defence18

Downer's isn't too far for me to drive if the sharpening was worth it. Wasn't expecting a big chain to let me jump on, but I thought I'd mention it in case a sympathetic manager of a LHS was reading. Truth be told, I've always valued the customer service of a true local shop anyway. Plus, we all know that once you start sharpening, you never want anyone else to touch your skates.

Hey all, I'm looking for a place to get my skates done. I worked in an LHS with Darkstar50 in NJ for 5 years before moving out to Aurora. I've got a super shallow ROH and am looking for the best sharpening here. I'd actually love it if someone knew of a place that'd let me jump on their machine for a few minutes, but at the very least, I need a great sharpener. I'm willing to drive a reasonable distance for it. TIA

The static loading of the OPS in the shop can greatly exceed that of the the loading on the ice. Thereforce, mircroscopic breaks can occur in the composite structure of the stick. This can lead to either immediate failure or subsequent failure for the purchaser. These conditions are impossible for the consumer to evaluate. BTW, while I'm an English major, my father has a degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, and he advised me. So I can understand if you don't trust me, but trust him.

I completely disagree with this post (I did remove portions of the original post that argued that people who put all they're weight into the stick are wrong). First, the main difference between flexing a stick on the ice and off the ice is that different forces are used on it. Flexing a stick in a store is entirely a downward force on the stick. There is no force in a hockey game that is going to put only a downward force on the stick. Now, as brought up earlier in this thread, when you take a shot that flexes your stick, you have two forces on it, a downward force and a forward force. The energy that the forward force creates is largely dissipated by the smooth, nearly frictionless ice surface. So even if you think that you are applying the same force on the stick in the store as you are on the ice, you are not. The sticks are designed for a combination of forward and downward forces. In the store, it is impossible to replicate these forces, because there is too much friction on the floor to give the same forward movement with the same force. However, when people simply try to test the flex, the downward force on the stick is not what it is designed for. That being said, I have nothing against someone testing the flex of a stick. In my mind I have a point where if I see them go over, then I ask them to stop. You can get a feel for the flex of a stick long before I ask someone to stop. And like Darkstar said, you know who's looking to buy and who isn't.

Gotta say I love this thread. I work with DarkStar, so a lot of my complaints are his, but I'll go through some of the ones that he hasn't touched on yet. As he mentioned before, we do a lot of figure skating business. One of our managers is exclusively devoted to high end figure stuff. So apparently, we're on Capezio's website as a dealer. Every once in a while, we get a phone call asking if we sell dancing shoes. That one drives me nuts. One day, they're gonna catch me on the wrong day and I'm gonna tell them we do. Another one is asking the sharpener for help fitting skates. The way our store is set up, you have to walk right past the counter to get into the store and our sharpener is in a little room behind the skate wall. Now at most, you can have 2 guys sharpening, and you probably have to walk past two or three employees to look at skates. Go ask one of them! The flexing the sticks issue is kind of a fine line to me. I can understand putting a little pressure on it, but don't put your freaking weight into it. Oh, one of my absolute favorites is parents buying kids OPS for floor hockey. Absolutely love it. There has been some questions as to attitudes of customers/employees. Basically, it's a give-take relationship. There are so many people who come into our shop that we know, so many that are great people to talk to. These are the customers that keep guys like me and DarkStar coming back each day with enthusiasm. Be one of those customers. We had a guy came into the shop the other day saying he left his kid's skates to be sharpened, and he doesn't have an edge on one side. One of the guys looked at it, and sure enough, faint line of crossgrind. We re-did the skates right there, no problem, and the while I was sharpening them, the guy kept saying how it usually doesn't happen, and he's glad we're taking care of it. Next thing I know, he's disappeared. When he comes back, he tells me that he's paid for the sharpening. I didn't want to take up anymore of his time, but there is no way he should have paid. Most people would have rightfully so stated that they are not paying, but without even asking went ahead and did it. I'm gonna remember that. He's already a regular, and I'm gonna give him the free sharpening next time he needs it, but my point is, he took the high road. All of us at the shop are more than willing to help you out and do whatever is necessary to make you leave knowing that you got the best product for you. We're not making sales, we're making customers. But, we're only going to make a customer out of you if we want you back. Attitude can run both ways. Just my 2 cents.