Explain open/neutral/closed faces of blades to me

[Scotty 8]

Okay, I've been playing hockey for about 15 years, worked in and managed a pro-shop for a number of those years, and am obviously a gear whore. After all this, I'm pretty sure I know what the terms "open", "closed", etc means for the face of a blade. But upon looking at manufacturers descriptions of their blades and things such as the Bauer ID program's website, everyone has different ideas of what those terms mean. This lead me to question if I really have a grip on what some examples of each truly are.

Patterns with what I'd consider a closed face or neutral at the most are described as open. And others that I'd consider much more open than the prior blade are called neutral.

What gives?

[Speedz98 15]

Open blades will give the puck height a lot faster than closed blades.

I don't know how to properly describe the visual look of an open blade like a Drury. The face is more up, if that makes any sense.

[Chadd 916]

Open is the easiest, it obviously means there is some amount of loft on the blade. The others are a little more complex. Some manufacturers use the term closed for blades that have no loft, we prefer the term neutral for those blades. Closed should refer to blades with a negative loft, where the face actually points down.

[Scotty 8]

Yeah, that's what I thought.

The amount of discrepancy between the descriptions of manufacturers just made me question if I really knew it or not. If "open" is some amount of loft on the blade, aren't the vast majority of blades then considered to be some degree of open-ness?

[IniNew 53]

Yes, and it follows retail trends. Very few people like to shoot low these days. Most prefer top cheese shelf.

[tml67 0]

Bauer ID describes PM9 as open...I would say it's slightly open.

[17D1998 1]

Bauer ID describes PM9 as open...I would say it's slightly open.

Very slightly

[Nakket 0]

I always took it something like this.

Open is like a sand wedge, though maybe not THAT extreme. You get the point.

Neutral is pretty much the blade being perpendicular (orthogonal if you want to get mathematic) to the ground.

Closed is...just so they would have three terms? I guess closed is the opposite of a sand wedge, though the purpose of such a blade I'm unsure.

Funny actually, about the PM9. My first stick was a PM9 one55 wood stick, and I absolutely loved the pattern. The only problem is that it is not a PM9. Compared to my X:20 with a PM9, my one55 has more curve and is way more open. Must be a manufacturing problem.

[bostonjuniorblackhawks 1]

I always took it something like this.

Open is like a sand wedge, though maybe not THAT extreme. You get the point.

Neutral is pretty much the blade being perpendicular (orthogonal if you want to get mathematic) to the ground.

Closed is...just so they would have three terms? I guess closed is the opposite of a sand wedge, though the purpose of such a blade I'm unsure.

Funny actually, about the PM9. My first stick was a PM9 one55 wood stick, and I absolutely loved the pattern. The only problem is that it is not a PM9. Compared to my X:20 with a PM9, my one55 has more curve and is way more open. Must be a manufacturing problem.

it's harder to produce a consistant curve with wood when compared to composite blades

[Scotty 8]

Bauer ID describes PM9 as open...I would say it's slightly open.

I would say slightly open as well (or very slightly as above). Just baffles me when they list it as open, but then list something with a touch more loft (like the P88) as closed.

[TBLfan 25]

I've always understood it as the twist of the toe of the blade compared to the original curve of the blade. If you look at blades, they're almost always curved in an angle that "opens" a blade... but if you think about it from a puck's perspective, it would still be neutral, even a wedge would be neutral. The twist after the original curve would determine openness/closeness and thus it would explain how the Iginla is closed and the Heatley is neutral or slightly open.

[mack 44]

If you were standing in front of a RH shooter this is how the tip of the blade would look:

Open: \

Neutral: |

Closed: /

[trtaylor 3]

Along the same lines, what is the difference between size (3/8", 1/2", etc.) and depth (slight, moderate, deep)?

[phunky_monkey 6]

The inch listing you quote and the depth are one and the same. For instance, Bauer list 1/2" as moderate, 3/8" as slight and 5/8" as deep.

[Scotty 8]

I've always understood it as the twist of the toe of the blade compared to the original curve of the blade. If you look at blades, they're almost always curved in an angle that "opens" a blade... but if you think about it from a puck's perspective, it would still be neutral, even a wedge would be neutral. The twist after the original curve would determine openness/closeness and thus it would explain how the Iginla is closed and the Heatley is neutral or slightly open.

Understood. Any curve in the blade is going to bring more of its face into your perspective (from above). Relative to the puck, it may still be very neutral.

[keegan 0]

If you are familiar with golf, think of a pitching wedge. This is considered an open-faced club and is used for chipping the ball. Same thing with a hockey stick. An open blade pattern is more wedge-like so you can see more of the surface area if you are looking directly over it. It helps to see pictures...this link provides an in depth explanation of hockey blade patterns

[burrn 0]

I totally understand what TBL is saying...but...

I still don't understand why the iggy is "closed".

I mean, you put the blade straight on the ice(or floor, which is rather easy for the iginla because the rocker is so small), keep the blade standing straight(by which I mean no cupping the forehand or backhand), look on from the front of the blade from ground perspective, and the blade still looks like it's open to me (at least by the standards mack showed us above).

And I've been trying to figure i out ever since I started reading these boards by the way

[Chadd 916]

I've always understood it as the twist of the toe of the blade compared to the original curve of the blade. If you look at blades, they're almost always curved in an angle that "opens" a blade... but if you think about it from a puck's perspective, it would still be neutral, even a wedge would be neutral. The twist after the original curve would determine openness/closeness and thus it would explain how the Iginla is closed and the Heatley is neutral or slightly open.

That's not how any manufacturer or site describes the blades.

[TBLfan 25]

That's not how any manufacturer or site describes the blades.

It's the only way to explain how the Iginla and Jagr are "closed" because if you look down the shaft the blades look open, actually the Jagr looked REALLY open.

BUT with both those patterns, if you look at the blade the toe is slightly twisted close.

[Chadd 916]

It's the only way to explain how the Iginla and Jagr are "closed" because if you look down the shaft the blades look open, actually the Jagr looked REALLY open.

BUT with both those patterns, if you look at the blade the toe is slightly twisted close.

Every manufacturer uses different terms, many are confusing or contradictory. That's why we try to use one general set of criteria to describe them all, it makes things less confusing.

[chippa13 1844]

The Iginla appears open when you are looking down the shaft because the curve of the blade makes it appear open from that angle. If you were to follow the Iginla from heel to toe moving over the top of the blade then you would see that the blade stays just about perpendicular to the ground, which in my opinion, makes the Iginla and clones a neutral pattern.

[Scotty 8]

The Iginla appears open when you are looking down the shaft because the curve of the blade makes it appear open from that angle. If you were to follow the Iginla from heel to toe moving over the top of the blade then you would see that the blade stays just about perpendicular to the ground, which in my opinion, makes the Iginla and clones a neutral pattern.

Agreed. When any blade curves to deviate from its original position at the hosel, you will see more of the face of the blade. The bigger the curve, the more of the face you will see. This doesn't mean that the blade is open in any way, just that due to its curvature it is at an angle that pulls the face toward you.

[TBLfan 25]

Exactly.