FINALLY GOT MY NEW GRAFS

[skates89 0]

I finally got my new grafs 705s. They are on the way to my home. I got them off ebay for 200. My exact size They are actually pro stocks Richard park wore dated 3/2012 They already have the tuuks on them with the ls2s and I notice they have the old interior liner from the past which I liked a lot. If anyone knows what liner this is? Is this the clarino liner. This looks exactly like the liner i had in my last pair. I know this liner is very comfy. Also can anyone suggest a good water repeallent to use on the liner so it doesnt absorb to much water. Ill take any tips on how to maintain these as I want them to last

Im just happy to have these as I searched for a long time. I figure I saved a good bit of money on ebay with these as i dont have to change out the runners. Ebay really is great for things like this if you know your size. Why spend all that money. Cant wait to get them its been two years without having them and I just had to get them back on my feet. Anyone with any opions on the pro stocks or what I can expect from these please feel free to share with me. Im hoping the hole is drilled to change out the blades verses having to remove the runners

RICHARD PARK NHL GAME USED SKATES 8D by skates89, on Flickr

blades graf by skates89, on Flickr

liner graf by skates89, on Flickr

[Davetronz 109]

You may need to have the wedges/shims removed depending on what they've been installed to fix/modify for either the skate or for the previous skater.

[skates89 0]

Hey Dave thanks for the response. Just wondering what shims or wedges are. I know about heel lifts and lift blocks but I have never heard of shims or wedges. Im thinking thats what you mean by shims or wedges. Based on what I can see it doesnt look like he put any heel lifts in them.

[PondHockeyProdigy 0]

Awesome skates for a great price. Those Toungues look interesting, are they thinner then other grafs? Also, I've never seen footbeds like those before. Sweet skates though.

[hunterphfr 12]

The wedges/shims are the thin semi-translucent or opaque or whatever color/non-color pieces of plastic between the blade and the boot. Usually there is one at the heel of the skate to provide the skater with a heels up weight over the toes skating stance. Used to alter the neutral/heels back stance of a Bauer skate for someone used to CCMs or Grafs.

It appears these skates have one front and year, shouldn't affect stance at all if they're the same height.

[wetwilly17 6]

The wedges/shims are the thin semi-translucent or opaque or whatever color/non-color pieces of plastic between the blade and the boot. Usually there is one at the heel of the skate to provide the skater with a heels up weight over the toes skating stance. Used to alter the neutral/heels back stance of a Bauer skate for someone used to CCMs or Grafs.

It appears these skates have one front and year, shouldn't affect stance at all if they're the same height.

i thought the translucent part was just part of the outsole. are you saying that graf makes different thicknesses, effectively heel lifts/lower? if i remember correctly, its all one piece with a hole at the ball of your foot which is covered by the holder. i don't think you can remove it alltogether because then the felt grafics are exposed. get it...grafics. ok that was dumb

[hunterphfr 12]

My bad, I should have said between the holder and the boot. Look at images of Graf skates. You'll notice that the white plastic holder mounts directly to the carbon fibre(I think it's carbon fiber) base of the boot. I know mine did in my G9s, you could see daylight through them in a couple of spots. Yours have a thin piece of plastic in between. Usually called a wedge because most people have one installed between the heel of the boot and the holder. Thus acting as a wedge to increase the forward angle of the skate. Your skates appear to have them front and rear, thus increasing the overall height of the skate, probably a preference of Richard Park's. The effect should be negligible or unnoticeable. Looking at other images of Graf skates on google and online stores I don't see others with similar pieces mounted front and rear.

[JR Boucicaut 3810]

Yes, that skate has both front and heel lifts. Looks like 3mm - so it's just making the holder taller; increasing attack angle, preventing bottoming out on turns. No bearing on pitch.

[wetwilly17 6]

My bad, I should have said between the holder and the boot. Look at images of Graf skates. You'll notice that the white plastic holder mounts directly to the carbon fibre(I think it's carbon fiber) base of the boot. I know mine did in my G9s, you could see daylight through them in a couple of spots. Yours have a thin piece of plastic in between. Usually called a wedge because most people have one installed between the heel of the boot and the holder. Thus acting as a wedge to increase the forward angle of the skate. Your skates appear to have them front and rear, thus increasing the overall height of the skate, probably a preference of Richard Park's. The effect should be negligible or unnoticeable. Looking at other images of Graf skates on google and online stores I don't see others with similar pieces mounted front and rear.

oh i see what you mean now. viewing the pics on my phone earlier and i completely missed the lifts. yeah the cobra holder is low to the ground.

[skates89 0]

Wow a ton of responses thanks so much. Yes i did notice there are spacers between the runner and the sole front and back and standing in them you do feel a bit taller. Amazing what that little lift can feel like. I will be trying these out for the first time wendsday if all goes well. I expect to have the shiftiness back that I feel I lost in some of the newer skates i had been using. The lift is probably as mentioned to help the attack like stance and avoid bottoming out which on my old grafs I bottomed out enough to wear through the inner sides up by the toe cap so this is nice to know. Until I read this post I thought maybe because Park is short he wanted some added height LOL

The tounges are different that the older grafs yes. They are a bit thinner and if you notice the felt is cut away from the tops guess park doesnt like all that felt on top. not a concern with me at all

The skates fit my feet excellent standing around in them same size as my last pair and it looks like both of his feet are the same size which I was a little worried about as we know some pros and many others feet can be different sizes. The radius looks the same as i have skated in before. Looks like a 9 inch radius so that should not be a problem. Ill tell you one thing these things are well built skates. They are pro stock and it seems like there is a little more rigidity in the boot quarters. I already heat molded them as they did not appear to be heat molded. I can pronate in this kind of skate if everything isnt wrapped tight. I also treated the insides with that water repellant. That stuff really works. I poured water into the boot and it just beads up and rolls out amazing stuff. I did them twice as suggested by others all over inside and out. i never did that with my old grafs and they would get water logged like crazy so I expect this to help also keeping the boot firm and not water logging

Wow I am excited to get going in these. Im going to a stick and puck shoot wendsday so I should know whats up and if all goes well I might finally feel like i resolved this issue that started two years ago when my old grafs shit the bed and my friend gave me his X60s and although I must say the X60s offered tons of support i could nto adjust to the shifting from the hips as i have been shifting from my ankles my whole life and i skate low and hard and I need those deep knee bends to get me going

Thanks so much guys I will keep you posted on how things go. I will say this also you can get some great deals on ebay as long as you know your size. I definitely saved big time here and i see tons of very good deals for skates on there all the time. Hopefully i wont need to look any longer thank God

[skates89 0]

Well I tried them out for the first time friday night. I like them a lot a lot a lot lol They are definitely an upgrade from the old 705s of the past. Simply a very good skate very well built. Took a little adjusting to as i like to tweak things a bit and try them out. For now even though they are a low cut boot I still like one lace out. I definitely felt more in control of my edges and I could spin off my heels like crazy something I havent been able to do in along time and something I am better able to do with these and the new support. Those spacers are great as they let you get really low without bottoming out as a fellow poster mentioned earlier. What a skate. the blade is so well radiused that i feel in complete control at all times. More of a nuetral to forward pitch but able to lean forward for aggressive stride and just jump on the heels to turn instantly and man can you feel the bite into the Ice. It would have been scary what I could have done with these back in the day.

After skating in these its a shame i stayed in my old grafs so long. I should have gotton a new pair so much sooner but hey its all good i got a really nice pair now and hockey season is starting soon so there will be plenty of Ice and I guess thats all that matters. Also they fit like a glove very comfortable and I had no foot pain anywhere so after so much research and measuring my foot to get the right pair. I finally made the right decision. Thanks everyone for all the help and the complements on my new skates. I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming season. Long live the great game of hockey

[CoachHealy 1]

Have you skated on them yet? They look awesome.

Are they as heavy as your last pair or do they seem lighter?

I always found Grafs to be a little too heavy. But then again everyone who wears them seems to love them.

Keep us updated on how they feel.

[Monty22 835]

It looks like they are back on ebay, so i'm guessing not so great.....