SpideyDiG

Can you get Black Steel for Graf Ultra 5000 holder size 288?

What kind of blades are those Optimus?

I've always wondered for those people who purchased the VH skates have they made you a better skater than your previous skate? No difference or even worse? I know they are super comfy and they fit great but I just wanted to know if most people who bought them noticed a change for the better out there on the ice?

Looks more like grey but I really like it.

Chadd is right on the 707's being durable. Still wearing mine after 15-20 yrs of use. I don't know exact yr I bought them. Yes they need to be replaced as they are ripped in a few places on the tendon guard but I still wear them cause I skate my best in them. Should have bought 2 new sets of replacement 707's before they stopped making them. Best skate for me and fit my foot perfectly.

Neo, I actually tried on the Graf 709 a month ago and actually liked it. It was the one with the new green inner liner like the G9035. I actually thought of maybe going custom and get the 709 boot with new liner and the outside of the G9035 with a flex of 75. It can been done as I seen a pic of it on twitter.

I will have to take my Grafs to the guy who just profiled my daughter's skate and hopefully he can tell me what radius and pitch are on them. Flip I actually think my Grafs are close to a 9' radius as well. I will most likely end up selling my Mako 2's and buy some VH's or maybe custom Grafs if they don't go out of business.

Optimus, so you never had a problem then with cold feet with your Makos? When my pickup starts in 2 weekends I will try just snug all the way up to see if this fixes things. Thx.

I was having some cold feet and my right foot was numb after skating the other night with my Mako 2's. I was thinking it was a skate problem cause it doesn't happen to me when I use my Graf 707's. But definitely two different skates there so maybe not fair to compare. I guess I will have to tie them a lot looser and hopefully the problem will go away. Flip 12, My Mako 2's: CXN holder profiled to 9' radius, default pitch and factory steel. Graf 707's: NT3000 holder, Graf steel and I'm not sure what the profile is as it was done over 15 yrs ago. I have 2 sets of steel so I was switching back and forth over the yrs and didn't get my skates sharpened much until the last 2 yrs, now I sharpen every 5-6 hrs. So the two skates are fairly close in steel profile. I still feel that I can still skate better and I'm more agile with my Grafs. I'm not really sure what the reason is but I guess it's cause I'm so used to Grafs not being a stiff skate cause they are made of leather. The Grafs have such a good range of motion compared to the Makos that it must affect my skating. I can tie the Graf 707's super tight all the way up the skate and still have tons of forward and side to side flex. I should have bought a 2nd pair many yrs ago before they stop making the 707's.

I was thinking on maybe getting VH skates down the road so that is why I was wondering if anyone had any problems like I did with my Mako 2's with cold feet. I will post in the Mako thread to talk more about my problem.

I'm prolly tying them way too tight at the bottom 5-6 eyelets as I do this with Graf 707's. I just don't like them feeling loose as I think I should have went with the D width instead of the EE. My Grafs were a wide width and fit perfectly so I went with the same. I will try next game with leaving them loose all the way up. I left the top eyelet untied the last 2 games and this has really helped my forward flex. But I still say I can actually skate better on my old Grafs for some reason.

Just wondering if anyone is getting cold or numb feet while skating in VH's? As I'm having a problem with this in colder rinks with my Mako 2's. I think it's almost a deal breaker as my feet were really numb by the end of the game tonight.

Those look really sweet MC. Just wondering how flexible is the felt tongue with the enhanced metatarsal guard?

Syinx, nice looking skates you have there. Didn't know you could get them without the logo.

OptimusReim, is that piece that let go from your liner is it ripped? Hopefully you can just re-glue it before it rips any farther if that is the case. But I still would be more than a little upset if it was my skate.

Syinx, I'm wondering what radius and pitch you got put on your new Step Blacksteel from NoIcing Sports?

Update on my Mako 2's. I've had them since July now and used them for 2 months but now I have switched back to my old Graf 707's. Reason is that the Mako 2's just didn't feel like my Grafs. I didn't have the agility and stability like my old skates. At first I wasn't sure why this was happening, was thinking they were opening up too much and had some negative space inside my boot. I have size 10.5EE and was thinking maybe I should of gotten the regular width instead. But after reading more posts on here I'm thinking it might be the steel runners as I never did anything to them, just got them sharpened with FBV. I thought they were okay at first, but after 8-10 skates they felt different, but maybe it was there all along as they are new skates and I wasn't used to them. So I was thinking I will have to sell them, but maybe I should try getting them profiled first and maybe this will solve my problems. I did originally get my Grafs profiled many yrs ago but don't remember what I got. So maybe it's the 9' radius isn't good for my skating. I have a 2nd pair of ES4 steel and could send them to NoIcing store if they will ship back to Canada. Any help or suggestions would be very helpful.

Does anyone know where you can buy additional Mako 2 foot beds and also the tool that came along for taking the runners out of the holders?

Which Mako does your son have, original or Mako 2's?

Jimmy, So your saying it was the sharpening then. Well that is good cause I do like how my feet feel in the skate. I will just get them re-sharpened again. Any ideas what causes this?

I played some pickup last night and had a problem with my Mako 2's. I just got them sharpened with a FBV and I liked how they turned and glided. The problem started when I was skating hard and then coasting. Not sure if it was just only happening with coasting but my left skate was doing a speed wobble when coasting. I think it might be happening on my stride too when going fast, but not sure. So I thought at first it must be my skate, not the sharpening. But last time I used the skate it was fine and it was sharpening by a different person in a different LHS. So what do you guys think is causing this? I thought it might be the skates, meaning I didn't tie them tight enough, but I did as I really like them tight. I'm getting frustrated with these skates with all the problems. I do still like them cause I feel super comfortable out there. I might have to sell them if I can't figured what is wrong and get them dialed in. Like I said before that I have a 2nd pair of them and will try them on Friday. So any help or suggestions what is causing this would be very much appreciated. Thx

Hammy, just wondering how you liking your new VH skates? Are you getting more used to them now?

Joey, any possibility that your skates weren't sharpen properly when you had problems with your Makos? I wouldn't necessarily blame your Makos right away causing your falls while turning. It might have been a bad edge.

Uclaman, damn those look really good. Too bad Easton doesn't offer the CXN holder in black as I would be getting them instantly. Very nice look indeed.

Nick, Are you having circulation problems in both feet? As I had problem with my 2nd pair of Mako 2's with the right skate feeling numb when I was wearing it around the house trying to break it in. When I skated on it the next day it was fine during the game, but afterwards the right foot was really sore and achilles tendon was sore as well. I've since had the right one reheat molded but haven't had a chance to try it yet on the ice to see if the problem is gone. I have like 2 pairs of Mako 2's right now and I'm going to make the best 2 skates out of the 4 and return the ones I'm not using. Yes it's a pain but I do still really like the skate. If you don't think the Mako 2's are for you I would suggest looking at the VH skate. I will be looking to buy them if I don't like my Makos after I have them properly worked in.