I debated as to whether to use this very specialised word or not. It is not one in common use. I was worried it might be mistaken as a typo for toupee or something.
I don't know either.
Out of all the vintage needles that came with my gramophone in a largish jumbled rusty mass, there were none with bad tips, except from age-related corrosion. Presumably these were tumble polished, too.
So what's up with new needles?
And as I said, most of the problems with the defective needles in this current package seem to be malformed plating.