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.

Yea, I heard they were LE's so maybe like you said he just wanted the black boot. Maybe it happens more often than we know about but I would've never thought a pro to buy retail skates. Makes me wonder that if a pro will skate in retail skates, is there really that much of a difference between custom and retail skates. I guess I was also under the impression that the pros got whatever they wanted and whenever they wanted it. JR you would know the answer to that though.

I heard that David Clarkson went into a retail store and purchased two pair of Vapor 1X's because he couldn't stand his VH's. Would a player in the NHL really go buy retail skates when they have Bauer at their disposal? I would think that all he would have to do is have the Equipment Manager call the Bauer rep and have a pair made from his foot last. Am I wrong? Just thought that was odd

I would agree with this, everyone I sharpen for love it. I even have all of the Squirts on my team on a 90/75 and they have never lost an edge that I can tell.

Chadd, were you planning on staying in the X/75 scale? Just curious which spinner you were thinking of going down to, 85/75 or 80/75? I'm in the same boat, I'm on 90/75 and have thought about going a little more shallow but don't know which one. I skated on the 100/50 once and I didn't care for the edge bite and I love the 90/75 edges, great glide and I can turn as hard as I want and have never lost an edge. I'm about 5'-9" and 200 lbs.

I'm glad they are working for you! I originally tried just the insert sans the shim at first because when I test fitted at first with the shim, it felt pretty snug and I didn't want any numbing issues when skating. Just the insert felt Ok but I just felt that I wanted a little more so I added the shim. The shim was it, feels pretty snug at first but once I lace up and skate, they form to my foot a little and I don't even notice them and zero numbing. I couldn't imagine skating without them again, between the inserts and my Stable 26 socks, they make my skates fit like the best pair of gloves.

Definately give the Powerfoot inserts a shot, especially with the 30 day guarantee, that's a no brainer for me. I went from Vapor X7.0's to the 1X's and the first couple of times I skated in them I thought to myself that they were just OK. My biggest issue was with the height of the LS4 steel and maybe a little bit to do with the profile. I ordered LS2 steel and for me it was a night and day difference and I immediately felt comfortable in them. Then I ordered Stable 26 socks and that completed another piece of the puzzle. The last piece of the puzzle was the Powerfoot inserts and that just help take up the rest of what little negative space I had to start with and now they feel really good as they get broken in more. It is amazing with the difference the inserts make by taking up the negative space and it did take a skate or two to get used to them but I don't think I could go back to skating without them.

Mike, you are more than welcome to use my feedback, whatever we can do to help promote your company and product.

I am using a set in my 1X's and it has made a big difference as far as reducing the volume in the toe box. I am using the shim with the inserts and at first it was very snug and it took me a while to find the sweet spot as far as tightening my laces but once I did, I don't know if I could go back to skating without them. The inserts compress enough when skating with them that you don't even know they are there. I have not stuck mine to the toe box with the tape and just push them up in there and they work great.

Does anyone have a spinner close to or equivalent to a 1" ROH? I am currently on a 90/75 and I'm very happy with this spinner but I'd liketo try something a little flatter. I have a 100/50 spinner that I'm not crazy about because it didn't feel like it had good bite with it like I do the 90/75, I'm pretty sure that's the difference between the xx/50 and xx/75 spinners. I looking at giving the 80/75 (which Blackstone says is comparable to 15/16"), the 80/1 which is below the 80/75 and above the 90/50 (which Blackstone says is comparable to 1") or the 80/75 which is supposed to be comparable to a 1 1/8" ROH. If anyone has experience with these, please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

Do you see any issue with adjusting the pitch along with the front dials for correction? I was just curious because if you adjust all three dials for a correction, it would allow you to keep the holder as perpendicular as possible and not be at any angle. This way you are able to move the blade so that the middle of the blade has a better chance of moving to more of the middle of the dressing on the stone. If you look at Wissota's video online, it suggests to adjust all three dials when making corrections. Also, Mark at Blackstone suggests that if you need to adjust the front dials more than about 6 clicks, then you need to start adjusting the pitch.