Blackstone Flat-Bottom V Thread

[JR Boucicaut 3795]

At that point, might as well just shell out $300 more and buy himself an X-01.

I think it's completely asinine that they're rejecting his business for no other reason than that it is additional work (and no, it isn't all that hard; especially with a three-point holder.) As he stated, he was willing to pay more.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

Wow if your going to Dukes I am sure our Dundas location is not far for you and I know Jon or Mark would gladly do the FBV for you on your goalie skates. I know my Goalie going to Harvard next year is rather upset about not being able to get it down there and may switch skates or cowlings so I can remove blades to send to her.

Let me know if we can help you. And PS we have extra holders for just this issue!

[jimmy 194]

At that point, might as well just shell out $300 more and buy himself an X-01.

I think it's completely asinine that they're rejecting his business for no other reason than that it is additional work (and no, it isn't all that hard; especially with a three-point holder.) As he stated, he was willing to pay more.

Except that it's really not $300, by the time yo get the spinners, vacuum, edge checker, etc, that bumps up the actual cost quite a bit.

yes, i agree stupid for a high volume shop not to support goalies. As a goalie myself, I use to always get pissed when we were dissed because we were not in the majority. There is a shop near me that actually charges goalie $2 more for a regular sharpening because the guy doesn't want to vary from his 1/2" house cut player setting.

[lpgbackups 17]

Blackstone X02 & Blackedge Runners combination?

Hey, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, i recently pulled the trigger on a pair of blackedge runners, and i'm wondering if any of you had any experience or feedback on sharpening those runners using blackstone machines, specifically the X02. How does it go? i suppose/hope that the blackstone wheels are made strong enough because apparently blackedge runners are made of really hard materials.

when sharpenening, do you guys still do the same process as with any other runner (passing roughly 7 to 10 times) or do you have to make more passes? and assuming that i go to my Local store to do the first cross grinding, like blakedge says we should do, is not doing the cross grinding on future sharpening really ok? like many people have been saying here in this thread.

thank you!

looking forward to a great winter.

[JR Boucicaut 3795]

Once you get past the coating, sharpening is the same. It's just regular stainless underneath.

[lpgbackups 17]

Thanks JR for removing my fears

i was under the impression that those Blackedges were made of some super hard material like diamonds that required some fancy grinding wheels and that my poor little X02 would be too weak for it.

screw that, lets go!

and i understand you personally possess an X02 as well ! Welcome to the club sir!

SICK machine, best purchase i ever made....

Edited September 16, 2012 by lpgbackups

[Stanello 4]

Just as a data point to add to the thread...

I went from 3/8" to 90/75 and felt the edges were almost exactly the same, maybe more bite leaning towards 3/8", but just barely. The glide however, was like night and day. Way smoother with 90/75. I can glide a whole lap or more around the rink.

I'm 140lbs and play in warmish Norcal rinks.

[Stryker 37]

Has anyone ever had issues putting an FBV on thinner blades? Had a customer come in saying his new Reeboks couldn't hold an edge properly when using a 100/75. Any thoughts?

[Chadd 916]

Has anyone ever had issues putting an FBV on thinner blades? Had a customer come in saying his new Reeboks couldn't hold an edge properly when using a 100/75. Any thoughts?

I have one guy on RBKs using 90/75 and a bunch of guys on CCM using 95/75. Other than having to adjust to hit the center of the steel, never had any issues.

[chiefs17 2]

I have one guy on RBKs using 90/75 and a bunch of guys on CCM using 95/75. Other than having to adjust to hit the center of the steel, never had any issues.

With thinner steel, a 100/75 could be nearing the edge of the blade, especially if the steel is a little bent. Have him try a 90/75, that will give him/you an extra .010" of total material to work with.

[lpgbackups 17]

Timing belt. Hi,engineering geniuses, mechanics people on this forum, whats up.

i just bought a bunch of Blackstone X02 accessories ( not because i needed them right now...but only because i wanted to have my conscience clear and have all the stuff i need in the future closeby)

i bought a timing belt amongst other things.....if im only sharpening my own personal skates....and sometimes but rarely those of a few friends, when am i going to have to replace the timing belt?

i sent emails to blackstone but for some reason they don't reply.

Thanks.

[JR Boucicaut 3795]

I've had one coming up on 4 years and I've never replaced it.

Call them - they will be more than happy to answer questions.

[lpgbackups 17]

i guess you'll know its time to replace your timing belt when your machine will explode or just stop working.

i know its dangerous to have a timing belt fail in a car engine so its better to replace it in advance (every 100,000 kilometers). i hope its not the same with blackstone machines!

[JR Boucicaut 3795]

It just won't spin the wheel, that's all. It's not going to explode.

[lpgbackups 17]

damn, i wanted to see an explosion....

[malcb33 97]

I've been skating on 90/75 for the last 2+ years, but last week I was trying a new radius out so the sharpener recommended trying it with a regular ROH before getting him to sharpen my skates with my regular FBV cut (to save on the FBV sharpening fee, if the radius didn't work). He sharpened them to 13/16th's which has a little less bite than what I'm used to, but to my surprise I found a had better feel for my edges with a traditional ROH compared to FBV. It was like the transition to my edges was smoother/ easier with a ROH sharpening, where as with FBV the transition to my edges is more abrupt.

Has anyone else found this as well? I've been a very loyal FBV user for a while, but now I'm thinking about going back to a ROH sharpening.

[lpgbackups 17]

try FBV @ 100/50...

absolutely sick...at least for me.

im 165 lbs....if that matters...

absolutely sick....its the only FBV ive tried....but i cant think of trying anything else.

[JR Boucicaut 3795]

So you're going to recommend someone a deeper hollow than what he's skating on, just because YOU like it?

M - you should probably move up to something with a bit less bite. 85/75 and 80/75 are available hollows. Also, keep in mind, ice conditions give the hollow a different feel regardless of hollow; ice is softer now than it will be in the winter, which explains why you're feeling sticky edges at the current FBV.

[SAK 2]

I agree with J.R.. What we have found is that there is very slight variances that can make a huge difference in the way you skate. Going to an 80/75 will give you the less bite feel while maintaining a great glide and stability. you may go back to your old cut when the ice hardens up a bit. Its great that you can feel the difference, for me it just proves that the data does not lie.

[malcb33 97]

Thanks for the reply guys. 90/75 is the most shallow FBV sharpening my guy offers. Being a bigger guy (205lbs) I was using 13/16ths pervious to using FBV but I got used to the 90/75 and actually enjoyed the extra bite (without the drag of a deeper ROH).

Perhaps trying an FBV cut which is less sharp would be the answer for me, but unfortunately it's not available for me locally at this stage. The ice I was skating on was pretty hard for this time of year and maybe I'm not doing a good job of explaining the issue. It felt like a more smooth transition from glide the phase to where the edges bite using a 13/16ths ROH aposed to when I skate on FBV. To me it didn't feel like it was from using a less sharp hollow, but more that the edges gradually dug into the ice giving me more control. Does that make sense?

[JR Boucicaut 3795]

I still say a shallower FBV. You're acknowledging the fact that you're getting extra bite.

You could buy the individual Spinner and give it to the sharpener every time you sharpen your skates.

[Chadd 916]

It's hard to compare when you switch both profile and hollow at the same time. When I was switching between different brands I would use different hollows based on the profile of the skate.

[malcb33 97]

Thanks for the advice. I actually was trying to mimic the profile on my second set of steel, so even though I was changing profile it was actually the same as what I was using previously.

I'll look into purchasing a spinner, I really do like the glide advantage of FBV but edge control is pretty crucial for me. Hopefully I can find an equivalent FBV cut.

[Jim A 4]

Nearly 100 pages in the thread, I searched some but am looking for info from D-men who transitioned from a normal ~ 3/4" to FBV. I'm thinking of trying it out as a good way to offset the 9' radius on my skates with a bit more glide, especially while skating backwards. There is some variance on the Blackstone site for that range. I was thinking of starting with a 95/75 based on what I saw here;http://www.blackstonesport.com/FBV_Comparison_Chart.pdf

Thought process of that it was better to have a little bit better deeper feel than not if it wasn't working out that well at least I have edges.

Thanks for the help and insight

[Chadd 916]

Most of the guys on my team that skated on 1/2 prefer the 95/75, the 5/8 and 3/4 guys prefer 90/75