And I appreciate you seeing my intentions! Haha It's almost guaranteed to glaze if you're a heavy hitter. Something I don't know is if it happens more to brown black. I imagine more with black since it's made for more action on the cue ball with less effort.
I'm not trippin'! Not mad at all. I'm trying to understand how much of what I know is general knowledge. How much of what I'm saying applies to most people and how much has to do with the product itself. To answer your question to the best of my ability, Kamui black tips are made with with more elasticity. This allows the tip to have a longer contact with the ball. The longer the tip is in contact with the ball, the more spin is generated with less effort. The point has been debated to death whether or not you get more spin with SS VS H, I really think it depends on the player, but supposedly it should be a lot more spin with a SS. That's why Venom and other trickshot artists will use a SS.
Also to comment on spit, that is an excellent mention! Though I would not typically use it on the center of the tips, it is something you can do to seal the sides of the tips. Spit and a little leather burnisher.
Delamination does happen sometimes, but it is very rare(NOT IMPOSSIBLE) that it'll happen with an Authentic tip. If you take nothing else from this discussion, when purchasing a Kamui tip either ask for the serial number, or check it yourself if you purchased directly. Check it at kamuibrand.com/sn and that'll tell you if it's real or not, it should tell you what type of tip and how many times it has been checked. Counterfeits have been a SERIOUS issue. They don't play the same, they delaminate, and they mushroom like crazy. If a Kamui costs less than $20 it's likely fake, of course some will charge full price. -.-
Please bear with me, I'm looking into it at the same time, but also giving you the info I've been armed with. Like I said I'm not saying that is the only factor. Or that if you use masters you're guaranteed to glaze the tip, but I HAVE SEEN it happen. In Vegas someone will come up with a Kamui all upset that it's super hard. 9 times out of ten they say they tip picked it and use masters or some equivalent. I tell them, they get a new tip and some roku and don't tear it up! They come back two/three more days in the tournament with no issues. When I brought this up to my boss he said I probably shouldn't encourage the term "glaze" as it is more of the chalk "polishing" the tip. Tip picking is poking holes in the tip, the chalk is getting into the layers and having a polishing/oxidizing effect and making the tip harder. I don't think switching from wood to carbon fiber necessarily would change the glazing, unless it made you start hitting harder or playing very differently, which isn't impossible. I would consider trying the kamui athlete tip though if you were wanting/able to try stuff out on the CF shaft. One thing I didn't think to mention before is there's also the manner of how someone chalks. Are you striking, or grinding, or painting it on? I think since you've been playing 15 years, you are likely more experienced and properly chalk, so I'm not really questioning that for you specifically as much as anyone that may see my response.
Nothing wrong with Tiger!
I'm going to have to leave that comparison to other players! I've never tried one.
I've never heard of them using super glue! That sounds like a terrible idea to me. The whole purpose of the clear pad is to keep the glue from oxidizing the tip over time. Spit or Tokonole is the only things besides chalk that should touch the tip! The black tip DEFINITELY gives more spin than the brown tip. This is why some prefer the brown medium so they can hit consistently with more precision rather than focusing on spin with low effort.
I would always lightly scuff the bottom of the tip and the top of the ferrule before applying clue (Tweetens). I would apply a light coat of glue to both surfaces. Then let the glue set up a little before putting it on the cue. Next apply pressure using either a strong ruɓber band or the weight of the cue.
Yep, that's last thing before playing with a new tip. Apply a little spit all the way around and then burnish with a matchbook cover or soft leather.
Bad idea to use super glue anywhere on your cue!
I’ve installed several clear tips by hand, they never popped off, but I do find the clear tips (especially the hard types both black snd tan) to sound awful upon hitting the cue ball
I use the top of the rail on a Valley, seems to work well for me.