Is there a best cartridge track force gauge?

Tbg, for me the answer depends on WHY one needs a gauge that is more accurate than the Shure or others. I'm a believer that the gauge only gets you into the ballpark because the optimal VTF setting must be set by ear and must be determined through iterative adjustment and listening as VTA is dialed in because the two settings interact. I've always followed Lloyd Walker's recommended procedure for fine tuning turntable setup: www.walkeraudio.com/fine_tuning_your_turntable.htm

So for me, greater accuracy than the Shure provides is irrelevant except in one situation: If one has multiple arm wands and needs to easily move from one to another, being able to re-establish quickly, easily and with great accuracy a predetermined optimum tracking force makes sense, and there are gauges out there that are more repeatable with precision than the Shuure. But in my opinion, that pre-determined optimum tracking force will have been determined in an earlier "dialing in by ear" process. In this case, the important factor is the gauge's repeatability of measurement (i.e., the ability to get precisely the same result over multiple measurements), not its absolute accuracy of measurement.
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I have the Shure, an older Weathers ,an older Gerrard and a newer Audioforce digital. All are accurate. I find the Shure to be the most time consuming of them all, but it does the job. I think the Gerrard SPG3 English made guage is very accurate and fairly easy to use..but its an older design and not readily avail anymore of course as is the Weathers.

The Audioforce digital is dead accurate and so very easy to use. Cool digital lcd read out and can be found at Audioparts usually via auction( as I got mine) for under $170.

^^^
What Rushton said mirrors my experience and practice with VTF gauges, as far as using them is concerned. A scale is useful for REPEATING a good setting. It won't much help you FIND a good setting.

Nevertheless, that is no reason not to have a good scale. If all good scales cost hundreds of dollars anyone would hesitate. But they don't. Only audiophile branded scales cost that much. Normal people buy equal or superior scales for literally 1/10th the price.

There are .01g scales for well under $100. There are .1g scales for under $20. Why use a $20 balance with doubtful accuracy or repeatability when you can get vastly superior performance for the same price?

Here's one source. An internet search will turn up many others:

http://www.saveonscales.com

I have a Jennings JS-50X scale from www.rightonscales.com go to pocket scales it's $58.99US and is good to 50 grams in .01 gram increments. On my VPI I use two cassette cases (one on top of the other) below the scale and it comes to the perfect height. Can't beat that price.

First, I set the VTF to 1.5 (for shure V15) using the dial markings of my TT. (My TT, a Sony PS-X800 has a servo "Biotracer" arm where the arm is automatically balanced for zero downforce each time you start the TT, and then the downforce is applied electronically...very accurate).

Then I play a tracking test record, and reduce the downforce according to audible results. With the linear tracking arm of the PS X800, the resulting VTF is about 1/2 gram...much less than the same pickup in a pivoting arm, and less than half what Shure suggests.

So, I am in the "by ear" camp, with the provision that the test is done using a tracking test LP.