What is a good brand of chalk?

[Oberyn Martell]

I have up until now used silvercup chalk but i have heard good things about master chalk, anyone have anything to say about any other chalk brand consistancies?

[Sid]

Master or Triangle. Any other brand...enjoy the pretty colors.

[sonnic]

what is the difference in master chalk to silver chalk? how can chalk make that much of a difference? chalk is chalk as far as im concerned. enlighten me room!

I just make sure and stay with the main brands of chalk. Master ,Silver Cup ,National Tournament Chalk , and Triangle. Color really doesnt make any diff to me. I use either blue or green when at the pool room. At home I use camel because my felt is camel. I can get the same English with it. Beware there are some cheaper chalks out there like the ones you can get at your local %$#-Mart. They seem to be to course to really hold on the tip well. Any way that's my two cents worth.

[PoolMaster]

Oops the post above was me . I forgot to log in.

[Lou]

I used to use Master Chalk just because that's what the rooms I where played supplied, then one day I went to a room that supplied Silver Cup. The Silver Cup was gritty and didn't stay on the tip well; more of it ended up on my hands, the ferrule, and the table. I didn't feel like I had as much control of whitey with that chalk. I asked for a cube of Master Chalk, and I immediately appreciated its neatness and grab on the cue ball. The room where I play now has National. It's a little better than Silver Cup, but not nearly as good as Master Chalk. It makes sense that there would be a difference, because there are different ways to process chalk.

I have up until now used silvercup chalk but i have heard good things about master chalk, anyone have anything to say about any other chalk brand consistancies?

I have tried out many types of chalk, most of them producing the same results. I mainly used Master (RED BOX) blue chalk for quite some years, until recently, I got a sampler box of Balabushka chalk from a friend, which got them from eBay. These little guys are by far the best chalk I have ever seen / used. They are very smooth, spread very well / evenly. These are a very soft chalk, and the cubes last a 1/3 of the time a Master cube does.

Also note, I am looking for a place to get this chalk, because I cant find it anywhere, and I used all the cubes I had.. :( Can anyone help me find it ?

[Deb]

Hello,

We have 4 boxes of Balabushka Chalk in stock and can get more if needed. They sell for $2.95 a box.

Currently they are not up on the website for sale, but feel free to e-mail me directly at deb@seyberts.com and I will be happy to process your order for Balabushka Chalk :)


Thank you,

Deb "Wacky" Varino
deb@seyberts.com

[dhammis]

I use black master chalk because most of my clothing is black, including my glove.

One question, how long is a box of unused chalk good for? I bought my box at least a year and a half ago, maybe two years and I still have a few cubes left. Are they going to be any good or should I just get another box?

Chalk isn't going to put anyone in the poor house, so I suppose it couldn't hurt to get another box.

--Damon

[maughanm]

I just opened a new box of Master Chalk.....Just happened to read on the back where it says "once opened, store remaining chalk in the refrigerator". Doesn't answer the above question, but it does let us know it goes bad somewhere along the line. :?

Silver Cup chalk is softer than Master and gets used up alot faster. Master seems to adhere to the tip better and is more forgiving if you forget to chalk-up between shots

[akaziggy]

I say this to anyone who doesn't beleive "chalk is chalk". Try the Balabushka chalk :!: I picked up a box just for kicks, because I thought "chalk was chalk". I was wrong. Trust me, it's worth 5 or 6 bucks to give it a fair shake. You'll be suprised. :o

[New Kid In The Hall]

Chalk is definitely not just chalk. I agree with most posters here. Tried Silver Cup after using Masters for a while. The Silver Cup put more on the ferrule and shaft tip end than it did the tip itself. Masters green coats just as smoothly as the typical blue, but it basically does not discolor your ferrule.

I'm going back to Masters...at least until I try this Balabushka chalk that seems to be buzzing in here...

[dags_lax]

I have some of the Balabuska chalk an it is indead a very good chalk. Is it better than Master chalk? I don't know. Both brands do the job very well. It (Balabuska) is also a very soft chalk, to soft for my tastes. It goes on the tip quite thick and seems to be more messy. I will stick with the Master chalk for now.

[FuzzyMemory]

Do colors make a difference? I got some tan chalk and like the fact that it doesn't stain my clothing & ferrule as easily. But some folks at my local pool hall claim that different colors of chalk play better than others.

[skor]

different chalk to different weather and humidity conditions,
when it dry you'll want to use a soft chalk and when it's humid you'll want to use a harder chalk, where I live the master chalk works great

[jkregan]

Like size, color doesn't matter.

Master and Silver Cup are both very good chalks.

I would like to hear about Elephant chalk. It is triangular and, from the promotional text, I get the distinct impression that the whole thing is presented with tongue in cheek.

different chalk to different weather and humidity conditions,
when it dry you'll want to use a soft chalk and when it's humid you'll want to use a harder chalk, where I live the master chalk works great

So, what brand is a soft chalk? And what brand is a hard chalk?

[skor]

Master is softer then Triangle

Master is softer then Triangle

How about Silver Cup? Whats that compared to Masters?

[skor]

You actualy got me to do some chalk testings..... 8O

So I checked 5 different pieces of chalks I had around here....
1. NTC - National Tournament Chalk - red color, I find this chalk to have a rough texture but it feels quite soft when I apply it to a cue.

2. Silver Cup - tan color, this chalk has the same rough texture as the NTC has but it feels harder and I had to work harder to apply the chalk to the tip.

3. Triangle - blue color, has a smooth texture (smaller particles then the first two), felt as hard as the Silver Cup.

4. Mater - blue color, this one has the smoother texture then all of the above and softer the all of the above, it applys very fast and with ease to the tip but also leaves the tip faster then the above, meaning you'll need to chalk more with this one.

5. The fifth chalk that I've tested was used in last year's European Pool Championship, on the wrap is says "Loontjens Biljarts" on one side and "Root Haert" on the other side, these two companies were sponsors of the event. I can't tell for sure but I think that it's a Master chalk with a different wrap since it feels and react just the same and is just as smooth.



I think that the color affects the texture of the chalk

I would realy like to put my hand on an IPT chalk.....

[dags_lax]

Like size, color doesn't matter

I won't comment on size but, color does matter. The different colors of master chalk have different compositions. In my experience, and others have told me the same, green and blue Master Chalks work better than the other colors of Master Chalk.

I heard Balabushka chalks are great. I seem some on Ebay and they run a fortune compared to Masters. In fact, they were going for 5 times the price of Masters chalk.

[skor]

I never tried it but I think that a lot of chalks out there are the same chalks as others but with different wrap.....

To be honest I use most of the times Master and it works good for me and I'll use Triangle if it's very humid in the club, I always have a piece of master and a piece of triangle in my case just in case the clubs don't have the type I like.

I used Master's and Traingle's myself but mostly Master's. I do find it to be the best chalk out there for me. And yes, I do find it ridiculous to pay that kind of money for chalks.

[rolldarocks]

Yeah I was skeptical about chalks until I tried Master. When I purchased my pool table it came with Pioneer chalk. When I ran out of the Pioneer I purchased Master chalk and immediately noticed the difference.
Being a graphic designer, I have to say color would effect the chalk. Different colors are made from different substances. Especially the primary colors.

[Buckeye]

You actualy got me to do some chalk testings..... 8O

I think I speak for everyone here but you really DO spend a lot of your valuable time helping the community out with random questions. This one doesn't really seem all "That" important, but I'm just speaking in general.

The humidity comments are helpful. We have very dry winters and very humid summers so it will be interesting going forward to check this out.

Thanks Skor!

[skor]

No problem 8)

I'm thinking about using Master's brown chalk since I got Moori tips on my all my shafts.

[skor]

If the chalk color is lighter then the table cloth color then it'll make the table look very dirty :!:

[audiopro]

The humidity comments are helpful.

So are the humility comments... :wink:

If the chalk color is lighter then the table cloth color then it'll make the table look very dirty :!:

Yea, I thought about that. I have standard green cloth on my table so I just might keep my blue chalks. Besides, I think I might be replacing my table cloth with a electric blue 760 in a about six months.

[txplshrk]

From what I understand, the guy that started Silvercup chaulks used to work for Masters. He didn't like the fact that they put lead in there chaulks. So he started Silvercup. It is basically the same chaulk minus the lead. (or so I am told, but I don't have proof of this.) I like Silvercup better than Masters, but most people I know like Masters. I like the way that the Silvercup goes on when I paint it on the tip. I don't run the chaulk around in circles. I glide it on the tip. That way you don't get a ring on your ferrule and that way you can use most of the block of chaulk. I used to shoot with the light tan Silvercup because it didn't show up as much on hands, clothes, etc. I then switched to the light green when I got my own pool table. (I didn't want the brown stipes of chaulk all over the table) My wife uses the dark green Silvercup and to me there is a difference. The light tan seemed the softest and applied better to the tip. The light green is a little harder, but not by much. The dark green is really hard and you have to work to get it on the tip. My wife miscues more than I do, even though she chaulks frequently. I think it is because it doesn't stay on the tip as well, but that is just my theory. A friend of mine bought me a box of 144 light green masters, and everyone that comes and plays on my table loves that chaulk, but to me it is comparable to my wife's dark green silver cup. I think the light tan, and light green from Silvercup stay on better. That is just my opinion though. I guess the best thing is this. Find what stays on your tip the best, and then use it. Who cares what kind it is?

[skor]

Sorry for bringing this old thread back to life... but I've tried a new type of chalk today, it's called "Blue Diamond" and it was a very nice chalk, it felt very close to the blue master chalk



I found out that it is supposely made by Longoni cues that are in Italy but on the bottom of the chalk it says made in the USA..... weird :?

http://www.longonicues.com/PREVIEW/spares/blue%20diamond.htm

[Bristlecone II]

Balabushka Chalk is some of the best chalk I have used........next to Masters....if I had to choose between the 2..I'd go with Balabushka :P