marka

Howdy, Thanks to JR and ProSharp for the opportunity to try out various skate blade profiles! About me: I'm a relatively new hockey player, but a relatively old person. 🙂 I started skating and playing hockey in 2015/2016 at age 46. Prior to that, I'd played a tiny bit of hockey with neighborhood kids a couple winters on a pond in Maine, where I grew up. When I started a couple years ago, I could sorta hockey stop on one side and kinda do forward crossovers. Today my skating has greatly improved and I can perform any normal "hockey skating maneuver", but nobody will mistake me for Connor McDavid or even just anyone that played hockey seriously as a kid. I currently play in "D" leagues in the Pittsburgh, PA area, which are one step up from full beginner leagues. I use size 7.5D Easton Mako M8 skates, with regular 263mm Step Steel. I use a 5/8" Fire 'radius' and sharpen my own skates with my Sparx. Zuperior S, with some additional forward pitch ("25% more forward pitch") This is my 'baseline' profile. I switched to this profile a couple months ago, done for me by @Nicholas G on this forum prior to JR receiving his ProSharp setup. Prior to this I was using stock steel which had been repeatedly sharpened manually, grinding down both the toe and heel. That steel was then profiled by JR to a 10' radius where steel still existed, but the toe and heel were still considerably ground away. I also used unprofiled stock 10' radius Step Steel. Given that I've run the Zuperior profile for months, I'm used to it and find it normal in every sense. This is my baseline and I'll be comparing other profiles to it. As such, I've rated the steel as in the middle in all categories: Acceleration: 3 Mobility: 3 Stability: 3 Speed: 3 Comparing this profile to what I had tried before, it provided a LOT more stability as compared to the OE steel with the heel & toe ground down and felt like it had way more 'blade on the ice'. At first, with a 1/2" Fire sharpening like I'd previously been using, I had trouble with initiating turns. However, when I moved to 5/8" Fire and spent a little more time on the profile, I was back to having the same agility I'd always had while keeping that same feeling of stability. Comparing this profile to the unprofiled stock 10' radius Step Steel, I really noticed the additional pitch forward putting my balance where I expected it to be and no longer had any issues with "toe picking" like I'd had with the unprofiled stock 10' radius steel. Frankly, I was completely happy with this profile and didn't feel there was anything I was lacking. However, I wanted to try other options and see what I might not know, so here we are... Up next are a Dual Radius 9'/10' review and a Quad 0. See those in their respective sections. Mark

Howdy, For 1:1 and only you on the ice, $115/hr. doesn't seem bad. Most instructors around here do lessons during stick time or public skates though, which keeps the costs much more reasonable. Can you split that time with another student or two? 1:3 is still a pretty darn good instructor:student ratio. Mark

Howdy, Are there inexpensive chest strap HR monitors that work well for sports like hockey? I'd be curious about my HR stuff, but only like $50 worth or so. 🙂 Mark

Howdy, Picked up a couple RBZ FT1's for ~$105 ea from Pure. Mark

Howdy, Depending on how the cost worked... Yes. Having to host photos somewhere else is a PITA. Mark

Howdy, That looks really weird. If you hadn't said "new runners", my guess would be that someone was using a honing stone incorrectly. But even then, that would need to be A LOT of honing. edit: Looking at the picture of the full boot, it looks like the printing on the blade is gone lower down towards the runner's edge. To me, that says that at some point someone hit those blades with something to cause that wear. Presumably honing but ?? edit again: Maybe someone using a sweet stick type of thing aggressively? I'm certainly no expert though. Mark

Howdy, Hockey players chirping? Why, I never... 🙂 I watched the trailer. Its a little over the top for me in terms of the crass in your face humor, but good on you for getting it done on a super tight budget and following your dreams, etc. etc. Mark

Howdy, If that were my blade, I'm pretty sure that little nick would stay right there and I'd never notice it wasn't completely gone after a normal sharpening. Mark

Howdy, I use it. I've also used 9/16 ROH, 1/2" Fire, and 5/8" ROH. I've mostly been working up that list, towards shallower hollows. I would say that in general the idea that the 5/8" Fire has a bit more glide as compared to the regular 5/8" is probably true, but its not a crazy big difference. I've done some profile changes over the same time period and its not like I was doing them back to back so I wouldn't feel right making definitive statements. When I went from 5/8 ROH to 5/8" fire it was on the same profile. My overall impression is that its a relatively minor change as compared to a 5/8" ROH, but did indeed free up the skate a bit more. YMMV. This stuff seems so 'personal preference' to me. Mark

Howdy, I use it. The biggest advantage for me is that I'm able to actually buy it, unlike the Easton CXN steel. At least, in the sizes I need (263) and was able to find. I noticed the extra height and different profile when I installed it (and liked both), but that wasn't a comparison to new Easton steel but rather to my worn down and banana'd out old steel. Mark

Howdy, I got sick of using scissors to cut the tape around the toe (yeah. 1st world problems...) So I stopped doing that and now stop the tape maybe 1" or so back from the toe. I have not noticed any difference in how long my sticks last, stickhandling, etc. YMMV. Mark

Howdy, Is it spray paint or some kinda coating to help with breakage? Mark

Howdy, Junior Goalie gear for sale: Reebok size 4 skates: $50 Reebok 28+1 leg pads: $100 Reebok Jr-L chest/arms: $50 Reebok Jr-L goalie pants: $40 Brians Jr glove: $75 Reebok blocker: $25 Itech Jr. mask: $40 CCM composite regular jr stick, 23" paddle: $50 Reebok wood regular jr stick, 23" paddle: $25 Warrior roller goalie bag: $75 Package deal $450 for all. All prices "or best offer" and don't include shipping. More pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/51SrcXvpticwBZc36 Mark

Howdy, I think the "material removed" is a pretty important thing here. Presumably there will also be a tradeoff between the speed of material removal vs. finish. I was just poking around the prosharp site and they offer fine vs. coarse grinding rings as well. That may be relatively new? This video actually taught me a few things about the ProSharp Home, though he glosses over the "life of sharpening rings" thing pretty well. I will say one thing... I'm a pretty basic "home sharpener guy". I do my family's skates and the occasional pair for teammates (where we live, the nearest pro skate sharpener is 40 miles away*). Even just doing those minimal skates, I've ended up with a bunch of different grinding rings... I have 7/16" to 5/8" ROH plus 1/2" and 5/8" Fire. While its certainly true that for higher volume sharpening the "cost per sharpen" / "cost per pass" is what matters, I've had my machine for just about a year now and have yet to wear out a grinding ring. The "cheaper ring that doesn't last as long" has allowed me to support different sharpening radii that I likely wouldn't have done if the rings cost 2x what the Sparx rings do. I'm still pretty happy with my Sparx. I for sure worry that the complexity of the machine / machine specific consumables will bite me in the ass if Sparx as a company goes away. It also isn't going to let you do "weird stuff" like a full manual machine (even a portable manual machine) would. The "cost per sharpen" in terms of consumables is also significantly higher than any other option out there, but as I'm not doing this as a business, that doesn't matter to me. YMMV. Mark * our local rink also has a Sparx (commercial). For whatever reason, guys have bitched about getting their skates done with this and haven't had issues with the sharpen I've done on mine. I have no idea what the local rink is doing differently than me.

Howdy, Has anyone run the math on the ProSharp Home w/the $300 coupon vs. the Sparx? I've been pretty happy with my Sparx, FWIW. But when I look at the rings on my bench and can count up $400 in rings alone, it makes me wonder if the longer lasting (?? I think) ProSharp grinding wheels have a break even point for the whole system. As for Pure, I thought the VIP program still had some type of deal on sharpenings, in terms of earning points way quicker and those points could be applied to sharpenings too? It certainly wasn't the free sharpenings deal, but my impression was that it wasn't really a full $10/ea either. For me, having a home setup is worth it in terms of the consistency and convenience even if you discount the potential savings. Mark

Howdy, Cranberry, PA? I've had good luck getting them to do rivets for me, but its nearly always a weekday. Last time was maybe a couple months ago? They usually don't charge me either, so I end up buying something while I'm there out of guilt. 🙂 I fairly often have a couple rivets loose on my Makos. They did them once for me on a weekend when I only had a couple loose, but the impression I got was that they really don't like doing them on weekends. Whether that's because they seem to only have one or maybe two guys that are comfortable with boot repairs vs. just basic sharpening or due to being busy... I dunno. Mark

Howdy, Yep, hat showed up here as well, a couple days ago. Mark

Howdy, $140 shipped, obo. Mark

Howdy, If a fight strap worked before, why not just sew one onto his new jerseys? https://classicmnhockey.com/products/knit-polyester-fight-strap-modern-era-velcro-snap https://www.ebay.com/itm/FIGHT-STRAP-FIGHTERS-STRAP-HOCKEY-JERSEY-FIGHT-STRAP-NEW-white-twill/401016634546?hash=item5d5e743cb2:g:BGIAAOSwWxNYpJnn:sc:USPSFirstClass!44514!US!-1 Mark

Howdy, Composite repair is a thing, but its not a thing I know anything about. Isn't there a guy here that did composite stuff for real? I'd pick his brain a bit. I'd also experiment with some broken sticks first. 🙂 Mark

Howdy, Sounds perfect, but I'm a lefty. 😞 Mark

Howdy, Anyone know if there are any prostock curves that are really similar to the P30? I've been using one for a while and like it. Coming from a P88 it feels like I have a little more control when stick handling like the P28, but don't have the issues I had with the P28's open toe. My only issue so far is finding deals on sticks with that curve. 🙂 Mark

Howdy, I have a new 2018 model True A5.2SBP stick. Left Handed, 85 Flex, MC Curve (like P88) I got it as a warranty replacement for a stick I got caught in a door opening in a fluke thing, but I changed curves to CCM's P30 in the meantime. Never used, taped, or cut. Still in the wrapper. Asking $140 (usd) shipped to ConUS edit: Sold! Mark

Howdy, How much are you getting paid to be there? 🙂 If going to the rink is a chore, tell the team and have them / you find you a sub for the season. Full stop. Gutting out a game when you're sick or something is one thing, but we do this for fun. If you're consistently not having fun... Stop it. Mark

Howdy, Interesting! So the pens pay ccm for the gear Crosby uses? I never knew that. Figured ccm provided it as a marketing expense. Mark