Which Tips and Chalk?

[speedyturtle]

Hello Everyone,

Its been long since i registered on these forums but never came around to posting much but i think its time that i ask you guys for some guidance. I havent played for around 12 years. I use to play when i was single and than the family took over and just didnt get the chance. Now a friend of mine got me back into it and with a highest break of 78 in the past i thought it would be nice to buy a cheap cue to start over so over i went on ebay and bought a second hand cue for around 20 quid :tongue:

Now i know you all might have the top of the range cues but i thought i would start with something cheap as i dont know how much time i can take out. It seems like a chinese made cue with Michaels on it. Now that you all know the history of it and i am getting into it after a long time i feel things have changed alot. I always played with blue diamond in the past but when i looked over the internet i could not believe how things have changed.

Tips: There are some new names i am not familiar with at all with prices so high that i thought i might be able to make a century by putting just that tip LOL. But seriously some of the names are Kamui, Cuesoul, Talisman, Omin etc etc. From Reading i found out that they are some kind of layered tip. Can anyone please share there experience and suggest if i should stick to old blue diamond or should try these new tips.

Chalk: Same story, Alot of new names now. I always used good old triangle chalk. I always had my magnetic chalk holder or jeans back pocket and a habbit of putting chalk before every shot. Again i saw Kamui, Buck, Master, Cuesoul, G-Brand etc etc.

As someone who is getting back in the game and not even sure how regularly i would be playing i feel that kamui might be a bit toooooo expensive and i might not go for them but i mentioned it so i can get your opinions on these things to help me decide.

Thanks alot in advance.

[mikeyd100]

Regards tips I would recommend Mike Wooldridge's Super Tips.
Probably about the same firmness as a Blue Diamond, grips the cueball well, playing with side and screw is easy.
Deep screw shots I feel are easier with this tip, of course a good cue action always helps

You may find the tip slightly expensive but they last a lot longer as well - for me.... totally worth it. Thumbs up for Mike.

[blurry_121]

Kamui tip all the way!!!! I use master chalk but its down to personal preference 😇

[Terry Davidson]

Nothing wrong with a good blue diamond or a harder Elk Master since you're just starting out (or re-starting out). Use Tweeten 'Spruce' green chalk which is what the pros use almost exclusively. No need to pay more that 1quid for a tip and no need to pay 5quid or more for chalk, as neither is going to make a difference for you until you get back to that 70-break level.

However, unless you got a very good deal a cue for 20quid can't be that good (although I could be wrong) and I would recommend something worth a bit more if you can afford it. Contact ADR147 on here as he has hundreds of good used cues in all price ranges.

[DeanH]

Nothing wrong with a good blue diamond or a harder Elk Master since you're just starting out (or re-starting out). Use Tweeten 'Spruce' green chalk which is what the pros use almost exclusively. No need to pay more that 1quid for a tip and no need to pay 5quid or more for chalk, as neither is going to make a difference for you until you get back to that 70-break level.

However, unless you got a very good deal a cue for 20quid can't be that good (although I could be wrong) and I would recommend something worth a bit more if you can afford it. Contact ADR147 on here as he has hundreds of good used cues in all price ranges.

Terry "Tweeten Spruce Chalk, or you meaning the Tweeten Master spruce chalk as opposed to the Tweeten Triangle spruce chalk? I have not noticed any pro using Triangle Spruce, if Triangle then it appears to be the Green; or they use the Masters chalk - not been able to note which colour though

I did ask on here if anyone had a lump of Master Spruce that they would send out but no replies

[Terry Davidson]

Terry "Tweeten Spruce Chalk, or you meaning the Tweeten Master spruce chalk as opposed to the Tweeten Triangle spruce chalk? I have not noticed any pro using Triangle Spruce, if Triangle then it appears to be the Green; or they use the Masters chalk - not been able to note which colour though

I did ask on here if anyone had a lump of Master Spruce that they would send out but no replies

No, I talked to the owner of Tweeten and he said the Triangle Spruce is formulated for snooker. However, being a cynic I'm pretty sure the Triangle Spruce and the Master Spruce are probably identical and from the same batches, just the cover is different.

I found the Triangle regular green was fine although it does leave more chalk marks than the Triangle Spruce. I've never seen Master Spruce. I do find the Master Blue to be too soft plus it leaves visible marks on the cueball.

But, even with the Triangle Spruce the chalk is still on the cueball but not so visible and it doesn't leave a lot of chalk marks on the cloth. As far as playability between the chalks I doubt if there's much different with Triangle Spruce and Master Spruce probably being the exact same chalk anyway and the Master Green and Triangle Green also being identical.

When a student comes here and starts to use the Master Blue (common chalk here) I always hand him a Triangle Spruce because the Master Blue not only marks the cueball visibly but also the cloth.

[DeanH]

Which Tips and Chalk?

yep I have had chats with Skip in the past and he said that the colourant is the same but the formula of the body chalk is slightly different between Triangle and Master chalks.
Which,as you say, could be cynical to think only the wrap is different
But they do play and mark the cue ball differently, ?
What I have seen is snooker pros are either Triangle green or Master something - not been able to define between green/spruce from cameras
as from the other thread I have a lump of master spruce coming to try out - will let you know how it goes

[dieselman147]

Im using the mike wooldridge super tips at the moment due to the inconsistencies of elks and so far im very happy with them. I've also swapped from triangle chalk to master chalk as it seems finer and works much better for me!

[Dave Walton]

Never seen a single pro snooker player using triangle spruce chalk, its either regular light green triangle or light green masters, although Robertson was using silver masters for a while!

[brookst]

For snooker - MW Blackspin ideally or supertip if on a brass ferrule with Master chalk, its a really great combo.
For english pool - same tip advice but if you can stand the price Kamui extra fine works well on a small (8mm) tip.

[Terry Davidson]

Never seen a single pro snooker player using triangle spruce chalk, its either regular light green triangle or light green masters, although Robertson was using silver masters for a while!

About 2 years ago Skip from Tweeten told me he was going to send over boxes of Spruce chalk for the WPBSA to use in their tournaments. I don't know if he ever did but I'd assumed so as you can't really tell from the TV coverage what they're using unless it's Master Green of course. I did notice most use Triangle but just assumed they had switched to Spruce.

[DeanH]

About 2 years ago Skip from Tweeten told me he was going to send over boxes of Spruce chalk for the WPBSA to use in their tournaments. I don't know if he ever did but I'd assumed so as you can't really tell from the TV coverage what they're using unless it's Master Green of course. I did notice most use Triangle but just assumed they had switched to Spruce.

that could be about when I was talking to him and he came over for the Welsh (he was so chuffed at seeing ROS 147 to finish the event and he even had a chat with ROS at the hotel afterwards ) and he said he would bring some Spruce over with him.
This was the time I got 2gross from him and I sold the chalk onto TSF members.
I think I did see some pros with Triangle spruce after that but soon many went back to Green, but Master chalk appears to be more prevalent.

[Terry Davidson]

that could be about when I was talking to him and he came over for the Welsh (he was so chuffed at seeing ROS 147 to finish the event and he even had a chat with ROS at the hotel afterwards ) and he said he would bring some Spruce over with him.
This was the time I got 2gross from him and I sold the chalk onto TSF members.
I think I did see some pros with Triangle spruce after that but soon many went back to Green, but Master chalk appears to be more prevalent.

He was planning on coming over to UK this past season and I believe he did so maybe he's now flogging the Master Chalk Spruce? I'm going to see if I can get it here although I still have a ton of the Tirangle Spruce left.

[vmax4steve]

Forget the spruce, it marks the cue ball something terrible and causes more kicks. Everything else about snooker equipment is simply marketing, all the best snooker has been played with blue diamond or elkmaster tips using Triangle or Master green chalk, no need to look any further.

[speedyturtle]

Forget the spruce, it marks the cue ball something terrible and causes more kicks. Everything else about snooker equipment is simply marketing, all the best snooker has been played with blue diamond or elkmaster tips using Triangle or Master green chalk, no need to look any further.

I actually fully agree with you on this but the only problem i had at that time was the consistency of elkmaster or blue diamond and as i was going to start playing again i thought i would ask you guys about these multi layer tips and different chalks as obviously most of you guys would be playing snooker and would know more than someone who hasnt been into it.

I thinking about these cuesoul tips as they not the most expensive and was wondering if any of you had any experience with them. BTW I have also seen them on amazon in SS(super soft)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CUESOUL-3-...item3aae059324

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CUESOUL-Piec.../dp/B00RIKEV1E

Chalk i can go for master or i think cuesoul does them as well.