Graf 705

[Di Matteo98 0]

Hey guys,

I'm going to be buying a pair of graf 705 skates since my rbk pump skates are too small.

Anyways I was looking for any reviews about these.

I looked at this but it's old.

so I was looking for any newer reviewers?

Thanks in advance

Graf reviews from MSH

[Chadd 916]

I disliked mine so much I got rid of them after only a couple sessions.

[saba 0]

and I turned them into roller with Sprungs mounted and hate them still as well

[top_shelf_24 0]

I bought a pair about 7 months ago and i hated them the first few uses but i learned to tie the top couple of laces a mildly looser and i then became very comfortable in them.

[Keith 0]

Grafs are kind of hit or miss depending on many factors. 705 doesn't fit me right at all, but a skate doesn't get made for as many years as that one has without being good...

[english15x 3]

well i can't say anything about the 705 but i love my supra g3's (703) It's really a love or hate situation. You need to make sure you get the right graf for your feet.

[duch 0]

I bought the 735's and right now I couldn't be happier. The thing with Grafs is they are a slightly different concept in skates than some of the other major brands on the market. You need to give yourself time to adjust to them otherwise you'll fluff them off as as some weird skate from a little country in Europe called Switzerland. They are a very forward profile skate. You are more on your toes with this skate than on any other skate on the market. ( a very difficult adjustment for Nike/Bauer users who are used to the Tuuk holder which is a very back on their heel profile) The advantage to this becomes quite apparant for balance and manoeverability when you wear this skate in the first few hockey games you play in them. It also forces you to adjust yourself to a more deeper knee bend which in turn gives you a much better stride. The only disadvantage is when you are skating backwards you need to adjust your technique slightly to compensate for the forward pitch. This comes with a little patience and time and is not a major concern.

The skate itself is phenominal for comfort. The Graf by nature is a snug fitting skate. It took only two sessions to tweek the boot to fit to my foot and that was without baking them. ( I never bake my skates, I like to break them in gradually because I find they break in better in the long haul. Guess I'm a bit old school like that.) Had one pressure point on the little toe on my left foot, nothing major because that just dissappeared with use. The skate itself performs admirably one the ice and is a solid tank. By no means the lightest skate on the market the weight itself isn't unreasonable coming from a Vapor XXII to this skate. The ankle cut is slightly lower on this skate than on my old Vapors but the advantage to this seems to be it gives you a little more in ankle pivot on the ice. It doesn't feel as stiff when you wheel into your turns and the recovery feels more gradual and smoother. The skate blade itself is made of very solid steel and takes a few extra passes on the sharpener to put on a good edge which lasts longer than most other blades. The Cobra is one of the best holders on the market today and only the Mission Pitch Three carries a blade with steel as hard as this one.

In conclusion Grafs are a well made product. I have a friend who still uses an older pair of 703's and they are still going strong ( he uses them two, sometimes three times a week) after two years of continual use. Aside from a few cuts and discolouration of the inside liner they are still very stiff and he figures he may even get a couple of more years of use out of them. Durability is not a problem with these skates. Another disadvantage to the skates from personal observation (although a minor one ) is they are difficult to lace up near the top because of the gradual slope cut of the side where the eyelets are. Although better for comfort it makes finding the top two eyelets difficult at times when you are lacing up with your shins on. My Vapors where much easier to lace up because the cut on North American skates is angled differently. Aside from that there is nothing much to say negatively about these skates. Again I must stenuously stress adjustment to these skates takes time. Twice before now I have purchased Grafs and did not give myself enough of an adjustment window. After some consultation with my LHS I agreed this time to tough out the adjustment period and now I am extremely happy I've persisted. I am very satisfied with them now, they feel like part of my feet on the ice and I know these will last. There you have it, my long winded reply.

[A2rhino 79]

They have to fit. But I think the older models were better than the new, When I say older I'm talking 2002 and down. IMO

[JR Boucicaut 3813]

The skate blade itself is made of very solid steel and takes a few extra passes on the sharpener to put on a good edge which lasts longer than most other blades. The Cobra is one of the best holders on the market today and only the Mission Pitch Three carries a blade with steel as hard as this one.

Gotta disagree on all points. Steel doesn't hold an edge for long, it's brittle and while the holder is solid, the hardware for it is the absolute worst on the market.

[krwwc6 0]

The skate blade itself is made of very solid steel and takes a few extra passes on the sharpener to put on a good edge which lasts longer than most other blades. The Cobra is one of the best holders on the market today and only the Mission Pitch Three carries a blade with steel as hard as this one.

Gotta disagree on all points. Steel doesn't hold an edge for long, it's brittle and while the holder is solid, the hardware for it is the absolute worst on the market.

I've got to agree with JR here. One of my biggest dislikes about my 707's is that the steel isn't very good. I have to get my skates sharpened a bunch more than I did with my old s500's with the pitch holder/steel set up.

[Di Matteo98 0]

Thanks for the input guys!!

I have tried on my uncles graf 705's and found them to be very comfortable (besides there too small for me).

I don't know if the cobra holders are the right holders for me or not (yet to skate in my uncles) i will ask armando and dave @ front row sports in Thorold. I am probability going to be getting them either Monday or Wednesday and I will have some input to say about these skates after Friday night. Hopefully it will be love at first skate!!!!

well thanks for all the input!!!

Edit: Forgot about Canada day!!

[duch 0]

I respect your opinion on the steel on Graf skates guys. To date though I've never experienced any problems with the holder or the steel on any pair I've owned. That being said I can say the same about the Tuuks I've had on any Bauer or Nike/Bauers I've owned. I usually sharpen my skates about every five to six games and haven't noticed any substantial difference with the edges of either make. Both brands have been good to me therefore I can't in all honesty criticize either of them.

[fastmiele 59]

The skate blade itself is made of very solid steel and takes a few extra passes on the sharpener to put on a good edge which lasts longer than most other blades. The Cobra is one of the best holders on the market today and only the Mission Pitch Three carries a blade with steel as hard as this one.

Gotta disagree on all points. Steel doesn't hold an edge for long, it's brittle and while the holder is solid, the hardware for it is the absolute worst on the market.

when you say the hardware is the worst in the market are you referring to the entire unit or screw/bolt ?

I personally think the screws and bolt are pretty simple and good for us players, if we break the steel we can order new steel and install it by ourselves in a few minutes (relatively anyways) with a screw driver.

[JR Boucicaut 3813]

Water/ice collects in the hole.

[sweed 5]

I have been in Graf most of my career and they make great skates, especially the Swissmade ones wich I have used. Find the right model for your foot and switch the blade for a TUUK or PITCH, you will be home safe... because like JR and some of the other guys are saying, the cobra sucks bigtime!

[Chadd 916]

The skate blade itself is made of very solid steel and takes a few extra passes on the sharpener to put on a good edge which lasts longer than most other blades. The Cobra is one of the best holders on the market today and only the Mission Pitch Three carries a blade with steel as hard as this one.

Gotta disagree on all points. Steel doesn't hold an edge for long, it's brittle and while the holder is solid, the hardware for it is the absolute worst on the market.

when you say the hardware is the worst in the market are you referring to the entire unit or screw/bolt ?

I personally think the screws and bolt are pretty simple and good for us players, if we break the steel we can order new steel and install it by ourselves in a few minutes (relatively anyways) with a screw driver.

The screws don't hold well, then they rust, then they break. The steel rusts more quickly than any other medium or high end steel and the NT3000 holders absorbed water and broke down very quickly. The NT5000 holders don't break down as quickly but they still have the steel and bolt problems.

[fastmiele 59]

The skate blade itself is made of very solid steel and takes a few extra passes on the sharpener to put on a good edge which lasts longer than most other blades. The Cobra is one of the best holders on the market today and only the Mission Pitch Three carries a blade with steel as hard as this one.

Gotta disagree on all points. Steel doesn't hold an edge for long, it's brittle and while the holder is solid, the hardware for it is the absolute worst on the market.

when you say the hardware is the worst in the market are you referring to the entire unit or screw/bolt ?

I personally think the screws and bolt are pretty simple and good for us players, if we break the steel we can order new steel and install it by ourselves in a few minutes (relatively anyways) with a screw driver.

The screws don't hold well, then they rust, then they break. The steel rusts more quickly than any other medium or high end steel and the NT3000 holders absorbed water and broke down very quickly. The NT5000 holders don't break down as quickly but they still have the steel and bolt problems.

I guess I can't disagree with any of your points. I got a few pair of second hand Graf skates and I came across at least one of those issues in each pair of skates. In my defence, it just wasn't financially practical to take off the Cobra holders and steel and buy another set of holders and steel.

For the rusting of the steel bolt, couldn't I just take it out and put a layer of multipurpose grease over it and hopefully significantly reduce the amount of rusting damage ?

[Chadd 916]

I guess I can't disagree with any of your points. I got a few pair of second hand Graf skates and I came across at least one of those issues in each pair of skates. In my defence, it just wasn't financially practical to take off the Cobra holders and steel and buy another set of holders and steel.

For the rusting of the steel bolt, couldn't I just take it out and put a layer of multipurpose grease over it and hopefully significantly reduce the amount of rusting damage ?

I know guys who use vaseline and other who use WD40, neither works particularly well.

[Keith 0]

Couldn't you seal the edge of the bolt with some rubber-based compound?I used to pull snow out of the recess of the retainer bolt all the time too.

[fastmiele 59]

I guess I can't disagree with any of your points. I got a few pair of second hand Graf skates and I came across at least one of those issues in each pair of skates. In my defence, it just wasn't financially practical to take off the Cobra holders and steel and buy another set of holders and steel.

For the rusting of the steel bolt, couldn't I just take it out and put a layer of multipurpose grease over it and hopefully significantly reduce the amount of rusting damage ?

I know guys who use vaseline and other who use WD40, neither works particularly well.

I don't think WD40 would work well at all. In fact it will probably do the opposite of what you want. I think some people think WD40 is a lubricant. It is used to help loosen up rusted parts. I see people use it on bicycle chains, not only did they loosen the chain but the ended up blowing off all the oil/lubricant off the chain. Same goes with cogs and hubs. Once you blow off all the grease, what's lubricating the ball bearings/joints ? nothing.

The proper way of using it is to use WD40 and loosen up the screw and bolt, you got to clean everything off and then lubricate it with grease.

[JR Boucicaut 3813]

WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt.

[duch 0]

J.R. You sir, are a wealth of knowledge. I'm ever so thankful we have you here on this site.

[Jordan 13]

Why couldn't you replace the screws with stainless steel ones ?

[epstud74 24]

I guess I can't disagree with any of your points. I got a few pair of second hand Graf skates and I came across at least one of those issues in each pair of skates. In my defence, it just wasn't financially practical to take off the Cobra holders and steel and buy another set of holders and steel.

For the rusting of the steel bolt, couldn't I just take it out and put a layer of multipurpose grease over it and hopefully significantly reduce the amount of rusting damage ?

I know guys who use vaseline and other who use WD40, neither works particularly well.

WD40 actually will speed up rust issues. Never use WD40..I pity the poor guys that use them on expensive firearms

[epstud74 24]

I guess I can't disagree with any of your points. I got a few pair of second hand Graf skates and I came across at least one of those issues in each pair of skates. In my defence, it just wasn't financially practical to take off the Cobra holders and steel and buy another set of holders and steel.

For the rusting of the steel bolt, couldn't I just take it out and put a layer of multipurpose grease over it and hopefully significantly reduce the amount of rusting damage ?

I know guys who use vaseline and other who use WD40, neither works particularly well.

I don't think WD40 would work well at all. In fact it will probably do the opposite of what you want. I think some people think WD40 is a lubricant. It is used to help loosen up rusted parts. I see people use it on bicycle chains, not only did they loosen the chain but the ended up blowing off all the oil/lubricant off the chain. Same goes with cogs and hubs. Once you blow off all the grease, what's lubricating the ball bearings/joints ? nothing.

The proper way of using it is to use WD40 and loosen up the screw and bolt, you got to clean everything off and then lubricate it with grease.

Correct..WD40 should never be used as a lubricant in my opinion..especially on expensive parts.