Tip and chalk questions

[Waya]

Hello guys n girls,

I am sure this topic was managed with times and times again. However I cant seem to be able to find any, if you want, reliable info. My quick questions are: How do I choose one? Is there, like, a brand that 85% of players prefers? Or is it completely a trial and denia.. I mean, fail thing, like buy 30 different tips, and try em out until you feel it's right. My problem with this approach however is, first of all: it takes time for a tip to settle and if you feel its right on the first out of those hypothetical 30, chances are that you lose out on some "incredible fine feel" from the number 28.

Then the re-tipping part... say I manage to get a tip on a cue not in the middle of the tip, but a bit off. To make a lil ascii picture: (o) - o being the cue tip, and ( ) the tip itself - that'd be spot on center. But that won't be possible with my arms that grow from me arse, so I will probably end up with something like (o ). Do I have to worry I cut off half of my cue, while trying to cut down the tip, say, using one of those sharper thingies: http://www.weekend-billiard.ru/cart...._detail&p=2996
Or is it completely out of the question that might happen?

Then of course there is this thing with chalk. At a danger to sound bit retarded: "which is the best chalk?". Again, it is the question, not as much about the 'quality' of the chalk, but more the preferences of the players, no? Or am I again completely off the target right there?

I have a bit of trouble understanding all that stuff. I know I sound really noobie, which I am, of course, since I never ever thought about the tips and chalk and... well basically about playing anything but computer before. But. It got to me, and I am doing something I am trying to do it right. Would appreciate any input on those topics.

Many greetings,

Daniel

[Watford]

If you don't really know what you like I'd say stick an Elk Master on it is a pretty bog standard tip and most people have used them at some point.

Maybe try a pro granite or a layered tip like Talisman if you don't like the Elk.

Buy a bigger tip and stick it on then trim it down. Look for ADR147's cue tipping guide on the forum.

Green Triangle chalk is used by most.
Not me though I use pewter Silver Cup. I play on a red cloth for pool practice which green chalk is a mess on but play matches on a green cloth witch doesn't like red chalk red chalk marks the white too) so the pewter stuff is fine for everything and doesn't look a really funny colour on the tip.

[Waya]

yeah, I saw the guide, however, you see my point being - I gots problems with the friggin.. you know... handywork. so I would be too scared to cut down the tip with a knife... besides my table would not enjoy the cutting. So yeah I would like to use one of those cutters like the one in the link.. but as I understand, it is kinda like sharping a pencil, and if it is not perfectly in the middle it'll be screwed up! Is this the same case here with the cue tip?

[Terry Davidson]

waya:

The advice about the tips already given is good. A lot of players these days prefer either a laminated tip like Talisman or Kumai although some players have stuck with the Elk Master. The problem with the Elk is when you buy a box of 50, about 20 of them will be softer and spongy and some players soak them in water (or milk?) and then press them in a vice to get them hard.

With Talisman, Kumai or Pro Granite every tip I've tried has been of good consistency and I've only had 1 Talisman that went hairy and I had to replace it with another Talisman.

Although some experts use a knife to cut down the excess tip I prefer to use a file as with a layered tip there is a danger if you are not careful in loosening the layers. You need a very sharp craft knife and a steady hand. I use a fairly coarse file to start (called a *b*a*s*t*a*r*d* file for metal) and stroke from the top of the tip down so I don't disturb the layers. Then use a fine metal file for most of the final shaping and then one of those metal nail files to finish the tip off. I've never had any problems with doing this.

There is no danger or problems if you don't have the tip exactly centered on the top of the ferrule, just use the file to ensure both the top of the ferrule and the bottom of the tip are perfectly flat and try it on before you apply glue to ensure both surfaces are level with no gaps, the use a very thin coat of glue on both surfaces, making sure the whole two surfaces are covered before applying the tip.

On chalk, if you are on green baize use the Triangle chalk from Tweetens of Chicago, but if you are on a pool table with different coloured cloth then try and get a chalk that matches that colour. Master chalk, also by Tweetens has chalk in all colours and it's available almost anywhere.

I've tried the darker green Silver Cup chalk which doesn't put marks on a green snooker cloth however I found it to be a little hard and doesn't stick to the tip as well as Triangle does. Silver Cup comes from Macon, Georgia (USA) but I'm not sure who makes it but it is cheaper than Triangle.

Terry

[Waya]

Terry, thank you for the advice! I'ma going to put it to good use, I promise! Thanks!

[Watford]

I think Silver cup is more expensive than Triangle in the UK. Triangle is everywhere but I had to order the Silver cup on the interweb.
I used Master silver for a couple of years and liked it better than Triangle green but I couldn't find any in the UK. Master gold is good and Craftsman sold it but it looks odd on the tip and people ask you questions. It marks the table a little too.

I've had no problem with the Silver Cup sticking to the tip at all. I think the colour of a brand makes a difference to how it sticks to the tip though. Even though people have told me it should be the same chalk just a different colour.
I actually prefer the Silver cup to the Master Chalk I couldn't find now.
I never liked the Master green either.

Horses for courses.
Will depend on the tip too I suppose.

Oh and on the tipping front is there no one who does re-tipping as a service near you?

[Waya]

honestly I do not know nothing about a retipping service here. then again.. I suck at finding those people.. I lived in germany for 15 years and wasn't aware of any retipping going on at all :P And well, I figure I better learn to do it myself - then at least I wont have anyone to blame but me - figures :P

So anyways thank you for the tips on the chalk.. that does push me in the (hopefully) right direction! There is a problem with the talisman tips.. as in... I cant find them anywhere around here!

[Cateran]

I am sure this topic was managed with times and times again. However I cant seem to be able to find any, if you want, reliable info. My quick questions are: How do I choose one?

Just try different tips until you find one you like. Tip choice all comes down to how you feel the tip plays for you. There are countless threads here where the topic has been beaten to death and the final result is some people swear by one brand of tip and others hate that tip and won't use one. Personally, I use Talisman - I won't make the claims that all of a sudden when I put one on my cue I could draw the cueball back the length of the table, but I find them to be really consistent, and they don't mushroom.

That being said, like Terry, I have had one that de-laminated on me, but I've probably used six Talismans now (including one of their new cowhide tips) and I'd still recommend them to anyone.

Then the re-tipping part... say I manage to get a tip on a cue not in the middle of the tip, but a bit off. To make a lil ascii picture: (o) - o being the cue tip, and ( ) the tip itself - that'd be spot on center. But that won't be possible with my arms that grow from me arse, so I will probably end up with something like (o ). Do I have to worry I cut off half of my cue, while trying to cut down the tip, say, using one of those sharper thingies: http://www.weekend-billiard.ru/cart...._detail&p=2996
Or is it completely out of the question that might happen?

What size tip are you using? Porper's sales department told me that one of those tools wouldn't work on a cue with a snooker-sized tip (9.5mm-ish). I use Porper's Mushroom Grazer when I'm re-tipping cues and it was Tony at Talisman that put me onto that tip tool. I put an oversized tip on (.5 - 1 mm larger than my ferrule), and then cut it down to the size of my ferrule. That way you don't have to worry about getting a tip glued off-centre. There's also the benefit that I don't have to hack away at a brand new laminated tip with an X-acto knife.

Then of course there is this thing with chalk. At a danger to sound bit retarded: "which is the best chalk?". Again, it is the question, not as much about the 'quality' of the chalk, but more the preferences of the players, no? Or am I again completely off the target right there?

That's another personal preference question. The easy answer is, whatever chalk you find that suits you. I use Silver Cup, love it - I find it's soft and very sticky. But, as you'll note on this thread, there's another player doesn't like it. Perhaps there was a difference in batches between the Silver Cup chalk I'm currently using, and the chalk Terry used and found to be hard. Or, he and I simply prefer different chalk.

Terry,

I was surprised to see you say Silver Cup is hard - I find it to be completely the opposite. As a matter of fact, I get so much chalk on my tip, I end up blowing the excess off or it gets all over the table.

[Waya]

Wow, thank you Cateran, and thanks for the tip with the.. tiptool...that helps - I will be buying one of those over here.. also found a couple of shops with Green Triangle and Master and Silver Cup. I'll be buying one of each and testing it out - after all you are right and that is a personal preference, as I figured out yesterday.

P.S. yesterday was the first training for me.. How do you guys play this game!? Its hardcore! (and yeah, I will be sticking to it, hence I like hardcore :P)

[Waya]

Well guys, thank you for your tips. Indeed much appreciated, Terry, thank you too, I am sorry I seemed a bit abscent - too many things to think about at any given second. I found it is not possible to get triangle green here, however my boss brought a couple of them over together with the cue. But triangle blue is quite nice indeed. Master I didnt like - it sticks to the cueball alot, for some reason. And today I'll be testing out the triangle greens Thank you again for your tips. The tip question still there - but I am afraid I am still too much of a noob to tell the differences, so I'll be sticking to those that are on my cues. Blue diamant it was I think.

[cueman25]

Hello guys n girls,

I am sure this topic was managed with times and times again. However I cant seem to be able to find any, if you want, reliable info. My quick questions are: How do I choose one? Is there, like, a brand that 85% of players prefers? Or is it completely a trial and denia.. I mean, fail thing, like buy 30 different tips, and try em out until you feel it's right. My problem with this approach however is, first of all: it takes time for a tip to settle and if you feel its right on the first out of those hypothetical 30, chances are that you lose out on some "incredible fine feel" from the number 28.

Then the re-tipping part... say I manage to get a tip on a cue not in the middle of the tip, but a bit off. To make a lil ascii picture: (o) - o being the cue tip, and ( ) the tip itself - that'd be spot on center. But that won't be possible with my arms that grow from me arse, so I will probably end up with something like (o ). Do I have to worry I cut off half of my cue, while trying to cut down the tip, say, using one of those sharper thingies: http://www.weekend-billiard.ru/cart...._detail&p=2996
Or is it completely out of the question that might happen?

Then of course there is this thing with chalk. At a danger to sound bit retarded: "which is the best chalk?". Again, it is the question, not as much about the 'quality' of the chalk, but more the preferences of the players, no? Or am I again completely off the target right there?

I have a bit of trouble understanding all that stuff. I know I sound really noobie, which I am, of course, since I never ever thought about the tips and chalk and... well basically about playing anything but computer before. But. It got to me, and I am doing something I am trying to do it right. Would appreciate any input on those topics.

Many greetings,

Daniel

It's all pretty straightforward. Blue Diamond and Elk make very good tips...if you can find a good one. They are much harder than they used to be and very inconsistently made.
Soak a tip? Any liquid on a tip instantly ruins it, so beware.
A layered tip is far better and more consistently made than a single pressed tip.
Never let or make a tip go harder than it first was.
Use one of the the many little tip spikes you can easily find in the shops if the tip compacts, as it will if you strike hard.
If you are not proficient at re-tipping, then save the grief and let someone do it for you. Search google for cue repairs and snooker accessories shops in your area. There will more than likely be a "bloke down the club" anyhow".
Anyone can just slap a tip on, so get it done right.
Chalk. Do you have a blue ring of confidence around top of the cue? So that means the chalk has been worn into a cave. Another no no. The tip and chalk will have been ground down hard - replace both.
The whole of the chalk head should be used evenly - the fact that there is a dome when new is irrelevant. Watch a pro on TV. You should gently wipe across the tip with soft chalk, when it is no longer soft, throw away.
The best chalk by a country mile is Tweeten.

[Waya]

I never seen Tweeten chalk anywhere around the place I live. Here it's either Triangle or Master. Is there a webshop that'll ship to Russia that sells that chalk? And thank you for the tips tips, if you know what I mean

[cueman25]

I never seen Tweeten chalk anywhere around the place I live. Here it's either Triangle or Master. Is there a webshop that'll ship to Russia that sells that chalk? And thank you for the tips tips, if you know what I mean

Tweeten make...."Triangle chalk" it's sold everywhere.
If you really can't get it look on ebay or Chesworth Cues of Sheffield and ask him to do a bulk mail order deal. It's worth the effort.

[cueman25]

I never seen Tweeten chalk anywhere around the place I live. Here it's either Triangle or Master. Is there a webshop that'll ship to Russia that sells that chalk? And thank you for the tips tips, if you know what I mean

Apologies, you live in Russia. I didn't notice. Defect to the west?
(only joking).

[nrage]

YouTube video..

What do you guys think of this video/example of how to do it:
http://www.youtube.com/user/kevy62#p/u/46/HfKCh6See3Y

It all seemed to make sense to me, but I don't have any experience doing it so I wouldn't really know.