GunRunner

I think 15 clicks of adjustment for any skate is not common or normal. If I had to adjust 15 clicks on a player skate, that tells me there is a problem with the blade and I would start looking into it. Just to give you an idea, I adjust 18 clicks down from a player skate setting for goalie steel because goalie steel is 4mm thick where player steel is 3mm thick. Since goalie steel is visibly thicker than player steel and I'm adjusting 18 clicks for that, then 15 clicks is a lot for player steel. I have had steel that I was sharpening that was bent and had to compensate with a lot of clicks on either the toe or heel dial to get even edges and that is one of those times where I had to investigate to find the problem. I would say if you were sharpening a pair of skates, about 4 clicks of adjustment from one skate to the other would be acceptable. Usually, in a pair of skates, each skate is pretty much the same as the other. The only skates that are usually not even close are the cheap skates where the steel is not removable and is formed into the holder. If the steel is removable, they are usually the same.

In regards to the wheels, I use the ruby wheels and noticed that they are no longer listed on Blackstone's website. Does anyone know if they discontinued the 4" ruby wheels? I wish they offered all the wheels in 4" that they do in 8". I also wish I knew what abrasive company they source their wheels through and just buy straight from them. I get tired of having to buy $150 worth of stuff to get free shipping and not pay their overinflated shipping prices.

I tried using the calibration block from Blackstone and I feel that it is a complete piece of junk and a waste of time, doesn't even get you close. When I set my machine up, I took a micrometer and measured the true thickness of the wheel and then found the center and made a small mark with a thin sharpie. Next, I mic'd the steel and found the center and marked it as well. I put the boot in the holder and adjusted the holder until the two lines were even. Now, all of this worked because I originally had to adjust the arbor for the stone so that the center of the dressing from the spinner was actually in the center of the stone. On my machine, it seemed like a new worker put it together and was not correct. Luckily for me, I have a machining background and unlucky for me I have extreme OCD.

I think in regards to the knobs, there are multiple ways to skin a cat. If memory serves me correct, Blackstone says to not touch the pitch knob but what they don't tell you is that if you are making large adjustments (around 6 clicks or more on the toe and heel knob) you are going to have to adjust the pitch. I actually adjust all three to move the blade up or down to get even edges. If you adjust just the toe and heel knob, you are in theory adding more pitch and are basically taking the high edge away. I'm sure multiple ways would give you the same results, I just feel that the way I do it works best for me.

I take a piece of leather and run it down the blade back and forth, similar to how you would use a stone. I also have a Lansky Leather Hone and use it the same way as a stone. Good results with both and seems to do the trick. I feel that I get far less burs with FBV than I do when I sharpen ROH.

For any of the steel that is polished or black coated, I don't use a stone because like you mentioned, it will scratch the polished finish and can/will compromise the coating if they are coated. I use a piece of leather to clean the edge instead of a stone for the polished and coated steel. Same concept of stropping an edge after sharpening a knife or razor.

I agree that those pictures don't help and are more for reference rather than technical drawings to scale. This is from Blackstone's site that explains it in words. Just remember that a sheet of standard notebook paper is 3 thousandths of an inch so when they are talking 1, 3/4 and 1/2 of a thousandths, it's a very small increment. The deeper the flat, the more bite angle you will have. My guess is the 90/75 actually looks more like the 100/50 in terms of the width of the flat area but is just deeper to get the more bite angle. So take the 100/50 picture, remove just the fangs and take the fangs from the 90/75 and put them on the 100/50 and that's probably more accurate. "The depth of the Flat is available at three different levels. 50 – 75 – 100. The deepest depth, 100, represents 1 thousandths of an inch. Such a small increment is more shallow than any radius of hollow (ROH) available. 75 represents ¾ of a Thou, 50 represents ½ of a Thou"

I have no doubt that it is personal preference from skater to skater as far as how each FBV feels. If you look at Blackstone's literature, the 90/75 actually has more bite angle than the 100/50 which is why I feel the 90/75 gives me the speed and glide of a 3/4" ROH but the edges similar to 1/2" ROH. According to Blackstone, the second number is the bite angle with 50 being less, 75 being more and 100 being the most.

I'm not sure but I feel that it has the right amount of bite and edge angle. I had a 100/50 spinner and quickly got rid of it, it just didn't feel like it had enough bite for me. I wish Blackstone had some type of demo program. there are a lot of FBV spinners I'd like to try but not willing to drop $68 just to not like it and either be stuck with it or try and sell it

When I ordered my X-01, I ordered a bunch of spinners with it. I have since sold all of my spinners and I now have just one, the 90/75 which is 3/4" equivalent on Blackstone's chart. I have everyone on the 90/75 from the guys in my beer league to all of the kids on my sons Squirt team. I know it sounds crazy but the best way to explain it is the glide of a 3/4" ROH but the edges and bite of a 1/2" ROH. I love it so much that again, it's the only spinner I own. I've even toyed with the thought of getting either an 80/75 or 85/75 which is down in the 1" range

I'm sure you do but is there a chance that you have a set of the LS4 steel that was too hard? From my understanding, the new/good steel will only have two notches in the toe and no notches in the heel. If you have the bad LS4 that is prone to breaking, that may explain why it is eating your ruby wheel up. Just a thought.

Good to know, thank you. I still wish they didn't require a $150 order to get free shipping.

In regards to the shipping price, I am located in Ohio and every time I order from Blackstone it comes from Detroit. Never has the origin started in Ontario. My guess is that they have a storage facility located in Detroit and all of their US orders come out of there. It would be much easier to have an employee drive to Detroit and ship from there than it would be to pay the duties, taxes and to go through customs. My guess is they either import into the US so they only have to clear customs once or they make a large enough load that is worth their time and export out of Ontario and take it to a storage facility in Detroit. But I agree, their shipping rates are a rip off and you are hand cuffed to go through Blackstone because there is no distributor or third party selling their product

That is huge for you guys, congratulations!! It is always a nice feeling when your big plans start to come to full fruition.

My information was third party so you know how that goes, there are two sides and the truth lies in between. I, like JR no nothing about the situation and only spoke about what I was told which in hind sight may not have been appropriate. I was not trying to start any crap and just thought it was crazy for a pro to go into a retail store and buy equipment. I was under the impression that they got whatever they wanted but that seems to not be the case maybe. But like stated above, it could've been for someone else.