What should I use to shape a Kamui tip?

ddadams

ddadams

Absolutely love this cue.
Silver Member
I know they have their gator thing for scuffing but can I actually use it shape the tip as well or?

I know a lot of people say using a regular shaper will actually damage my tip and I don't want to do that obviously...

But is getting a little more flat from playing so often so I kind of want to reshape it.
 
Any decent shaping tool won't damage a Kamui or other laminated tip if used properly (i.e., if you use it how it's supposed to be used instead of doing goofy stuff like putting it on the ground between your feet and then drilling the cue into it like you're trying to start a fire).

I have Kamui tips on all my playing cues and use a Last4Ever shaper on them -- it works fantastic. Before I found out about Last4Ever here on AZB and ordered one, I used a Willard shaper, which worked fine on Kamui tips too.
 
Last edited:
ill second last4ever tip tool
i use kamui black soft and medium tips
never had a problem
http://last4ever.net/
never had a problem
you need to be careful using a tip pic on any layered tip
 
W/D paper

Get a piece of 80 grit wet/dry, fold in half the long way 2 times lay your finger tips into the paper at the end to form a long curved tool. With the heal of your thumb on the outside of the curve sand the tip in a down direction only from top to edge while turning the cue after each stroke of the paper. Try to make a shape that matches the curve of a nickle when the profile of the tip against a nickle or if you have a 12mm tip use a dime.
adams said:
I know they have their gator thing for scuffing but can I actually use it shape the tip as well or?

I know a lot of people say using a regular shaper will actually damage my tip and I don't want to do that obviously...

But is getting a little more flat from playing so often so I kind of want to reshape it.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I have a Kamui SS on one of my shafts & believe it or not I very carefully used a fine grit Dremil tool to remove a few layers & then used an emery board for the final shaping. I know some say don't use a tip pik on layered tips but a careful use with very, very little to no twisting has worked for me to keep the glazing away.
 
Fair enough

I appreciate all of the responses. I even PM'd the kamui person on here but they said that these will all damage the tips (as I thought I would hear) and to take it to someone who installs and have them shape it.

Seems like a tall order for something I should be able to do myself but I dunno maybe that's just me.
 
@ddadams, Since Kamui sells a $30 tip tool would you expect them to say you can use a $0.50 piece of sandpaper? A lot of us learned to retip our own cues by hand when we were coming up. Some would have you believe that you as a cue owner should never maintain your equipment. I will give Kamui credit though, they have an amazing marketing plan that seems to work so well it causes people to forget they ever had common sense.

Disclaimer, that's just my opinion and others will no doubt disagree.
 
thekaiserman said:
I have been shapping mine with the Ultimate tip tool. Seems to work fine for me.
Click to expand...

I don't use Kamui tips anymore, but I also find the Ultimate Tip Tool works great, even with the, "starting a fire", technique which is how it is designed to work. Unless you press the shaft down as hard as possible and then twist you're not going to delaminate a layered tip unless it was already defective.

dr9ball said:
Since Kamui sells a $30 tip tool would you expect them to say you can use a $0.50 piece of sandpaper? ... I will give Kamui credit though, they have an amazing marketing plan that seems to work so well it causes people to forget they ever had common sense.
Click to expand...

If you're referring to the Gator Grip, using a tool not meant for shaping to shape a tip would be a lack of common sense. It just roughs up any glazing. That's it, that's all.




.
 
Last edited:
I was the idiot using the tip tool on the floor

Like I'm starting a fire


Gator tip tool on the way

I have a medium brown , and using a tip tool normally won't make a budge


I have seen gator tip , impressed I am
 
dr9ball said:
@ddadams, Since Kamui sells a $30 tip tool would you expect them to say you can use a $0.50 piece of sandpaper? A lot of us learned to retip our own cues by hand when we were coming up. Some would have you believe that you as a cue owner should never maintain your equipment. I will give Kamui credit though, they have an amazing marketing plan that seems to work so well it causes people to forget they ever had common sense.

Disclaimer, that's just my opinion and others will no doubt disagree.
Click to expand...
Well said.

IMHO Kamui makes fantastic tips -- they grip the cue ball well, hold their shape well, are very consistent from tip to tip, etc. They're everything I want in a tip, and barring a decline in quality, I really don't see myself using anything else for the foreseeable future.

But the notion that you can't use anything but Kamui products to shape, texturize, or chalk your Kamui tip is quite simply marketing BS. Some people may like how, say, the Gator Grip performs its function or prefer to have their tip shaped by a local cuemaker/repair guy (if they have one), but the idea that you can't do it any other way without "damaging your tip" is totally absurd.
 
Use a good quality Irwin razor blade and start shaping it right above the ferrule.

Then put on an Ultra Skin.
 
I use a last4ever tool to shape, Ultimate tool to burnish/de-mushroom, the Gator grip to scuff and have used a Tip Pik sometimes. I have Kamuii SS on 8 shafts and have never had a problem as long as you aren't a barbarian when using the tool. You can believe what you want, but many of us are using the same tools and getting the same results with no issues.
 
Tip Tool

I have been using a George on my Kamui Soft tip ever since I have had it. Just alittle scuff is all it takes after it starts to glaze over. The tip should last a long while as long as you don't try to "start a fire" with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top