T-Blades

[kingjames23rulz 0]

I had found a complete set of t-blades online brand new for $55....would it be worth it to buy those and stick them on my flexlite 12's?? Or just stay with the LS2's??

[EBondo 233]

Couldn't tell you but was it worth it to make two topics? ;)

On a serious note, SEARCH! We've been t'bladed to death it's crazy!

[Bruin88 0]

http://www.modsquadhockey.com/index.php?showtopic=10521&hl=

there :)

im on ls2's right now and i had t blades before ,i improved in everything wants i got off the t blades ,turn is waaay better ,i was actually scared to turn on t blades because theres like a mm of steel so if you got too low youd hit the plastic.

[pantherfan 0]

I'm the total opposite i had t-blades now i'm on 8090's and i seriously want to put t-blades on them becuase:

*I don't like the rocker on my ls's and where i live the guy doesn't give you a choice when he sharpenes them

*I like the customization

*I like the consistant sharpness

*I like the conveniance

*I like the choice of hollow as i don't get a choice of this either!

[Jason Harris 31]

I've been skating on my T-Blades for sixteen months and wouldn't go back.

I noticed an improved turning radius the first time I put them on, although the pitch was so different from my previous skates that it took me about five times to get used to it. I may have lost a touch of my top-end speed; based on what others have posted, it's possible this is due to the T-Blade holders having more give than my previous skates. In any event, the increased agility makes up for possibly losing some straight ahead speed.

[Chadd 916]

Horrible for big guys. They have way too much give and I managed to warp the last set of runners after only 3 ice sessions in them. I've never skated in a hollow that had no bite and no glide at the same time with regular skates, but I have with t'blades. The pitch on them was also tilted somewhat back to the heel. I've never felt that far back on my heels, even in older Bauer skates.

Keep in mind you'll have to pay to have them mounted on your skates after you buy them and that could easily cost more than what you paid for them.

[echi24 1]

I believe that for the majority of players (myself in particular) the initial reaction to t-blades is always good. Everyone sees the benefits right away, the glide is remarkable, and bite is crisp, and it sounds pretty cool. But I noticed that after a season on t-blades many others had noticed my stride to be choppier, less smooth which may just be a personal issue. Also, I found having to purchase t-blades so often quite annoying. They dont last as long as the company claims, and they arent available in most places. But as mentioned before, if it suits you, it is a great choice for those without good sharpeners nearby. Im looking forward to going back to standard holders. I'm surprisingly eager to go back, and regain my old skating style.

[Royals92 0]

I too also purchased tblades, only to find that they weren't any thing special. I had to always replace the blades within a month, whihc was definitly not 5X or whatever the tbalde people say they will last. After my tblades i got a pair of bauer XXX"s with light speed twos, and i found that in the 3 months i've had them i had to get them sharpened twice, (once cuz i got tripped and went into the post, and twice because the frist guy that did them screwed them up so had to be redone.)

All in all it hink they are a waste of money but thats jsut my opinions

[Jason Harris 31]

I must have weak strides! :lol:

I've gone three months on each of my last two pairs of T-Blades before I noticed them getting dull, which was a minimum of 35 skates. With my fixed blades, I'd notice them getting dull after about four skates.

[lee92 2]

I too also purchased tblades, only to find that they weren't any thing special. I had to always replace the blades within a month, whihc was definitly not 5X or whatever the tbalde people say they will last. After my tblades i got a pair of bauer XXX"s with light speed twos, and i found that in the 3 months i've had them i had to get them sharpened twice, (once cuz i got tripped and went into the post, and twice because the frist guy that did them screwed them up so had to be redone.)

All in all it hink they are a waste of money but thats jsut my opinions

only having to change the t-blades once a month isn't bad at all. my brother has them on his S400's, and replaces them probably every 2 weeks. he is also hard on skates while being relatively small (5'6" 110lbs).

me myself, i tried the t-baldes out when i wore a friends skates for a practice. i did notice the added sharpness to them on the ice, but found them to be nothing spectacular or worth running out and purchasing. and i get my skates sharpened lots, around twice a week (before every game or two), and it's still cheaper then buying a new set of runners every 2-3 weeks

[Bruin88 0]

if you dont mind me asking ,how much do you weigh salming?

[echi24 1]

it's different, i think i would love t-blades if i were only on the ice one a week playing pick-up, its great to have that consistency, but i mean a small chip or a dink in your new t-blades and you stuck wondering why you just spent $20 for a single skate. but once again, everyone treats their skates different, and it all comes down to personal preference and product availability/convenience

[NuggyBuggy 0]

i get my skates sharpened lots, around twice a week (before every game or two), and it's still cheaper then buying a new set of runners every 2-3 weeks

I don't understand your conclusion - at least, the estimates you present do not bear out your conclusion. Around here, I can get a new pair of runners for about $18 Canadian. I pay $5 CDN for a sharpening, and that's with a discount card. Maybe your costs are a little different, but let's use these for a starter.

Now to use your numbers, you're getting your skates sharpened twice a week, and you estimate that the t'blades are lasting 2 weeks minimum, thereby implying that the t'blades are holding their edge for at LEAST 4 times LONGER. If I were getting the exact same results as you, in 2 weeks I'd be paying $20 (= $5 * 2 sharps/week * 2 weeks) for sharpenings of regular steel vs $18 for t'blade runners over the same 2 weeks. In other words, if your estimates are correct, t'blades ARE cheaper.

And the above analysis totally ignores the opportunity cost involved in actually driving out to the LHS to get the skates sharpened, which for me is as great if not greater than the cost of the actual sharpenings.

I have t'blades, and I figured I needed the runners to last twice as long as sharpenings of regular steel for me to be ahead. So far they have, as I have said elsewhere I am not certain I like the performance better than regular steel (but am not certain I don't) but they are definitely cheaper once ALL the costs are factored in.

[Eazy_b97 1]

Alot of prices vary. Regional, runners cost around $25, sharpenings can be as low as $3.

Some people look at visiting their LHS as a good thing, you're in there alot, looking around, networking, etc..

My prices are also Canadian.

[Jason Harris 31]

if you dont mind me asking ,how much do you weigh salming?

I'm a little over 200 pounds, although I probably should be in the upper 180's..... :o

[lee92 2]

runners are around $20-25 cdn, and sharpenings are $3 cdn...and the equates to $20-25 every two weeks for new runners IF they even have the right ones vs around $12-15 for sharpenings

[Jason Harris 31]

That's a great price on sharpenings. The best I've seen around Denver is $3.50 US with a punch card; otherwise, it ranges between $4-$5.

The replacement blades generally cost $15 US. Because they don't always have my preferred rocker/hollow, I'll generally call ahead.

[Eazy_b97 1]

I find the prices for sharpening are very reasonable in the GTA. I've seen some American pricing and their lowest is a high price here. Most the shops that charge more have actually gone through a fair bit of training as well, Max Edge and other such courses. My shop charges $40 cdn for 10 sharpenings on a card, and were the most expensive of the 25+ skate sharpeners in the city.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

runners are around $20-25 cdn, and sharpenings are $3 cdn...and the equates to $20-25 every two weeks for new runners IF they even have the right ones vs around $12-15 for sharpenings

You're still forgetting the time it costs to get your sharpenings done. Unless you have a parent or a coach who is taking your skates to be done (in which case the cost is still being paid, just not by you), or you are getting them done at the rink (I've never trusted anybody at a rink), these costs can add up to be more than the cost of the sharpenings, unless your time is worth nothing.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

Most the shops that charge more have actually gone through a fair bit of training as well, Max Edge and other such courses. My shop charges $40 cdn for 10 sharpenings on a card, and were the most expensive of the 25+ skate sharpeners in the city.

Where are you going to get 4 $ max edge sharps ? I've tried a bunch of places, never been consistently happy and had too many awful jobs done in my short time playing hockey. I've found one guy, Mike, at Just Hockey on Don Mills who does a consistently good job, but the other guys there aren't nearly as good, and while it is the closest shop to me, it's still 10-15 minutes in no traffic.

I like looking around at hockey stores, but not the same one every week- I prefer to choose to do so on my own timetable. And the stock isn't changing very often in a given store so usually there isn't much to really look at.

[lee92 2]

i only get my skates sharpened at the rink. i don't trust people at sports stores around here with my skates. the two that sharpen them for me at the rinks are some of the most knowledgeable people out there when it comes to hockey and equipment and such, and they're the only ones that sharpen them for me. and it's only $3 at the rinks, where it is around $4-5 and lhs'.

and i don't believe taking 5-10 minutes of my time to get them done at the rink after practice/before game/or during the day means that much. i don't think people are generally in that big of a rush that they can't spare 5-10 mins. plus, when i get them i generally stay there longer just to talk.

[Rustybender 0]

I have three choices for sharpening:

The rink 1 minute from my house. $7 and 5 minutes for a terrible job.

LHS 45-60 minutes from my house. $3.50 and 10 minutes for a 50-50 chance of a good job.

LHS 45-60 minutes from my house. $4.25 and 20-30 minutes for a really good job.

So to get a consistantly good edge, I have to spend a hour and a half to 2 hours driving and an extra 20 minutes at the shop. 110 - 150 minutes total just for a skate sharpening.

T'blades are a huge money and time saver for me. When I started using them, my stride felt choppy. I changed from 272-M-13 runners to 272-L-13's and my stride smoothed back out. (FWIW, I'm 5' 8" and pushing 200lbs.)

I'm not really noticing any performance improvements or degradations. I played a really hard drop in game Thursday and never felt like my skates were hampering me in any way.

My take on t'blades is if you can't get good consistent sharpenings without too much time/money invested, go with t'blades. Otherwise traditional steel is the way to go.

[Bruin88 0]

my sharpenings are 2$ and the guy lives a 2 minute walk away ,he owned a shop a while back but then he started a family so he didnt have time for the shop so he closed it down and kept the sharpener ,hes been sharpening skates for 20 years or sumthing apparently but yeah ,i ucked out.

[Eazy_b97 1]

Where are you going to get 4 $ max edge sharps ? I've tried a bunch of places, never been consistently happy and had too many awful jobs done in my short time playing hockey. I've found one guy, Mike, at Just Hockey on Don Mills who does a consistently good job, but the other guys there aren't nearly as good, and while it is the closest shop to me, it's still 10-15 minutes in no traffic.

I like looking around at hockey stores, but not the same one every week- I prefer to choose to do so on my own timetable. And the stock isn't changing very often in a given store so usually there isn't much to really look at.

My Shop. $5 without card, $4 with. Its currently in the middle of the 2 busiest arenas in the city, and theres talk of us moving into one of the more populated arenas, so not alot of people have to go out of the way to get to it.

If you like your T'blades and your happy with it, thats great, I just get the impression your saying T'blades are the best option for everyone, which isn't true.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

If you like your T'blades and your happy with it, thats great, I just get the impression your saying T'blades are the best option for everyone, which isn't true.

Not at all, I have mentioned that I'm not sure I like the way I skate on the them (but also not sure I don't). I seem to have lost a step,while I may turn faster. But I haven't finished experimenting with runners etc, and these are far from scientific conclusions, so the jury is still out for me. Also it seems that I am little farther back on my heels than my I was on my Grafs with Cobra holders, so that might have something to do with it.

I just took issue with the cost analysis someone presented which really didn't bear out once you broke things down. If I were lucky enough to have a guy next door who did a great job, or if I trusted the guys at my rink, I would probably never have tried t'blades as they would no longer be cost-effective. I went to them in order to save money and time on sharpenings, which they are doing for me. Now if they interfere with my game, I will go back to my old steel in a second.

Where is your store, or if it's against the rules to say, PM me. If you're close, I'll check you out !