best cue tips to use?

[Cue crafty]

any teeth marks?

Lolz nice one Dean

[DeanH]

any teeth marks?

[Cue crafty]

Yes, they look crap, cost 7 X the amount of a standard Elkmaster. Nice one Ron! We all got bills to pay I guess....

[DeanH]

they look used - by ROS?

[Neil Taperell]

I must beat the rush to get these

[Cue crafty]

Yes, and Ronnie also said that "*Most try different tips but then they always seem to come back to Elks"! And Jimmy White agreed with him, in that interview. Given that there will always be a small percent of pros using laminated tips or others.
Ps. * Ronnie is talking about pros here, and not club players of course.

Anyone know what tip Mark Allen uses? Makes a "crisp, klinky" decent sound, considering he rarely hits the ball hard?

And now it all makes sense, I just stumbled across these online:- https://www.sportsdirect.com/riley-r...edium=referral

[tomwalker147]

I struggle with this topic, can't help but think we (amateurs) get a bit hung up on the technology around the game in the hope they'll provide quick fixes rather than putting the hours in on the practice table.
A lad at our club genuinely told me his game had improved dramatically since using Taom chalk, I just refuse to believe that.

I've had the same Elk on my one piece Butters cue for the last 18 months, it's kept it's shape and just requires a light brush with a bit of wire wool to help it hold chalk probably every couple months or so.
I play matches on mondays, thursdays with the odd practice wednesday or saturday, so probably play maybe 40 frames a week at a guess unless I enter a comp on a sunday too.
I thought about changing my tip about 3/4 months ago then went on a bit of a heavy scoring run so will wait now until the season ends in May I guess!

[ADR147]

Works well. It's indicative. Saves fitting a softer or harder tip.

Years ago I tried to put a number to every sort of tip but I felt the numbers were deceptive.

[trying]

A hardness meter does not really work for tips because what we really mean is not about hardness it is about grip.

Works well. It's indicative. Saves fitting a softer or harder tip.

[bobmikeking]

What sort of process is used on leather that will be used to make tips? Is it dried or veg tanned or....?

[ADR147]

I don't play enough to keep experimenting with different tips, just want to enjoy playing.

I've tried a few but ended up back with Elk.

I do however check the hardness.

My reference was an Elk that measured 75 on a hardness tester that I have in the workshop. As I say I tried various and of those found that I was as happy with a Century G3 which also measured 75 - it played similarly, held chalk similarly etc. But given the price I'd rather stick with old faithful Elks and just check the hardness.

The bottom line though is that different players will prefer different tips (and chalk and cues) over others and just becuase one person likes it doesn't make it best.

A hardness meter does not really work for tips because what we really mean is not about hardness it is about grip.

[trying]

I don't play enough to keep experimenting with different tips, just want to enjoy playing.

I've tried a few but ended up back with Elk.

I do however check the hardness.

My reference was an Elk that measured 75 on a hardness tester that I have in the workshop. As I say I tried various and of those found that I was as happy with a Century G3 which also measured 75 - it played similarly, held chalk similarly etc. But given the price I'd rather stick with old faithful Elks and just check the hardness.

The bottom line though is that different players will prefer different tips (and chalk and cues) over others and just becuase one person likes it doesn't make it best.

[ADR147]

Could very well be the case, it seems that the only player that might actually be getting some sort of paycheck from Century is Selby. He is listed as an official brand ambassador. It seems a bit crazy to me how happy some of the players are to promote brands in exchange for some free low cost products.

I think there is some cash involved....

[Neil Taperell]

If they are going back to Elks , I would like to see someone slip on either an MW or ADR tip and see if they could tell the difference .

[Cue crafty]

From the few players that I have seen that were asked if they were using the pro elks all said no, just the standard ones.
I always figured that the only difference between the standard elks and the pro version is that they have been hardness tested?

Kyren Wilson back using the triangle chalk for a while now, is he the first top player that used taom for a long period to switch back?
Wonder if he has gone back to elk tips as well

That was my understanding on the pro Elks too, but have to say although I've only bought one, they look different too, greyer in colour.

I guess to an extent we have all been hoodwinked by manufacturers marketing, when at the end of the day cheap Elks and Basic cheap Triangle chalk is still the choice of some of the best in the game... Who are we to disagree?