VegasHockey

With Sparx I tend to use a soft rubber home and an oiled leather hone on the finished blade bottom to take any roughness away. Leaves it mirror smooth.

I like these too

That's gonna be the same for all girdles that don't have length adjustment. 😞

Let's start with what are your problems with your skates. What is causing you pain?

7/16 and 1/2 seem to be 90% and I used a BlackStone BAT Gauge

We sharpen both hockey and figure skates and the Sparx works well for general figure skate steel. Nothing high end or special like a Jackson Ultima Matrix or high end Paramount blade.

There are way too many variables here. For example, you are changing skate models and insoles. You also haven't stated if the steel on both is new and unaltered. There is no control set for any of these inconsistencies so it's difficult for anyone to provide a scientific explanation that would be justifiable. This is why when you make changes you should only alter one item at a time and always maintain a control set.

That's about right. Blades that are more worn or damaged are considerably louder and sound like they have more chatter than blades that basically just need a fresh edge versus repairing a damage.

Sharpness, typically no. Turning, yes. Usually pitch adjustments are done at the same time as profiling the steel. Are you keeping the same profile but just adding a forward pitch? How did you determine you wanted a +2 pitch as that is quite aggressive?

Over time you will get even more comfortable and will likely move from 5/8 to 3/4, that is the typical progression with more players that switch to TRUE. Once you have full control of your edges you don't need to rely on such an aggressive hollow and your legs, knees and thighs with thank you for this. One thing you noticed which usually catch most by surprise is how the boot FORCES you into a hockey position. If you fight it you will get tired quickly. However, give your body time to reset and your ergonomics to adjust. Your body mechanics need to reset and this will take a few weeks. Did you get the SHIFT holders?

Yes, in very limited amounts and in a different way than adding it to ankle protection and such. Also, these foams are quite heavy by volume.

The issue is D3O and Poron are not owned by the manufacturers and are VERY costly. We recently had a player specifically request us to make tongues for him with D3O in the metatarsal area for protection and comfort and the cost for us to acquire D3O was not affordable. I also had a player who wanted to add poron to the ankles of his skates so we bought a small sheet of it, and did it for him. We got the d3O form here: https://2wsqlv120k1d4f3tyq2k3iii-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/GameBreaker-D3OSheets-2019.pdf https://gamebreaker.com/shop/ Also, a single sheet of Poron measuring 30x36, 6mm thick, 1 side abraded was almost $100 and this was the best price I could find.

I don't understand how TRUE specifically has instructional videos and in them they state to tighten the laces at a very nominal percent compared to normal, just to snug up the boot, and then rely on the shrink wrap to handle the forming of the boot. No one seems to either watch the videos or do what they have been told. I make ALL of our staff watch the videos and take the TRUE certifications and we NEVER have issues like this.

I think the caps don't sit as snug as the CL and U+ but yes, they are just as light, breathable and do offer great mobility.

I have the Supreme 2S Pro and the Vapor 1X Lite. They are both low profile but I think the Supreme 2S Pro fits a little more snug and has MUCH better protection while only weighing a small amount more. After they are broken in they both have the same level of range and mobility. 667 grams vs 530 grams I took a slapper from Shane Doan in mens league and had I not been wearing the Supreme 2S Pro I think the outcome would have been MUCH worse. This was a week after I blocked the shot so you can imagine how bad it was the first day after.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BqggABouysirDoEX6

Crosby is not the only player still using that hodler, Subban is another. If you look around you will see quite a few guys preferring to use that holder over TUUK or newer CCM holders. That holder is very stiff and some of the players like that it sits a little lower to the ice vs the newer holders. Also, I have seen Crosby change his lacing a few times. Typically he drops the top eyelet but my understanding was when he switched to a newer boot he had them cut with a shorter ankle and he started to do a lace lock with the top eyelets, skipping one from the top.

Othermove and Superfeet are basically the same thing. You cannot compare STEP vs factory steel. They don't even fall into the same category. The quality of steel is tremendously better with STEP.

+1 on both. With TRUE skates you barely need to take the slack out of the skates. Also, do NOT use waxed laces.

That looks good. Not too much, not too little. No need to put it on the bottom.

Yes, very light but a little bulky too.

I dont notice more glide, but do notice way less fatigue when skating on a 3/4" - 1" ROH vs 1/2" -5/8"

He has a big head and bucket like Nylander 😉

Just to reiterate. Stiff doesnt = fast. Proper form = fast. Look at the mechanics of Crosby, McDavid and Mackinnon and you can see they are all wearing skates that are stiff enough to support their movements but they do not rely on the boot itself for stability. I think a lot of this has to be with players using their hips more instead of using their legs, like comparing Jagr vs McDavid skating styles.

You could always wear your elbows on the outside of the jersey 😉