Blackstone Flat-Bottom V Thread

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

I've used the FBV in my games for the last month now, and I certainly won't go back - however, I have noticed as others have that the sharpening doesn't last nearly as long as a "standard" sharp. I'd estimate 1/3rd the time - I'd normally go about 15 games before a sharp, and now I need to go every 5.

Still, its rare to have an opportunity to throw money at a talent deficiency, so this is a small price to pay. I'll just keep buying the sharpening pass from National sports. This has to be a win/win for the LHS's that have the FBV, because by coming in more often, I'll most likely end up buying more impulse gear. Bah!

Your experience is odd, we've found that skaters are actually getting more interval between sharpenings. There are so many variables involved, so it's kind of hard to actually quantify, I guess time will tell. As for my customers (another 82 converted this week) I haven't had anyone come in earlier for re-sharpening (although that would be nice for $$$ in my pocket) than usual.

Got my FBV blades back from Bob yesterday. Went to the local outdoor rink last night along with some other dads to take on some high school kids and test out the new FBV sharpening.

I got going good and fast, real fast, and got tangled up with the boards and a fence behind the net and ended up with 4 stitches above my eye, all within 5 minutes after we started. My arm got wedged between the fence and the boards (there is about a 4-5" gap between the two) which brought me to a grinding halt, leaving my face to take on the edge of the boards. Boards won.

For the short time I actually did skate on them, I was very happy. I came from a 1" hollow and found no problem with the 5/8" edge on these. In fact I actually preferred it given the extra glide of the 2" and having the ability to cut easier without sacrificing my speed. (But that is also why I now have 4 stitches and a lovely black eye!) The glide was also very smooth and fast.

This FBV thing seems to be what I was always hoping I could get out of my regular sharpenings.

I'll be sending my other sets to Bob and sticking with the FBV.

We've renamed the FBV, the UFB! Un (you insert word here) Believable! Oh, ... Fence?? That's so 1970's!

Jimmy,

not sure if its the Ice here or the grit and grime around the rink. But even with my own team I have found not that it needs it more but I am doing it the same amount for my players although I have to do half the passes as I did before.

Although travelling to some of the rinks watching ref's and players I have done and talking to them the most common thing is they wish there was a 95/75.....

Hint to you know who.,.....!

[aliebe 0]

Just reading this thread has me drooling...any shops in NJ do the FBV? I know sharpening can be an artform, but is it as easy as the video makes it seem?

[Chadd 916]

Just reading this thread has me drooling...any shops in NJ do the FBV? I know sharpening can be an artform, but is it as easy as the video makes it seem?

It's not rocket surgery but it takes time and effort to be good. The best guys have been doing it for years and are better now than ever because they continue to put in the time and attention required to do their job the right way.

[TBLfan 25]

So I tried FBV for the first time tonight for a coaching session. Normally I use a 3/4" hollow, so I went with 90/75 FBV. From reading this thread I imagined a good glide while retaining a good bite angle... it was a much bigger difference than I expected. I felt that the 90/75 felt a little deeper than a 5/8 hollow but it was workable for me. The first step on the ice, you feel it. What I imagined was a glide maybe 3-4 times better than my usual 3/4" hollow... I felt more like it was 15-20(est) times better, mind boggling.

I've tried a few hollows before settling on 3/4" from 1/2" to 1". With coasting on a 1" hollow, the glide was good but it was semi-unstable... no fishtailing but it just didnt feel like I was in complete control. With FBV, the glide is better than 1" and it's incredibly stable. One thing that might take some time is speed control, you just retain soo much speed.

Only complaint was a communication problem. This was between my sharpener and myself. FBV's glide was probably the cause of me not saving a stumble, the ridge between the sharpening and the unsharpened blade caught and pretty much worked like a toe pick.. Sending me to the ice in a heap. Normally(pre-fbv), when I wasn't addressing the issue with that transition point, it was save-able but this wasn't. Luckily, I only have this issue at low speed but I hit hard enough that my knee is badly bruised and it hurts when I walk... Luckily, I didn't land directly on the knee cap, that might have been bad.

In all the equipment changes I've had, none have made a severe impact on playing the game. Most gear changes are purely for comfort, this is the first change that has had an astounding improvement. I have no doubts that FBV is going to be BIG in upcoming years.

[shooter27 116]

SAK,

Without making too much competitive information public - can you tell us if the FBV concept was something that Blackstone developed internally or something you purchased/licensed from a third party?

Thanks

[JR Boucicaut 3759]

SAK,

Without making too much competitive information public - can you tell us if the FBV concept was something that Blackstone developed internally or something you purchased/licensed from a third party?

Thanks

Developed internally.

What people are forgetting is that the first innovation was the Spinner system - totally different method of dressing the sharpening wheel. Without Spinner, FBV wouldn't have been possible.

[althoma1 574]

oldtrainerguy,

Is there a possibility the FBV could be available at the Sport Check location on Eglinton East near Warden Ave in Scarborough in the future? My friend had his skates sharpened there on Saturday and I noticed that they use a Blackstone machine...I know the store isn't that old so assume it's a fairly new machine. That's the closest Foranzi group store to me so I was hoping that perhaps they'd have the ability to sharpen that way in the future. For now I'll drive up to Markham.

Edited January 12, 2009 by althoma1

[SAK 2]

SAK,

Without making too much competitive information public - can you tell us if the FBV concept was something that Blackstone developed internally or something you purchased/licensed from a third party?

Thanks

As JR said it was developed because of the spinner. We have been working on the FBV for sometime now.

[tamtamg 12]

Does any one know of any place in the DC area that uses FBV? I'd really like to give it a try. If not, would any of you guys that are doing FBV sharpenings willing to sharpen my blades for me via the mail?

[hockeygimp 0]

Does any one know of any place in the DC area that uses FBV? I'd really like to give it a try. If not, would any of you guys that are doing FBV sharpenings willing to sharpen my blades for me via the mail?

I live in the DC area, too. If you find anyone that does it (and you trust them), let me know. A buddy of mine and I send our blades to Jimmy at No Icing Sports for some excellent sharpening. I am about to send mine off to get the FBV.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

oldtrainerguy,

Is there a possibility the FBV could be available at the Sport Check location on Eglinton East near Warden Ave in Scarborough in the future? My friend had his skates sharpened there on Saturday and I noticed that they use a Blackstone machine...I know the store isn't that old so assume it's a fairly new machine. That's the closest Foranzi group store to me so I was hoping that perhaps they'd have the ability to sharpen that way in the future. For now I'll drive up to Markham.

I have no idea you would have to ask SAK as I do not work with those guys at all.

I am hoping to get one at Scarborough for next season!

[budro727 0]

Just sharpened my first pair at 90/75... can't wait to try it out tomorrow.

[HattrickSwayze 3]

Any shops in Washington that have this? I'd love to try it after reading about it.

[automorph 0]

just got 100/75 for me..........dying to try these

[jbgordon 0]

I got the FBV with 5/8" edges from Jimmy done by mail. Normally I skate on 3/4" hollow. I was amazed when I skated on them the 1st time last night. Basically one push and you just glide across the ice. The feeling is just smooth and effortless. I'll definitely be sticking with this and the crappy sharpeners in my area just lost my business.

So what I am hearing from you guys is....I should have more of my stores with the FBV sharpening?? Who is on the GTA or Ontario???

I can do

London

Barrie

Brampton

Markham (has it already)

Concord (has it already)

Oakville (has it already)

Mississauga (Dundas Location)

Cambridge (coming in Feb)

Whitby (coming in Feb)

And possibly more next year....

Hands up if you want it??

If this is Cambridge, MA then I'm very interested. Which store will have this?

[RadioGaGa 162]

I got the FBV with 5/8" edges from Jimmy done by mail. Normally I skate on 3/4" hollow. I was amazed when I skated on them the 1st time last night. Basically one push and you just glide across the ice. The feeling is just smooth and effortless. I'll definitely be sticking with this and the crappy sharpeners in my area just lost my business.

So what I am hearing from you guys is....I should have more of my stores with the FBV sharpening?? Who is on the GTA or Ontario???

I can do

London

Barrie

Brampton

Markham (has it already)

Concord (has it already)

Oakville (has it already)

Mississauga (Dundas Location)

Cambridge (coming in Feb)

Whitby (coming in Feb)

And possibly more next year....

Hands up if you want it??

If this is Cambridge, MA then I'm very interested. Which store will have this?

Cambridge, Ontario.

[jbgordon 0]

I got the FBV with 5/8" edges from Jimmy done by mail. Normally I skate on 3/4" hollow. I was amazed when I skated on them the 1st time last night. Basically one push and you just glide across the ice. The feeling is just smooth and effortless. I'll definitely be sticking with this and the crappy sharpeners in my area just lost my business.

So what I am hearing from you guys is....I should have more of my stores with the FBV sharpening?? Who is on the GTA or Ontario???

I can do

London

Barrie

Brampton

Markham (has it already)

Concord (has it already)

Oakville (has it already)

Mississauga (Dundas Location)

Cambridge (coming in Feb)

Whitby (coming in Feb)

And possibly more next year....

Hands up if you want it??

If this is Cambridge, MA then I'm very interested. Which store will have this?

Cambridge, Ontario.

Damn. Anyone know of a place around Boston that does this?

[tdjb 0]

Ok, so did anyone not notice anything? I just recently had my skates done with the 1/2" FBV (coming from a standard 7/16" cut) and used them on the ice today for the first time. Although I didn't feel any less grip in tight turns, I didn't notice any extra "glide" at all. In fact, if I didn't know they had been sharpened with this new method, I would have just thought I was skating on my standard 7/16" sharpening. I plan on talking with the sharpener about this, but I thought I'd see if anyone else was in the same boat.

[mnpucker 33]

I think it takes more than one skate to completely appreciate the performance of FBV skates. I am now at the 4 week mark and skated again today. I coach A LOT (2 traveling winter teams and a AAA summer team) and play 1-2 times a week. I am on thei ice 6 out of 7 days a week some days for 3 hours.

I coach 8-11 year olds so skill development is primarily our curriculumr.

As most of you know the player that learns how to effectively use his outside edges will advance quicker than those that do not, well good hands never killed anybody eithe. We work on outside edges constantly. Today while warming up during an afternoon lunch time pick up skate I decided to push the limits of the fbv edges. I was shocked at how deep in a turn I could get, deep enough that the outside of my one95's were scrubbing the ice. This is no exaggeration, a guy that coaches a skating treadmill was there and he saw me working the edges during warm up, he came over and asked what was up, he noticed how deep I was getting.

I explained and his immediate response was, "when can I come over?"

As far as glide goes, I continue to believe it is true. The ice feels smoother and it is just easier to skate. I am 40 yrs old but still have the ability to play at a high level. I have either been receiving terrible sharpenings my entire life or this is the real deal.

I am in Minneapolis and have had the best guys around working on my skates I am pretty confident they have been doing a good job.

[automorph 0]

Skated on FBV 100/75 for the first time today...........unbelievable glide.....they did not dissapoint as I was gliding MUCH faster than usual.....got to alot more pucks and I felt less fatigue as you can coast more......skated for a hour so havent really experimented yet but I can confirm the glide is unreal.........very smooth

[JR Boucicaut 3759]

http://www.flatbottomv.com/

[johnpace2 0]

That's a great website, very informative.

[monoclub 5]

I have looked at "almost" all of the pages in this tread, can I have some feedback on how it works, or if it does with figure skaters? Just wondering about the versatility from a general rink sharpening machine point of view...

[fifthlinegoon 0]

I have looked at "almost" all of the pages in this tread, can I have some feedback on how it works, or if it does with figure skaters? Just wondering about the versatility from a general rink sharpening machine point of view...

^

l

4 posts up

Edited January 15, 2009 by fifthlinegoon

[pmspaul 0]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum. I was researching the FBV, and this is the best place to go for info on that.

I needed to replace a badly bent and twisted runner on my One90's so I ordered a set of steel from Bob at No Icing. He's actually already finished and shipped the set with a custom combination radius and the 1/2" FBV, which I look forward to skating on this weekend.

Assuming I like the new FBV as much as everyone else here, I was going to order a new sharpener from Blackstone, either the X-01 or X-02, so I could sharpen the FBV's. I've talked to Steve at Blackstone, and already have his advice, but now I'd like some feedback from those of you already using one of these machines.

I have been sharpening with an old Fleming Gray sharpener for my family of four hockey players, and some players from the teams I coach and play on. Right now maybe 10 or so players total, I try to keep it quiet and limited to good friends, as I only do it because I know how and it's more convenient than traveling for sharpening.

The point is, it's not that many pairs of skates per week, maybe 2-4. How are the portables (either model) performing for you guys? And more importantly, are you having more people want you to sharpen their skates because you can offer the FBV? I am leaning towards the X-02, but my wife (and wallet) lean towards the X-01.

Thanks for the input,

-Paul