Ultra Skin tips under the Microscope comparison.

[Enigmaticul]

So as i promised a couple of weeks ago i will review more of toms tips. This reviews include microscope pictures, dissecting tips and peeling layers.

I was very hard to get the microscope pictures to begin with. i used a iphone that i was holding with my hands to snap the picks of the objective and it took so many takes but in the end these are the best pictures i have.

The pictures are of a ultra skin hh, a karomi brown and a very cheep Chinese layered tip from ebay called "born winner"

Conclusions

Toms tips are by far superior and comparable with high end tips like kamui and moori.

The layers are even and the leather is very good quality denoted by the lack of muscle fibers consistency.

here is a tom hay layer picture

you can see the glue coming out a little from the process, the layers are tight, even thickens and orientation and the leather is without gaps , full solid piece.

now here is a karomi tip.

uneven layers, leather looks chopped up, possible air pockets.not to mention low quality leather.

born winner tip

layers look even but if you look at the leather it lookes like ground up leather mixed with glue and then slapped into sheets and then the sheets make into layers. very high level of gaps and air pockets found in most of the tips. this will equal a uneven fell around the tip increasing inconsistency.

Here is a comparison from above in the quality of the leather

born winner

tom hay

karomi

more pictures for you own conclusions and impressions


tom hay layers

tom hay under .25 magnification

 

[Guerra Cues]

Do you have a kamui tip just for comparison?

 

[Enigmaticul]

no i don't. they are just to expensive to stock and i am just starting in the business. i would love to have some to do a full microscope comparison. but at 20$ a tip its not cheep. i am pushing tom hay tips now because they are cheep and very good in my opinion. i like them more then kamui to be honest because i feel i get more spin.

 

[Guerra Cues]

Fair enough and thanks a lot for your research.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cuejo]

That's a very interesting view of layered tips.
Thanks for your work.

 

[bob_bushka]

wow

alot of dedication to do this!

 

[TomHay]

For more on UltraSkinLayered Cue Tips go to page 17 of this months issue
http://www.onthebreaknews.com/stroke/

Thank you for taking the time and effort to share the pictures, greatly appreciated

 

[scdiveteam]

Hi,

I just got 40 of Tom's tips and have just installed some for free on the cues of some top player I know in Chicago. I installed these tips free of charge so they would give me a honest evaluation a test pilots for Tom's tip.

After calling these guys up, it only took two days for them all to show up in my shop for a tip change. Since all of these guys are money players I know that I won't get any BS if they don't like the tips.

So far I got three thrums up from guys who where Kamui Junkies and the other two guys are not playing with the tips next week as they are preparing for the Beloit Tourney this weekend.

Of the 3 guys who sounded in 2 were med fans and one was a soft tip dude. I will get feed back on the Hard and HH by next week and weigh in on the player feed back.

BTW, I loved the way Tom's tip machined and shaped with the razor and notice that the back dust from his tip were much less of a pain concerning the ferrule. It was far easier to clean up the ferrule after shaping.

If these tips hold up as good a the moori and kamui concerning the side wall mushroom factor, Tom's tips will be my number one exclusive tip I put on my cues.

BTW, he is a great guy to deal with, as a professional his communication skills with the customer is wonderful.

JMO,

Rick

 

[jwe711]

I've installed around 20 of these, and everyone is loving them...I think they are great tips...even my moori customers are now asking for the Ultraskins...!!!

 

[whammo57]

Rick

The soft will mushroom a hair if you don't cut them down to 4 layers they also will flatten out a little bit from a hard player.

If I have that problem I switch the player to a medium tip and he never has any more problems.

Kim

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[TomHay]

Enigmaticul,

Do you know which Hardness you did this with? Thanks

 

[Enigmaticul]

yes it was a hh

 

[TomHay]

yes it was a hh

If I send you a soft to do and some for your trouble could you do the same? I find it most interesting.

 

[Enigmaticul]

For you sir anything you want considering how generous you have been with me. I am a little busy for the holidays but I will get to it this weekend. Also on a different note. One of my buddies that thought me how to put tips manually realized that your tips absorbed any kind of moisture. The reason I am saying this is because for example I put some spit on kamui tips and they burnish to a gloss very easy. If I put spit on your tips the water gets absorbed very easy by the tip. So I wonder is this something to do with the chemical treatment or.....
Because I wonder on a very soggy day with a high moisture in the air would the tip play different since it will absorb the moisture in the air.

 

[TomHay]

Yes, this is due to the Chemical treatment. I believe you will find that with this process the tip breathes and this is why it is very rare to have to scuff the tip. I live in Florida under perhaps one of the more humid climates and it has zero effect, been playing with the same tip over a year now.

 

[Enigmaticul]

Aaaaaaa that makes sense. I can see now why the kamui glaze so much because the humidity content is higher. Maybe I can find a device to test humidity here at the university.

 

[TomHay]

While you are doing that I will give you something else to think about as I think you are in the right place to brainstorm with other people.

Chalk itself is a talc "Like" powder held together by an uncured matrix. The first thing over any period of time that will absorb moisture from the air will be the chalk. Now if that is agreed upon and understood which will hold the chalk longer and not glaze, a breathing product that works like your skin that will take in and let out a slight bit of moisture or a barrier that glazes over (such as burnish) when any misture comes in contact with it.

Simple test, go get some chalk that they use for doing chalk lines. Put your hand on it and blow the chalk dust off your hand. It will still be blue. Take the same chalk dust and put it on a say plastic barrier that cannot accept any moisture and blow on it, the chalk will be gone.

Yes, the feel of the hit with all leather (which your hand is as well) is important, layer by layer but for a cue tip there is much more to factor in.

Your pictures of the other leather look like you pretty much described meshed leather almost like a Hot Dog sausage bound togeather by a barriuer adhesive through and through.

 

[afftonbilliards]

Tom, do you recommend no high gloss burnishing for the UltraSkins? I've noticed that the use of a liquid burnisher does not produce the usual high gloss.
What would be the consequences of a wax? I mention this because customers notice a highly manicured tip - sort of tie in the shinny appearance
with quality.
Big Al

 

[TomHay]

Al,

If you can get the high gloss go for it. I was explaining why it is not as easy to obtain. The only thing that touches the cue ball is the very highest point of your nickel or dime dome. You do not have enough room to obtain a vapor barrier after instalation.

 

[afftonbilliards]

Thank you for the clarity.
Big Al