Kamui pool cue tip questions for you expierenced users or sellers

Kevin Lindstrom

Kevin Lindstrom

14.1 Addict
Silver Member
I am wanting the super soft tip but want to know what the differences are between the browns and blacks.

Also would like to know the differences between the originals and the clears.

Will use this info in deciding which is best for me.

Thanks

Kevin
 
OK, I'll bite. The Kamui SS tips I have used all seemed to compress fairly quickly. The last one I removed required using a dead blow hammer and a sharp Lenox razor blade to remove it. Madman jump/break tips were not that hard to remove! Hope you have better luck.
 
Kevin Lindstrom said:
I am wanting the super soft tip but want to know what the differences are between the browns and blacks.

Also would like to know the differences between the originals and the clears.

Will use this info in deciding which is best for me.

Thanks

Kevin
Click to expand...

Not exactly an answer to your direct question, but I would go with another soft tip, every Kamui black soft I have had firmed up quite a bit in a few weeks. Great tip till then though. The clear makes the thing look long, aside from that not a lot of difference in feel. Kamui actually has a great chart comparing their Black and Brown lines. I like to compare the Black to a rubber eraser and the Brown to something like a leather strip more. Black feels to grip the cueball for a tad longer.

After trying both of them, along with a few other tips, I use either the KiTech tips from Outsville or the Searing tips. Searing has a similar feel to the Kamui Browns, but the softness has stayed the same or close to the same for much longer.
 
When the Kamui Black tips came out, there was an article on the tanning process and the differences.
This is from memory so may be off just a bit. But...

The Black tips are more moisture resistant, so due to this, play just a hair firmer or harder than their normally tanned counter parts. The idea behind this was in Japan, in May through August/September, it's extremely humid (been there and that's not an under statement) and the Black tips helped combat the higher humidity, but that tanning process in normal humidity, makes the tips play harder.

As for the clear. Kamui had been getting complaints of tips coming apart or delaminating, and they found that people had been putting the tips on backwards/upside down. (How true this is or was is for you to decide). So, they came out with a line of tips that had a clear pad on them so that there was only one way to put the tips on.

Hopefully that answers your questions on what's the difference between black and tan, and what are the clear pads for.

Peace...
 
hang-the-9 said:
Not exactly an answer to your direct question, but I would go with another soft tip, every Kamui black soft I have had firmed up quite a bit in a few weeks. Great tip till then though. The clear makes the thing look long, aside from that not a lot of difference in feel. Kamui actually has a great chart comparing their Black and Brown lines. I like to compare the Black to a rubber eraser and the Brown to something like a leather strip more. Black feels to grip the cueball for a tad longer.

After trying both of them, along with a few other tips, I use either the KiTech tips from Outsville or the Searing tips. Searing has a similar feel to the Kamui Browns, but the softness has stayed the same or close to the same for much longer.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply.

I currently have a new cue with the Searing precision soft tips on both shafts. I really like these tips but having test hit my friends cue with the Kamui super soft I would say the Kamui tips are a bit more grippier. I guess that is what I am after is more grip and the reason I will be changing out my tips.

Kevin
 
Kevin Lindstrom said:
Thanks for your reply.

I currently have a new cue with the Searing precision soft tips on both shafts. I really like these tips but having test hit my friends cue with the Kamui super soft I would say the Kamui tips are a bit more grippier. I guess that is what I am after is more grip and the reason I will be changing out my tips.

Kevin
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I could be wrong but I don't think a tip can grip anything.They basically just hit and for millionths of a second at that. Pool players can talk themselves into anything. I play hard pressed Triangles, which are not layered, and get better english off of them than a softer layered tip. Hard tips transfer more stroke because they don't absorb as much of the hit as a softer tip

I really believe the $25 tip being better is just marketing. And marketing that really works. Triangles almost never need shaping and they don't mushroom. They are about a buck apiece. Where's the fun in that, no shaping and inexpensive? Hell before you know it you'll buy a $500 shaft that isn't even wood.....JMTC
 
Some advice:

Don't sweat it.

Pick one and use it.

The less you worry about your tip, the better off you will be.

Just make sure it's domed and scuffed.
 
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Kevin Lindstrom said:
Thanks for your reply.

I currently have a new cue with the Searing precision soft tips on both shafts. I really like these tips but having test hit my friends cue with the Kamui super soft I would say the Kamui tips are a bit more grippier. I guess that is what I am after is more grip and the reason I will be changing out my tips.

Kevin
Click to expand...
Seems like the Kamui SS is what you're looking for. You'll just need to install a new one every 2 or 3 weeks from what I understand. Problem solved, congrats!
 
philly said:
I could be wrong but I don't think a tip can grip anything.They basically just hit and for millionths of a second at that. Pool players can talk themselves into anything. I play hard pressed Triangles, which are not layered, and get better english off of them than a softer layered tip. Hard tips transfer more stroke because they don't absorb as much of the hit as a softer tip

I really believe the $25 tip being better is just marketing. And marketing that really works. Triangles almost never need shaping and they don't mushroom. They are about a buck apiece. Where's the fun in that, no shaping and inexpensive? Hell before you know it you'll buy a $500 shaft that isn't even wood.....JMTC
Click to expand...

Philly

I have tried many Triangle tips over the years and I will admit they are good and the price is great too. That being said unless someone offers up a tip that I haven't tried yet I think there is a big difference between the triangle and the Kamui super soft.

I would love to know how the Kamikaze SS compared to the Kamui SS.

Kevin
 
Kevin Lindstrom said:
Philly

I have tried many Triangle tips over the years and I will admit they are good and the price is great too. That being said unless someone offers up a tip that I haven't tried yet I think there is a big difference between the triangle and the Kamui super soft.

I would love to know how the Kamikaze SS compared to the Kamui SS.

Kevin
Click to expand...

Got ya. Go for it. I am pretty much finished experimenting with equipment. Round and round has gotten me to old school is the right school for me. After many an exhaustive search I have found what feels comfortable to me and am now concentrating on the Indian, not the arrow but I hear ya.
 
Kevin Lindstrom said:
Philly

I have tried many Triangle tips over the years and I will admit they are good and the price is great too. That being said unless someone offers up a tip that I haven't tried yet I think there is a big difference between the triangle and the Kamui super soft.

I would love to know how the Kamikaze SS compared to the Kamui SS.

Kevin
Click to expand...

The Ultraskin and Kamikaze SS (Pro soft for US) both play better than a SS Kamui. The Kamui has good initial softness, but it turns into a H Kamui within weeks. They also have an annoying “ting” to them. One of the worst “premium tips” available. Another choice for you would be a Precision soft. Although I hated the tips myself due to the muted feel and feedback, they do play true to their hardness grades. The S was very soft.
 
Just as an FYI.
I had Mike Webb install a Searing soft tip and I hated it. Felt like I was hitting with solid wood. Had him pop it off and install the milk dud from Jeff and this thing is damn near perfect.

Koop - YMMV
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
The Ultraskin and Kamikaze SS (Pro soft for US) both play better than a SS Kamui. The Kamui has good initial softness, but it turns into a H Kamui within weeks. They also have an annoying “ting” to them. One of the worst “premium tips” available. Another choice for you would be a Precision soft. Although I hated the tips myself due to the muted feel and feedback, they do play true to their hardness grades. The S was very soft.
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Have not tried the Kamikaze but i have used the US s,med,&hard. Great tips at a "let's be real here" price. Gonna have to try the ProS when my new(to me) Mezz needs a tip.
 
Kevin Lindstrom said:
Philly

I have tried many Triangle tips over the years and I will admit they are good and the price is great too. That being said unless someone offers up a tip that I haven't tried yet I think there is a big difference between the triangle and the Kamui super soft.

I would love to know how the Kamikaze SS compared to the Kamui SS.

Kevin
Click to expand...

I also vote against the Kamui. The Kamui black soft on my playing cue is down to the last mm and I can't wait to get rid of that garbage. Most empirical and practical evidence also points to hard tips having more advantages over the soft ones. My next tip will be a Triangle.
 
Kamui makes 4 ranges:

- Kamui Original
- Kamui Clear Original
- Kamui Black
- Kamui Clear Black

The original tips are natural leather. The Black tips are dyed leather.
The black tips are supposed to mushroom less, my experience is that`s not really the case, if the installation and burninshing is done right. The black dye, seems to make chalk retention less good compared to the Original natural leather tips.
The Clear tips have a perspex plate glued to the tip itself, this is supposed to counter glue seeping into the tip and provide a perfectly flat surface to bond with the ferrule.
The thing is that most cue repair people will on purpose let some glue penetrate the bottom layer, then sand the back perfectly flat, it`s not gonna affect perfomance, as you never should play with just one layer of a layered tip on your cue anyway.
The second problem is that the "clear" plate itself often isn`t completely flat, so you have to sand the bottom flat just like usual.
The clear tips have a slightly more pingy sound to them.
I would say that the clear plate really isn`t neccessary, but I can see why kamui want`s to stand out from the competition and many players simply think it looks cool.
 
Kevin Lindstrom said:
Philly

I have tried many Triangle tips over the years and I will admit they are good and the price is great too. That being said unless someone offers up a tip that I haven't tried yet I think there is a big difference between the triangle and the Kamui super soft.

I would love to know how the Kamikaze SS compared to the Kamui SS.

Kevin
Click to expand...

Kamui tips glaze over and turn to glass. They play fine but u will need to replace them once a month and rough the tip up daily. I now use triangle tips and I am VERY happy.
 
Thanks folks. Very informative thread. Have a mulitple brands on various shafts - first mounted Ultra-skin soft on the way .. looking forward to trying that.
 
Update to this thread.

My best friend's Kamui Clear SS Black tip is the best tip I have ever played. It has kept it's shape, softness and most importantly grippyness if that is a word.

All this being said I have had the same person install the same tip on my cue at 50 dollars. My tip is just not the same as my friends tip. I am not sure why and will say that I am more than a bit disappointed. If I could get a tip exactly like my friend's I probably would have paid 100 dollars and been very happy. At 50 bucks it is too much money to just cut it off and try another of the same tip.

Wonder what I could look for to achieve the same nice grip that my friend's tip has. Best tip I have ever felt and I have been playing for 30+ years.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks

Kevin
 
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