01/28/2025
They key to any tip holding it's shape and not mushrooming, or in other words the side of the tip starts sticking out past the side of the ferrule and you can feel it with your nail or even see it under the light in most cases is the Burnish that is done by the installer. There is a process and also material that ensures the burnish is done correctly and with best chances to not Mushroom.
This is a shaft done today. When a tip is cut using a blade on the lathe to make it match the width of the ferrule it will have a dull and like raw leather look. From there, a very loght sanding is done on the side of the tip only going all the way to 5000 grit. Only touching the ferrule usually around 2000 and higher just to give it a nice polished shine. Even rough ferrules, I will use more cleaner than sand paper to make sure I don't take any material off of the ferrule as it starts to make your ferrule look tapered.
After the 5 step sand paper is done, with the last couple being a "Wet Sand", there is then liquids and pastes to apply to the side of the tip to help lock the leather so it doesn't move. That mixed with a little piece of leather will give the shine and burnished look seen in the pic.
To me, after the surfaces are prepped and the tip is glued on, this is by far the most important step. Leather tips are just that, leather. The leather has to compress when it impacts something hard like a cueball. So where does that compressed leather want to go? It want to move outward almost like when you smash a hot marshmallow with some crackers. The burnished step makes it so the material still will compress, because physics says it has to. But with the side burnished properly the tip shoild only compress maybe leaving like an indent in the top of the tip that allows you to reshape if needed until it cannot compress anymore.
For example super soft tips, even a great burnished on the sides, they still can compress and get a little flat. As long as the material doesn't push outward, the only that might need to be done is a quick reshaping and it will have its roundness and most likely stay for a long time. Break Tip that have synthetic or phenolic materials still get burnished, but more for esthetics.
Reach out if your tip is mushrooming, need a reshape and re burnished or just need a new tip in general.
Thanks
Cody
