Favorite cue tip?
- Thread starter sr 9ball
- Start date
You can change the hit of a shaft thru tip changes so for some a soft tip on a stiff shaft or hard tip on a flexible shaft might be the ticket but here is my gospel on how to select the best tip for you and the shaft you have...
Everyone of us has a mental image of what is going to happen when we pull the trigger on a shot... The tip has more to do with reality matching our imagination than likely any other part of the cue.... I'm not talking about making the shot as the shaft deflection still trumps the tip and learning to compensate... I am talking about the cueball having a specific amount of speed and rotation after contact for it to go exactly where you envisioned it going.......
The tips we make are of 3 hardness grades and 3 different COR readings... Will any of the 3 fit 100% of the players imagination? No way... no how... But 1 of the 3 will be close... And it will stay close thru it's life cycle... No real break in and no real fall off over months means no adjusting the mental to reality......
If you buy the sampler start with the soft... If you come up short time and time again... Don't adjust you... Put the medium on.... For every step up in our grades you get more COR.. Which for laymen's discussion is linear energy transfer..
but for Verri... Some players use a hard tip on the stiffest shaft they can find while some use a soft on a sponge... This is one of the areas where players preference reigns supreme.......
Chris
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If you are "poking" your tip, or believe it needs that, this would explain why you have problems with layered tips getting "ripped up".
It sounds like its your style of maintenance that is the problem, not your style of play.
KMRUNOUT
This is mostly false. At very soft stroke speeds you are right, but at anything medium or above, a hard tip will generate more spin. Not much more, but more. Think it through.
KMRUNOUT
I was wondering about that too. I never pick mine. Burnish the sides occasionally. Dont shape it after first break in period either. Holds it shape beautifully. Still holds chalk like its magnetic and still hasn't glazed.
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i like the med. ultraskin tips fairly well...but im currently using kamui med. black on my player now..i like the feel and consistancy but i have to admit it does not hold chalk too well and does miscue more when using more spin
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2
Just switched over to a milk dud 2 weeks ago from Le Pro. So far I really like the "dud". It just feels right to me.
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I have used a LOT of different tips over the years. The longest stretch was Moori med hard (back when they made this option). Currently I am using Kamui Black Soft. However, about 6 months back I switched to an OB Classic Pro shaft (11.75 diameter). I found that the soft has too much flex for me when using english on the smaller shaft. I have some techniques to turn a soft into a medium-ish tip, that's what I did and its great now. I was considering for next time going with the Kamui Clear Black medium. Similar grip, just a lot less flex. I think the clears play a *hair* softer than the regular tips. I am very interested in trying the following:
G2
Blackheart (looks like they have S,M,H? based on what I said, which one should I try?)
Kamui Original Soft or Medium
KiTech (Chris, I have one of the samples you sent out...I think it was the very first samples you offered to AZ. I was wondering how this compares to the ones currently available. I think I have a medium.)
I have 2 314-2 shafts for my cue...maybe I will designate one of them my testing shaft lol. My only problem is that I have come to learn that what might be a great tip on a 12.75mm shaft may not be ideal on a 11.75mm.
Any feedback on my selections would be appreciated.
KMRUNOUT
G2
Blackheart (looks like they have S,M,H? based on what I said, which one should I try?)
Kamui Original Soft or Medium
KiTech (Chris, I have one of the samples you sent out...I think it was the very first samples you offered to AZ. I was wondering how this compares to the ones currently available. I think I have a medium.)
I have 2 314-2 shafts for my cue...maybe I will designate one of them my testing shaft lol. My only problem is that I have come to learn that what might be a great tip on a 12.75mm shaft may not be ideal on a 11.75mm.
Any feedback on my selections would be appreciated.
KMRUNOUT
All grades have went thru several revisions and the QC has 2 more check points now than in the beginning.... The medium has went thru the most revisions and has finally gotten to the point that I like it as well as I like our hard and soft grades.. Up until about 6 months ago I would not have said that....
Chris
My favourite tips are
- Tom Haye Ultraskin soft
- Triangle Milkdud
- Elkmaster Milkdud
About the Milkdud: no one makes the best for itself. Just the hardness must fit to your expectations and to your shaft. So, let me say, the best Milkdud is custom made especially for you.
About the milkdud...... Lets get rid of a lot of BS that goes along with that process... In case anyone wants to make their own....
Number 1.... Cream, Whole Milk, 2%, 1% Skim????
Using whole milk or cream is counterproductive.. Casein is the protein in milk not the fat... You are banking on the casein changing the tip... Using anything but skim milk is wrong unless you are trying something new like making a fatdud.....
Number 2
Different breeds of cows create different amounts of casein than other breeds.... Pretty sure you cannot know the breed of the cow they use at the local dairy farm and even if you did the amount will vary from week to week depending on the health and care of the cows. This means consistency of tips is going to be hard to manage as to the amount of Casein is absorbed or even available
Number 3
Almost all milk is pasteurized now here in the US... This is a heat process that damages the casein chain and makes most milk no more useful than soaking a tip in water... What this means is you are buying a tip that really is not changed in any manner other than the person who made it pressed it to a different hardness than it originally was....
I have access to raw milk and I have the ability to test it and maintain casein levels... The major issue I see is that if I were to make milkduds I would still have all of the QC and grading steps to ensure each one is the same so I don't know that they would be that much cheaper than the Ki-Techs.....
I know currently they are selling milkduds for 3 bucks or so each, so would the world pay 5 for one just because the science and QC is better so the tip would be marginally better??
Food for thought but I could do a batch next weekend if anyone is truly interested......
Chris
I see. What do you think I can expect with this one I have? What are the differences between it and a current one? What do you think the actual hardness of this would be? To me, for example, a Kamui medium black is a hair harder than I might want. Grabls well and all, but just a very hard hit most noticeable when I use english.
Thanks for the info too!
KMRUNOUT
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Chris, I might be interested. $5 for a tip is irrelevant to me. I might use a tip for 8 months or more. If I don't win more than $5 with it, I'm sure I have bigger problems than what tip I'm using lol. Though it sounds like you're saying you at least have a pretty good shot at making something usable and beneficial if you can get some raw unpasteurized skim milk. Do you believe that it is worth doing with tips other than Elkmasters? Like LePro's, Triangles, maybe Blue whatever (that Brunswick tip)??
Thanks again,
KMRUNOUT
Saturation is the main issue and that is a function of the tanning process and the chemicals used in the original creation of the tip you are trying to dud.... The Elkmaster and the blue diamond are going to be your best bets... The triangle and the lepro are going to be more troublesome with the LePro being almost impervious to doing anything in milk at room temp or colder.... With that being said IF you can get the raw milk you will have to quantify the casein content so you can reproduce the process everytime... That part will be the hardest but may not be important if you just want to experiment.....
Chris
Yours will play a little harder than the ones we have now even tho it is the same durometer reading... We have upped the elasticity in the mediums and along with feeling a little softer they seem to grab and spin the ball better than yours will.....
Chris