CHALK - are these really better than Master Chalk?
- Thread starter james chong
- Start date
Incredibly well said.
I have been using Blue Diamond for 2 years. I just had new cloth put on my table an thought I would try Master chalk again to cut down on chalk dust. I can't believe how much cleaner my cloth an even cue ball are. I have a fair stroke so no more are less miss cues. 
This I have always found interesting...
I know some folks who just do not care about chalk. To them chalk is chalk is chalk.
Then I know players who are extremely chalk sensitive. They not only carry a specific brand in their pocket, but it has to be worn down to a certain level to be game ready. And they never leave it on the table where another player may pollute the cube with foreign chalk.
I know players who actually humidify their chalk before they play it, and actually feel to be at a disadvantage if they do not have their special blend of chalk and moisture.
There are only two reasons to explain this wide discrepancy among players.
1) People who are chalk sensitive are catering to a psychological condition.
2) People who are chalk sensitive are able to determine a difference in the hit depending
on the brand of chalk.
Anyways you all know who you are.
I will play with any chalk but I prefer the Balabushka brand, followed by Blue Diamond and then Masters.
I can tell the difference too. I have never done this but I would be willing to bet on it.
Masters hits the hardest, Blue Diamond softens the hit and adds some spin, and Balabushka hits the softest and transfers the greatest amount of spin.
I find that Masters and Blue Diamond have about the same adhesion while Balabushka has much more adhesion that either Masters or Blue Diamond.
I cannot comment on Kamui because I have never used it and do not plan to.
So there you have it. Different strokes for different folks, I guess we all have to find our own.
Good luck.
I know some folks who just do not care about chalk. To them chalk is chalk is chalk.
Then I know players who are extremely chalk sensitive. They not only carry a specific brand in their pocket, but it has to be worn down to a certain level to be game ready. And they never leave it on the table where another player may pollute the cube with foreign chalk.
I know players who actually humidify their chalk before they play it, and actually feel to be at a disadvantage if they do not have their special blend of chalk and moisture.
There are only two reasons to explain this wide discrepancy among players.
1) People who are chalk sensitive are catering to a psychological condition.
2) People who are chalk sensitive are able to determine a difference in the hit depending
on the brand of chalk.
Anyways you all know who you are.
I will play with any chalk but I prefer the Balabushka brand, followed by Blue Diamond and then Masters.
I can tell the difference too. I have never done this but I would be willing to bet on it.
Masters hits the hardest, Blue Diamond softens the hit and adds some spin, and Balabushka hits the softest and transfers the greatest amount of spin.
I find that Masters and Blue Diamond have about the same adhesion while Balabushka has much more adhesion that either Masters or Blue Diamond.
I cannot comment on Kamui because I have never used it and do not plan to.
So there you have it. Different strokes for different folks, I guess we all have to find our own.
Good luck.
Everything is subjective to each individual. But I can say I think there is an upgrade from masters to blue diamond and predator. I am a big fan of predator and blue diamond. Used blue diamond for a while and now I'm using predator. I can honestly say I wouldn't go back to masters.
It's all in the mind of the person. Me I've used them all, and don't find any one better than the other, so I use the least expensive of the three you mentioned and have had no issues.
The dryer types of chalk usually don't adhere to the tip as good as the more pasty types of chalk.
The dowside with the pastier type is that they make more mess.
The Predator chalk is nice, sticks well and is reasonably priced, but your hands and shaft will be smurf blue after a few hours!
Kamui is hype and i hate the light blue colour that leaves marks on every thing!
The dowside with the pastier type is that they make more mess.
The Predator chalk is nice, sticks well and is reasonably priced, but your hands and shaft will be smurf blue after a few hours!
Kamui is hype and i hate the light blue colour that leaves marks on every thing!
I hear a rumor the best chalk is made in Arizona by the Navajo Indians, it is made of the clay from an ancient indian burial ground. Where indian have been buried over 10,000 years.
It is available on at the Navajo Trading Post in Window Rock, AZ the Capitol of the Navajo Nation.
It is available on at the Navajo Trading Post in Window Rock, AZ the Capitol of the Navajo Nation.
Instead of posting a long answer about chemical composition, abrasive size, abrasive quality and abrasive quantity I will simply say that the brands you listed are of a higher quality and will perform better in certain situations....
Most shots the chalk performance may not matter since you should be staying around center ball..
And here is the rub for performance chalk (see what I did there?)
When you are at a level where you don't know why you missed the shot or position you have several reasons to choose from 1) you aimed wrong 2) you made a bad stroke and maybe decelerated 3) you missed the contact spot on the cueball 4) you didn't use the right speed and over or under hit it....
When you get past those there are always times when you know you did everything right and you still didn't get shape... You can blame the pool gods but before you do that you may want to rethink that chalk doesn't matter....
After playing with Kamui, blue diamond and Predator I can actually feel the tip slip when it happens.. It's not always a full miscue. Many times it's just a slight slip where the tip doesn't grip the ball as much as is expected and your rock doesn't draw or spin quite right and at distance without spin the swerve you expected doesn't happen and cancel as much deflection as expected and you miss hitting the object ball where intended.....
For a social player missing doesn't matter and even at certain levels of league play misses are so common as to it maybe not mattering if you eliminate one every now and then but if I was a league player I would hope one of those misses wasn't when my 2 or 3 player was shooting at an 8ball that might get us points in a national qualifier and thru to the next round...
The last match in any competition I played using masters was with an equally rated player... The difference in winning and losing came down to 2 draw shots that slipped slightly and ended up with me behind object balls when I was mid pattern of run outs. 2 more inches of draw on either was the difference in running out or turning the table over.. Those 2 games were the difference in the score...
The next thing that is always brought up is that the pro players don't use anything but the chalk provided and I can tell you that is not correct.. Performance chalk is still relatively new and it is not uncommon for it to be a 2nd thought.
Every event Accu-Stats films allows me to scavenge the room when it gets closed down.. I always come home with a bag of blue diamond, predator and NTC.... I know for a fact Oliver, Thorsten, Ralf and Darren carry their own chalk... I haven't thought to poll the players but we may be to the point that I will do that at the next "Make it Happen" event and at the US Open... We always check current info before matches so one more question won't matter......
Masters is still king and will remain so because of it's price and wide availability but don't miss the chance to try some of the other brands as you may find out that it may not matter to some players but it may matter to you...
Only 2 things sit between your favorite cue and the cueball... People pay lots of attention to one of them and almost nothing to the other.. You know what those 2 things are... Your tip and your chalk.....
Chris
Most shots the chalk performance may not matter since you should be staying around center ball..
And here is the rub for performance chalk (see what I did there?)
When you are at a level where you don't know why you missed the shot or position you have several reasons to choose from 1) you aimed wrong 2) you made a bad stroke and maybe decelerated 3) you missed the contact spot on the cueball 4) you didn't use the right speed and over or under hit it....
When you get past those there are always times when you know you did everything right and you still didn't get shape... You can blame the pool gods but before you do that you may want to rethink that chalk doesn't matter....
After playing with Kamui, blue diamond and Predator I can actually feel the tip slip when it happens.. It's not always a full miscue. Many times it's just a slight slip where the tip doesn't grip the ball as much as is expected and your rock doesn't draw or spin quite right and at distance without spin the swerve you expected doesn't happen and cancel as much deflection as expected and you miss hitting the object ball where intended.....
For a social player missing doesn't matter and even at certain levels of league play misses are so common as to it maybe not mattering if you eliminate one every now and then but if I was a league player I would hope one of those misses wasn't when my 2 or 3 player was shooting at an 8ball that might get us points in a national qualifier and thru to the next round...
The last match in any competition I played using masters was with an equally rated player... The difference in winning and losing came down to 2 draw shots that slipped slightly and ended up with me behind object balls when I was mid pattern of run outs. 2 more inches of draw on either was the difference in running out or turning the table over.. Those 2 games were the difference in the score...
The next thing that is always brought up is that the pro players don't use anything but the chalk provided and I can tell you that is not correct.. Performance chalk is still relatively new and it is not uncommon for it to be a 2nd thought.
Every event Accu-Stats films allows me to scavenge the room when it gets closed down.. I always come home with a bag of blue diamond, predator and NTC.... I know for a fact Oliver, Thorsten, Ralf and Darren carry their own chalk... I haven't thought to poll the players but we may be to the point that I will do that at the next "Make it Happen" event and at the US Open... We always check current info before matches so one more question won't matter......
Masters is still king and will remain so because of it's price and wide availability but don't miss the chance to try some of the other brands as you may find out that it may not matter to some players but it may matter to you...
Only 2 things sit between your favorite cue and the cueball... People pay lots of attention to one of them and almost nothing to the other.. You know what those 2 things are... Your tip and your chalk.....
Chris
Miscuing is a result of a poor stroke most of the time.
All this pre-flag masters is better than new masters is pure phooey.
A lady I know that goes to the trade shows talked to many people
about this Masters theory and believe that chalk will dry out and
not stick so well overtime unless stored and not left out.
I've had a few pieces of old masters that were so dried out, I might as well
of chalked my cue with blackboard chalk, which works very well if you ever
try it.
All this pre-flag masters is better than new masters is pure phooey.
A lady I know that goes to the trade shows talked to many people
about this Masters theory and believe that chalk will dry out and
not stick so well overtime unless stored and not left out.
I've had a few pieces of old masters that were so dried out, I might as well
of chalked my cue with blackboard chalk, which works very well if you ever
try it.
I did.... I took each piece of chalk and held it in my hands with my eyes shut... Couldn't tell the difference...
Next time......taste it! You will tell a difference! Lol
asiasdad
Banned
Did not read a mention of Balabushka chalk.
Quite honestly I have thrown away my Masters except for some pre-flag just
because it is pre-flag. I have thrown away the Predator I bought after only
using 1/4 of a cube in the stack because it is just too difficult to chalk my
cue with it.
I have tried the Kamui, and it does work quite well, however not well enough
for me to spend that kind of money on one cube that could walk away from
a pool room at any time.
The Balabushka chalk actually sticks better than the Blue Diamond at the
same price point on the internet.
The only chalk I may like better than the Balabuska is the box of Clik chalk
I have from the late 50's still new in box that I use as a display in my
pool room in the house.
Quite honestly I have thrown away my Masters except for some pre-flag just
because it is pre-flag. I have thrown away the Predator I bought after only
using 1/4 of a cube in the stack because it is just too difficult to chalk my
cue with it.
I have tried the Kamui, and it does work quite well, however not well enough
for me to spend that kind of money on one cube that could walk away from
a pool room at any time.
The Balabushka chalk actually sticks better than the Blue Diamond at the
same price point on the internet.
The only chalk I may like better than the Balabuska is the box of Clik chalk
I have from the late 50's still new in box that I use as a display in my
pool room in the house.
cfrandy says that Balabushka chalk is re-labeled Blue Diamond chalk: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=3463270&postcount=22
I can neither confirm nor refute that.
You couldn't feel the difference between an octagon and a cube in your hands, with your eyes closed? That's very interesting. I haven't tried it, but I'm positive I could tell the difference.
That said, I use blue diamond exclusively. I'm not nearly good enough at pool to comment on whether or not it actually has any discernible advantage to play, but I use it because it doesn't leave me (and my shaft) looking like a smurf after a couple hours of play. There is a very real, and big, difference there between the two.