bunnyman666

15 minutes is an eternity as far as warm up. Not from the standpoint of being too long, but just from the standpoint that usually warmups are five minutes max. I have found that getting in the reps is what I needed as far as tracking the puck, i.e. glove, blocker, right and left pads as well as the body shots.

Unique curves would most likely make these sticks fly from the racks!

Seriously- the nano particles do increase the carbon to resin ratio, which can increase the durability. At the time that I had learnt about nano particles, I was not able to get any, but using graphite powder, whilst not as engineered, gave great effect in a wet lay up (which I doubt has been used in stick construction EVER), so I can’t imagine how well ENGINEERED nano carbon helped in an applied application. It was most likely engineered into the pre-preg (as I do think sticks were ALWAYS using pre-preg from day 1), so the cost was most likely a factor, as well. But oddly enough, the nano particles of carbon fibre (which has a specific shape) and powdered graphite had similar effect as far as helping enhance the length of the fibrous chain. Obviously the nano particle was symmetrical (unlike the powder, which is ground with random shapes), and it’s consistent shape is what made it VERY expensive. Please pardon the geeking out; I LOOOOOOOVE the subject of composites construction! Now if my mould making skills could come back, I will be a VERY happy bunny!

I added graphite powder to similar effect whilst doing repairs. Whilst not quite the engineered product the nano carbon was, it could be used to similar effect. The nano sprinkles were tastier than plain graphite powder, however.

I got what you were trying to say. Of course the worst example of accountant engineering was when CBS owned Fender, Rogers and Rhodes, in which machined pieces were replaced by poorly cast pieces, wrong electronic items were being spec’d on guitars because they were able to buy the pieces in question for pennies on the dollar. I know I speak of the music business when this is hockey we are speaking about. Again- I am skeptical but curious. Of course if you could make a stick that throws bombs like Shea Webber with the effort of Brett Hull, I’d buy a dozen!

A little more credibility has been shed. And the French-Canadien connection makes sense. @BenBreeg brings up a very good point here- what problem is being solved that has not been solved already? It is frustrating that addition of simple items that don’t cost much @Tyler55 can make bean counters go nuts. That is ultimately why I was glad that I was not working for anybody whilst producing my very limited bike items. It’s just like the plastics in the palm of CCM/Reebok goalie gloves- the wrong mixture literally makes the thumb mould crack! Again- I look forward to seeing what your acquaintance has put together.

We are going to be naturally skeptical of a product description that uses ambiguous buzz words and misspelled words. Even if you aren’t working for your friend, I understand your excitement for a product you may feel could be a game changer. I am always interested in advances in composite technology, as I used to build road racing and triathlon bicycle frames and components. @JR Boucicaut made a very generous offer in allowing your friend to check into having a long-term test of the product. That is where you may get somewhere. Guerilla marketing with no pictures and ambiguous descriptions will not get far. I am hoping for success for your friend’s venture.

Thank you. I am just bitter enough that I will have to keep fighting! I am in a LOT of pain right now.

Just had my possibly last surgery for closing my loop illeostomy. This is supposed to be the easiest one. Needless to say this had been rough. Bleeding out my bum, pain meds barely touching the pain, puking after having an ice lolly and getting a straight catheter every few hours has been less that fun. Ugh.

Sorry to read that. I hope for the best possible outcome for you.

If you think about it, the full 9 mm difference is pushed forward. 9mm is half an inch-ish. Think of the difference between the feel of goal skates and player skates. It is a totally different feel on ice. 4.5 mm each way forward and aft gets into the “hardly feeling it” territory. 280mm is a LOT of runner on a small skate like a size 7.5, getting into goalie skate territory. But my untrained mind would say that 280 gives one more to play with as far as getting blades profiled. But then again- we’re talking pro stock and mainly pro return at that- could be an experiment that failed for the skater in question.

Confirmed what I had originally thought. That is lazy.

LOL I am so old that only Swiss-made Graf were available, both back home and in North America. Needless to say when I started playing again seven years ago, Canadian-made Graf, let alone Chinese Graf skates were shocking, to say the least! LOL Shows you how much things have changed! Canadian-made Jofa was beyond shocking!

Just what I suspected on using the rear holes. That is LAZY. @JR Boucicaut I can’t see any shoppe worth their salt taking on that job for the reasons stated. I have, unfortunately, had a few barbarians drill unnecessary holes in my boots, too, in one of those operations I had described! Just because a place has “pro skate repair” on their shingle, that shingle does not make anyone in the shoppe an expert! Knowing that many of the good repair guys are gone from the “good” hockey stores, I know I would be sending my stuff to you. @Nicholas G I hope your friend can get satisfaction from the shoppe in question. I have had both 272mm and 263mm holders installed on 7.5 boots in a few brands. The 272mm were usually on higher end skates, but not always. Sometimes, I think they throw on whatever they have in the bin, to be blunt with you. If they are out of 272’s, they will throw on 263’s.

@Nicholas GNot any of the three named, but the install looks pretty hinky to me. I would not be leaving the shoppe without giving the manager an ear full! I may not an expert on skate repair, but I know when the rivets were cranked too hard! I have seen a few skates in my shoppe that had cracked holders in spots that had over-cranked rivets. I have that exact installation done (272mm holder on a size 7.5 boot) on all of my player skates and eyeballing those pix, I would expect to be pitched too far forward with the placement. From my untrained eye, it looks like they mounted using the existing holes from the old holders on the heel of the boot. I may be wrong here, but that’s what it looks like from the pix.

For me, the Sparx is worth its weight in gold @bflohcky. You are a great candidate for the machine. You are actually the profile for whom they built this machine. I am obsessed with perfect edges and was spending a king’s ransom on that pursuit. This has already paid off for me. You will see literal cost savings.

Unfortunately too much truth in that statement...

Bummer. That’s how I got my first pair of goal skates was adding a cowl to player skates.

Do you have a pair of boots that aren’t quite ready to die but you no longer use them regularly? You could cut off the tendon guard and have a cowling installed. Just an idea.

It’s a good boot, but you will spend some money to make it work.

Glad I could help! These are the most misunderstood skates, even amongst Vaughn staffers LOL!

Nope, nor without even or consistent pressure. But if the choices are crummy or no sharpening and this devise, this sounds like a better option than going without, and certainty better than some edge refreshing methods. Some hand sharpeners don’t get a good, level and consistent edge, either. I am not a hater and there have been times where a slam into the post made me wish I had a tool like this on the bench.

What does this devise do to the sides of the runner? Is it safe for polished or coated steel? It won’t round off steel like I have seen some edge fresheners do, will it?

I have experience with them. You will read why @IPv6Freely would not touch them. Mr. Freely is no fan of Vaughn anything, which is why he’d never touch them. But there are other very good reasons why you should proceed with caution. Mike Vaughn wanted to somewhat recreate a ‘90s Bauer goalie skate, right down to putting the non-funtional stitching on the quarter package to mimic the Supreme boot’s stitching (which was functional). The cowl is a nearly DIRECT copy of an old ICM cowl that was on Bauer skates from the 80s through the late 90s and reminiscent of of the last Tuuk cowl that Bauer used. More on the cowl later... To say this skate was everywhere in concept is a VAST understatement, as you will read on... They have a very wide forefoot, the cowling is very old school, though you can cut the cowl down. I had the original skate, and I loved it except the boot blew up. Vaughn sent me a GX-2 under warranty. I never could get used to the new boot (GX-2), but my time on ice was significantly reduced by that time. To be fair- they may have never fully broken in despite being heat fitted. The heel lock was sloppy after while. They fit about 1/4 to 1/2 size larger than a comparable boot, 1/2 size smaller than a Graf (8 in a Graf=7.5 in a Vaughn). Boot is made by Graf’s China factory, so decent quality. The foams allow two heat-fittings. The last word on the cowling: there are only two sizes: size 8 and size 11 or 12 (can’t remember). The stock steel is CRAP. It is concave, much like the steel on the cowling it mimics. I paid $30 to get it flattened out! Step does make a replacement in three flavours (regular, player radius and extreme), though availability is suspect and limited. The cowling has a traditional blade height, so you either want Step Extreme steel or Overdrive blades to play the modern butterfly game. This was originally slated as a cowling-free skate, and uses the Graf toe cap, and also has a composite outsole, a pre-requisite for a cowling-free skate. Mike Vaughn got cold feet and at the last minute, gave it a cowling in only two sizes (?!?). Why he did not rebrand some Graf cowls and use those, I will never understand. You may be able to use a Vertexx holder, but I would use a Bauer cowling, which was a very popular mod. These skates use the Graf method of attaching the cowling (screws instead of rivets), which you can save the labour of your local shop of removing the cowl if you get Bauer cowlings to be installed. I can’t verify how clad the quarter package is on this boot, which is why I would not go cowling-free on this boot. If your boot is the same size as the cowl, you’ll be happy; if you are under the size, you’ll feel like you’re skating on skis. Player radius Step steel was designed for people on the smaller end of the cowling as the runner is quite short, Extreme is for the pure butterfly goalie. But if you read between the lines, the skate suffered from a lack of solid R&D and had bizarre last-minute changes. I actually use the Vaughn cowling only because when I took a shot to the foot in my VH/Trues, I thought my foot was broken and it was literally the only cowling I owned at the time. I bought a life of the boot supply of steel for my cowls, but am engineering a new cowl for use with the new holders and hope to have a working prototype by the time I run out of steel. I wear a 7.5 boot, so the small Vaughn cowling works perfectly on my VH/True boot. I was going to build a composite Vaughn cowl, but quickly determined that it was a fool’s errand and decided to build a flat bottom, universal cowl for use with the new holders instead. I only have four sets of steel and I sharpen regularly. I doubt there is any manufacturer support for these, which is most likely why they are being blown out. This was a $600 skate, after all. Vaughn blew this opportunity, and though I loved the boot, the execution of the skate as a whole in concept was amongst the worst, especially with only two sizes of cowling. $150 is not a terrible gamble, but you may spend more to make this a skate for the modern game. If you are playing traditional style or will be using Overdrive blades, the cowl will be fine. I hope I have answered your questions.

Funny, ‘cos mine are easy on and off, and my heel lock is slightly less. I can even wear a thin sock with mine now. Never used a shoe horn with the exception of the first few times wearing them. Mine were transition era VH/True (VH branding).