dendweller
Well-known member
yeah, I like not a rock most of the time. I have some really heavy 14 mm that I don't think would fuzz up and should play pretty hard, let me know if you want a couple.
How do you find a good Elkmaster? Also does pressing them solve the issue (no milkdud process)
- Thread starter wilkamania
- Start date
Absolutely!!
According to Tweeten they aren't using the shitty/soft part of the hides any more. From what i've been told the shoulder area yields the best tip leather. Stomach area makes for crummy, mushrooming crap tips.
Good news for all of us who use them!!
dendweller
Well-known member
So I got a box of the 15s. Given none of the tests worked all that well for me I resorted to installing them on an oak dowel and turning them down a mm or so. I then cut them off with a cut off tool and reflatten the back of the tip.
Probably seems like a waste of time to some but I really don't like cutting new tips off good shafts and having to reprep them.
To me, turning them down a bit is my best chance at being confident it's a decent tip. You get to see the grain on the side and whether or not it's going to behave like a jack in the box. I only found a couple that looked pretty bad with the 15s.
With the last box of 14mm Elk Masters I got I'm pretty sure I pitched every one that I tried to install and ended up putting the rest aside in a bag so I could avoid them.
I fit snooker sized tips on a daily basis and still have the old school guys insisting on Elks occasionally.
I generally take them out individually and drop the dome into a hard surface; although this normally works I can still get poor tips once I cut the side walls off.
Since covid I noticed a real upturn in hard tips from various supplier makes including the standard Elks.
I've made cases at Majestic Cue Cases for years and the latest batches of Elks in the packets are like pebbles so I'm sure it's more than just using leather from the shoulder.
I generally take them out individually and drop the dome into a hard surface; although this normally works I can still get poor tips once I cut the side walls off.
Since covid I noticed a real upturn in hard tips from various supplier makes including the standard Elks.
I've made cases at Majestic Cue Cases for years and the latest batches of Elks in the packets are like pebbles so I'm sure it's more than just using leather from the shoulder.
dendweller
Well-known member
There was a post within the last week about a guy ordering a sneaky pete from a cue maker. The guy said tweeten was putting some type of hardener in their tips now. I don't know it's true, just adding that in, I'll look for the post, see if I can find it.
Found it.
Cue Order
I called and ordered a cue from Al Romero today and it was rather interesting so I thought I'd share. I call him up and say I want to order a plain Sneaky, he asked me what length and I say 58 inches, he says okay. I tell him I want a 13mm shaft and he says okay.Then he asks what weight and I...
forums.azbilliards.com
Great job, as it is a bit of hit or miss with any unlayered tip. Having said that, I think the 15mm Triangles are probably taken from the best of the back of the hide, as they do start out thicker than any other size. Another thing to look for after you finish it, is to look for a noticeable membrane at the bottom of the tip. It's slightly lighter color than the rest of the tip. If you apply ink immediately to the side of the tip, you won't see it, but I don't apply any ink to the side of the tip. I've found those with the noticeable membrane to be ideal, pretty firm, but not unusable rock hard.
All the best,
WW
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Hey WildWing...
I've seen hardness estimates for Le Pro's at anywhere from 78 to 91 at various places online.
What's your take on a Le Pro's hardness factor?? I'm not looking for a number. I'm asking do you think they all run in the hard range, or have you found many mediums in the mix??
I'm also curious about this so called 'Hardener' in Elkies. Anybody know any more about that??
Don't look at hardness ratings, as they don't mean a thing. They're usually run with a durometer test, which is useless in how a tip really feels. It can test hard, and play with a softer sound.
Le Pros, really good ones from the 1970s ran from medium to medium hard, and they were darker inside the tip than today's. From most feedback I've heard, today's are a bit harder, and I haven't heard a lot of good comments about them. They're not my tip of choice, as I think the 15mm Triangles are a better gamble for a single layer tip.
Elk Masters? They start out softer, I would say no harder than medium, or medium soft. But as you play them, they harden up. That may be typical of a fairly coarse grain chrome-tanned tip. That's where the tip is soaked in a Chromium Salts solution, as opposed to vegetable tanned, which I believe is mostly a solution of oak bark and water.
The exception to this is the Triangle, which gets a combination of veg and chrome tanning.
All the best, for finding a good tip,
WW
Btw... I prefer a Hard tip. Do triangles qualify?? No layered's please. lol.
They do, especially once you have used one for a while, but I would call them more medium hard at the start. They are not as hard though, as they harder tips, such as the hard layered tips, the water buffalo brand tips, and the old Chandivert Rockies, if you can find them.
If you didn't know anybody with a few of those Rockies, any ideas on where a guy would go about finding one??
I have just a few Rockies left. Just PM me your address, and I'll send you them, as I don't use them anymore.
All the best,
WW
I wonder what hardener they use. I often wanted to make cue tips but the difficulty has always been stabilising the shape. I see lots of bonding agents used on leather but seem many are toxic. What seems to have been used on the Elks is rock hard.
dendweller
Well-known member
Yeah, I wouldn't sand them in bed, that's for sure.