wood blades/sticks drying out

[BigDipper 0]

Thought I would throw this one out there. Always love a good debate on MSH. Long time ago when I was young, a fella at my LSH who took care of me when I was buying a couple wood sticks "don't buy those they're old and dried out, wait until my new order comes in" Now I use shafts with wood blades and have for 9 years. I've always been a believer in this and even when I played Junior our equip manager kept the sticks in a cold room with a dehumidifier. I have been using a custom pattern for a long time and always have a dozen or so blades on hand give or take and I keep them in a freezer. Sounds funny but I'm and always will be a firm believer in this. Anyone else share this thought?

[Chadd 916]

A dehumidifier and a cold room will actually dry them out faster. Humidity control would benefit a wood product but it would have to be kept at the proper levels for long term storage.

[BigDipper 0]

Never knew any truth to it. Seems to work for me but then again I snap them like firewood anyway. In the past I've used some that were "dried out" and they were garbage. Then again...who knows. My girlfriend thinks im crazy and she goes for the chicken and its under a blade. Makes me feel better anyway.

[Shtrsdad 0]

Interesting...

I remember my buddies taking their sticks out after the summer and throwing them into a snow bank. Theory was that the frost would permeate the stick and when they thawed, would effecitvely re-hydrate the stick.

Can't give you any qualitative analysis, but, it made sense to me.... at the time

[li7039 0]

i would just leave my wood sticks in my room between games

[Engine37 0]

In my experience, moisture has done nothing but work to soften and eventually destroy my wood sticks and blades. That's why I always pull the tape off them after every time I skate....it really helps the wood blades last a lot longer.

[Chadd 916]

In my experience, moisture has done nothing but work to soften and eventually destroy my wood sticks and blades. That's why I always pull the tape off them after every time I skate....it really helps the wood blades last a lot longer.

Big difference between direct contact with moisture and storage at optimal humidity levels.