which chalk?
- Thread starter jkskeet
- Start date
Blue Diamond, way better than Masters, lasts longer, sticks to the tip better, and doesn't get all over your hands, shaft and bed cloth. :wink:
I'll go with Blue Diamond, and Master's Pre-Flag Green.
Not trying to be rude...but these threads pop up every 4-6 months or so. If you do a search in the Main section for chalk, you'll find all you wanted to know and more. 
Lisa
Lisa
Agreed with ridewiththewind, do some research. Blue diamond, russian magic chalk, and Pre flag Masters chalk.
Skeet let me save you some time and money. I have tried blue diamond and the Russian chalk they are both good chalks but I could tell no difference between them and plain old masters chalk which I always played with side by side. If you find yourself in a tourney and a piece of this is on the table use it but don't waste $8 on two cubes of chalk when you can spend a quarter or less on chalk that is just as good.
Blue Diamond is definitely nice. But it's not several times better than Master to justify it's several times higher price. But that's up to the individual to decide value.
BD goes on smoother and coats better. I don't believe it has any better gripping properties than Master. However, because it coats the tip easier and better, and seems to last longer on the tip - this *may* reduce miscues or the chance of miscues.
However, if you properly coat a tip with Master - it will be just as good. The thing is, it takes more work to get that same well chalked tip with Master than it does BD. On a shiny tip or a tip that needs to be scuffed, Master can be a real chore to get to stick and get a good coating. BD is much easier. Literally just brushes on in two or three swipes at most and it's good to go. With Master, you got to really work it on there sometimes.
Speaking of shiny tips...BD will save your tip somewhat. Because it goes on well and sticks better than Master, you'll find yourself scuffing your tip less. But this is offset by the higher price of the chalk. Master is cheaper, but you have to keep the tip rough for it to grab well.
I feel the opposite of other players, I feel BD can be messy. It doesn't flake off or shed off like Master - which is good. But BD goes on thick and creates just as much dust. I don't consider this a problem. Either a tip is properly chalked or it's not. If it's properly chalked - there's chalk on the tip. Which means there will be dust and mess. No getting around that. There's no such thing as well chalked tip that is "clean" ...Well chalked tips create dust. Just part of the game.
One thing that I like about BD is that its color perfectly matches tournament blue cloth. I can't see it on the cloth at all. This is good as it doesn't make the table look messy, but the downside is it's harder to see during cleanup. But I vacuum the entire surface regardless of whether there are chalk spots - so this is moot point for me. Master blue doesn't match. It shows everywhere I do a power draw I see a streak of it where the impact was.
I'm not certain which chalk lasts longer. BD seems softer to me. Softer, but more gritty/abrasive. My BD chalk wears out faster than Master. But I cannot claim that. It's probably MY chalking technique and habits. Because I'm used to Master and having to work it on there well, BD is wearing down faster than it should. BD goes on easier, and doesn't need to be used the way one uses Master. Takes less to apply it. If done that way, it probably lasts just as long as Master if not longer. Habits are hard to break. I don't want to have to change my chalking technique or habits. Because I may not always have BD. Master is everywhere. Better to be used to the chalk that's ubiquitous in the pool world.
The reason I say BD is more abrasive is that many times I've scraped the forearm of my cue against a piece of Master chalk that I forgot to move out of the way on the rail or didn't see and it didn't scratch. Did that with BD, and it really scratched up the finish.
As I said at the beginning of this post, BD is better than Master and a higher quality, easier to apply chalk. But, it's not some advantage or that much better to justify it's cost. It's an expensive chalk. I think various pros don't mind the cost because what's the cost of the chalk vs. the money to be won in a tournament or gambling? To them, it's simply just the cost of doing business. If it saves them that one less miscue a year, that's cash. At their level, the winner is often the one who made one less mistake. If I miscue, what do I lose? I might lose some cheap set, a league match, or a local tourney. No big deal. Against some of the people I play (amateurs like myself), a miscue error might not even factor into the win/loss result. For pros, who play to put food on the table - I can understand wanting to minimize risk.
Right now I'm using both. I use BD on my well used, thin and fully compressed tips. Because I don't want to scuff them which wears them faster and have to replace them because they are at that perfect stage. I can keep them a little longer time this way. I use Master on everything else.
I probably won't get any more BD. The advantages I listed in this post just aren't that great (for me). But that's for each player to decide.
I think those that are raving about Blue Diamond are over exaggerating. I think those who say it's no different are oblivious to actual differences. In this case, the truth is somewhere in the middle. I hope my post was informative.
BD goes on smoother and coats better. I don't believe it has any better gripping properties than Master. However, because it coats the tip easier and better, and seems to last longer on the tip - this *may* reduce miscues or the chance of miscues.
However, if you properly coat a tip with Master - it will be just as good. The thing is, it takes more work to get that same well chalked tip with Master than it does BD. On a shiny tip or a tip that needs to be scuffed, Master can be a real chore to get to stick and get a good coating. BD is much easier. Literally just brushes on in two or three swipes at most and it's good to go. With Master, you got to really work it on there sometimes.
Speaking of shiny tips...BD will save your tip somewhat. Because it goes on well and sticks better than Master, you'll find yourself scuffing your tip less. But this is offset by the higher price of the chalk. Master is cheaper, but you have to keep the tip rough for it to grab well.
I feel the opposite of other players, I feel BD can be messy. It doesn't flake off or shed off like Master - which is good. But BD goes on thick and creates just as much dust. I don't consider this a problem. Either a tip is properly chalked or it's not. If it's properly chalked - there's chalk on the tip. Which means there will be dust and mess. No getting around that. There's no such thing as well chalked tip that is "clean" ...Well chalked tips create dust. Just part of the game.
One thing that I like about BD is that its color perfectly matches tournament blue cloth. I can't see it on the cloth at all. This is good as it doesn't make the table look messy, but the downside is it's harder to see during cleanup. But I vacuum the entire surface regardless of whether there are chalk spots - so this is moot point for me. Master blue doesn't match. It shows everywhere I do a power draw I see a streak of it where the impact was.
I'm not certain which chalk lasts longer. BD seems softer to me. Softer, but more gritty/abrasive. My BD chalk wears out faster than Master. But I cannot claim that. It's probably MY chalking technique and habits. Because I'm used to Master and having to work it on there well, BD is wearing down faster than it should. BD goes on easier, and doesn't need to be used the way one uses Master. Takes less to apply it. If done that way, it probably lasts just as long as Master if not longer. Habits are hard to break. I don't want to have to change my chalking technique or habits. Because I may not always have BD. Master is everywhere. Better to be used to the chalk that's ubiquitous in the pool world.
The reason I say BD is more abrasive is that many times I've scraped the forearm of my cue against a piece of Master chalk that I forgot to move out of the way on the rail or didn't see and it didn't scratch. Did that with BD, and it really scratched up the finish.
As I said at the beginning of this post, BD is better than Master and a higher quality, easier to apply chalk. But, it's not some advantage or that much better to justify it's cost. It's an expensive chalk. I think various pros don't mind the cost because what's the cost of the chalk vs. the money to be won in a tournament or gambling? To them, it's simply just the cost of doing business. If it saves them that one less miscue a year, that's cash. At their level, the winner is often the one who made one less mistake. If I miscue, what do I lose? I might lose some cheap set, a league match, or a local tourney. No big deal. Against some of the people I play (amateurs like myself), a miscue error might not even factor into the win/loss result. For pros, who play to put food on the table - I can understand wanting to minimize risk.
Right now I'm using both. I use BD on my well used, thin and fully compressed tips. Because I don't want to scuff them which wears them faster and have to replace them because they are at that perfect stage. I can keep them a little longer time this way. I use Master on everything else.
I probably won't get any more BD. The advantages I listed in this post just aren't that great (for me). But that's for each player to decide.
I think those that are raving about Blue Diamond are over exaggerating. I think those who say it's no different are oblivious to actual differences. In this case, the truth is somewhere in the middle. I hope my post was informative.
Blue diamond is my 1st choice.
Russian magic chalk is the one that stays on the tip longer, as well as Longoni NIR chalk, these two however may cause a few more skid action between balls as I noticed! Too much chalk on the tip with those!
A good chalk is very important, as well as a good tip on a cue. These add cost to players that follow tournament action but this is necessary and compared to the cost of buying good equipment and expenses for going to each tournament is insignificant.
Most of these players do not earn a living from playing in tournaments, but why not enjoy at most the experience? A good set of cues in a nice protective case with good tips and the necessary accessories including a good chalk help with that!
Petros
Russian magic chalk is the one that stays on the tip longer, as well as Longoni NIR chalk, these two however may cause a few more skid action between balls as I noticed! Too much chalk on the tip with those!
A good chalk is very important, as well as a good tip on a cue. These add cost to players that follow tournament action but this is necessary and compared to the cost of buying good equipment and expenses for going to each tournament is insignificant.
Most of these players do not earn a living from playing in tournaments, but why not enjoy at most the experience? A good set of cues in a nice protective case with good tips and the necessary accessories including a good chalk help with that!
Petros
I like the black brunswick chalk. Its cheap and does the trick. I got word that there are some new materials being developed for chalk that are supposed to be the nuts but may ending costing as much as youd pay for a premium layered tip.
Not for those of us who forget our chalk on the table!
Not for those of us who forget our chalk on the table!
I agree with BD chalk being the best and I also agree it's not a huge difference by any means. They way I look at the cost though is this.... if people are willing to buy this LD shaft or this jump cue or this gadget or whatever ... to try to improve their game by a small amount, why not spend the money on the slightly nicer chalk?
Yeah, it's 4 bucks a cube instead of 25 cents a cube ... but how long does a cube of chalk last? So you end up spending 2 cents a game instead of 0.125 cents a game to use it ... big deal. And what is 4 bucks to slightly improve your game when people will spend 225 bucks for the latest LD shaft or 2 grand for a new cue?
Using BD chalk isn't going to make a huge difference over master chalk ... but if you miscue one time less per 50 games because of it or get that extra 1 inch of cue ball travel so you aren't hooked ... for 2 cents a game, it's definately worth the 2 cents for that game!
Yeah, it's 4 bucks a cube instead of 25 cents a cube ... but how long does a cube of chalk last? So you end up spending 2 cents a game instead of 0.125 cents a game to use it ... big deal. And what is 4 bucks to slightly improve your game when people will spend 225 bucks for the latest LD shaft or 2 grand for a new cue?
Using BD chalk isn't going to make a huge difference over master chalk ... but if you miscue one time less per 50 games because of it or get that extra 1 inch of cue ball travel so you aren't hooked ... for 2 cents a game, it's definately worth the 2 cents for that game!
Not trying to be rude...but these threads pop up every 4-6 months or so. If you do a search in the Main section for chalk, you'll find all you wanted to know and more.
Lisa
How dare you??
:grin:
Bolo ocho, thanks for the personal insight..
Thanks to everyone else also, i know how to search but it pops up hundreds of different things and i figured why not ask.
I always figure if i get sick of seeing the same types of threads pop up every 6 months then i just dont click on them to open em up
Thanks again...
Thanks to everyone else also, i know how to search but it pops up hundreds of different things and i figured why not ask.
I always figure if i get sick of seeing the same types of threads pop up every 6 months then i just dont click on them to open em up
Thanks again...
yeah, Brunswick is a good alternative for those who would like to save a few bucks. Coats nicely.
i ordered some blue diamond to give it a try. I figured, heck why not.. Not that expensive after buying a home table,cue,case,etc..etc...
This might be a dumb question but what is 'pre-flag' masters chalk.
If i just order some off of pooldawg.com what am i gunna get?
Thanks everyone!!
This might be a dumb question but what is 'pre-flag' masters chalk.
If i just order some off of pooldawg.com what am i gunna get?
Thanks everyone!!
So, i'm guessing that if you don't have pre-flag masters that you can't just go out and buy it now then.. Or is there somewhere that still sells pre-flag masters?
Thanks...