Elk Master tips

[Wally_in_Cincy]

I've always used LePros. When I had them put on I would specify "medium LePro" cause I thought they came in different hardness grades. Then I found out (I think) that they only come in one grade. So last time I just requested "LePro". The darn thing is considerably harder than the others. Now you guys say the LePros are inconsistent. Maybe in the past the "tip guy" was picking out a "medium".

So now I'm going to try an Elk Master, just to see how they play. Anybody out there like them? I know most of y'all like hard tips so probably not.

Sorry if I sound like Bluewolf

[Tom_In_Cincy]

Wally,

Trying something new? eh? Well.. you might find that you can feel the "hit" a little better with the elk master. I know that Michael of Michael's uses them on his cue.

I also understand that some players are convinced that the softer tip will produce more english and therefore can hit closer to center for the same effects. Hitting closer to center lessons the deflection and squirt consequences.

I remember trying elk masters tips a long time ago.. and thinking that they were ok.. but mushroomed too much for my likeing. Too much maintenace (burnishing all the time) for my liking.

Good luck.. and let us know how you like it..

Yes Wally, I have used Elk Masters for many years. Tom is pretty much correct on the additional maintenance required but I always felt the benefits were worth it. Anyway. I always loved tinkering with my cues, tips and other paraphenalia.

[Rod]

Wally,
Elk master doesn't have to be consistant either. I've seen them like a sponge that never firm up to just a med to med soft tip. They are never hard though.

Your tip guy should be able to fit you with a med lepro. All you do is sand the back. If it sands off with a grain texture it is a softer tip. If it sands off towards the powder side it is a hard tip. I can imagine the tip you have and some do get pretty firm. Also the firm ones appear to me to be a darker brown.

I played with blue diamond's, very similar to elk master. Personally I like the tip but there to soft. After a month of play and breaking them so they firm up, there ok.

~~~rod, doesn't care for the long break in

[Fran Crimi]

I like them, Wally. Used to use them awhile ago and didn't mind the maintenance because the tip played well. The only objection I had, which is why I switched, is that they didn't last very long for me at all. Got my best play out of them for a month, maybe less, then had to change the tip.

Fran

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote Wally_in_Cincy:</font><hr> I've always used LePros. When I had them put on I would specify "medium LePro" cause I thought they came in different hardness grades. Then I found out (I think) that they only come in one grade. So last time I just requested "LePro". The darn thing is considerably harder than the others. Now you guys say the LePros are inconsistent. Maybe in the past the "tip guy" was picking out a "medium".

So now I'm going to try an Elk Master, just to see how they play. Anybody out there like them? I know most of y'all like hard tips so probably not.

Sorry if I sound like Bluewolf <hr /></blockquote>


funny you should mention it, wally, i posted here a few months ago that i was going to try elk master and i have. i'm not sure how long it's been but over 3 months i guess and i like it. yes, it was too soft at first but it pounded down and tightened up a bit in the first couple of weeks.

i like a somewhat softer tip. used to like talisman soft but their soft has gotten too hard for me. matter of fact i'll be having a new talisman cut off to put on the next elkmaster. probably worth mentioning, i've got a "good" talisman soft that i use for breaking and it will serve as a decent shooting tip in a pinch. also, i don't play a lot of 9-ball lately and, if anything, most of my shooting has gotten softer over the years. more english, less forward speed.

you know, elkmaster or blue diamond is what we all started shooting with on the house cues and then the lepro, french-type and then layered moories were supposed to be upgrades. since i've got 3 matched cues (predator s.p.w.) i expect i'll wind up with elkmasters at various stages of their life on each of them.

short answer...works for me.

dan

[SpiderMan]

Hi Wally,

You received correct information in that LePros aren't sold in different hardness grades, but the other side of that coin is that there is variation even within one box. Probably true of any tip, they're punched out of a big piece of hide that can't be 100% homogenous.

Different folks have different thoughts on how to judge LePros before installation. I've always thought that calculating the density (mass divided by volume) would be a good predictor, but I haven't tried it. Sid Vicious says that he can sort them by dropping them into a glass ashtray and listening to the pitch of the sound.

Regarding Elk Masters, I think they play very well. For years I used nothing else, but then I got a lathe and started experimenting [img]/ccboard/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]. I still think the Elk Master is tops for confidence-building where you're making a bunch of soft little shots with lots of off-center hit (like straight pool and one-pocket). I'm less likely to miscue with an Elk Master than another tip if I happen to hit a spot on the tip that is less than well-chalked.

As Rod and others pointed out, the Elk Master will quickly compact into an excellent-playing tip that holds chalk well but wears out rather quickly. There will also be some percentage of Elk Masters that never compact properly; instead they will turn spongy and require replacement.

I've found that treating the sidewalls to harden them helps to preserve the Elk Master tip's integrity during the critical break-in phase. This can probably be done with many different substances. I've used everything from clear lacquer to super-glue to case-harden Elk Masters.

This Elk Master was case-hardened with clear varnish, but somehow it imparted a greenish tint in the picture:

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/funkychat...ew=t&amp;.done

Here's a closeup that shows why the Elk Master has legendary chalk-holding ability. Check out the surface porosity after crowning:

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/funkychat...ew=t&amp;.done

SpiderMan

[Sid_Vicious]

"Sid Vicious says that he can sort them by dropping them into a glass ashtray and listening to the pitch of the sound."

This is the second phase of my selection process. First I look at the flat texturing of the area where the glue will be applied. I look for the "spider web" pattern of the leather to be as tight as I can find, and segregate a handfull from the rest of the box. A few will be so close in visual appearance to one another, and this is where I will find a glass ashtray(PH usually has tones of these) and drop each one a couple of times to check the tone. This is my system, except for the web pattern check. That check was told to me by a long time, now deceased tip guy from DFW. He may have told me the glass thing too, I really can't remember...sid~~~looks for the max hardness in a selected tip

[HalSmith]

I have used Elk Master but like everyone else they do require alot of maintenance for the mushrooming. I tried a Killer but couldn't control the action on cue ball like I wanted, am now using a Triangle[med] and like it.

[TomBrooklyn]

Hi Wally,
My first tip was a water buffalo that I used for two years. I just changed it myself to an Elk Master and have about 15 hours on it now. It feels kind of soft. I haven't decided if I like it or not. I only had a couple of tips to chose from and didn't sort through them, but when I sanded the back the leather came off like powder not threads. I forget what grit I used, but it took it down pretty fast. =Tom