Tip maintenance questions

C

Craig777

New member
Right now playing with a tiger sniper (m) switching from a kamui black hard. I prefer the contact sound and the energy transfer of the hard tip. My question is this. Should I switch back to hard?

Ok, another question about tip maintenance. I have a nickel shaper/scuffer that I use to roughen my tip every 6 hours of play time or so. I did it a little more when I had the kamui tip because it seemed to glaze over quicker. Anyhow, I am wondering: what the purpose and uses are of different tip tools compared to what I already use? Thanks a lot everyone.
 
Craig777 said:
Right now playing with a tiger sniper (m) switching from a kamui black hard. I prefer the contact sound and the energy transfer of the hard tip. My question is this. Should I switch back to hard?

Ok, another question about tip maintenance. I have a nickel shaper/scuffer that I use to roughen my tip every 6 hours of play time or so. I did it a little more when I had the kamui tip because it seemed to glaze over quicker. Anyhow, I am wondering: what the purpose and uses are of different tip tools compared to what I already use? Thanks a lot everyone.
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Tips are super personal/subjective topic. Play what you like. Shouldn't need to scuff every 6hrs imo. I might hit mine with a kamui-style scuffer a couple times a week. for shaping i use a Willard's dime shaper. Once shaped i don't use it often at all.
 
Tip hardness is a personal preference. If you like the hard better, use a hard. I like hard tips. The harder the better, as long as it holds chalk.

On tip shapers... I only use them when initially shaping the tip. After that I either use a 1" square of sandpaper or kamui gator grip style tool to lightly lift the fibers on the tip. The goal is to just kind of clear the leather of compacted chalk. Tips will naturally shape differently depending on your play style. Constantly shaping them to a nickel or dime radius simply wears a tip out faster. You really don't need to do this. Enjoy the unique radius that your individual play style provides.
 
I only use the shaper when I replace the tip. I use the scuffer, which on the cue cube I use is also a nickel radius but a finer grit sandpaper texture. I know of other products on the market like a tip pick and a few others. Assuming my tip already has a proper shape, do I need to do anything to my tip besides lightly scuff it? Is the tip pick or any other tools going to do anything better or different? Part of my preshot routine is chalking, after every single shot. I guess I am not too worried about my tip holding chalk, but maybe I should be. Should I worry about my tip glazing over?
 
If you are hitting good leave tip alone... Miscuing?..time to lightly scuff. Tip are enjoyed best when played with.... Do not worry about it until it's not performing properly. Enjoy the game!
 
I use hard tips, I hate kamui tips of any density. More miscues in a set than in a whole year with other tips. I like the water buffalo hard, solid tip. That was my go to until I tried the techno-dud

Right now im resupplying on technos but I’m also trying the techno-2 which come in different hardnesses. Went with Hard.

I shape new tips to a dime radius, a piece of 1/2” EMT split in half longways and lined with sandpaper makes the perfect radiused tool.

Once it’s initially shaped my chalking and playing keeps it in proper form. I rarely use a scuffer, I do use a tip pick every now and then. I’ve heard those aren’t good on layered tips but who knows. You just roll the thing on top of the top to press some little holes
 
JazzyJeff87 said:
I do use a tip pick every now and then. I’ve heard those aren’t good on layered tips but who knows. You just roll the thing on top of the top to press some little holes
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I've used nothing but a Tip Pik on layered tips for decades - never an issue (and no leather lost). I tap (not roll) it on the tip, but that probably isn't much difference.

I like the edges of the holes being pulled up as the needles are pulled out of the leather, creating a little roughness without losing any leather.

pj
chgo
 
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I'll just repost this from a couple years ago:

Ignorance of proper shaping techniques will lead to over maintaining the tip and "shortening" its life.

The combination of low knowledge and my first tip being a Kamui clear I totally misunderstood tip maintenance. I was shaping my tip every time I went out to play. Part of it was the Kamui which IMO "glazes" over too quickly. I was roughing it up regularly. I got tired of it and replaced it with a Thoroughbred Med tip. I no longer had to rough it up constantly. so that helped. Problem 1 solved.

Problem 2: Because I did not understand the correct radius shaping concept yet, I had the impression that I had to have a perfect nickel/dime radius all the time. I would use the Willard tool every night to make the tip a perfect dome to fit the notch in the tool. All this grinding took its toll on the tip quickly. After some time playing, reading, and a DUH moment, I came to the realization that the tip is a piece of leather not a rock. OK, start again with a new tip.

Now with my new enlightenment I know the tip will not ever hold the perfect dome shape. The center will start to flatten out slightly pretty much right away as soon as you start to play (depending on the hardness or course). That slight gap in the middle of the Willard curve is fine, it is the outer curve you check. No more grinding to keep a perfect shape. I have been using the Ultraskin Ivory Medium and I only need to lightly shape it once or twice a month at most.

Here is my tip which was 8 months old here. It gets played an average 5 days a week. As long as it feels right and isn't in the 2-3 layer, it has lots of life left.

IMG_6811.jpeg
 
SSDiver2112 said:
I'll just repost this from a couple years ago:

Ignorance of proper shaping techniques will lead to over maintaining the tip and "shortening" its life.

The combination of low knowledge and my first tip being a Kamui clear I totally misunderstood tip maintenance. I was shaping my tip every time I went out to play. Part of it was the Kamui which IMO "glazes" over too quickly. I was roughing it up regularly. I got tired of it and replaced it with a Thoroughbred Med tip. I no longer had to rough it up constantly. so that helped. Problem 1 solved.

Problem 2: Because I did not understand the correct radius shaping concept yet, I had the impression that I had to have a perfect nickel/dime radius all the time. I would use the Willard tool every night to make the tip a perfect dome to fit the notch in the tool. All this grinding took its toll on the tip quickly. After some time playing, reading, and a DUH moment, I came to the realization that the tip is a piece of leather not a rock. OK, start again with a new tip.

Now with my new enlightenment I know the tip will not ever hold the perfect dome shape. The center will start to flatten out slightly pretty much right away as soon as you start to play (depending on the hardness or course). That slight gap in the middle of the Willard curve is fine, it is the outer curve you check. No more grinding to keep a perfect shape. I have been using the Ultraskin Ivory Medium and I only need to lightly shape it once or twice a month at most.

Here is my tip which was 8 months old here. It gets played an average 5 days a week. As long as it feels right and isn't in the 2-3 layer, it has lots of life left.

IMG_6811.jpeg
Click to expand...
I like ultra skin and bought a bunch of them a few years back. Can’t seem to find where to buy them now, I believe the owner passed away. Do you know where I can get them?
 
Craig777 said:
Right now playing with a tiger sniper (m) switching from a kamui black hard. I prefer the contact sound and the energy transfer of the hard tip. My question is this. Should I switch back to hard?

Ok, another question about tip maintenance. I have a nickel shaper/scuffer that I use to roughen my tip every 6 hours of play time or so. I did it a little more when I had the kamui tip because it seemed to glaze over quicker. Anyhow, I am wondering: what the purpose and uses are of different tip tools compared to what I already use? Thanks a lot everyone.
Click to expand...

I prefer a harder tip for the reasons here:


Concerning caring for a tip, see:

 
SSDiver2112 said:
I'll just repost this from a couple years ago:

Ignorance of proper shaping techniques will lead to over maintaining the tip and "shortening" its life.
Click to expand...
Why is short tip life a sign that you are over maintaining your tip? Is it possible that a long tip life is an indication that you aren't maintaining your tip enough? Why isn't a perfect dome the perfect tip shape?

The center will start to flatten out slightly pretty much right away as soon as you start to play (depending on the hardness or course). That slight gap in the middle of the Willard curve is fine, it is the outer curve you check.
Click to expand...
How big a gap is okay? In other words, how big/minimal should the flat spot in the middle of the tip be?

Does anyone know how long pros go between tip changes?
 
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7stud said:
Why is short tip life a sign that you are over maintaining your tip? Is it possible that a long tip life is an indication that you aren't maintaining your tip enough? Why isn't a perfect dome the perfect tip shape?


How big a gap is okay? In other words, how big/minimal should the flat spot in the middle of the tip be?

Does anyone know how long pros go between tip changes?
Click to expand...

If the tip is ground down over a very short time for no other reason than trying to maintain the "perfect" tip dome, it is over maintenance. A tip that has a near perfect shape, doesn't need any maintenance yet. That isn't under maintaining it. Does the tip I pictured look under maintained?

Not talking about a 1/4" plateau. Hitting center ball, no curve is needed. Chasing an unrealistic perfection just leads to over maintenance. You can see the slight flat spot in the picture. That is not going to affect an off center shot.

I am much happier now that I no longer obsess over the perfect tip. BTW I like the Last-4-Ever tool when I do shape it in the wild.

A little shorter from continuous use, here is the same tip today. About six months ago I stopped playing with this one when I switched to the cue I built.

IMG_2442.jpeg
 
GoldCrown said:
If you are hitting good leave tip alone... Miscuing?..time to lightly scuff. Tip are enjoyed best when played with.... Do not worry about it until it's not performing properly. Enjoy the game!
Click to expand...
Love the guy that miscues badly and immediately looks at the tip of his cue to determine what is wrong with his tip that made him miscue.
Blame it on the tip, not that you came out of the shot.
 
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philly said:
Love the guy that miscues badly and immediately looks at the tip of his cue to determine what is wrong with his tip that made him miscue.
Blame it on the, tip not that you came out of the shot.
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I look at the tip to see how bad I hit it. I know it was bad, but also so I know where to put chalk. When joking with friends who know that miscues aren't caused by tips I like to say that's it, I'm cutting it off when I get home. Makes a good opening for some friendly banter. :)
 
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