zebra_steve

Well, I finally had a chance to try the FBV out... The finish that the sharpener put on the blade was nowhere near as smooth as I can put on them with my own ROH machine. Rouch with chatter marks, but it was not unacceptable for a test drive. When I got home the first thing I checked was "levelness" of the edges..... they were not level... (The guy stayed a little late just to put the grind on my skates as a favor. I was on my way out of town - heading home halfway across the state - and this was the only window I had to get them done so he did rush it a little bit..... not gonna hold it against him. I noted what was off and just expected more\less bite corresponding to the high\low edge). Skating on them, the rougher finish 100\75 glide felt similar to my own smooth fresh 3/8 ROH... IMHO a smoother FBV would have translated to same or slightly better glide feel. The bite was good felt "firmer" or "more precise" than the ROH.... like a deeper ROH W\O the "sticky" feel of the deeper hollow ... Yeah the uneven edges were noticeable but easy enough to deal with knowing how they were off. I would love to be able to experiment more with the FBV, but for me that would require access to an FBV sharpener and the ability to play with different profile possibilities until I find the one I like. So, what do I do? For now, I'm gonna stay with ROH for economic and personal reasons. First, I have sharpened skates since 1976 and I have owned my own machine since 1990. I cannot afford to replace it, or justify the cost of a stand alone dressing tool to retrofit FBV to my sharpener. Second, there are a select handful of folks that I trust to grind my blades. Not saying great sharpeners aren't out there, but I've seen too many hack jobs. Frankly, I would be too critical of their results if I feel that I can do better.... Third, the cost of paying for a grind and the convenience of going into the basement at 1:00am to fix a blown edge when I have to be on the ice at 9:00am the next day. IMHO, the overall feel and performance is slightly better than ROH. For me, durability is a question different from most of you.... That question is a non-issue if I get set up to sharpen with FBV at home... I have no qualms about grinding them one or twice a week if needed - I did it when I played regularly. Officiating, it's more like once every other week or so.

She'll be on the ice at least 2x per week until mid June... more if we do public sessions or stick time. Had no choice but to get them..... If she out grows them then I'll just have to find her another pair...... Now I need to plug the holes on my other daughters Harlicks, refinish the soles, and mount blades in the next couple weeks...

In the middle of running the Learn to Play program tonight my daughter skated up and said, "Daddy, my skates feel weird. My heel is pushing really hard and and my toe is curled up and touching the front." Well allrighty then.... spring hockey starts Sunday. She's been in a 13 all season and i knew she was due, but I just checked her a week ago and she had room . Now she measures about a 13.5 - 13.75...... Traded off her 752's for a bigger pair of 652's so she'll be good through the summer and part of the fall (I hope).

Yeah, most folks are absolutely shocked at just how much body contact is actually allowed under the rules..... Kinda why I hate it when I see other schedulers assigning kids to officiale mite and squirt games. They can barely get icing and offsides correct and they're expected to decide if the kids ran into each other or if it was intentional... add to that, the parents and coaches scream for a penalty every time they bump together..... But I digress... the rules for this are written.... and mis-understood. thats why you have to pair a QUALIFIED veteran ref with a new ref regardless if they are kids or not. The kid has to learn sometime and I would rather a ref learn correctly on a mite or squirt game than a rookie adult learning in a checking PeeWee or Bantam game. You should also have to have a few seasons under your belt before reffing an adult game. Yep... add to that, that USA Hockey considers the Women's levels equivalent to the men's for the most part - ie: U19 girls = Midget, U14 girls = Bantam, U12 girls = PeeWee.... and are to be shceduled accordingly. The levels that USAH "recommend are listed as "guidelines", but once you get into State, District, and National playoffs they are followed. USAH says that you can officiate one level below what you play as long as you are certified to the appropriate level. When I schedule the women's games, I make every effort to put a veteran crew on the game. I have used a vet with a midget age player that was in his 3rd year as an L3... in short he was well qualified to skate it. I will also schedule the newbies on Mites and Squirts with a vet to mentor them.... in fact, our local RIC skates games for me and specifically requested that I NOT schedule him for any games above PeeWee unless absolutely necessary. Just curious, CHK_HRD what district do you live in?

Yeah, most folks are absolutely shocked at just how much body contact is actually allowed under the rules..... Kinda why I hate it when I see other schedulers assigning kids to officiale mite and squirt games. They can barely get icing and offsides correct and they're expected to decide if the kids ran into each other or if it was intentional... add to that, the parents and coaches scream for a penalty every time they bump together..... But I digress... the rules for this are written.... and mis-understood.

Yeah, I agree... yhat little bump no way anything worth a penalty, but is usually the cause of many a fight or brawl. That's probably why I play maybe three times a year - two for fun and one really intense and serious..... can you imagine a tournament with 5 or 6 teams of referees playing agianst each other? Gets really competative and intense..... and I know that all of these guys have played somewhere sometime often at a pretty high level. And we still end up brawling....

Know YOUR ability level and know the difference between a check and body contact.... Couple years ago a wanna be weekend warrior - as in never played real live organized hockey with coaches and referees and stuff - comes back to the bench vowing to "F*** UP" the other sides best D-man. Said the guy "took him out"! This D-man had obvious played at a higher level (later found out he skated JR A north of the border). He had on shins, sweats, elbows, gloves and a bucket - no cage or shield and looked to be all of maybe 5'9" and 160#. The wannabe warrior had full gear including Donzis shoulders, and a full cage. Now here's the thing...... the Weekend Warrior was carying the puck with his head down and skated into the chest of the D-man and bounced off.... He then spent the rest of the session trying to run him and couldn't catch him... this D-man and I spent the session bumping, banging, and leaning all over each other.. and laughing our asses off when we went sliding into the corner when he got under me as I made an outside move and tried to turn the corner on him. We would up sitting around talking over beer afterwards.... He said it was nice to play against someone that understood the difference between checking and contact and that he hardly came out for pick up any more 'cuz too many new guys had no clue and the last thing he wanted was to have to fight someone because of their ignorance.

wish I still had a pair of them... the soles on mine pulled loose from the uppers at the heels back in 1988... on the plus side, this was while I was breaking in my Daoust Supernational 501's....