samsara break tip

erriep

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
samsara break tip review

Here is my modest feedback about the samsara break tip :

Some weeks ago i decided to give a try to the samsara break tips, as replacement of the hard laminated tips i was using on my break shafts.( kamui black hard & ultraskin HH , both with 3 layers removed and a flat shape )

1- my first attempt to put a samsara tip by myself with my usual manual tools :

at first, i wanted to try to put a samsara break tip myself , using my manual -hand- tools , on a 12mm black phenolic -not capped- ferrule . this conical shaft is a "back up" shaft for breaking or artistic billard.

well, wasn't a good idea , in fact : i underestimated a lot the hardness of this tip , so ... i've spent a lot of time , much longer than expected , to adjust it to the exact size of the ferrule without damaging it. and do not speak about shaping the dome :) . was hard , but finally I could do it with decent results, and a lot of efforts , painfull hand job i must admit.

i used loctite gel to glue it, waited a couple of hours before to work on it. since the ferrule was verrrrry clean , flat , & the tip properly prepared , i had no gluing nightmare. the tip is still on my shaft , has resisted .

so , my advice is to use a lathe to install it . save yourself a "pain in the a..." tip install session :D

2- 2d attempt , samsara break tip install using a lathe .

So , for my 2d shaft i decided to give the install job to a friend cuemaker , a lathe helps a lot when it comes to put a samsara break tip properly :) . that's a fact.

He installed it on my monster break shaft, a 28" 13mm straight conical taper maple shaft , 5.4 oz (unusual, hum?) , with a very short (4mm) uncapped ferrule (made in ivorine IV ). I use it as breaker config with a 12oz 29' BEM butt . unusual ultra stiff configuration , 57" , 17.4oz balance point 20.5" from the buttcap. I love it !!

glued with loctite 401 this time. dome shaped a bit more flat than a dime , 2 layers removed (one -the external , with the samsara logo- jumped immediatly during the shaping process. ). My friend told me that the tip looked "dry" , but not hard to work with. It was his 1st samsara tip install (he works almost only on carom cues ) .
the glue works well, the process seems ok , since after some break pratice sessions and tests by artistic billard masters, it is still on my shaft in perfect shape. amazing mecanical properties it has, for sure !! can it mushroom ? dunno , time will tell, but to me it don't seems than a samsara tip can mushroom ;) .


3- my feedback about the tip, how it breaks ...

After many breaks, no problem , the samsara tips are always on my shafts , they have resisted to extensive breaking sessions & to the huge shots of my artistic billard friends. I believe than the loctite 401 helps a lot , even loctite gel works.

I must say that i am extremely impressed by the chalk adherence on the samsara tip . it's excellent , much more that i expected.

I finally found what i wanted : a verrrry hard tip who holds chalk .

about the "feel" on the break shots, well, it's a break tip , so, a little adjustment period is needed to reach the same cue ball control than with hard laminated play tips. But IMHO it's not hard to adjust. it's the indian, not the arrow . practice, practice, practice... as usual.

about the sound / hit of the samsara tip , it do modify a lot the sound of the cue , a high pitch tone, sounds like a miscue ROFL , but it isn't a miscue :) . that's how this tip sounds. Not a problem .

How it breaks ? extremelly well.Normal, it's his job . How it jumps ? cannot tell accuratly because i jump with a lomax jump cue. but after some tries using my break cue for long jumps , i think it's a bit easier to jump with the samsara than with the kamui H or ultraskin HH . The harder, the better, it seems to be... (even a flat shape helps too i believe )

How it plays ? well, very , verrry well !!! It was a surprise for me and for the artistic billard players of my club !
since we got 2 dedicated 10' artistic billard tables in our biilard club , we played a bit with my shafts on it , testing the break tip on big draws, huge follows, 7 & more cushions , draw-follows... without any problem ... except its sound/noise hehe . The carom players hate the sound of the samsara break tip :) . at first it was "mehh , what's this crap, you got a dedicated miscue shaft now ??(joke to me) then it was "ohhhh damn, it plays very well. ! what's the brand ? ahh if only the sound was normal" ... hehe ..



My conclusion : the samsara break tip is top notch . really excellent. Have to be installed using a lather, else patience, good hand tools & and efforts are needed :) . and a good glue. loctite 401 works verrrry well.

ahh , if only we could have a "normal" sound with those break tips :)

next step : to test a picone on a 3d shaft :) , just to compare ...
 
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