Elkmaster tip, What isnt a good one?

[spike007]

Seems like a daft question but what makes the 'bad' ones bad, are there any specific characteristics they have compared to a good one??


Spike

[tomeestrings]

Funny you should mention this subject !! I have recently fitted a new Elk 9mm and it doesnt seem to be doing the business at all , it holds chalk great , but it just wont grip the ball in the way I would expect it to ?? This is why I keep all my old nice tips and laminate them onto a 2mm sliver . Works a treat !!

[SouthPaw]

Seems like a daft question but what makes the 'bad' ones bad, are there any specific characteristics they have compared to a good one??


Spike

I think the very soft ones are pretty much unusable, there's a scratch test which John Parris talks about on here, which helps identify the density of the tip before you put it on... http://youtu.be/NnIEnmnBAYc

[stejohn]

Also some of the softer tips will lift, if you push the tip up from the side sometimes they will easily split leaving a small slither left on the cue.
By using the scratch method or pushing your nail into the side you can usually gauge enough to get rid of the duff ones.

[spike007]

Yes ive seen that, its very much subjective to your own opinion though, maybe i need to buy a box of 50 and see what they sound like

[raymo147]

I do the scratch test and if one feels all flakey and sprung from base to top your aswell binning it.
However in my recent box most have been really solid.
Good ones feel more compressed and not flakey when you run your nail from base to top.

[frazz]

Try and stick your nail into the sides of the tip before you put one on, if it doesnt go at all or only makes a slit like on it then it should be good, if you can dig your nail in then its pretty pointless using it. I tend to find also that the good ones have a nice shiny edge with definition between edges and the dome, soft ones tend to merge kind of of you can understand what i mean

[jrc750]

Do you not like Mike Wooldridge super tips Frazz ???
Nice one against Luca by the way

[Erwan_BZH]

Genreally, I tap on it with a knife blade. And the sound gives me the answer on which one is the stiffer, the denser. I always let the soft ones aside. Useless...

[spike007]

OK thanks everyone, i seem the get the gist of it, as luck would have it the last one i fitted i remember being what i thought to be quite hard when i was cleaning the flat side. I had originally bought a pack of 5 and the three i have left and the one i fitted are all a bit lopsided, is that normal?

[sprogbasket]

My mate drops the tip from a small height on to a hard surface - he says he can tell by the sound it makes on impact and how it bounces will give a good indication of good or not so good - he swears by the drop test. The more crisp the sound and the higher the bounce the better.

[Maverick54]

My mate drops the tip from a small height on to a hard surface - he says he can tell by the sound it makes on impact and how it bounces will give a good indication of good or not so good - he swears by the drop test. The more crisp the sound and the higher the bounce the better.

Does it always land butter side up?

[frazz]

Do you not like Mike Wooldridge super tips Frazz ???
Nice one against Luca by the way

Na i've tried them on a wooldridge cue i got a few years ago and couldnt get on with it, also done some for a few mates which were like sprung elks to be honest. Yeah cheers mate, played well that match especially from 6-5 down, shame about the rod match lol

[willtyson]

Don't like to go off subject but has anyone here tried Dave Coutts' tips? I had one fitted yesterday and having played 3 hours on it today I can only speak positively. They're like good firm elks, they hold their shape, chalk and grip the cueball wonderfully. I really like them and believe I'll be sticking to them in the future and recommend they're tried by people on here!

[stejohn]

A lad i play with ordered some Coutts tips and i tried one on his cue and it felt really nice,like you say bit like a solid elk. He's going to let me have one to fit onto my cue so will have a good knock with it and see how it goes.