, only WORSE!!!
PM me your address and I will send you some to try out free of charge.
Russ.....
My opinion exactly. I have used some other chalks that, well, SUCK, but Master has never let ME down.
Never tried that Blue Diamond stuff, so I cannot comment on that as being 'better' than Master. I can get other brands, but I only sell Master on my site...
Triangle tips are not what they USED to be, but they are still good, cheap and effective tips. Still all I use.
Blue Diamond chalk is better, period. It is more like a "paste" then master chalk and holds to the tip ALOT better. Where master chalk will sometimes have issues staying in contact with anything less then a perfectly spiked tip the Blue Diamond is alot more capable of sticking to the tip even when it has sections that might not have the spiked porous surface that master chalk requires.
If you are any sort of a decent pool player who can cash in tournaments you need to keep in mind that one single miscue can cost you hundreds, and perhaps even thousands of dollars in winnings and if spending $3.50 on a cube of chalk can remove a few miscues from your game it is going to more then pay for itself in no time.
I get my BD from Troy, here is the email for Troy, he is known on this forum as the KOINNKID: thoennes@netzero.net or by PM ing to KOINNKID. I got my BD from him in three days tops. He has great service.
PS: Celtic, GREAT POST.
PS: Celtic, GREAT POST.
I recently picked up some BD and it does seem to work as advertised, I will stick with it. If you have no problems with Masters or another brand I can understand not bothering to change, but everything that's been said about BD in this thread is true.
I don't think cost should enter into someone's decison though given that $3.50 is not a lot of money over the useful life of a cube of chalk. It's not like you go through a couple of cubes every time you go to the pool hall. It's not the cost that is a consideration really. The bigger hassle is that you have to either get in the car and go puchase it or buy it online. The convenience of Masters is that virtually every pool hall has it and you don't have to do anything to get it. In fact the main reason I finally tried BD was because I was at a tournament where one of the vendors had it for sale in their booth making it very convenient to acquire. So I bought 4 2-packs so I'd have a stash to last me awhile.
I don't think cost should enter into someone's decison though given that $3.50 is not a lot of money over the useful life of a cube of chalk. It's not like you go through a couple of cubes every time you go to the pool hall. It's not the cost that is a consideration really. The bigger hassle is that you have to either get in the car and go puchase it or buy it online. The convenience of Masters is that virtually every pool hall has it and you don't have to do anything to get it. In fact the main reason I finally tried BD was because I was at a tournament where one of the vendors had it for sale in their booth making it very convenient to acquire. So I bought 4 2-packs so I'd have a stash to last me awhile.
A miscue can be the result of a poor stroke, the quality of the tip (including the chalk), or a combination of the two.
Play a table length draw shot like normal. Now lick your finger and rub the chalk off of the tip leaving the tip nice and wet. Now while the tip is chalkless and wet with saliva try to do a table length draw shot with the exact same stroke. If miscues are all the result of the stroke and never the condition of the tip this should be no issue.
Moral, the tip or the chalk CAN have an effect on whether you miscue or not despite the stroke. Yes a bad stroke can cause a miscue with a well chalked tip in good condition. But the chalk or tip being less then perfect can also cause a miscue on a well stroked ball. When you start to get into shots where you need to play alot of spin on the cueball the difference in the quality of master and blue diamond chalk will start to have an effect on what you are capable of doing on that shot and that can have an effect on whether you win or lose a match, which can then have an effect on winning or losing the whole tournament. All for a $3.50 piece of chalk.
I got some pre-flag Masters yesterday so I'll be trying it out this week.
Once my current box of Masters is done I'll be trying Blue Diamond.I've never had any problems with Masters tho.
I remember no so long ago when people were raving over Balabushka chalk, that stuff was garbage imo.
Freddie O
Banned
Thank you. People have been using Master chalk for years and years.
Everybody wants the new magic pill to make them play better. I once knew this guy who heard Efren ate worms, so he started to eat worms (hoping to play like Efren).
One word. PLACEBO effect. I guarantee if wrote the word "Blue Magic Jesus Christ Chalk" on Masters chalk, you wouldn't see any difference.
Your arguements have NO logical structure, you are aware of that right?
People have been eating McDonalds hamburgers for years and years, I have eaten nothing but McDonalds hamburgers and they are fine, therefore McDonalds hamburgers are as good as any other burger out there.
People are just looking for the miracle burger that tastes awesome and these places like In'N'Out and Fatburger are selling these expensive burgers. I have never personally eaten a In'N'Out burger or a Fatburger, I have only ever eaten McDonalds but it has always been fine. Don't listen to the hype, just keep eating McDonalds hamburgers, they are just as good.
Freddie O
Banned
You are aware you believe everything you read in the paper, right? Did you buy Dr. Phils book?
McDonalds?? Bad analogy.
Rich,
Looks like you are correct.
http://www.poolcuenews.com/2009/03/24/whats-up-with-that-blue-diamond-chalk/
Looks like you are correct.
http://www.poolcuenews.com/2009/03/24/whats-up-with-that-blue-diamond-chalk/