Tips : Blue Diamonds or Elkmaster ?

[Erwan_BZH]

Hi folks!

I would like to have your opinions about tips. Which brand do you prefer and why? Are there many differences between a Blue Diamond and en Elkie?

Thanks

[cueman]

BD's are a little bit bigger than elks and tend to be softer too. Probably take a bit longer to bed in as well. Most players use one or the other, my preference along with the majority of pros is an Elk, mainly because they are harder and bed in quickly. The downside is they don't last so long, maybe a month, depending on the amount you play. They also get hard quite quickly which usually is a sign to put on a new one.

BD's are OK if you don't mind waiting for them to settle in, they last a long time and don't, as a rule, go hard so quickly. Most players hate putting on new tips though, so naturally they don't want to wait for the tip to settle, hence the popularity of Elks.

[Erwan_BZH]

Assuming I play 3 hours a day, 4 to 5 days a week, how often would you change the tip ?

[cueman]

I'd say about a month if you are lucky with an Elk, haven't played with a BD for years though but probably a couple of weeks longer.

[reverse_side]

Hi Erwan, how you look after your tip will wear it down faster or slower too.... chalking the tip really hard will effectively sand it down and compress the fibres and compact some chalk in it too making it a bit slippy too.... as well as needing to re-tip quicker.

There are tools to free up the tip... have a look at http://www.craftsmancues.com/acatalog/Accessories.html I've not used them, but an occasional scrape with sandpaper helps give you back the feel and grip of a decent tip.

Unusually, I found Elkmasters to be utterly unresponsive and luckily was only playing in the Club inter-team event over last year's off-season, so after trying really hard to play with it, I ripped it off after 2 weeks; no control, no spin, hard as nails - rubbish. Maybe it was a one-off.

My usual Blue Diamonds last for a varying length of time, depending on the fibres of each one, but I've weened myself off the vigorous and regular sanding I used to give each one (with pretty rough paper) so that it always felt like my fingers gripping the white all the time. I simply play for a few hours, then rest some medium grade sandpaper and twist the cue gently around with the sandpaper gently rocking back and forth.

If I didn't feel confident with sandpaper, or they started selling the Tip tapper or Tip pick or Tip scuffer in a club I was in, or a stand at a tournament - I'd buy one.

Do a search on the site too, I think there's other info on tips.

As for Cueman's advice on BD's lasting longer, the one I've got on has lasted for ages now and I've been playing quite a lot this season what with lots of events and the Chairman of the League offering an invite into an extra tournament...... or the fact he was short and needed to rely on an eager reliable volunteer 45 minutes before it started!

For buying them, try and see if your club gets them in bulk.... instead of £3 for 3, Titan Sports for example sell a box of BD's (50) for less than £25 http://www.titansports.co.uk/acatalog/tips.html and Elk's are a fiver cheaper than that.

I've now thankfully got past the stage of dreading putting a new tip on; 2 stage tipping using superglue gel is the secret - do a site search on 'wafer' and there'll be some gen on that.

Still think that getting quality cues made with screw-in ferrules is the way ahead, but I can wait.

What are you using at the mo?

[cueman]

I think you can save yourself a bit of money than going to Titansports!
Get yourself over the snookershop.com, cheapest tips anywhere, box of 50 Elks - £11, box of 50 BD's - £17. Even cheap bying singularly, 40p for a BD and 25p for an Elk. Don't order 1 though, that's just taking the michael!

[reverse_side]

But don't forget that you'll be charged a fiver for post and packaging by the snooker shop... unless you want to shell out over £80.

Anyway, Erwan..... what are you playing with at the mo?

[Erwan_BZH]

Anyway, Erwan..... what are you playing with at the mo?

Sorry but what's the "mo"? (Sorry, I'm noy completely bilingual yet )

If you mean my tip, it's an Elkmaster currently, and I play well with.

[Erwan_BZH]

Anyway, Erwan..... what are you playing with at the mo?

Sorry but what's the "mo"? (Sorry, I'm not completely bilingual yet )

If you mean my tip, it's an Elkmaster currently, and I play well with.

[reverse_side]

No problems Erwan, we'll get your English up to native standard! Mo... just short for "moment".... what tip are you currently playing with means the same thing.

Were you thinking of trying a different tip? Is the Elkie not lasting very long?

[Erwan_BZH]

No problems Erwan, we'll get your English up to native standard!

Well, that's my aim! To be completly bilingual. I'm close to it but not yet. I have to line in an English-spoken country to bring the last touch to my language.

Were you thinking of trying a different tip? Is the Elkie not lasting very long?

In fact, I have to admit that I haven't paid attention to the tip I used before. It could have been an BD or an Elk, I didn't see the difference. Now I am a better player, I inquire about the assets & flaws of each one. I put a new tip on my cue 3 weeks ago, an Elkie, and instantly, my game improve a lot better. But the old one was dead and buried and I waited too much time before ripping it off. Now it's a lot better. I'll pay attention to his length...

[reverse_side]

Good plan Erwan... if you're feeling happy with a tip that's a big advantage; it's sometimes more important than the cue itself. I've played twice in competition with a house cue and just made sure that I had a square of sandpaper and some green triangle chalk to prepare a half decent tip and then some proper chalk for grip. One was in a Pontins event that I managed to get to the annual UK Nationals; quarter finalist no less. (having said that, it was the guests' event, but a dreadful cold put paid to that adventure; just before playing in the main hall on a Rileys Aristocrat table in front of 200 people).

You're right about seeing an improvement straight away with a new tip; knowing when to change your tip is an acquired skill. Lose in a big event when you're humming and harring (translates as, "unsure"... slightly idiomatic though) and then it'll focus your mind to make sure you can change it then have a practice session to "bed it in". On occasion, I've changed a tip then got a 50+ break the next shot, so be ready to play well immediately.

There are some people who like a clinically applied tip with no overhang, then there are those that prefer a tip to be slightly mushroomed and don't mind seeing a portion of the tip when they're cueing.

What you'll find as you play with a new tip, is that each shot will slightly flatten it, then the next shot will misshapen it again which will slightly affect the path of the white. A way round this is to simply grab a ball and kncok the tip down at the same time as slowly rotating the cue in your other hand. I used to find a wall and cue into it and spin the cue until I thought I was being original idea of using the wall.... it's not unique!

(as for your Englinsh; you vary between excellent and very good with just an odd use of an unusual word.... so your English is miles better than the average UK native's French. A favour; say Autumn instead of Fall! It'll save you a lot of raised eyebrows)

[Erwan_BZH]

(as for your Englinsh; you vary between excellent and very good with just an odd use of an unusual word.... so your English is miles better than the average UK native's French. A favour; say Autumn instead of Fall! It'll save you a lot of raised eyebrows)

Thanks! But does "fall" has a secret meaning in the UK? lol I used to use "fall" because of my connection to north-american medias. I read more of US/CANADA stuff than British one so "fall" is very common there.

As for the knowledge of French amongst British people, I have to say that English is easier to learn than French! It's a simpler language, more logical in the construction of a sentence for instance. So it's not surprising to see English people struggling in French!

[caesar]

Other tip points

I agree with reverse_side about the knowing when to change your tip is an acquired skill. I prefer blue diamonds. Like the feeling as if you are actually gripping the cue ball.

A good site for retipping info is at Mike Wooldrige's (Where I got my new cue this year)

http://www.handmadecues.com/web/retipping.htm

Another important point to note is that if you cue in the manner suggested by Ronnie O'Sullivan, by holding the cue with the splice of the butt facing up into the palm of your hand, then you will get through the tips much quicker, and probably end up with a slightly uneven shaped tip. I started doing this last year at his suggestion, and find it to be a good "anchor" for the drill and thinking positively. Also seems to give you some reassurance that the cue will play the same as the last shot (kicks given!).

Since then as you might have read I've started seeing a pro coach. Seeing him today actually. And he says that it is the correct way to cue, with the splice facing up, and that the tip issue is just a consequence of the method.

[GreenBaize]

The best tip available for snooker at the moment is the New super tip by Mike Wooldridge , make sure you try one out , you won't be using anything else again !!