Jason

Not bad Nicholas G. Nice work. Is the finish underneath less glossy than the Tacks or the same. You are using nail polish remover, correct? What brand? Also, what kind of a cloth or scrub pad would you recommend? Also, how long did it take to do?

That's very helpful. Thanks a lot!

Playmakersedge, These graphics are almost like stickers, they are very thin and flake off on their own. There doesn't appear to be much of a clear coat if any on top of them. What product would you use do you figure?

Goof off definitely does work. It's probably not the ideal product, but it was working on the test patch.

Those are not my skates. I just found the image. I'd love to know what the guy used. The boots are so shiny still. I tried using a small amount of goof off to remove the graphics on my FT1s and it seemed to leave a dull finish underneath. I am worried that it is removing the outer lacquer on the skate. I just did a small test area. Not sure if I will proceed with a full decal removal yet.

A custom graphic would be pretty cool, but to be honest I like a simple design, so I would likely stick with whatever is underneath the graphics.

I'm not overthinking anything. I just want to make sure that I don't compromise the structure of my $1000 skates.

Will nail polish remover weaken the resin holding the boot together?

Personally I would rather the silver honeycomb than the not so great graphics package. I like it a bit simpler. The spots on mine and my buddy's skates that are peeling off show the silver stuff underneath. What product did you use to remove the graphics on your Super Tacks and do you think it affects the integrity of the material at all? I worry that using a solvent might mess with the resin that is used to hold the composite together.

By the looks of mine with the peeling graphics, it kind of looks like the silver honeycomb like pattern is the base underneath the graphics. If you do manage to do it, please take a picture and post it here. I saw a pair of Tacks that had the graphics removed and they looked awesome. I think it is stupid to screen on graphics when they are just going to peel and look terrible in a few months.

Yeah, he fell over tonight on the first Matthews goal for seemingly no reason.

Back on topic... I have posted about this before, but I don't think anyone really chimed in... How are people liking the True holders? Has anyone skated in the True/VH skates with both the new holder and another like a Bauer or CCM? What is the pitch like on the True holder? Does it feel like a Tuuk, pitch wise?

I'm also curious to hear if anyone has tried both Tuuk and the Step/VH holders on the True/VH skates. A comparison would be great.

Very nice, Amiroo. Great choice on the steel. Those look like pro stock seats too. Beautiful!

I'm only going by what he told me. He said it was hard to clamp. I believe he was referring to the holder plastic somehow contacting the clamp or gettting in the way somehow. Kind of like it used to with those carbon fiber easton holders back in the day. I used to sharpen and profile with him at the shop and I am very well educated on things like pitch, radius, hollow, etc. I have also heard good things about Max Performance Sport's Pro Sharp Quad radius. I haven't actually tried it myself. I profile my own steel and I still skate on a standard 12' radius that I pitch forward slightly. In my experience with Step Steel in most holders, the pitch is quite consistent and usually comes so that the amount of steel that protrudes from the holder would be slightly taller (say 1/32") in the back of the working radius than it is in the front. You can measure it outside of the holder and find roughly the same result. This is not the case with some steel. LS4 steel would often come taller in the front with a very bulbous toe shape. What my friend was saying about the Step Steel for the VH holder was that it was taller in the front, thus creating a reverse pitch effect. Of course this can be corrected with some reshaping of the blade and all holders are pitched forward, so yes it does counteract that effect. I just feel like steel should always come neutral or forward pitched slightly because the majority of skaters like it that way. I don't personally know anyone that likes to skate on a reverse pitched blade. It seems a bit strange that the steel would be different in the VH holder than the other Step steel made for other holders. I don't have any pictures. I will talk to my friend again and get a more detailed explanation. By the way, I totally agree with your racecar analogy. That's the approach I take with my own skates.

All I can say was that he said they have a difficult time clamping them in to sharpen and that compared to Bauer or CCM versions of the Step Steel, the Step made for the VH holder is taller in the front of the blade creating a reverse pitch.

Where did you get that information? I know the Step name was on the original holders, but my old boss talked to the owner of Step and he said that he had no input into the design of the holder. Seems weird that they would manufacture something and put there name on it if they had no input into the product. My friend who sharpens at a LHS said that they are very hard to clamp in for sharpening and he said the Step steel that fits in them is always reverse pitched. I feel like they could have done a better job with these holders and steel.

As far as I have always heard, with Bauer customs a C is a C is a C. However, in my experience (I've had quite a few pairs of custom Bauer skates) the widths are not necessarily what they should be. I tried on a retail Supreme skate in a D width and found it to be just as narrow if not narrower than a C/AA custom. This is after being told that the retail supreme D width is actually an E. How is an E width as narrow as a C width? I have a pretty narrow foot, but nothing freakish. I am currently skating in a Bauer Supreme MX3 Custom in a B/AAA width. I went for the narrowest option that they have. I am pretty happy with my skates. I think I finally got the width I needed, but it took me a while to figure that out. That being said, if the X:60's you tried on were slightly wide in both the forefoot and the heel, then the C/AA should work. No guarantees though. I hope you get the fit you are hoping for.

Thanks for the video. For a machine called Sparx there are surprisingly no sparks.

@oldtrainerguy28hopefully they do this soon. I have been ordering Bauer customs for several years now and I've heard that they are not going to be offering the LS2 holders anymore. My current pair has LS2 with Step Blacksteel. I would love to keep using that combo until this issue is resolved. There is no way I would want to skate on a holder with a loose blade.

I've seen a bunch of loose steel with the new edge holders as well. They clearly need to go back to the drawing board. For serious competitive players that are on the ice multiple times per week, the holders don't seem to last beyond 6 months. This and the fact that I couldn't use Step steel were the reasons that I ordered my custom MX3's with LS2 holders.

Thanks Zorlac. I never thought of using the holes in the outsole. My buddy's skates are 8D 1X's. I think they use the same insole for 8.5's as well, so they might be a bit looser in the half sizes. It's definitely not ideal if they are loose and falling out. They should fit fairly snug.

I always take my insoles out after each ice time. I noticed that the Speed Plates in my buddy's 1X's were damn near impossible to get out. How do you guys get them out easily without ruining them or stressing them too much?

Amiroo, Yes the scratches do affect the performance a bit. I wouldn't worry too much about it though. In future, the red or green (fine) DMT stones would be best. I hone edges on a slight angle to do the stone never really touches the side of the blade except where you want it to.