Blackstone Flat-Bottom V Thread

[bantamseadogs13 0]

No harm, no foul. :-)

[budro727 0]

Well prior to forking over the dough I bought this concept hook line and sinker. I received my X02 last week and my FBV yesterday. Today was set up day. I am working on my own personal skate work shop so when I am done I will post pictures. I have never sharpened skates before so I admit I was nervous strapping my One95's on the holder the first time. After testing my hand with my Flex lites I finally sharpened my 95's.

I noticed immediately that the holder slid very easily on the table top. I was concerned about my ability to keep a steady hand but the holder slid effortlessly and seemed to almost be propelled by the wheel. I am having difficulty setting up the holder. I am not sure if I am over adjusting but I do need to adjust the holder when I switch to my sons One 70's or Vapors. I guess I will work on that but it takes me too long in m opinion.

I had 2 skates tonight, a practice for 9 year olds and a bar league game. I am highly technical when teaching edges. I perform every skill for the boys, extreme outside edge work. The X02 is all that it is billed to be. I thought the One 95's were special but the FBV takes that feeling to new levels. Outside edges lock in and I find myself gliding around one footed outside edges with ease. The glide is all it is billed to be for sure, starting at the blue line, two strides to red line and I glided all the way around the net to the far blue line before I just stopped the glide to jump out of the way of one of my players.

To add to a previous post regarding the feel of the blade, i definitely think they feel smoother over rough ice.

During my game I split the D with little effort, there is not doubt the FBV improved my performance.

I have the 90/75 and was previously getting a 9/16 or half in the summer. I did not find the FBV to be overly sharp.

I want to thank Steve for his assistance and patience with me while I was making my decision. You were very helpful.

MNPucker - I also have recently bought the X02 machine and I seem to be running into the same problem as you. I am also new to sharpening, but when I switch from skate to skate the holder seems to be drastically off. Any one have any help here? Thanks.

[jimmy 194]

Yes, it's called adjustments. You have to adjust height of holder depending on thickness of the steel. A caliper is a good tool to have, both for measuring thickness of blades and height of holder.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

Well prior to forking over the dough I bought this concept hook line and sinker. I received my X02 last week and my FBV yesterday. Today was set up day. I am working on my own personal skate work shop so when I am done I will post pictures. I have never sharpened skates before so I admit I was nervous strapping my One95's on the holder the first time. After testing my hand with my Flex lites I finally sharpened my 95's.

I noticed immediately that the holder slid very easily on the table top. I was concerned about my ability to keep a steady hand but the holder slid effortlessly and seemed to almost be propelled by the wheel. I am having difficulty setting up the holder. I am not sure if I am over adjusting but I do need to adjust the holder when I switch to my sons One 70's or Vapors. I guess I will work on that but it takes me too long in m opinion.

I had 2 skates tonight, a practice for 9 year olds and a bar league game. I am highly technical when teaching edges. I perform every skill for the boys, extreme outside edge work. The X02 is all that it is billed to be. I thought the One 95's were special but the FBV takes that feeling to new levels. Outside edges lock in and I find myself gliding around one footed outside edges with ease. The glide is all it is billed to be for sure, starting at the blue line, two strides to red line and I glided all the way around the net to the far blue line before I just stopped the glide to jump out of the way of one of my players.

To add to a previous post regarding the feel of the blade, i definitely think they feel smoother over rough ice.

During my game I split the D with little effort, there is not doubt the FBV improved my performance.

I have the 90/75 and was previously getting a 9/16 or half in the summer. I did not find the FBV to be overly sharp.

I want to thank Steve for his assistance and patience with me while I was making my decision. You were very helpful.

MNPucker - I also have recently bought the X02 machine and I seem to be running into the same problem as you. I am also new to sharpening, but when I switch from skate to skate the holder seems to be drastically off. Any one have any help here? Thanks.

As all I do is teach sharpening I would say adjusting maybe something to to do with it BUT the largest problem with new sharpeners is they dont clamp each skate exactly the same way! It does take some practice and I wuld suggest using an old skate.

Clamp the skate in the holder do some passes till the spark looks correct and full and then take it off and re-clamp. and start over!

Feel free to message me. I am sure Steve wont mind I will just bill him for the time...LOL

[mckjim 2]

Consistency is the ticket for first timers and old timers. If you do the clamping and the movement of the holder to the cutting wheel the same each time it makes it real easy to figure out why there is a problem. I have sharpened for years with another mfg'er's machine and have the x02 and it took about 1/2 hour to get the holder dialed in. Remember that when you move the holder accross the table to the cutting wheel that any pressure down on the holder (i.e. pushing down on the holder unevenly) will affect the squareness of the sharpening. Practice doing the setup and clamping the same each time and the way you use the holder and you will find that there are not so many adjustments needed in the future. It is a very good machine and produses a very good finish!

[SAK 2]

Should be available for the end of January.

Any idea if the XO1 is available yet ?

Adjusting is the key to good sharpening, and is a learning curve. Don't hesitate to call and I will go over any issues, however it is like most things, once you have it it becomes routine. As far as the best sharpener goes I will give it to my father as he was my mentor.

[msander 0]

Sorry for what I'm sure is a stupid question...but can the FBV only be done using a blackstone machine? I'm pretty certain that my LHS uses blademaster, but I'd love to talk to them about doing the FBV if it's at all possible.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

Sorry for what I'm sure is a stupid question...but can the FBV only be done using a blackstone machine? I'm pretty certain that my LHS uses blademaster, but I'd love to talk to them about doing the FBV if it's at all possible.

Sorry only the Blackstone can do it!

[lohnman 0]

I have the X02 as well, and I'm new to hand sharpening. After sharpening a skate you find that the top edge is higher than the bottom edge. Which way to you adjust the holder to get the edges even, up or down?

[SAK 2]

You have to move it down. Try going on the website and going over the training video, it should also help you. You also can call the office.

I have the X02 as well, and I'm new to hand sharpening. After sharpening a skate you find that the top edge is higher than the bottom edge. Which way to you adjust the holder to get the edges even, up or down?

[JR Boucicaut 3798]

Damn, how many machines have you sold on here?

[SAK 2]

LOL I am starting to wonder myself.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

LOL I am starting to wonder myself.

I got one???LOL

[Hockey DeVoTee 1]

I bought one... not having very good luck with it yet ...shipping damage.

[Spreedizzle 1]

LOL I am starting to wonder myself.

And you'll have a handful more as soon as UL is done with your X01. ;)

[bantamseadogs13 0]

Had Bob do the FBV in a 2" glide 1/2" bite and skated twice so far. My overall impressions are good but I'm not blown away. The glide is definitely there but I didn't notice a significant distance when making tight turns and really digging in. However, most of my attention was given to the glide, which is definitely noticeable. At the end of my Monday night session (not that intense but I skate hard), I could have played for another hour without a problem. I was also pretty sore from playing soccer two night before the skate.

Also, I skated on 1/2 before going to the FBV 1/2 so maybe that is another reason I didn't notice a significant change in bite.

Just sent Bob another set of steel and with a fresh FBV I'l try and pay more attention to the bite and report back.

You aren't supposed to be feeling a difference in bite. Think of it this way, you're keeping the bite you had before and getting the extra glide for free. Normally you would lose a lot of that bite in order to get the extra glide.

That is a very accurate summation. I was just responding to some of the other posts where folks were saying how they really felt their edges dig in on turns. Perhaps they went to a deeper hollow when the tried the FBV. Getting the extra glide for free is worth it enough for me.

One question. Is it okay to hone the skates with a sharpening tool when you have a FBV? Or will it take away from the flatness of the bottom of the balde? I can't see how it would but I just wanted to ask the experts to make sure.

Stones are fine but I would avoid things that damage the edges like a sweet stick.

Hey Chadd,

Just wondering why/how the sweetstick damages edges?? Not saying I don't agree or anything, but I'ved been using a sweet stick for about 3 years on my son's skates, and he does like the bite he gets from it in between sharpenings. And to be honest he can go about a month in between before going back to Bob to be resharpened. I am really curious to see why I should maybe stop using it? Have never really thought about it causing damage to the blades before until I saw this post from you. Could you help out with this?

Oh, and on the FBV sharpening, my son tried it out tonight at practice. After about 10 minutes he wanted to put his old blades back on, but because he only had a 1 hour practice I told him to get his ass back on the ice and give them a fair trial. Is it normal of this new style to take a skate or 2 before adjusting to it?? He can't really explain what he didn't like about it, but said he wants to try it again before he judges it too much. I did notice he had way more glide and was beating others that he struggled to before, but seemed like they chattered more on stopping and I did see his foot "kick out" a couple times, kinda like the toe wasn't digging in?? It's hard to explain. He uses the 1/2" hollow, not sure which FBV it tranlates to?? 75/100 maybe?? He plays defense on a Bantam AAA team and he is almost too fussy about his blades, but he maybe needs a couple more skates to get a feel for them.

[ID Rollerpop 4]

The thing about a sweet stick is that it rolls the edge in to create the "feel" of a sharpened skate that roll is actually a burr that takes time and steel to remove at the next sharpening. JR has discussed it several times in better detail. I think he talks about it in the miraclestone thread.

[bantamseadogs13 0]

Thanks ID. I did try to search this topic, but I never have luck using the search feature.

JR, can you post me a link to this discussion so I can read it more fully? Thanks.

****Sorry JR, I already found the discussion. Scratch this request. *****

Edited December 31, 2008 by bantamseadogs13

[Moto 1]

Update on my experience with the FBV:

I have about six skates on the FBV and am still in love. Still on the first set of steel and edges seem to be holding up well...still getting the enhanced glide...still loving the enhanced bite in corners and crossovers. Easier to keep up with guys that prior were a touch faster than me.....

I am still sold on the concept. As to the need to adjust.....to me it was not a big difference beyond more of what you want...less of what you don't....the only thing that took getting used to was realizing I could be more aggressive in cornering and acceleration.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

LOL I am starting to wonder myself.

I got one???LOL

I got mine today although the normal sized Portable with Spinner. Cant wait to see how the team does this weekend!

Windsor Saturday London Sunday!

Wish me luck! FBV.....

[Chadd 916]

One of the guys on my team is going nuts waiting to try the FBV. After one of my goals last week he told me, and everyone within earshot, "I've never seen a fat man move that fast." Obviously I'm in love with it.

I've had good luck with my X02 for the most part. I was getting a weird noise while sharpening a pair of Fuels last week though. Pressure and speed didn't matter, as I tried a number of variations. It still put on a great edge with no waves, just an odd noise whole actually doing the sharpening.

[JR Boucicaut 3798]

Harder steel, did you redress?

[RadioGaGa 162]

Harder steel, did you redress?

Sharpening naked is OBVIOUSLY a bad idea, for so many reasons.

/lame attempt at humour

//feels shame

[UMWhockey 0]

Chadd... should have some new pitch steel coming here soon... mission closeout for $8 a peice..... still trying to convince Andrew to get at least the portable, will have to take him to the booth in Vegas

[JR Boucicaut 3798]

Did you guys pick up 296 holders/steel?

I will be doing FBVs as well in a short bit. :)