Sharpening

[Larry54 243]

I found a new place to get my sharpening which I'm really happy with. But instead of using actual radiuses in inches he uses numbers. For example, the first time I went there he gave me a #5. When I went back I told him it had too much bite so he gave me a #7 which works well for me. Is there another standard numbering system for sharpening or is he just trying to keep his customers ignorant so they'll become dependant on him?

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

That would be the latter.

Most, if not all of us, use inches or thous/degrees.

[Larry54 243]

Thanks for the reply. It isn't the first time that I see a shop use a similar number system, which is why I asked.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

Yeah, a lot of sharpeners do that to maintain business.

[VakarLajos 5]

Yeah, a lot of sharpeners do that to maintain business.

That's much easier than actually, you know, doing a good job.

[DarkStar50 679]

Only in Montreal....................

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

I remember in MI some kids came up from Columbus and wanted a varsity cut.

Luckily I knew two guys who used to run that shop and I called them and asked them what the hell it was. It's 3/8".

[Larry54 243]

Only in Montreal....................

Pretty ironic, isn't it, in such a big hockey city? Last year I got my skates sharpened a few times at Sports Rousseau (also known as Hockey Life in the other provinces) because I had a few free sharpenings with my skate purchase. They didn't even ask me what hollow I wanted on my new skates. Afterwards, I asked him and he said a "regular" sharpening. So I ask him, "So what's that, 1/2" or what?". He says, "Yeah, 1/2". I almost expected him to add "Yeah, that's the ticket" in a Jon Lovitz voice. The first 2 sharpenings seemed OK so I went back for more free sharpenings. The next 2 went from bad to worse, so I said screw the freebies, I'm going to pay for decent sharpening. I was even tempted to go back to T-Blades.

Now I've been to a small sports repair shop called ARS Sports and have very good results. He even showed me with his level how lopsided the Rousseau sharpening was and how level his was afterwards. However he uses this stupid numbering system for ROH that I mentioned earlier.

Does anyone know of a good honest skate sharpener in the east end of Montreal that is upfront about the actual hollow?