colins

On hockeystickman.com the P90TM is described as the Max Height version of the P90T pro-Benn aka P30 curve. Which makes perfect sense. The P90T Benn is like a P88 in lie and closed nature from the heel to the mid curve. Then it adds an open toe kink, which is where it can somewhat be compared to a P29/P92/P28, which have more toe than the P88 does. If you love stickhandling/backhands and passes with a P88 but wish you had an open toe/pocket to work with for toe drags and shots where you pull the pull towards your body and snap it, the P30/P90T might be for you. But - if you like the high lie and curved rocker of the P29/P92, it's probably not for you. The real confusion comes in when you add the P90 and P90M to the mix. These are CCM specific pro-stock P92 and P92M max height clones. Real clones, not P29 "almost the same" curves. Like I said, curve names have really gone to shit. Having different pro stock curve names vs. retail curve names of the same pattern serves what purpose? It just makes everything more confusing. Burn it all to the ground and start over CCM/Bauer/Warrior/True/etc. colins

I haven't seen a P90TM but I assume it's the Max height version of the P90T. Not to be confused with the P90, which is a CCM P92 clone, sometimes referred to as the pro stock version of the P29. Curve names were bad enough when people referred to them by player names (which kept switching between vendors), but I'm not sure but it's getting worse now - I mean I guess the rationale behind the P90T name was 'T' meant 'Toe', BUT the P90T/P30 is more based on a P88 with a toe kink (in terms of lie and closed-ness) than a P90/P29. Good grief CCM! colins

This is where the numbers are pretty much meaningless. Bauer's P88 is a lie 6 but so is the default P92 but their lies are not even close to being the same. For comparison, in my experience, the P90T and P30 have a lie very similar if not identical to the P88. If you line up their rockers the shafts will be almost directly on top of each other. A P92 (the default 'lie 6' P92, not the pro stock P92 Lie 5) compared to the P88/P90T/P30 will be higher/taller. colins

If that's the case they run the risk of nobody wanting to buy (or counterfeit) a crappy product. Initial reviews and opinions seem to all dislike the bottom heavy feel of these sticks.

We've gone from wood / fiberglass to aluminum (shafts) to carbon fiber (with wood completely eliminated) just in my lifetime alone, so I don't think it's a stretch. I'll be surprised if it doesn't happen in the next 10-20 years. Having to buy a fixed curve at retail that can't be modified is a step backwards from where we were in the past, and we don't usually go backwards in features and stay that way for long.

I think the evolution of stick blade construction will lead to this eventually. And we'll look back in disbelief about the period of time between wooden blades and this future state when "you had to buy a fixed curve and couldn't even adjust it to your own preference". If a manufacturer can perfect this with a similar blade response, weight and durability to existing process, it would change the market overnight and all manufacturers would have to follow. At that point you could just sell two versions - a lie 5 and a lie 6 mid closed curve that can adapted to your preference by heating and bending. Bonus points if the material lends itself to sanding and you could round or square the toe to your preference. colins

And me to the list of never having heard that before. I imagine given @ZamboniFever previous experience in medical devices, producing sharpening wheels that don't measure accurately to the hollow they represent doesn't seem likely. Maybe @SparxHockeywould care to comment? colins

It certainly seems to be less common. I thought CCM had a good thing going with the P30 to differentiate from Bauer, but instead after just a short time floating the P30 in the market they seem to have gone the opposite direction and are now copying Bauer entirely with the P88 and the other max height trend. I think the P40, P46, P19 and P30 all had their following and now they're all missing or disappearing at retail. They just kept changing things so quick the last 2-3 years - how can you build up a base of users that way? It's sad that between Bauer and CCM now it seems it's a 3 pattern market at retail. If you're not a P29/P92, P88 or P28 guy, you're looking for custom or prostock. Which sucks because for custom it's $$$ and for prostock it can be hard to know exactly what you're getting with respect to the build and curve depending on where it came from.

I have one but rarely use it as it's stiffer than my preference and a crazy old school PP77 Coffey curve. That said, it's a great stick. It was top of the line for Sherwood when it was new. $140 might be borderline what I'd pay for one today given how long they have been around, but if you like super light responsive and durable sticks and it's your curve/flex, I don't think you'd be disappointed. colins

No it doesn't. A pass is a pass. And you get 320 per ring, however many 'pairs' you want to translate that to for marketing or whatever - it's 320 passes. colins

This is why it can be hard to tell visually. The outsole can be the piece misaligned. Not that the holder isn't too, but if you are just checking the holder relative to the outsole (which is what the eye is automatically drawn to) that's not the real story. Try measuring from the edge of the holder on both sides to the edge of the boot/heel on both skates and see what the difference (if any) is.

Single rate or dual rate spring, Hooke's law applies doesn't it? The spring in question is mounted at about a 45 degree angle, so the forces aren't vertical, but some grade 12 physics can work out the difference each extra couple mm of spring extension puts on the ring pushing back against the runner. I've never seen @Sparx Hockey Russell Layton weigh in on this, and I'm not an engineer. Russ designed the machine, if he says this is all wrong I gladly stand corrected. I'm just basing the above on my observations and experiments in using the machine at home the past three years. colins

Raise the ring to where it cuts the machine out. Lower it one step at a time and repeat until the first step where it no longer cuts off. Listen to the pass (any chatter? skips? changes in pitch?) and observe the finish (do you see horizontal ticks marks running perpendicular to the runner at the point the sound/pitch of the pass occured?). Now lower it 2 or 3 more clicks and observe the same. Are your observations the same or different? If different, what could account for the difference? colins

I tried my best but couldn't get a clean shot from my iphone with the lighting to show the hollow like that. My finish is similar, but you seem to have some distinct lines running the length of the runner there that I don't see on mine. Is it a new ring? colins

There is no adjustment labelled pressure. But since the ring deflects on the blade via a spring, the amount of deflection and force on the spring determines the pressure of the ring on the blade. So if you move the ring up to hit very high on the toe of the steel, the spring is forced to stretch more on the way down the radius of the toe and that creates more pressure (drag) on the steel down the length of the runner. If you adjust the ring too high, the amount of drag will actually cause the machine to cut off. There's a point where you aren't so high that it cuts out, but you're still too high in that a smooth continuous pass doesn't occur, instead the ring chatters and changes pitch (sound) along the length of the runner. Almost like it's skipping or dragging. You have two ways to influence the ring contact point on the toe of the runner and therefore the amount of spring deflection - move the runner/boot up vertically in the clamp (manually or via the risers), or adjust the ring up or down via the ring height adjustment. colins

The one thing I'd say about burrs and the finish - if you adjust the height for less pressure of the ring on the blade you get better results from the Sparx, based on my experience. If you try to start too high on the toe/heel it can end up riding the blade with too much pressure and dragging/struggling a little (you can tell by the pitch of the sound). Then you end up with more burrs and less clean of a finish. The machine won't cut out on you, and you'll still get an acceptable sharpen, just not as clean. colins

Amazon, any sports store with gym gear, Walmart even... what you're looking for are 'resistance training bands' or 'resistance loop bands'. Good luck! The exercises really seemed to work miracles in our case. colins

I do have Blademaster eyelets but the ones I have are too long for this purpose. For the extenders I used eyelets (#0 I believe?) that came with the press I bought (https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07FSFWL67?ref=em_1p_1_im&ref_=pe_8564860_421518460), they are classified as grommets and come with washers and look like these: http://www.siska.com/grommets.html I think I found the source for long Blademaster eyelets as well - Industrial Eyelets from Siska seems to be the original source - the '64' and '65' etc lengths appear to come from this chart: http://www.siska.com/ind_eye.html Bad news is they only sell to companies, and the only resellers I have found other than Blademaster sell in batches of 1000 which is a bit pricey for the DIY folks. I'd love to find a small batch (couple hundred) source for various length stainless steel eyelets the same diameter as these, along with stainless washers. If anyone can provide a URL please do! I didn't try calling Siska to ask for suggestions but that might be another avenue to explore. colins

The CCM eyelets are thin aluminum - putting the visor hardware in them and cranking them down will definitely take some paint off them and maybe dent/deform them a little if you make it tight. I wouldn't worry about it too much - especially if your skates aren't CCM. colins

I find the CCM Super Tacks and 7092 run almost a full size smaller than the equivalent Bauer Nexus pants (for comparison). E.G. Someone who's comfortable in a Medium Nexus pant will probably need a Large in the CCM girdle. That's been my experience - I can comfortably wear the nexus Medium (I'm about a 32" waist) but the Medium in a SuperTacks girdle is a bit too snug around the waist, and despite the adjustments available, the girdle doesn't "close over" enough in the middle to provide proper protection. Move up to the Large in the girdle, and everything is fine. colins

After just a few days doing the exercises in the video posted a few posts back, my son's pain is gone. He can't believe it went from intense pain to feeling normal in such a short time. To be on the safe side, he's still off the ice for a couple of more days. So I went to work on verion 2.0 of the eyelet extenders. Going with Vet88's advice, this version uses belt leather (literally cut up an old belt to make these). And instead of using hardware, which was going to deform his eyelets, again to Vet88's instructions and I'm just tying them off with some skate laces. I cut up and used the thin wax laces that started us down this path in the first place. I think these are going to work great. They raise the lace pressure point by a few mm at least - he won't get the pressure across his tendon with this setup. Find out this week when he tests out the setup. colins

It's leather I cut from a purse my wife donated to the cause. It's doubled over to add thickness. When I pull on the eyelets it has a bit of stretch to it but it feels sturdy. My guess is it's going to be OK for testing, but I'll need some thicker material like Vet88 recommended - belt leather which is 4 or 5mm in thickness. The eyelets are grommets that came with the press I bought off Amazon for about $80 CDN. Very handy to be able to set your own eyelets. I also have Blademaster eyelets and washers but they have long barrels and wouldn't work for this thickness of material. Haven't tried them yet - he's staying off the ice until the problem is 100% healed. He started doing these exercises which another modsquad user posted before - has anyone else had success with this healing their lacebite soreness sooner? colins

Based on Vet88's advice and the comments on this thread, I mocked up some test eyelets extenders for my son's Tacks. Going to give them a try tomorrow. If they work I may get some thicker belt leather and make a more permanent solution. colins

That's all the pencil test is. And I think you've found the crux of your issue. Your boot is not deep enough for the height of your arches or volume of your foot. Lace extenders are a work around, if you really love how your skate fits (other than the depth issue) and they take the pressure off, you could consider them permanent. If you can't find a retail skate that solves the depth problem while still fitting your foot everywhere else, the next option is to go for a full custom, with extended facing if necessary to add the volume you need. Gets expensive! colins