Can a player use too much chalk?
- Thread starter 9BallPaul
- Start date
I break from the same stop on the table about 80% of the time playing at home, and I do not chalk over the table. I have gotten out of the chalk after every shot habit to some extent, but the chalk pattern in front of my break spot would indicate that there is enough chalk on the tip of the cue. I swipe it on and am careful to cover the tip. then I stop. I don't have an excess amount of chalk on the tip, but the impact with the CB is going to knock some of it off. It's normal to have some chalk dust on a well used table. It has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is into the cloth. It's just a fact of life and not really a big deal
How is it, "excess"? Because you can blow chalk off that was just put on it?
Maybe I didn't explain it well enough. he is removing excess chalk from the ferrell, shaft, and tip edge.
check out this clip at 3:45 and 5:33, you'll see what I'm taking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mzQzNNlXfU
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I've been to a banger's pool hall, a pool hall that's not owned by people who know pool where the balls roll on the table after they've stopped, and they have pieces of chalk with a CLEAN hole to the bottom. You couldn't even wipe the chalk on the tip (if the house cue even had a tip). :angry:
Seems funny to have to explain this, but you obviously aren't blowing off all of the chalk that you just applied.
So your assertion is that you can never have too much chalk on your tip?
I'm not asserting anything. I asked you a question. You put chalk on, then you blow it off because...?
Chalk is used to increase friction between the tip of the cue and cue ball. Can you create too much friction? Can that be a bad thing? I don't think the answer to either of those questions is a yes.
If you are able to create too thick layer of chalk on your tip, you may end up leaving lots of chalk marks on the ball leading a skid/kick. Which is bad. But you just need to clean the cue ball between games.
As long as your brushing a nice layer of chalk on the entirety of the tip (sides especially), your doing fine.
If you are able to create too thick layer of chalk on your tip, you may end up leaving lots of chalk marks on the ball leading a skid/kick. Which is bad. But you just need to clean the cue ball between games.
As long as your brushing a nice layer of chalk on the entirety of the tip (sides especially), your doing fine.
I've noticed myself doing the same thing lately...I think it's because when you overuse the chalk, you end up with blue dots all over the cue ball, and each one of those dots is a skid waiting to happen.
Tap, Tap, Tap...I use a dry hand towel to wipe down the cue ball between every rack or when I get ball in hand for this very reason. I also bear down and dig all the chalk out of the palms of my hands (especially between my middle and ring fingers) between every inning, too...helps keep the chalk off my shaft and reduces the amount I'm adding to the playing surface everytime I put my bridge hand down. Swiping the chalk across the tip in one direction instead of back and forth (watch Efren to see how it's done) also helps keep your ferrule clean. Earl Strickland always has filthy ferrules, probably because of the way he chalks. The abrasive chalk (it's sand, really) scratches up the surface, catching even more chalk, a never-ending cycle that makes your ferrules look like crap. Your tip can only hold so much chalk, overdoing it just adds to the dust on the floor or table. You could theoretically get away with once every two or three shots no problem, but it's pretty much part of everyone's preshot routine.
Forgot to mention, I keep my chalk surface fairly flat...as a hole starts to develop, to keep the edge from grinding the side of my ferrules i just swipe the chalk on the sidewalk to knock down those edges (or trim it with a pocket knife). If I'm doing it right, I shouldn't need to trim it, but sometimes the hole just starts to develop anyway. Eventually, I end up putting masking tape on it (the paper will fall off) and can milk it down to about a third of a cube before it gets unusable. One cube lasts me for months of daily play, much longer at my current rate of play!
By definition, too much is, well... too much.
One of the biggies for me that I never really noticed until I had my own table was where exactly I am using the chalk relative to where the table is. Chalking away from the table has made a huge difference in the general cleanliness of my table.
9BallPaul
Banned
That's the conclusion I've come to after starting this thread: CHALK AWAY FROM THE TABLE. Simonis is way too expensive to indulge in sloppy habits.
Too much chalk applied...
Brush the chalk onto the tip (no grinding). Yes, you can have too much chalk applied and when the cue tip hits the cue ball, a small cloud of chalk will come off onto the table and some of the excess chalk will stick to the cue ball.
Brush the chalk onto the tip (no grinding). Yes, you can have too much chalk applied and when the cue tip hits the cue ball, a small cloud of chalk will come off onto the table and some of the excess chalk will stick to the cue ball.
This is a very good thread. With more and more people using premium chalks, better chalking habits could save money and keep the pool room a little cleaner. That being said, I try to chalk between every shot. Sometimes, I will risk not chalking on a simple close shot that does not require any English but even then it is seldom that I don't chalk.
JoeyA
JoeyA