I read somewhere that cue tips only have a usable lifespan of 6 months, no matter how much leather is left. It said that chalk and air dry it out quickly. I play every day for about 2 hours, and the best performance was when the tip was new. I thought the reduced perfomane was due to the hardening of the tip rather than drying out . Anyone have experience with this?
Cue tip lifespan
- Thread starter Celeric
- Start date
This has not been my experience at all. I think you got some bad info. FWIW hitting the cue ball excessively hard repeatedly will cause the tip to harden somewhat and glaze over.
Bad info indeed. I know a guy who carries his shaper in his pocket, and being a rather high strung fellow, will grind the hell of his tip as he plays. Tips usually last him a couple of weeks.
On the other hand, I recently bought back one of the cues I had built seven years ago, and the Moori that I originally put on it was as good as new. :smile:
On the other hand, I recently bought back one of the cues I had built seven years ago, and the Moori that I originally put on it was as good as new. :smile:
I have had my SS Kamui black for about 5 months now. I play an average of about 20 minutes a day.I Use a Tip-Pic on it. Still plays good but maybe not as good as new
it is recommended not to use tip piks or any other piercing type of tool on layered tips.
love the tip pik on triangles, though. :wink:
best,
brian kc
This Op sounds like something from a questionable cue repairman. Kind of like the only people who tell you to change your oil every 3000 miles are the people who sell you the oil. The auto manufacturers who have the responsiblility of the warranty the brand reputation at stake say it doesn't need changing for 2 or 3 times that amount.
I have no idea if that's true or not, but a lot of the house cues at my local hall probably have tips older than six month... they play fine though.
Tips can last years for some players but just because they have a ton of material left doesn't mean their characteristics haven't changed....
Many of the better players will change a tip out after a month.. WHY? Because after a month of solid play the tip won't play like a new tip anymore...
The better player can continue to play with the tip and just vary how they are hitting the balls as the characteristics continue to change OR they can just lop it off stick a new one on they already know what to expect out of and they don't have to ever go thru the break in period or learning process of going from a tip that's been on too long to a brand new tip.....
I saw Bustemante have Blackburn put 3 tips on within an hour... He went and hit balls and came back and just shook his head... He knew exactly what he was expecting and if the new tip didn't give it to him off it came....
This had me thinking about tips a little more in depth... Not only do tips get harder but the lose some of their resilience as they are put to play....
I have a COR tester in development that will let you select a tip based on it's resilience right out of the box and then test it after it's installed onto a shaft.... You can watch as the bounce decreases over time on the readouts.... When a tip gets 10-15% out of new spec you might be better off springing for a new one (see what I did there? =) ) Well maybe not everyone but if you are an A or want to become an A or even better you might be part of the group who will.......
Many of the better players will change a tip out after a month.. WHY? Because after a month of solid play the tip won't play like a new tip anymore...
The better player can continue to play with the tip and just vary how they are hitting the balls as the characteristics continue to change OR they can just lop it off stick a new one on they already know what to expect out of and they don't have to ever go thru the break in period or learning process of going from a tip that's been on too long to a brand new tip.....
I saw Bustemante have Blackburn put 3 tips on within an hour... He went and hit balls and came back and just shook his head... He knew exactly what he was expecting and if the new tip didn't give it to him off it came....
This had me thinking about tips a little more in depth... Not only do tips get harder but the lose some of their resilience as they are put to play....
I have a COR tester in development that will let you select a tip based on it's resilience right out of the box and then test it after it's installed onto a shaft.... You can watch as the bounce decreases over time on the readouts.... When a tip gets 10-15% out of new spec you might be better off springing for a new one (see what I did there? =) ) Well maybe not everyone but if you are an A or want to become an A or even better you might be part of the group who will.......
Like most equipment it depends on lots of factors; how you play, what you play, how often you play, how much attn you give to your tip, what kind of tip it is, how hard the tip is & do you break with it or not; just to name the top ones. To shell out advice like "it only lasts about 6mo" is just plain crazy or that is the someone selling the tips.
I play with a Killer med. hard tip. It never mushrooms and I use a Tip-Pic on it at the start of everyday and have had them last for 2 yrs. with no problem. ---Smitty
if you dont have a tip-pic or a scuffer,
you can improvise by rubbing the tip on the brick wall
or even outside on the concrete sidewalk
i swear to god, i saw a few do this at the local bar
i just about fell off my f'n chair
the same guys that keep a piece of 150 or 220 grit on them to "clean thier shaft"
when you can see a cloud of maple dust in the air,
i'd say that's clean enough :rotflmao1: