sniper or kamui
- Thread starter RascalDoc
- Start date
I just switched to a Kamui soft. I've never seen a layered tip hold chalk better. It also holds it's shape extremely well, it hasn't moved at all ( mean at all!) since I initially domed it to a dime. (also partly due to what i do after installation below)
I do my own tips by hand, so ease of installation is really important for me. The leather on the Kamui cuts really easily and cleanly.
The other thing I've noticed is that the glue lines seem thinner (could be the color of the glue though). I'm definitely not seeing any blotches of glue (like I'm used to seeing on everests and talisman pros).
Here's what I do after install to pre-compress/break in the Kamui:
After installing and cutting off the top two layers. I dome it to a dime radius, then pound on the tip with a qball and and a mallet for a few mins to flatten it out. I dome it again and do the same pounding again. Then I gave it a final dime dome. It keeps that final shape really well.
I do my own tips by hand, so ease of installation is really important for me. The leather on the Kamui cuts really easily and cleanly.
The other thing I've noticed is that the glue lines seem thinner (could be the color of the glue though). I'm definitely not seeing any blotches of glue (like I'm used to seeing on everests and talisman pros).
Here's what I do after install to pre-compress/break in the Kamui:
After installing and cutting off the top two layers. I dome it to a dime radius, then pound on the tip with a qball and and a mallet for a few mins to flatten it out. I dome it again and do the same pounding again. Then I gave it a final dime dome. It keeps that final shape really well.
S
Snoogi
Guest
Coincidently, another Aaron install Kamui tips (by hand) for me in my country.Aaron_S said:
I love the way a Sniper plays, but there seems to only be about a 50% chance that you'll get a good install in my area, and I'm not too hip on paying $25 for a blown out Sniper. 
I'm really looking for a tip I can install by hand, and it sounds like Kamui might be an option.
Hejests, do you use a razor and cut upward like you would on a non-layered tip, or do you use one of the pencil sharpener style trimmers, or just varying grades of sandpaper? Thanks for the info.
Aaron
I'm really looking for a tip I can install by hand, and it sounds like Kamui might be an option.
Hejests, do you use a razor and cut upward like you would on a non-layered tip, or do you use one of the pencil sharpener style trimmers, or just varying grades of sandpaper? Thanks for the info.
Aaron
How do you cut/trim them? I made very clean cuts with an extremely sharp blade and somehow still managed to mush one of the layers. that's the only layered tip i've ever damaged while trimming (I've probably done about 40 or 50 layered tips by now by hand). I'm scared of them!Bigjohn said:
Bigjohn said:
You must be extremely cautious then, because the local cue repair guy around my parts can't seem to consistently get a good install using a lathe and following the technique recommended by Tiger (wetting the tip, etc).
Seems like I heard that some cue repair guys were charging triple for a Sniper in the early days because they figured it took 3 installs to get one that wasn't blown out. I'm not sure if there's any truth to that rumor, but the Sniper does seem to be overly sensitive IMHO.
Aaron
I use OLFA UltraMax LBB blades (very sharp) and a stir stick! It's stupid but it works nicely. See this thread: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=76383Aaron_S said:I love the way a Sniper plays, but there seems to only be about a 50% chance that you'll get a good install in my area, and I'm not too hip on paying $25 for a blown out Sniper.
I'm really looking for a tip I can install by hand, and it sounds like Kamui might be an option.
Hejests, do you use a razor and cut upward like you would on a non-layered tip, or do you use one of the pencil sharpener style trimmers, or just varying grades of sandpaper? Thanks for the info.
Aaron
I also have a joint pin I use with my drill to spin the shaft, for burnishing and blending the tip with the ferrule. (I don't use anything under 800grit for blending).
One of these days when I move out of my condo and into a house.. I'll buy a lathe... one of these days...
hejests said:
Why wouldn't you just break the ball like 20 times to get the tip to flatten out? The practice would help anyone and acheive the same result
Aaron_S said:I love the way a Sniper plays, but there seems to only be about a 50% chance that you'll get a good install in my area, and I'm not too hip on paying $25 for a blown out Sniper.
Aaron
Honestly, I don't think the end-user (retail consumer) should have to eat the cost of a blown out tip. It's not the products fault, it's not your fault, but it is the installer/repair person's fault. They should eat the cost. If that is a regular problem for them, they oughtta seek out training to correct the issue.
Just my $0.02.
Ahah! I used to do that but I found that I still had a little compression over a few weeks. What I do is probably equivalent to breaking a few hundred times but without having to rack!CrownCityCorey said:Why wouldn't you just break the ball like 20 times to get the tip to flatten out? The practice would help anyone and acheive the same result
Aaron_S said:
Remember when Moori's were $50? That was why, because intallers kept blowing them out and would have to go through one or two before they got it right. They were treating them like they were a LePro. With laminated tips, ya gotta be a bit more gentle.
CrownCityCorey said:
It really is an unfortunate situation. First, I totally agree with you that the consumer shouldn't have to eat the cost. At the same time, however, the billiard industry isn't exactly booming in my area (2 pool halls closed and the sole billiard supply store downsized within the last 6 months or so), and I don't really want to see the billiard supply store, which houses the only pro shop in the area, have to eat the cost of a tip either.
It puts people like me between a rock and a hard place. I want to support my local business, but I'm compelled to only purchase products from them that I know I won't have any problems with, and Sniper tips, unfortunately, have not been one of those products.
Honestly, it makes me feel just as bad for you guys as it does the billiard supply store, because almost everyone I've spoken to in my area who has tried a Sniper says they disliked it, but I'd lay a modest wager that not a single one of them has ever had a Sniper that was properly installed. There's only the one Sniper installer in my area, and he didn't even know to wet the tip before cutting it until just a few months ago when I told him about it. No telling how many Snipers he had installed prior to that point, and how many customers thought "man, these things just aren't worth the money". When I took my tip back in, he said he thought it was ok because it hit the same as the Sniper on his cue. I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was because he was also playing with a blown out Sniper.
I can't help but think that these bad installations are costing Tiger significantly. I mean, my local market is by no means a large one, but the reputation of Sniper tips may have already suffered irreparable damage here because of this one installer. I tell the people I talk to to give the Sniper another shot, and have one installed at one of these big tournaments or trade shows, but who knows if they really will.
It's a shame, because Snipers are well worth the money if you get a good one. If I knew I could get a good install every time (without having to ship my cue off somewhere) I wouldn't use anything else.
Aaron
hejests said:
Trim it as close as I can with a sharp razor knife and then the "Big Shaver" works great when doing it by hand for the final trim. I hit it with some 1500 paper, shape the tip like I want it and then burnish vigorously till it shines. I've had no problems doing Snipers by hand. Love the tip.
What do you mean by blow out?