I wax and burnish my playing shaft before I go out. Tried a glove once but what you gain in smoothness, you lose in feeling.
Chalk, Glove or Nothing?
- Thread starter Cue-Z
- Start date
I use a little powder only when necessary on those sticky days. If used properly, it doesn't make a mess.
If a small amount of powder is applied to the hands and rubbed in well, it does the job and it doesn't make a mess of your cue or the table. I use powder in rooms that don't supply any and I have never received a complaint from another player or a room owner.
If a small amount of powder is applied to the hands and rubbed in well, it does the job and it doesn't make a mess of your cue or the table. I use powder in rooms that don't supply any and I have never received a complaint from another player or a room owner.
Are you sure he wasn't playing around with Smurfette? :grin-square:
I prefer to have protection when I play. That's why I use a glove..:wink:
RBC
Deceased
I often show people how much chalk their cue picks up. I don't mean hand chalk, I mean tip chalk.
Have you ever noticed that the tip end of so many cue shafts are chalky?
When my cue gets a little sticky, I just go wash my hands. I then use the paper towels I used to dry my hands, as they are slightly wet or damp, and i wipe the shaft off with them. It is surprising how much chalk comes off! I then use a dry towel to clean it up.
Slick and smooth!
Royce Bunnell
www.obcues.com
Have you ever noticed that the tip end of so many cue shafts are chalky?
When my cue gets a little sticky, I just go wash my hands. I then use the paper towels I used to dry my hands, as they are slightly wet or damp, and i wipe the shaft off with them. It is surprising how much chalk comes off! I then use a dry towel to clean it up.
Slick and smooth!
Royce Bunnell
www.obcues.com
Glad to put a smile on your face.
I have to use powder, some days more than others, my hands are so wet it soaks up the powder, you cant tell I'm using it by looking at the table, people who get talc all over the table simpally dont know how to use it, kinda like I spell-I just dont know how to spell. Baby powder used the right way never makes a mess, and I wash/dry my hands often when i play, I wipe down my shaft often too. It buy the biggest size J&J Baby Powder and it dosent last me very long, perhaps 6 months, the one I carry in my case I refill all the time.
The bags with the rice and powder in them suck and that stuff is sticky, the cones suck too. I can use the cone and not make the table messy but thats a bit more work than it is with powder. I think the binding agent in the cones is the problem. But anything is better than nothing for me.
I dont wear socks but once a month at the very most
, so there is no chance of me ever wearing a glove.best
fatboy
thats my thought, and I believe that feeling is important. And I like that feeling too!!!! hope your good buddy. :smile:
My hands don't sweat, so I don't use a glove. Talc is for babies butts. And, I never use chalk. Not on my hands and not on the end of a cue. I haven't used chalk since high school. Now that I think about it, I haven't won a game of pool since then either.
I do keep a wet towel near to clean my hands frequently.
mostly i use nothing, however, being a big fat guy i sweat at the thought of sweating. so if it's really hot or humid i keep a bag in my case. i don't know what the hell it is, rosin or powder or whatever. i just know that i use so little no one else who shoots on the same table would know i use it. i also will only touch my cues after i use it. i really do make an effoert to not get anything on the table or balls or anything other than my shooting hand and cue. and for the record i do wash my hands frequently and always wipe my cues down, it's just that when i sweat those things are a bandaid on a bullett hole:grin:
This poll amazes me.
I had no idea that the VAST majority of people don't use anything to help the cue slide through their fingers more easily.
Even before I used a glove, I used lots of powder. I wash my hand regularly but that only lasts for a short while.
The "finger slides" are another alternative for those who need the smoothness and don't want to use the glove or talc.
JoeyA
I had no idea that the VAST majority of people don't use anything to help the cue slide through their fingers more easily.
Even before I used a glove, I used lots of powder. I wash my hand regularly but that only lasts for a short while.
The "finger slides" are another alternative for those who need the smoothness and don't want to use the glove or talc.
JoeyA
Corn Starch
JoeyA:
Great point. I am a FingerSlides user myself, and I love 'em. I don't use 'em all the time, because I don't want my game to DEPEND on them, but they're great when the pressure's on / humidity's in the air and my hands perspire.
I'm also a powder user, but not the powder that everone's mentioned here (e.g. talc or baby powder). I'm genuinely surprised noone's mentioned Corn Starch??
Corn Starch is great, because 1.) it's not made from an inherently abrasive material like talc is; 2.) it has no perfume [I personally dislike scented baby powder -- makes me think that I just changed a diaper or something]; 3.) it's very, very slippery -- much more so than talc or baby powder; 4.) one needs to use much less of it, and it stays on the hands much longer than talc or baby powder; 5.) it's not nearly as messy as talc or baby powder -- it doesn't go airborne as easily, nor form "dust clouds" or settle and make a mess like talc / baby powder.
Anyone else use corn starch?
-Sean
JoeyA:
Great point. I am a FingerSlides user myself, and I love 'em. I don't use 'em all the time, because I don't want my game to DEPEND on them, but they're great when the pressure's on / humidity's in the air and my hands perspire.
I'm also a powder user, but not the powder that everone's mentioned here (e.g. talc or baby powder). I'm genuinely surprised noone's mentioned Corn Starch??
Corn Starch is great, because 1.) it's not made from an inherently abrasive material like talc is; 2.) it has no perfume [I personally dislike scented baby powder -- makes me think that I just changed a diaper or something]; 3.) it's very, very slippery -- much more so than talc or baby powder; 4.) one needs to use much less of it, and it stays on the hands much longer than talc or baby powder; 5.) it's not nearly as messy as talc or baby powder -- it doesn't go airborne as easily, nor form "dust clouds" or settle and make a mess like talc / baby powder.
Anyone else use corn starch?
-Sean
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I always get a good laugh when I see people using master chalk on the hands. The whole time I'm trying to keep master chalk off my hands, and this guy is painting his hand blue. 
I've gone full circle....started off with nothing, went to powder, then glove. Now I'm just cleaning my shaft and hands on the reg.
I've gone full circle....started off with nothing, went to powder, then glove. Now I'm just cleaning my shaft and hands on the reg.
Well I have to say I love my powder but I don't go nuts with it .
A long path
First I used the cone chalk like I saw most other people use, generously! Baby powder if that was all they had but it has oil in it that gums things up worse when mixed with sweat or dirt from the tables.
Then when I started toting my own cue, nothing. I cleaned and burnished the shaft at least once a week and it was slicker than slick.
When I came back to the pool halls many years later I alternated between nothing and the tiniest amounts of powder, mostly on the shaft of the cue. However playing down in the humidity of New Orleans and not being as young as I once was, I sweat a lot. Between that and the dirt and smoke residue on the tables the shaft of my cue often becomes a gummy mess. I wash my hands a lot and use the damp paper towel trick on the cue. That helps a bunch but I was still fighting a sticky shaft.
Finally I tried a glove after resisting for several years. It solved the stickiness problem, my cue shaft might get dirty but it didn't get gummy. The glove fit poorly and cut into my hand and my fingertips not having direct contact with the table left me unhappy. Have to admit, there are places I shoot pool that a glove will cause people to question your manhood too.
Enter the fingerslides: They don't look like a glove and they do the same job while leaving the fingertips exposed. A little tricky getting the perfect fit if a standard size doesn't work for you but Nancy will work with you to custom make anything you need. Once you have the fit you need she records it and you can get duplicates any time you want some. The finger slides are reported to last far longer than gloves but I don't know, I haven't worn out the first set yet.
Under ideal conditions I favor a clean smooth cue and clean dry hands. When conditions aren't ideal so far the finger slides have been the best solution for me.
Hu
First I used the cone chalk like I saw most other people use, generously! Baby powder if that was all they had but it has oil in it that gums things up worse when mixed with sweat or dirt from the tables.
Then when I started toting my own cue, nothing. I cleaned and burnished the shaft at least once a week and it was slicker than slick.
When I came back to the pool halls many years later I alternated between nothing and the tiniest amounts of powder, mostly on the shaft of the cue. However playing down in the humidity of New Orleans and not being as young as I once was, I sweat a lot. Between that and the dirt and smoke residue on the tables the shaft of my cue often becomes a gummy mess. I wash my hands a lot and use the damp paper towel trick on the cue. That helps a bunch but I was still fighting a sticky shaft.
Finally I tried a glove after resisting for several years. It solved the stickiness problem, my cue shaft might get dirty but it didn't get gummy. The glove fit poorly and cut into my hand and my fingertips not having direct contact with the table left me unhappy. Have to admit, there are places I shoot pool that a glove will cause people to question your manhood too.
Enter the fingerslides: They don't look like a glove and they do the same job while leaving the fingertips exposed. A little tricky getting the perfect fit if a standard size doesn't work for you but Nancy will work with you to custom make anything you need. Once you have the fit you need she records it and you can get duplicates any time you want some. The finger slides are reported to last far longer than gloves but I don't know, I haven't worn out the first set yet.
Under ideal conditions I favor a clean smooth cue and clean dry hands. When conditions aren't ideal so far the finger slides have been the best solution for me.
Hu
I've used baby powder and sometimes carry it in my case. I don't have any problem with talc cones if people don't over do it. Any more, I just try to keep my hands clean and wipe shafts down often.
Edit: Just remembered, I have one of those things that look like one of those Chinese finger trap things that you hold in your hand and the shaft glides through. It's worked very well in humid conditions. I've never used it at home, though.
Edit: Just remembered, I have one of those things that look like one of those Chinese finger trap things that you hold in your hand and the shaft glides through. It's worked very well in humid conditions. I've never used it at home, though.
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