skarbro

I'm coming from S19's and I have to say I like the EQ50's more with the exception of one thing. The S19's have a more flexible thumb. But really, I doubt that is even noticable once on the ice. I just love the toned down graphics of the EQ50's. And they are a tad more comfortable than the S19's.

So I'm sitting out with a rib injury for a while and I have a couple of new things that I can't try out on the ice yet. My new bullet-proof vest (which would have prevented my rib injury): And when I saw these and tried them on, I had to have them. Brand spanking new retail Easton EQ50 gloves:

I'm in Toronto, and my experience has been completely the opposite. I don't know anyone who has used FBV and gone back to regular. I've been on it for like a year and it has been really good to me. I'll never go back. FBV is the exact same price as regular sharpening at Sport Chek in Toronto. In fact I can use my pre-paid sharpening card (10 sharpenings for $30 CDN) for FBV - that's $3 CDN for an FBV sharpening. And it's available all over the place. I guess location/demand really has an impact.

I noticed it on that site before too. But on the CCM site and the catalog, there is no Steen pattern anywhere - 09 or otherwise. Or am I missing something? From where I sit, it looks like there are no more Steen patterns with CCM.

Be careful. The deepest cut is a huge difference in bite. You may kill yourself the first time you try to stop!

Pretty cool. It pretty much sums up FBV nicely. I didn't really understand the whole process of dressing the sharpener before and now I do.

90/75 is comparable to a 5/8" hollow, so you shouldn't really notice a difference in edge too much. But try 90/50 for less edge. Once I asked for 90/75 (like I always do) and got way too much edge. I chalked that time up to a new guy sharpening my skates. Either he over did them or he used the wrong wheel.

Some places charge the exact same price for FBV as regular sharpening. My experience has been that FBV doesn't stay sharp as long as regular. But I now run the Miraclestone once on all 4 sides after every skate and have noticed I can go a lot longer between sharpenings.

"C" is directly adjacent to "V" on a keyboard. I'm guessing that FBC is a typo.

Me neither. it looks like therer are no edges when your blade is level.

I think that is supposed to be FBV for comparison? The C Channel are just those square cuts I think?

On price, Sport Chek charges the same amount for FBV as regular sharpenings. I get the 10 for $30 card so it only costs me $3 per sharpening. I can understand why a lot of places charge a bit extra for FBV (since it's harder to find), but it's nice to be able to get it for the same price as regular. And I have to agree with Chadd. I have to sharpen my skates a little more frequently (not much mind you) with FBV. I just keep using my Miraclestone to keep it clean as long as possible.

Thanks. It makes me wonder if I should wait for the 9900 to be released and get rid of the 9500 I got on clearance. Then again, the price should be exorbitant for the 9900. I'm also wondering if the 9900 cage will be any different than the 9500 cage.

Does anyone know when this stuff will be in stores? I'm looking at the 9900 helmet.

I always get 90/75, but my last sharpening was brutal! They have waaaaaaaaaay too much edge. I can barely stop properly on them. They feel like they have more edge than when I tried out 100/50. Did the guy sharpening my skates use the wrong wheel? Or is it possible to get insane edge out of a 90/75 wheel? I've never had this guy do my skates before. Needless to say, I'm taking them back to get re-sharpened by a different guy. UPDATE: I just got back from having them re-done. The guy said that the other guy probably made too many passes. I can tell just by touching it that there will be a lot less edge now. Hopefully it's back to normal 90/75.