scuffer and shaper?
- Thread starter zach12345
- Start date
Welcome.
Try an It's George.
Just take it easy with it. It's pretty aggressive.
Try an It's George.
Just take it easy with it. It's pretty aggressive.
Kamui Gator Grip is the best scuffer IMO and it can do minor tip re-shaping as well. It gives the tip surface a uniform light roughness that holds the chalk well without undue wear on the tip itself.
Depends if you're talking about something for home use or to carry with you. While playing at tournaments and travelling, I carry a CueShark P.U.P., it fits well in most any case and handles any shaping and scuffing needs you would have 'table-side'. At home I use the larger Porper shaper but the Kamui is excellent as are many other brands, when space isn't an issue. It really comes down to personal preference. Try asking some other folks if you can try theirs out and get a feel for them and pick the one you like the most.
I have a dime shaped Willard's and a simple tip tapper. I've had them for years they work well and will last several years. You can spend more and get less just saying.
Also consider that 60 grit sandpaper does wonders especially in one of those $2 sandpaper shapers. Or you could spend $30 on the Kamui Gator cause well some people think up reasons to spend that much money on something that does the same job as sandpaper. They sell chalk too. I hear you can't miss a ball if you buy it.
Personally I'd apply the common sense algorithm when sorting through your various options.
There are many ways to stick the tip into what ever device you use. It's not rocket science. For my Williard I hold it in one hand and rotate the tip back and forth by holding the shaft in my other hand. You may chose to rotate it only in one direction. Of course you could hold the shaft stationary and rotate the tip trimmer.
You can angle the tip shaper to the precise angle that makes you feel good.
If you have a tip tapper, you need not "tap" it into the tip. You can hold it at an angle and rock it over the surface of the tip to put the little holes in the top so the chalk sticks better. Of course sooner or later someone will say you should just pay someone with a lathe to shape your tip because it's just so difficult to do yourself. Again, liberal use of the common sense algorithm will serve you well.
Last 4 Ever Tip Tool - does everything well
http://www.last4ever.net/
You can also find Joel here on the boards. Great product at a decent price for a very well designed and built tool. Joel is a great person to do business with.
I recommend the Last 4 Ever tip tool to all of my students. Joel has video instructions on his website.
Here is a review thread on the tool with pictures that I took somewhere in the posts:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=278840
Good luck and have fun.
http://www.last4ever.net/
You can also find Joel here on the boards. Great product at a decent price for a very well designed and built tool. Joel is a great person to do business with.
I recommend the Last 4 Ever tip tool to all of my students. Joel has video instructions on his website.
Here is a review thread on the tool with pictures that I took somewhere in the posts:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=278840
Good luck and have fun.
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I'm not an expert but my teacher is, and he recommended a "Willard's Cue Tip Shaper" in the "Dime" profile. They cost about $15 and I now have two, one that I keep loose and one that I have mounted to a heavy board on the floor. They work really well and give a very even tip shape that holds up well.
Mike
Not guilty here. I'm the cheapest guy in the county, and I live in an impoverished county. lol
I actually bought the same thing as the Kamui tool, but with a plastic mounting board and no fancy wooden case held together by rare earth magnets. Cost me less than $15 from some 3-cushion guys at SBE this spring. Looks and works the same as the Kamui. I'd provide a link but I can't find them on the net.
Tiger also makes a similar tool, but it has two grades of plates on it, plus two shaping depressions for either dime or quarter tip, all on a rugged anodized aluminum plate - no useless wooden case - for the same price as the Kamui one. I'm gonna pick one up and give it a try.
FWIW these things have been around for a while before Kamui came along. Rodney Morris showed me his and he said he's had it for many years and it still works great, so it won't wear out like a $30 piece of chalk. I saw several other pros at the recent Turning Stone with the same tool as Rodney has. The laser cut pattern looks to be identical to the Kamui pattern, but the actual plate is smaller in size. I'm sure many pros know the whole story about how long they've been around.
They don't work the same as sandpaper at all, and hardly remove any leather from the tip if used correctly. Tip longevity is real economy to me, plus less aggravation getting used to new tips. I use mine more like a tip conditioner than a shaper. You roll it over the tip surface and the pattern pulls up just enough nap on the tip to help the chalk go on. Here's a pic of the UltraSkin soft I put on when they first came out. The shape has been maintained entirely with the Kamui-type tool since last April, and as you can see, there is very little wear in that time, and the Blue Diamond sticks to the surface real nice as well. I like it a lot, and would gladly pay $30 if I had to. I'm a full-time woodworker, and I have hundreds of dollars worth of abrasive papers of every sort in stock. I'd pick this tool over sandpaper in a heartbeat.
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I do. And I spend it wisely since I ain't got much of it. Just pointing out that this tool works nothing like sandpaper. I ain't trying to convert you, just differentiating between the two choices for the OP. Hey, it's your tip, sand it away if you want. :smile:
Scuffing the tip: go to a drug store, visit the cosmetic counter, buy a box of coarse nail files for $1.00--these will last you a couple of years. Stick one in your cue bag.
Now, for shaping the tip, go to your garage and pick up a piece of 80 grit sand paper, cut out a 4*4 section and presto, done. You cup it in your hand and pull donw on the edge of the tip while rotating the cue. BTW the back side of the sand paper makes for a good buffer.
Now, for shaping the tip, go to your garage and pick up a piece of 80 grit sand paper, cut out a 4*4 section and presto, done. You cup it in your hand and pull donw on the edge of the tip while rotating the cue. BTW the back side of the sand paper makes for a good buffer.
Both are abrasive, both open up / rough up the surface of the leather to allow it to hold chalk. It's very much like sandpaper. Of course it's easy to be so specific that nothing is like anything else. My tips usually last about 2 years with regular play. I've been using the same box of Triangles for about 20 years I think I paid $15 for 50 tips. Sandpaper works just fine if you know what you're doing. I know what I'm doing with my sandpaper.
as I'm sure you know what you're doing with your tip tool.
pm me if you want one or two
MMike
MMike