A tidbit of my unqualified observations.
I have been playing with Master chalk forever and a day. I am one of those guys that thinks that if something works, there is no need to re-invent the wheel. Professional players used Master chalk for decades, and did not seem to have a problem with chalk residue on the table, chalk marks on the cue ball, residue on the hands, etc. I do not see a problem with chalk residue as long as the tables are maintained on a frequent basis and I am fairly good at maintaining the older cues with wooden shafts. Chalk residue is not an issue for me with my newer cues as I have switched to CF shafts on my playing cues. My break cue shaft is maple. The tables where I play are well maintained also. As far as conventional chalk is concerned, Master is king. The chalk sold at the wally world or academy sports does not hold a candle to Master chalk.
So, when all these expensive chalks show up it is natural to be skeptical about things such as "is it really worth it?". Or "does it make any difference?". "Is the difference in cleanliness, tip coverage or chemical composition of the chalk big enough to contribute to playing better and make you miss less shots, or is it in our minds?".
I got curious and ordered a piece of green Taom V10 a bit over a year ago, along with a round chalk holder. That piece of chalk is far from being done and I play 2 hours, at least 6 days a week. In all honesty, I would have gone through at least four boxes of a dozen pieces of Master chalk in the same period of time, maybe more. Make the math, expense wise.
I am a stickler to pre-shot routines and I always chalk before every shot regarless of the chalk I use, while I am figuring out angles, position, where to stand, what bridge style I will use, etc. Yes, Taom is cleaner. It does not leave residue on the cue ball. No noticeable residue on the cloth. But, I can tell it leaves some very fine, gray residue on my "euro finger wraps" I use on my bridge hand. So while I do agree that it is less messy, I do not believe it residue free like some fine folks tend to believe. My carbon fiber shafts also get wiped after every session and I find the same residue. Now, the residue I am finding playing with Taom is less than Master chalk, no question about it. So yes, shafts, balls, finger wraps, hands and the tables are cleaner in general.
As far as performance goes, I do not think Taom is better than Master, or vice versa, for my purposes. I can see myself playing tournaments with both and having no issues. They both do the job, and they do it well. I cannot help to wonder what kind of chemical sorcery Taom came up with to make a piece of chalk that while it provides absolutely great coverage on my playing cue tips, there is obvious transfer of material to the tip, but it barely wears out. It is pretty amazing really. But apart from wear and longevity of one piece, I cannot say one works better than the other. I have relegated Master chalk to my "classic" custom leather cue case with my older cues that I used in competition 20 years ago.
The one instance that I can see a difference in performance is on my break cue. Master adheres and covers plenolic tips very well, but I cannot achieve the same result with Taom. I've had to become very, very aware of tip placement on the cue ball when breaking to avoid a miscue. I rarely miscued with Master using phenolic tips. I am hoping to get a new break cue soon and it will have a leather tip on it, probably Samsara.
I am happy with Taom and Master, so I will continue to buy both. Taom is my daily chalk, then Master for the old timey setup whenever I bring it out to play with friends on the weekends once in a while. My reasoning for switching to Taom is simple: one piece of Taom lasts longer than several boxes of Master. I do not suscribe to the voodoo-hoodoo that some people have ingrained in their minds that Taom will make them better players. To me, it is purely financial advantage, as it evens out the playing expense scales. That might seem dumb to some people but living in an area where there are 0 places to get supplies from, everything has to be ordered, the shipping fees for things like chalk on a frequent basis add up pretty quick. I am not broke, but I am also not rich, being retired on a fixed income. Those shipping charges can buy a meal for the family, or saved little by little to finally upgrade my break cue to a CF shafted cue. The extra cleanliness of Taom is an added benefit.
Just my 2 cents.
Eddie
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