jcp2

I use my ZC set for coaching and they sure do make a loud noise when demonstrating edges for drills. I may not be an accomplished skater, but I certainly sound like one. I think the players and other coaches are still baffled as to how I am able to "crunch" the ice with every push off. Games are still on FBV.

Perfect Edge in Howell has it. I've not been there but a friend of mine from Whitmore Lake goes there to have it done.

My FBV lasts longer (100/50) than my regular sharpening, but I'm more of a coaster(I play D). I've been able to use the extra glide to save my energy when reacting to the play, and sharp cuts and stops are not part of my regular game.

In the course of my hockey misadventures, I borrowed a set of goalie gear and am giving that a whirl. It would be interesting to see if the Z-channel would work well for this position. Lots of edge when pressured at an angle (butterfly) and little edge when upright without pressure (lateral shuffle). I have an old pair of goalie skates that need a sharpening. Too bad the blades don't come off for a mailing to jimmy. Would the thicker blade work in the machine?

I skated on the Z-channel in a clinic last night. As a point of reference, I used to be on 9/16" to 5/8" on a traditional hollow, moved to 90/75 FBV, now favor 100/50 FBV. I chose the ZC3 setting as the closest equivalent to what I like. I found that the Z channel felt looser on straight glides and didn't grip as much on light pushes, turns, and stops. However, once the blade was tilted more and more pressure was applied, the skates started to bite a lot more. I think, but am not sure, that the reason for this is related to the center channel. It won't really engage until the skate blade is a bit into the ice. The transition from glide to grip was smoother than my FBV, which in turn was smoother than standard ROH. The one thing that I will have to say is that during clinic drills on backwards crossovers, I was able to generate the same strong ripping noises for both my inside and outside edges, whereas before my outside edges (inside skate) were always weaker strokes from a noise standpoint. Whether I was actually better is still a matter of debate. When this sharpening wear out, I will try the next grippier setting to see if all this was because I chose the wrong initial setting.

I think "Glide" is a better term than speed, and that it is dependent primarily on the width of the flat surface. The bit of edge in the ice seems pretty small to significantly affect the glide. Edge angle and depth is definitely important for grip, but blade angle to the ice and the force applied applied to the blade is really important as well. For FBV, I would think that going to a higher edge angle and depth would cost little in speed; the trade-off would be in the smoothness of the transition from glide to grip and the amount of forgiveness for less than perfect technique. In fact, technique would be even more important, as with a traditional hollow system, a grippier sharpening is also a slower sharpening, whereas in FBV, a grippier sharpening can be a faster sharpening.

Can I send two sets, one for fbv and one for z channel equivalent to do a comparison for ourselves? I'll pay for both, of course.

Our goalie rolled his wheeled bag into the locker room last game after a long layoff. We thought he was skating out and were puzzled by the goalie stick. Next thing we know, he's back out the door and driving home because he forgot his leg pads. I think a bag with RFID tagging for equipment would be great for him.

Went back to a standard 5/8" on an emergent basis after being on 100/50 for a few months. The regular sharpening feels like I'm sitting deeper in the ice rather than floating on top. The sound is deeper and louder as well, and of course, glide was reduced. Not a lot of change in the mechanics of how I skated, but I was definitely working harder to keep the same pace. Will be switching back when I get the chance.

I thought that credit card minimums were not allowed by Visa or Mastercard as it would be a violation of the merchant agreement. I'm not sure about American Express.

If you want consistently serious play out of pickup, then you probably should look for another pickup group or a private ice rental where all the guys think the same way, or play in a higher level league. A lot of guys are at pickup to try something out or get a bit of exercise. It's not the same as pickup basketball, where the game can get mutually intense without animosity between players. There are a lot of chances for people to practice basketball without having to go to the park and play half court two on two for keeps. The same can't be said for ice hockey.

Someone drank from my water bottle at the MSH skate. Oh well. I keep my mouthguard in there before and after.

Touche, well played, sir.

Do they have "Not so sharp"and "Super duper sharp" as choices?

"Goalie - the thinking man's position"

Glad that we were able to use Euclid to balance Aristophanes.

I used to skate on 5/8ths. I tried 90/75 and 100/50 and liked 100/50 better, even though I don't like 1/2.

That's what I'm saying, with the assumption that the spinner and dressed wheel profile is significantly wider than the player blade and goalie blade width.

Are you talking about using the same spinner that is rated at 100/50 or whatever for a player blade? I think that the 100/50 or whatever rating works only with the player blade width. The spinner has the cross section of a trapezoid so as to dress the wheel in the appropriate FBV profile. When applied to the player blade, the flat part of the sharpening as well as the bite angle of the fangs is defined by the spinner. The depth of the fangs is defined by the width of the blade. As player blades are more or less pretty close to each other brand to brand, Blackstone can give a fixed rating for each spinner. Think of the reverse situation, where Blackstone puts out a spinner with a really wide flat spot, designed specifically for wider goalie blades. When applied to a narrower player blade, it might be the case that all that happens is a speed skate sharpening, with no hollow and no fangs at all. The other end of the spectrum would be a super-V profile, with no flat spot at all. The bite angle would always be the same regardless of blade width, but the depth of the fangs would be vary depending on the width of the blade.

I think that the bite angle would be the same, but the depth of the fangs would be deeper on a wider blade such as a goalie blade, because the width of the flat part is fixed from the geometry of how the spinner shapes the grinding wheel. Maybe shallower fangs allow a quicker release and slide when there is a lot of pressure on the edge?

90 second shifts don't work with two guys on the bench. Let's apply logic: there are five guys on the ice and two guys on the bench. 90 seconds ends, all five should according to your theory come off the ice. Problem is now there are five guys on the bench and two guys on the ice. Do you see how it doesn't work for everyone to take the same shift when there aren't enough players on the bench to replace all of the skaters? See, that leads to some people needing to take longer shifts to make the game work. When these people do this they need to be able to sit down for a minute or so, and that won't happen if the short shift guys are rushing to the bench. You could just stagger the first shift so that people come off a lot quicker at first in 20 second intervals. That means a change at 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 seconds. By the time 60 seconds rolled around, both benchers would already be in the game, and the person that came off first would be back in. Everybody can do 100 second shifts with 40 seconds rest on the bench, just staggered in changes. Of course, my regular pickup group is not that clever to actually do this, so if I'm on the ice first, I come off really quickly to start the staggered change. If I'm on the bench, I make my first shift really short to break up the change. After all, we usually have 90 minutes and are sub beer league level, so nobody is complaining about not enough ice time. In fact, the last 30 minutes, most of us are just glad to have a chance to sit, or else we coast around and practice "breakaway" hockey.

Or do what Chadd did a few yrs back now, bring two bottles to a session. One with regular water that you hide and your usual bottle with straight Vodka in it. Some dumbarse will come off, have a squeeze and learn their lesson one way or another. Lemon juice in the water is my preferred method of dealing with those people. It's no big deal if you're expecting it but a rude shock otherwise. Even better for those guys that use a bottle instead of a shower. I keep my mouthguard in the bottle before and after playing. Most regulars know I do this, but every once in a while somebody takes a squirt with he bench letting them know about it afterwards.

Just tried 100/50 coming from 90/75. I liked both of them, but 100/50 helped me out with the stops and transitions more. Although it's more troublesome and expensive to get the sharpening done (I mail them out), it's ten times better than getting a new pair of skates. Unfortunately, all I really do is play informal pickup with a group of friends, so it's not anybody aside from myself has noticed any change.

Anybody using the FBV for short track speed skaters or is it illegal? I would think the added advantage in the corners would outweigh any slight decrease in glide. You could roller derby yourself into position to make a break for the finish line at the last moment.