Carbon Fiber Shafts.....educate me

[DJKeys]

I played with a wood shaft forever. Other players let me try the CF shafts, Predator, Cynergy, Mezz. Compared to a maple shaft, they all felt very dead to me. I then tried a Kielwood shaft and I have been using that for about a year. It is not super-low deflection (I avoid extreme english unless necessary) but still has the feedback of a regular maple shaft along with some reduced deflection properties.

-dj

 

[EJmagnum186]

Thanks to all for the feed back. I am in the camp of it is the Indian not the arrow but I wanted to keep an open mind. I will try and find someone local to try a CF shaft and see if it for me or not.

 

[EJmagnum186]

I played with a wood shaft forever. Other players let me try the CF shafts, Predator, Cynergy, Mezz. Compared to a maple shaft, they all felt very dead to me. I then tried a Kielwood shaft and I have been using that for about a year. It is not super-low deflection (I avoid extreme english unless necessary) but still has the feedback of a regular maple shaft along with some reduced deflection properties.

-dj

What is Kielwood and how does it differ from regular maple or CF......and who would you recommend for a Kielwood shaft?

 

[hang-the-9]

I have an original OB that I really like. I have several different wood and LD's I've picked up over the years because I wanted to get a picture of how some of them play for myself without putting a ton on money on the brand new price. The OB orginal is not the least deflecting shaft, but it feels great. If you decide you want to sell yours, I might be interested if I leave carbon.

There are a few I have seen for sale, for pretty cheap. I doubt I would ever sell mine, it's the last OB shaft I have (have had a few but sold or traded them), and mine was used by Mike Dechaine for a while when he was sponsored by OB where he would color in the wood ferrule with black marker.

 

[336Robin]

There are a few I have seen for sale, for pretty cheap. I doubt I would ever sell mine, it's the last OB shaft I have (have had a few but sold or traded them), and mine was used by Mike Dechaine for a while when he was sponsored by OB where he would color in the wood ferrule with black marker.

I found some awhile back, they were all thinner than usual and I was going to buy the lot, but I had never tried carbon at that
point so I held off. Now that I'm still trying carbon, the experience I think will make me a better LD shaft player, unless the carbon fiber God
sprinkles carbon dust on me and I start loving everything about it. which is doubtful. I would like one more of them though.

 

[TrxR]

What is Kielwood and how does it differ from regular maple or CF......and who would you recommend for a Kielwood shaft?

Kielwood is a torrified maple. Basically it baked to get all of the moisture and saps out of it. They are generally a darker color and are lighter.

Some one else can probably give a more precise and technical description.

 

[bbb]

What is Kielwood and how does it differ from regular maple or CF......and who would you recommend for a Kielwood shaft?

Kielwood is a torrified maple. Basically it baked to get all of the moisture and saps out of it. They are generally a darker color and are lighter.

Some one else can probably give a more precise and technical description.

its lower deflection in general to maple but not as low as some carbon fiber (revo)
has more feel than carbon
hsunami makes a great one (richard hsu)

 

[DJKeys]

its lower deflection in general to maple but not as low as some carbon fiber (revo)
has more feel than carbon
hsunami makes a great one (richard hsu)

Yes, the Torrefaction process (no such thing as torrification) removes all the moisture and sugar from the shaft. I do have a Richard Hsu Hsunami shaft, and have his 2.0 on order. He starts with premium blanks so the shaft is not necessarily lighter. He makes a totally custom shaft at any weight you would like-

-dj

 

[Pushout]

Question: Are any of you who have switched to carbon fiber shafts, beating anyone you used to lose to when playing with wood shafts? I'm very curious about this. I wondered the same thing when laminated low deflection shafts came out and the answer was usually NO! I have yet to even hit a carbon fiber shaft and have little interest in doing so.

 

[336Robin]

Question: Are any of you who have switched to carbon fiber shafts, beating anyone you used to lose to when playing with wood shafts? I'm very curious about this. I wondered the same thing when laminated low deflection shafts came out and the answer was usually NO! I have yet to even hit a carbon fiber shaft and have little interest in doing so.

I can answer this:

Yes, I am.

Carbon does play a little differently, but if you stick with it, you learn what it needs for you to do in order to play better with it.

The one shot I had, that I wasn't liking with carbon vexed my imagination as to how to make it work but the solution turned out to be surprising.

It may be that in some instances I can prove to you that there is bit more torque or spin possible because of the stiffness of the shaft but on other shots with miscue limit Spin things are different. You have to play a little closer to center and then you need to hit the shot a little harder than normal, but when you do, the cue ball does what you need it to.

 

[bbb]

I can answer this:

Yes, I am.

Carbon does play a little differently, but if you stick with it, you learn what it needs for you to do in order to play better with it.

The one shot I had, that I wasn't liking with carbon vexed my imagination as to how to make it work but the solution turned out to be surprising.

It may be that in some instances I can prove to you that there is bit more torque or spin possible because of the stiffness of the shaft but on other shots with miscue limit Spin things are different. You have to play a little closer to center and then you need to hit the shot a little harder than normal, but when you do, the cue ball does what you need it to.

Could explain the shot that”vexed your imagination” ?

 

[Island Drive]

Watching the pros, who have very straight follow through, they seem to get more with less.
Example, a draw shot.
CF shaft 3mph swing, will come back lets say 3', whereas a good maple shaft you'd have to hit it at 4mph.
I think having a CF shaft would be more important on a 9' than a bar table.
I've seen top pros, like Shaw draw the ball 16' on new cloth, don't think that's possible with a perfect grain maple.
I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

 

[Cue Alchemist]

Question: Are any of you who have switched to carbon fiber shafts, beating anyone you used to lose to when playing with wood shafts? I'm very curious about this. I wondered the same thing when laminated low deflection shafts came out and the answer was usually NO! I have yet to even hit a carbon fiber shaft and have little interest in doing so.

Your not the only one, whenever these CF threads come up. I often wonder the same thing.

 

[Cue Alchemist]

I can answer this:

Yes, I am.

Carbon does play a little differently, but if you stick with it, you learn what it needs for you to do in order to play better with it.

The one shot I had, that I wasn't liking with carbon vexed my imagination as to how to make it work but the solution turned out to be surprising.

It may be that in some instances I can prove to you that there is bit more torque or spin possible because of the stiffness of the shaft but on other shots with miscue limit Spin things are different. You have to play a little closer to center and then you need to hit the shot a little harder than normal, but when you do, the cue ball does what you need it to.

am i right in saying that, if your playing more towards the center, you feel your hitting straighter? Even though your still spining the ball, just in a different way now.

 

[Nyquil]

The only benefit to CF is durability and warp resistance. You lose feel and that glorious sound of a well made wood shaft. I only own wood shafts now and have no interest in CF. My wood shafts are slicker than CF shafts and it's not that much maintenance to keep them slick. If you are getting dings in your wood shafts all the time you prob should stop drinking so much at tourneys lmao.

 

[336Robin]

am i right in saying that, if your playing more towards the center, you feel your hitting straighter? Even though your still spining the ball, just in a different way now.

Your statement could lead me to confuse you so let me explain another way.

Center ball is still center ball, spin is still spin and on 90% of your spin shots you'll make less allowances and they will play very similar
to how they do now.

The non bendy carbon fiber shaft, eliminates more doubt about where your cue ball is going to arrive at the object ball for the center
ball shot, since there is no movement in the shaft, (and there is vibration), so this is new to the player.

Now he has to sort of reassure himself of his sighting picture, but it's not much. What you get is big rise in consistency in center ball shots.

Then when you start playing spin you will have less to allow for by about 35% in my estimation of my carbon fiber shaft.

If you were once using miscue limit spin with a wooden shaft, you have to bring it in a little closer to center because the stiffness of the
shaft won't allow you to do that accurately as much because you're playing with a nail "not a bendy wood shaft." The shot that I was
accustomed to doing this on vexed me for a little while and I found my answer here. I wasn't getting the needed spin on the cue ball
for that shot with carbon fiber and Patrick Johnson here (physics related) said hit the shot harder and I did and it worked just fine. I wasn't expecting to have to do that on this one shot.

As long as I can figure out how to make all the shot that I previously made work, overall its a great shaft. I wouldn't go super thin like 11.8 for a carbon shaft. I've played with one and truly felt like a nail. I would stay 12. 4 and up.

 

[trob]

i found that when i go to a room to gamble the ones with the black shafts are the worst players. i suppose the shafts make them go from worse to slightly less worse.

same with golf, the worse players are always looking at equipment changes thinking that will improve their game.

Your probably part of the the same idiots that said that about people wearing gloves lol it has no bearing on how good or bad a player is. To me it’s a simple preference. If you don’t like the way it hits don’t play with it. Wood shafts from different manufactures play different as well and before the revo came out you chose which one you liked best. These shafts are just another option.