Kamui Gator Grip Review

JoeyA

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
I received one of the Kamui Gator Grip "cue tip conditioners" a few weeks ago and when I first got it and felt the surface of the device I wasn't very impressed with it on first look.

After further review with some reading glasses, I realized that the surface is probably the most precisely designed surface of any cue tip scuffer/conditioner. I call it a conditioner because that's what it does.

The Gator Grip allows you to remove a VERY SMALL amount of the surface of the leather. This tool will help you extend the life of your layered tip for sure.

While it is recommended for Kamui tips, it is apparent that it would work equally as well with any tip, especially layered tips.

The size is small but not too small. It is flat and the two wooden sides of the device are held together with very small magnets imbedded into the wood but comes apart quite easily, although I had one older friend who couldn't figure out how to open up the device. :smile: When I told him to spread the front and back like a deck of cards, it opened with ease. I like the way the device fits in my pants pocket, laying flat but easy to find when you reach for it.

The Gator Grip removes any glaze that might build up on your tip and roughens the surface just enough to help the chalk adhere to the tip and avoid most miscues.

It's a good tool and costs $30 but in the long run, it could actually save you money in extending the life of your tips. The vendor predicts that the Gator Grip is designed to last for over ten years. You can also purchase them through the AZBilliards Marketplace.

There is a nice video on Kamui's website that shows the best way to use the Gator Grip which you can see by clicking here.
 
JoeyA said:
I received one of the Kamui Gator Grip "cue tip conditioners" a few weeks ago and when I first got it and felt the surface of the device I wasn't very impressed with it on first look.

After further review with some reading glasses, I realized that the surface is probably the most precisely designed surface of any cue tip scuffer/conditioner. I call it a conditioner because that's what it does.

The Gator Grip allows you to remove a VERY SMALL amount of the surface of the leather. This tool will help you extend the life of your layered tip for sure.

While it is recommended for Kamui tips, it is apparent that it would work equally as well with any tip, especially layered tips.

The size is small but not too small. It is flat and the two wooden sides of the device are held together with very small magnets imbedded into the wood but comes apart quite easily, although I had one older friend who couldn't figure out how to open up the device. :smile: When I told him to spread the front and back like a deck of cards, it opened with ease. I like the way the device fits in my pants pocket, laying flat but easy to find when you reach for it.

The Gator Grip removes any glaze that might build up on your tip and roughens the surface just enough to help the chalk adhere to the tip and avoid most miscues.

It's a good tool and costs $30 but in the long run, it could actually save you money in extending the life of your tips. The vendor predicts that the Gator Grip is designed to last for over ten years. You can also purchase them through the AZBilliards Marketplace.

There is a nice video on Kamui's website that shows the best way to use the Gator Grip which you can see by clicking here.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip (no pun). I seen those on the website but thought they were too expensive... but now that I know more about it, seems worth it. I just got a Kamui soft put on my cue and want it to last as long as possible
 
I have one of these that I use for layered tips, and it works great. For Triangles, however, sandpaper or a tip shaper works better.
 
junkbond said:
I have one of these that I use for layered tips, and it works great. For Triangles, however, sandpaper or a tip shaper works better.
Click to expand...

Yes, the facts are that I have never used the Gator Grip on a non-layered tip. Thanks for the heads-up.

JoeyA
 
I've been looking for a tool like this for at least 15 years. Anything similar is only sold in Europe and they don't ship to the US. Got one about 3 months ago.

Awesome tool.
 
Probably won't ammount to much......but IIRC, a company that makes knives, S. O. G. I think, patented and copyrighted the name "Gator Grip" for a synthetic rubber non slip grip on their knives. .......Dan
 
Somebody please explain this to me: How can this:

kamui-gator-grip-abrasive-surface-close-up.jpg


work better than this:

tip-shaper1.jpg


tip-shaper2.jpg


I mean the Kamui tool is not even contoured for the tip surface. And if you're worried about the amount of the tip material that you'd remove while scuffing, just get a smaller grit sand paper. It won't say "Kamui" on it, but it will do a better job in less time! Guaranteed!!!
 
Its really not the same. the Kamuii tool is a whole bunch of finely patterned razor blades that are only just above the surface. You don't scuff your tip. You simply rub it. And like a razor blade lifts the hair before it cuts it on your face, this simply raises the grain of the leather instead of taking the top layer off. If you watch the video on the kamuii website, you just apply a little pressure to the tip with the tool and rub. You never sand it back and forth. You just kind of roll it around on the tip. And it works wonderfully.
 
No chance. Have you tried the Gator Grip? It takes me more time to pull the Gator Grip out of my case than it does to use it. You simply need to try it before commenting further.

SeanC said:
Somebody please explain this to me: How can this:

kamui-gator-grip-abrasive-surface-close-up.jpg


work better than this:

tip-shaper1.jpg


tip-shaper2.jpg


I mean the Kamui tool is not even contoured for the tip surface. And if you're worried about the amount of the tip material that you'd remove while scuffing, just get a smaller grit sand paper. It won't say "Kamui" on it, but it will do a better job in less time! Guaranteed!!!
Click to expand...
 
youngstownkid said:
No chance. Have you tried the Gator Grip? It takes me more time to pull the Gator Grip out of my case than it does to use it. You simply need to try it before commenting further.
Click to expand...
The Gator Grip for me is used primarily like a tip tapper without the tapping. Just roll the tip across the abrasive. I haven't tried it as a shaper although I believe it can be done.

I've considered the Wolfbite tool over the years but every time I get in the mood he's out of stock. For shaping I just take some sand paper fold it and make my own radius.

The first time I saw a tool like the Gator Grip it was at an International 3 Cushion tournament at Chris's Chicago. Blamdahl used his every inning. Just a couple of rolls and he was ready for his next inning.

The grit size is perfect for slightly raising the grain and not removing leather and no need to tap down the fibers like when using a tip tapper or rasp. They have their place but aren't needed on a regular basis if you have something in the order of the Gator Grip. I used to make my own GG with 80 grit paper glued to a hard flat plastic backing.

Lastly if you accept old school thinking, back in the early to mid 70's (around the time the Tip Tapper was the rage) M.Fats told me and demonstrated what he felt was the best way to condition the tip. He took out a piece of 100 grit sand paper and laid it against his case then rolled the tip across, stating "this is all that's needed"
 
Since this is the main forum and not the product review section I assume that anything promoted here is fair game for conversation?

Judging solely by the images presented I would like to submit that the surface is extremely similar to what one can find in the nail care section of a well stocked beauty supply house. Having just come from a trip where I had to spend a few hours in a mall dedicated to such products I am fairly certain that this is the same material or very very close to what is on some nail files.

I highly doubt that it is comprised of tiny razor blades and is lifting and cutting the surface of the leather. It would simple be dimpling the surface lightly if the tip is rolled on to the surface. The same effect would be present with sandpaper against a hard surface. The finer dimples would tend to allow the chalk particles to nestle better than larger dimples.

A person could also use a jeweler's file, they come in various grades, to get the same effect.
 
youngstownkid said:
No chance. Have you tried the Gator Grip? It takes me more time to pull the Gator Grip out of my case than it does to use it. You simply need to try it before commenting further.
Click to expand...

I tried the Kamui tool. This "try it before commenting on it" line by the Kamui fan boys is getting old. You need to come up with something new.

Have you tried the Wolfbite tool? If not, how can you say "no chance"?

Again, there is no way the Kamui tool is better than Wolfbite's... If you like your tip perfectly shaped in a dime radius, or if you want to keep that shape while scuffing, use something that is designed to do so. If you don't care how your tip looks like on a smaller scale, straight scuffers are just for you.
 
Its really not the same. You just have to see one up close to understand it is nothing like a file or sandpaper. The pattern is much closer to the foil on an electric shaver.

Roadie said:
Since this is the main forum and not the product review section I assume that anything promoted here is fair game for conversation?

Judging solely by the images presented I would like to submit that the surface is extremely similar to what one can find in the nail care section of a well stocked beauty supply house. Having just come from a trip where I had to spend a few hours in a mall dedicated to such products I am fairly certain that this is the same material or very very close to what is on some nail files.

I highly doubt that it is comprised of tiny razor blades and is lifting and cutting the surface of the leather. It would simple be dimpling the surface lightly if the tip is rolled on to the surface. The same effect would be present with sandpaper against a hard surface. The finer dimples would tend to allow the chalk particles to nestle better than larger dimples.

A person could also use a jeweler's file, they come in various grades, to get the same effect.
Click to expand...
 
I got one, use it and love it. As far as the sand paper and wood block goes, that would work fine too but they are not the same thing. And the gator grip is not the same as a nail file either, you just got to feel it to see what I mean. There are a thousand ways to scuff up a tip, some are better and some are worse. I like the way this tool works and I think it will last me a long time.

Is it worth the 30 bucks? I guess thats up to you, I got mine as a present so yeah, it's worth it for me.
 
Cdryden said:
I got one, use it and love it. As far as the sand paper and wood block goes, that would work fine too but they are not the same thing. And the gator grip is not the same as a nail file either, you just got to feel it to see what I mean. There are a thousand ways to scuff up a tip, some are better and some are worse. I like the way this tool works and I think it will last me a long time.

Is it worth the 30 bucks? I guess thats up to you, I got mine as a present so yeah, it's worth it for me.
Click to expand...

I have a Willard, one of those world war I army hat scuffers, a tip pick, sandpaper, tip tapper and yes a Kamui Gator Grip. The Kamui Gator Grip is my favorite. The "screen" is fine enough but sharp enough to put a clean extremely small dimpled pattern onto my tip which the chalk appears to hold very well. With sandpaper or other scuffers, they either have too large of teeth (putting very large holes in my not so cheap tips) or they work as a super abrasive rubbing back and forth, pushing on the glued layered tip. While I haven't had any problems with the other scuffers, I prefer the finely manicured looks that the Kamui puts on my tips. Others, at the pool hall, sometimes seek me out and ask me to scuff their tip with the Kamui Gator Grip.

I haven't tried the Wolfbite and I'm sure it works fine. I've used sandpaper, files (tip tappers) picks, knives (way back when) and scuffers like the Willard scuffer for years and I don't miscue very often. When I first started playing pool, I used to see old time players using knives to cut criss-cross, tick-tac-toe-like patterns on their tip and even tried it some myself. I put the knife away a long time ago and the tip pick (the large one) too. The large tip pick cap came off in my pocket and one day when I was searching for a coin in my tight jeans, I pulled up a bloody thumb and that was the last I saw of the large thumb-pick.

This isn't rocket science but no other scuffer provides the finely manicured surface that the Gator Grip provides. I think it removes less leather than most other scuffers and I like that as well.
 
JoeyA said:
I pulled up a bloody thumb and that was the last I saw of the large thumb-pick.
Click to expand...

LOL Thant cracked me up, I can just see you throwing it across the pool room. For what its worth I had the same thing happen to me except one of the needles got shoved up underneath my fingernail. And yes, i almost wet my pants!:rolleyes:
 
OUSooner said:
Its really not the same. You just have to see one up close to understand it is nothing like a file or sandpaper. The pattern is much closer to the foil on an electric shaver.
Click to expand...

As I said going by the images presented it seems very similar to the type of nail file that is being sold in the beauty supply places. I am not disputing that the tool is excellent for the purpose. I am merely presenting that there are alternatives which work equally well in my opinion. An opinion based on a lot of years of tip maintenance and not based on hands-on experience with this particular tool.

I will try to locate one of these nail files to satisfy my own curiosity and see if the similarity is truly there.
 
Cdryden said:
LOL Thant cracked me up, I can just see you throwing it across the pool room. For what its worth I had the same thing happen to me except one of the needles got shoved up underneath my fingernail. And yes, i almost wet my pants!:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Aieeh! I feel your pain.....
 
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