JR Boucicaut

I remember about 10 years ago there was a first responder tournament in Orlando and we had a team from Edmonton coming in asking for 5/16" - up there that could work for them but definitely not in FL. They all changed (and won) the tournament.

When I worked there, I did not have any 16 year old employees, nor did everyone in the store sharpened. The most I ever had was 6 sharpeners out of a staff of 25 - roughly 25% of the staff. It was the only way to maintain quality control. But I was the exception, not the rule. It’s truly a blessing that I’m no longer there. I can’t see myself still there if I had the opportunity to. My skill set wouldn’t have been appreciated. And from what I’ve been told, it’s a breeze to swap wheels/hollows on the FireBall.

I spoke to Steve a few weeks ago about it. We’ll sit down on a video call soon for a live demo. Steve’s a pretty tall guy, but it doesn’t seem that big to me.

It's going to be different - there'll be more info soon, but with fall weather, more outdoor stuff can be done - so for people who have come to previous Winterfests, they will see a side of Detroit that they normally don't.

Absolutely - just saw where you're located and there a few people in that area who should be driving in for this.

Mike - we'd love to see you! The hope is that in October you'll be able to cross over!

Yeah, aluminum‘s completely different.

Busch sticks (Sher-Wood Carbone, Itech/Busch Balance, Graf Laser) didn't have hollow shafts - they were filled, but a completely different manufacturing process. Other than the TPS Adrenaline, which had a vibration-dampening insert in the shaft, every high-end stick was hollow.

It was always a question of when, not if. MLB did the same thing.

The SE16 had the weights in the heel and nobody cared until they were visible in the EQ50. EQ50 got an undeserved bum rap because of that.

Good article in terms of how Per got to where he is (and he's a great guy, well deserved!) but also a bit of an advertorial.

On a Custom Radius/Blackstone Shaper, each tick is 1/32”. So, your +4 is 4/32”, which is 1/8” and roughly 3mm.

An utility patent would mean that there's another function other than that it attaches to a holder. Bauer's main language around their patent was that the upper geometry of the runner was the patent. Perhaps I'll reach out to Nick for further clarification.

Unfortunately due to low returns on data from end users, the Prosharp Project is being shut down. The AS2001 is being packed up and sent back to Prosharp. I really felt that it would go over well and provide end users an opportunity to try different profiles at virtually zero cost to them, but a lot of them abused the generosity and work behind it. Situations like this only hurt what we're trying to accomplish here - having a community with opinions and experiences and being able to collaborate with manufacturers. To those who did provide feedback, we totally appreciate it. I felt that we were able to dial in profiles for those end users. I totally appreciate your honesty and willingness to try new things.

It's a single shape. That's what they've been saying this entire time.

Not weird at all. I've been around long enough to hear the stories of EQMs getting trucks and boats from reps for getting X amount of players in their product... But when it comes to holders, absolutely; if it makes an EQM's life easier by having everyone in the same holder, they're going to do it.

Ah, I was gone by then. I didn't manage Novi; I was at Troy. Jose is down in Taylor with Perani's.

Which store did you go to and how long ago? Might’ve been me.

It's always going to have less material in the front. The misalignment is going to be strongest in the heel - which is why you see partial orthotics that stop at the arch or why we check heel wear in shoes. When doing this for an in-person fitting, I would remove the inside or outside edge rivets and then have the skater lace the boot up and CAREFULLY stand while having the shims wedged in there. From there, I could take out or add more material before I cut and shaped.

Correct - because he didn't have both edges under him. I would advise against varying thicknesses between towers. It will twist the steel. Keep it uniform.

Correct. Remember, you’re shimming to be able to get the edge the skater can’t access aligned so that they can. That’s why both towers have to be done. If not, it’s going to twist the holder.

Yeah, you don’t shim both for pronation? I always shim both towers.

You can attempt to correct supination the same way you would pronation.