Possible bad sharpening: help needed.

[Law Goalie 147]

Thanks for qualifying that, jimmy, and for al your help. Between you, JR & cougars, I felt like I was going in with a pretty clear idea of the situation. I really appreciate it.

I agree that it's rather unreasonable to pull the blades, particularly since only those goalies lucky enough to have the CCM/RBK cowlings can use that little trick. I think the guy's point was that if I happen to need a rush job, and I can't pick and choose who sharpens the blades, removing them from the skate will give a potenbtially less competent sharpener a lighter and more responsive feel on the wheel.

For my part, I'll be doing it every time from now on, just to be safe.

Also, thanks to forbs for explaining the rippled finish. Your team must be in good hands.

[TBLfan 25]

If you're in there consistantly you'll end up figuring out when your preferred sharpener is working. Luckily, mine works on the nights I play so I just head in there and hope he's not on vacation, if he is I'll either go with my second choice guy or will just use a skate mate and wait until I can get one of the two guys I trust with my skates. What's funny is that the shop owner is NOT either of those two guys.

[Law Goalie 147]

Yeah, two of them are on vacation at the moment - low season, I guess. I'll definitely start tracking them in a special logbook. ;)

[Ti-girl 0]

I have actually mailed my skates when my regular skate sharpener was gone. Thankfully I only had to mail it 2 hours driving time and my sharpener covered the return shipping!

I had tryouts and I needed them sharpened and I called him and he told me to do it.

I made the team BTW.

[digitalpunk30 1]

Pardon if this is bad form for adding on to a topic from 2007. I am new and it seemed better to add additional questions to a topic that partially addresses my concerms already, rather than start a new thread. Also please pardon my ignorance as I am new to the sport of hockey proper (although I have messed around on ponds a lot when I was younger).

I bought a new pair of skates at my LHS and they sharpened them w/ the purchase. I slid around quite a bit the first time I tried them out, relative to the used pair I had been skating on before, so after about an hour I had them sharpened by someone at the rink I was at. They seemed to work fine afterwards and I skated happily on them for probably about ten or twelve hours before I thought they might be getting due for another sharpening. As I was at the same rink, I just had the person there do them again, although it was a different person this time. I immediately had a *really* hard time even moving forward and did not seem to have an edge I could find at all. I took my skates that night to my LHS and he said it was a horrible sharpening job, and also showed me how uneven the edges were. He sharpened them up and the next time I skated they felt mostly better, although they seemed to not have an edge on part of the inside edge on my left skate, and when turning right my right skate made a scraping sound. I have skated on them a few times now since then and it really seemed like something was off, so I searched and read through a lot of posts here. Through all the info here (thanks!) and the help of a straightedge and a ruler, I have now come to realize a) one runner is bent, b) there are obviously brown marks on both blades, and c) one runner is shaped different than the other and is approx. 2mm shorter. I am going to my LHS this afternoon to show this to them to see what they can do to fix them (move holder? sharpen other runner to same height? ) but I would like to know some things about this situation I have put myself in.

realize that most, if not all, of these issues could have been caused by the one very bad sharpening I unknowingly got. However, shouldn't a good sharpener at a LHS be able to notice a bent runner and the runners having different heights? If this is not something I should expect a sharpener to notice then that is fine, but I don't know what I should expect them to see. Also, what is the best way to ask about these thingsat the LHS? I don't want to be an aggravating customer but at the same time, I would like my skates fixed well. I have no experience with this type of thing. Last, what, aside from the helpful list from LawGoalie, can I do in the future to avoid such situations? Should I be checking level, burrs, runners for bend, etc everytime right away when I am handed my skates back after a sharpening?

[wrangler 157]

It's actually good form to use a topic on point. It saves people time when they can read the answers in one thread, rather than having to find and go through several. Welcome to MSH, and accept your hearty "Attaboy!" for using the search function.

We've got a couple guys here from your area, maybe they can recommend a good sharpener. That's the best solution.

It seems strange that nobody mentioned the bent runner. If I understand correctly, you had them sharpened first and last where you bought them, and in between at the rink, a couple times. It may be hard to track down where they were damaged, if that occurred. Do you remember when you first noticed the problems you see with the blades?

[digitalpunk30 1]

Yes, you have the order of events correct. I noticed my right skate acting odd for the past week, which would lead me to think something happened to it the day I had them sharpened twice (one bad, then to the LHS that night right away). My assumption is the person who did not do a good job sharpening may have done something to cause the bent runner, but that is only an assumption and we all know how worthwhile those can be sometimes.

For what it is worth, I took them to the LHS and told him about my concerns. After looking at my skates, he told me it was bent but not very much at all, and he took my skates and worked on them so the blades are the same height and look similar. I am going skating in a little while so hopefully they will not feel odd this time.

I by no means am trying to slight my LHS by what I am saying, as far as I can tell he knows what he is talking about and they have always been very helpful and willing to answer my questions. I would like to know how to best keep myself out of a situation like this in the future, though. I intend to try to continue to have my skates sharpened only at the LHS, and at least have continuity so if something is wrong, it won't be confusing. But I don't necessarily know what is the norm as far as checking skates after they have been sharpened, in case I have to get it done somewhere else.

I have a tendency to want to understand the technical side of my equipment, and how to take care of it well. This has served me well in other sports (I also race mountain bikes). So that is kind of why I am wondering what other people do with their skates, and what reasonable expectations might be of a sharpener. Thank you for the reply!

[wrangler 157]

I don't know how to check skates, other than whether they do what I tell them or not. Hopefully some of the others here can help with that.

The main thing that I would do is to get recommendations on sharpeners, and once I find a person whose sharpening I like, stick with him. You didn't say, but it sounds like you've dealt with more than one person at the LHS. If they fitted you well in the skates, then hopefully they have at least one person who knows how to sharpen. And if one of them gave you a satisfactory sharpening, try him again.

Hopefully they're right about the bent runner, but it could be a problem if you notice a difference when skating.

A lot of the sharpeners here participate in the Blackstone Flat-Bottom V thread, if you're interested in the technical side.

[Chadd 916]

You shouldn't have to check your skates, but simply putting something flat on the blade would give you an idea of how level they are. A quarter or business card work pretty well.

[digitalpunk30 1]

Thank you for the replies. After skating for a couple hours, I can safely say my skates feel great now after he worked on them.

I feel a bit better now that you both have said there isn't much to check each time. I had never had an experience where I thought I had a bad sharpening before.

Thanks again for the help, and for the fantastic forums.

-Jen