skate rocker

[Ranger-#8 1]

I play defense, and was wonder about the rocker on my 8090. Would it be better to have a very square heel on the blade of my skates, or a rounder heel that tapers into the holder. Since, I do alot of backwards I tought it would be better.

[djinferno 2]

i like square because you have more blade contact on the ise, when you have it rounded, its usualy because they grind it to much and make it banana

[Chadd 916]

If you grind it all the way up to the holder you're going to ruin the profile that is on there. Many defensemen have a longer profile for max speed while skating backwards, but that's just preference.

[GekigangarIII 0]

Are you currently having trouble on transitions or something? I thought the 8090s were pretty neutral, almost negative leaning.

[Ranger-#8 1]

it just looks odd. Should it be a smooth curve into the holder, or it rounds the turns into almost into a flat angle then another flat angle into the holder. Also how far should the skate be sharpened?

[Eazy_b97 1]

You do not want the back of your skates to be rounded. It will cause you to fall backwards. You'll want to keep as much steel as possible.

[MDE3 0]

Actually the profile of the rear of the skate is less important than the front for backwards skating..as long as you are comfortable with your stance(balance) at rest. The concept of lowering the rear is actually caused by seeing defensive type blades which carry a full "boat nose" bulge at the front to keep the maximum toe thrust for "C" cuts when accelerating backwards. If you are too rounded at the rear, you may find a lack of balance when executing power turns...a tendecy for your weight to shift too far backwards.

What happens for defencemen who want to maintain the deep front profile, is that they will ask the sharpener to not cut too much off the front in order to maintain the meat there, and so the rear of the skate tends to get lower after multiple sharpenings, because the rear profile is actually less critical than the front. There is no need to cut that profile intentionally...you just want to make sure you can maintain a "big bite" with front of the blade.

Of course it gets down to what feels right for the individual, but most players do not get the chance to compare a lot of different blade profiles on the same skate to where they can make a fair comparison and see what feels right for them.

[Chadd 916]

You're changing pitch at that point, a very different situation than rounding off the profile.

[MDE3 0]

You're changing pitch at that point, a very different situation than rounding off the profile.

Yes you are often, and it's not usually a deliberate thing...just a result of continuing instruction to keep the front profile in place over multiple sharpenings. We used to Rocker the skates while attempting to keep the same profile..fairly touchy thing to do, pretty much need a check template to do it....effectively we were adding a couple of degrees of forward pitch to the skate.

[chippa13 1844]

You're changing pitch at that point, a very different situation than rounding off the profile.

Yes you are often, and it's not usually a deliberate thing...just a result of continuing instruction to keep the front profile in place over multiple sharpenings. We used to Rocker the skates while attempting to keep the same profile..fairly touchy thing to do, pretty much need a check template to do it....effectively we were adding a couple of degrees of forward pitch to the skate.

If you simply follow the profile of the blade when you sharpen it then you shouldn't be changing the pitch of the skate at all.

[Chadd 916]

That's a half assed way to do it.

[chippa13 1844]

That's a half assed way to do it.

Not really. Sharpening shouldn't effect the overall profile of the blade. Everything should maintain the same proportional shape.

[Chadd 916]

That's a half assed way to do it.

Not really. Sharpening shouldn't effect the overall profile of the blade. Everything should maintain the same proportional shape.

but why not just change the profile and be done with it? doing a little here and there doesn't make sense.

[chippa13 1844]

That's a half assed way to do it.

Not really. Sharpening shouldn't effect the overall profile of the blade. Everything should maintain the same proportional shape.

but why not just change the profile and be done with it? doing a little here and there doesn't make sense.

I think you're making it harder that it should be. The pitch shouldn't change just because of sharpening because you should be grinding about the same amount of each section of the blade. Sure, the blade will wear down but the entire blade will change proportionally, otherwise, you would have guys getting their custom radiuses (pitch set-ups) redone all the time.

[Chadd 916]

MDE was talking about changing the pitch by sharpening unevenly.

[chippa13 1844]

MDE was talking about changing the pitch by sharpening unevenly.

I hope he doesn't get his hands on my skates. I'm very particular.

[JR Boucicaut 3760]

That's a half assed way to do it.

Not really. Sharpening shouldn't effect the overall profile of the blade. Everything should maintain the same proportional shape.

but why not just change the profile and be done with it? doing a little here and there doesn't make sense.

I think you're making it harder that it should be. The pitch shouldn't change just because of sharpening because you should be grinding about the same amount of each section of the blade. Sure, the blade will wear down but the entire blade will change proportionally, otherwise, you would have guys getting their custom radiuses (pitch set-ups) redone all the time.

It depends if hthe sharpener cross-grinds the blade before sharpening...he will mess with the profile if he does that.

[chippa13 1844]

That's a half assed way to do it.

Not really. Sharpening shouldn't effect the overall profile of the blade. Everything should maintain the same proportional shape.

but why not just change the profile and be done with it? doing a little here and there doesn't make sense.

I think you're making it harder that it should be. The pitch shouldn't change just because of sharpening because you should be grinding about the same amount of each section of the blade. Sure, the blade will wear down but the entire blade will change proportionally, otherwise, you would have guys getting their custom radiuses (pitch set-ups) redone all the time.

It depends if hthe sharpener cross-grinds the blade before sharpening...he will mess with the profile if he does that.

The guy I go to usually gives it a little cross grinding at the beginning of each sharpening and he keeps the radius and profile true with the sharpening. Of course, he's been doing skates longer than I've been alive so that could have something to do with it.

[Eazy_b97 1]

We were taught to do re-profiling very quickly, especially touch ups. We didn't even use the cross grind. The only time I've seen the cross grinder used at the shop was for a first sharpening. Someone made goalie skates with an XX boot.

MDE3 - I wasn't reffering to falling while skating backwards, I was referring to falling backwards. Like you said on turns and other points where there will be pressure put on your heels.

[MDE3 0]

That's a half assed way to do it.

Are you referring to my changing the pitch by regrinding the same profile at a different angle as being a "half assed way" to do this? How else would you have done it...shim the holder between the heel and the rear of the holder? Shim under one end of the blade..wont work...? At least with the holders I was working with that was the only way to change the pitch and keep the profile.

[MDE3 0]

MDE was talking about changing the pitch by sharpening unevenly.

I hope he doesn't get his hands on my skates. I'm very particular.

Not to worry...I only ground skates for players who understood what they wanted and needed.....

[Chadd 916]

Yes I was referring to your ghetto method. No need to be a jackass either, chippa knows what he's talking about. You aren't the only one with special knowledge, it's fairly common knowledge among people who have done it for a living.

What I would consider the proper way would be to measure it off, grind it down, then reprofile using a template. It may be a bit more work but will be a much more accurate way to change the pitch. Personally, I like just moving the bolt on my Missions.

[JR Boucicaut 3760]

...or Custom Radius...comes out consistent every time...

[MDE3 0]

Yes I was referring to your ghetto method. No need to be a jackass either, chippa knows what he's talking about. You aren't the only one with special knowledge, it's fairly common knowledge among people who have done it for a living.

What I would consider the proper way would be to measure it off, grind it down, then reprofile using a template. It may be a bit more work but will be a much more accurate way to change the pitch. Personally, I like just moving the bolt on my Missions.

I am not sure why you assumed that what I was doing is any different from what you described....do not confuse what I said earlier about maintaining a high front profile with what I described as deliberately changing the pitch....I was describing a skate shape that occurred by atrophy..with inexperienced sharpeners trying to avoid cutting too much off the front to maintain the front profile and over time taking too much taken off the rear...thus inadvertantly changing the pitch..this was just an observation..not a recommendation....

As far my being a jackass....well if neither you nor the other individual involved understood what I was saying..then perhaps you should read what I said more carefully before jumping in with both feet and deciding that I was a moron.

No need for me to post here in future...

[Chadd 916]

Actually it was the insult of Chippa that sparked mine. We can only read what you post, not your mind.