LHS sharpening

[Quintin 16]

I went for a sharpening at my LHS on Sunday and there was a new kid there. I asked the manager if he'd sharpen the skates instead but he insisted the kid do the job. Bit the bullet and went with it.

Holy crap, I have never been more scared of someone sharpening my skates before. He was trying to pass the skate against the wheel as fast as he could and didn't hesistate to slow down, even with the manager watching. He lightly shaped the wheel before doing it on the other skate. I had practise later that night and it was by FAR the worst sharpening I've ever had. Now I don't wanna be THAT customer that tries to tell the someone how to do their job but is there anyway of going about to get him to slow down without pissing the manager off? This is the only LHS in town (the rink also sharpens skates but you have to wait 2/3 days before you get your skates back) and I don't really want to pay for the worst sharpening in the world.

Any similiar experiences?

[Chadd 916]

I would have taken them back and asked them to fix the skates and still would. Everyone has to learn to sharpen at some point, that doesn't mean that you should have to skate on bad edges. The funny thing is we used to have a woman that worked for us and people would avoid having her sharpen skates. She actually did a better job than my partner or the other guy that worked for us.

[yrhmblnr8r 69]

+1 for going back.

My last LHS sharpening was done on a Saturday but I didn't need them until Tuesday. When I looked them over at home Sunday, they just didn't look right. The steel had a scalloped pattern to it and had a some filings similar to what Law Goalie discusses here. I went back on Monday after work and asked a few questions. The guy there (different guy) said the owner of the shop had just changed the wheel and went over them again. Same pattern, but a little more faint. He then called the owner and one of their other stores for advice. He even searched some on the store's computer. Armed with some knowledge, he got them right.

In the end, he spent about an hour on them. It's one more reason I'll go back to that store. However, if I hadn't gone back they would never have known there was a problem. Take them back and give the store a chance to fix the issue. Your worst case scenario is that they can't/won't help you, but I think most stores will have enough pride to try to make it right.

[bostonjuniorblackhawks 1]

I went for a sharpening at my LHS on Sunday and there was a new kid there. I asked the manager if he'd sharpen the skates instead but he insisted the kid do the job. Bit the bullet and went with it.

Holy crap, I have never been more scared of someone sharpening my skates before. He was trying to pass the skate against the wheel as fast as he could and didn't hesistate to slow down, even with the manager watching. He lightly shaped the wheel before doing it on the other skate. I had practise later that night and it was by FAR the worst sharpening I've ever had. Now I don't wanna be THAT customer that tries to tell the someone how to do their job but is there anyway of going about to get him to slow down without pissing the manager off? This is the only LHS in town (the rink also sharpens skates but you have to wait 2/3 days before you get your skates back) and I don't really want to pay for the worst sharpening in the world.

Any similiar experiences?

One of my lhs's does a terrible job sharpening. They have great customer service and do a good job fitting me for skates, so I give them my business. Of course after they sharpen them, I need to bring my skates to a different lhs lol.

[santiclaws 0]

I went to t'blades because of this very problem, repeated over, and over, and over...

[Makoto 3]

I had a really bad experience at a large scale hockey retailer sharpening my skates and I will not go back for skate sharpening. Although, I agree that the shop employee may need to learn how to sharpen skate properly, but how about they practice on their own skates and not mine???

I recommend asking your teammates/friends who skate for a referral to a good person/shop. I've found a couple LHS's that I trust and now I won't let any one else work on my skates. Just my $.02.

[JR Boucicaut 3810]

Although, I agree that the shop employee may need to learn how to sharpen skate properly, but how about they practice on their own skates and not mine???

Because they think they're doing a good job.