What is chalk and where did chalk come from?
I remember being in elementary school asking my mom what chalk is made out of and she proceeded to tell me it was made out of ‘Calx’ which is the Latin word for limestone. Yes, Chalk comes from limestone. The cool thing about chalk is that it wasn’t made with in our life time, chalk today was created over 100 million years ago! Chalk is actually considered a porous sedimentary rock that is made naturally deep under the sea out of accumulating organic skeletons and shells. That will give you something to think about the next time you grab a piece of chalk.
Is cue-chalk the same as chalk-board-chalk?
No, chalkboard chalk and billiard chalk are two different things. Even though the thought might cross your mind. The modern billiard chalk was invented by Pro straight rail player William A. Spinks and chemist William Hoskins back in 1897. They worked together and came up with the perfect mix of silica, aluminum oxide, dye and glue.
Spinks and Hoskins found that when adding chalk to their cue-tip it would increase adhesion and decrees cue slip on stroke. Originally the most common chalk colors where green and blue-green but now there are all sorts of colors for you to choose from. The funny thing is that chalk wasn’t always square it was once round in shape. The reason it had to be made square was that after chalking their cue the player would put down the chalk and it would end up rolling away!
Many pro-players agree that different brand chalk varies in quality and significantly affect game play. You’ll just have to find out for yourself what type of chalk you prefer and go from there. Here is a youtube link that might help you decide.