Kamui Tips is a Japanese manufacturer of cue tips for

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions of ...

and

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

. According to the company,Kamui Brand
/ref> the tips are produced by founder Masato Hiraoka in his workshop in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

. The company and its products are named after the mythological ''

Kamuy A ''kamuy'' ( ain, カムィ; ja, カムイ, kamui) is a spiritual or divine being in Ainu mythology, a term denoting a supernatural entity composed of or possessing spiritual energy. The Ainu people have many myths about the ''kamuy'', passed ...

''.

Background

Kamui tips first gained international exposure in October 2007, when they were introduced at the BCA Super Billiards Expo in the United States. They were endorsed in 2008 by top pro

Mika Immonen Mika Immonen (born 17 December 1972) is a Finnish professional Hall of Fame pool player, nicknamed "The Iceman." Career Immonen won the 2001 WPA World Nine-ball Championship in Cardiff, Wales. That same year, he was the runner-up to Corey Deue ...

as his tip of choiceNYCGrind
/ref> while winning the

U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships The U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship is an annual professional men's nine-ball Pool (cue sports), pool tournament that began in its current form in 1976. The U.S. Open is one of the most sought-after titles in nine-ball and in pool generally. Traditio ...

two years in a row, followed by the title of ''Inside Pool Magazine'''s 2009 Player of the Year.Inside Pool
/ref> The tips are made primarily from

pig leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs ...

, and consist of many layers that are

laminated Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a Raw material, material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength of materials, strength, stability, sound insulation, visual appearance, appearance, or ...

and tempered for a rubber-like consistency. Kamui's process is so specific that some of their products have been in development for more than nine years before they hit store shelves. Currently, Kamui Tips produces two styles of tips: "Kamui Black" and "Kamui".Kamuitips.com
"Kamui Black" tips come in four degrees of hardness: super soft, soft, medium and hard. "Kamui" tips come in four different hardnesses: soft, medium soft, medium and hard.

References

External links

KamuiTips.comKamuiBrand.comPrestige Billiards
Cue sports equipment manufacturers Companies based in Hiroshima Prefecture {{Japan-sport-stub