DIY: How to maintain old skates?

[BraveFart 1]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this site, but I've been doing a lot of reading and I'm finding a lot of useful information and everyone seems to be generally helpful - usually, I see a lot of jerks with critical/negative comments. That being said, I'm posting because I've had a history of problems with my old skates. I live in Toronto, Canada; and I've found that to find a great deal on hockey equipment, is not as great as the United States for some reason. I had to resort to using Kijiji for buying a pair of 'new' skates - and ended up buying a pair of Easton S17's (size 10's) that were practically brand new. Unfortunately, I bought them a size too big and tried to re-sell them and found no luck. I ended up going to Play it Again Sports and only got $100 for them and bought a pair of fairly worn Bauer One 100's, from the reviews that I had researched and got them for $100. So, I think I ended up with a good purchase overall.

I had to go through all of this because my old pair of skates were the CCM Vector's 6.0's. I paid $300 plus tax from Majer Hockey about 6 years back and they were a great pair of skates - at first. They were much lighter than my old skates - which were the Bauer 3000's. But, in the six years that I've had them, I've noticed a severe decline in skate holding up....and before you all say that it's natural, take into consideration that I've had my Bauer 3000's for about 10 years and other than the scrapes, cuts, and blade being replaced (due to thinning), I've had no problems with them. With the CCM's, the original blade had to be replaced because they were not stainless steel and had severe rust corrosion even though I removed my skate guards to allow for them to dry properly, the old skate blade severely chipped, the eyelet for skate laces are all falling off, the stitching is falling off, the tongue is ripping at the top, and lastly; one of the tongues actually completely ripped off. I don't abuse my skates. I dry and clean them properly. I play pick up hockey once a week, and teach ice skating once a week. I play 2-3 games/month in a lower rec league.

So, my question is - am I able to do my own do-it-yourself maintenance for my old skates, as I would like to use them as my back-up skates and how can I do that, or should I just let it go? Thanks in advance.

[Davetronz 109]

Without looking at them and going purely from your description, I'd honestly just let em go. Six years is a pretty good lifespan for a pair of skates, and not to doubt your abilities in any way, but I'm not sure how many of the repairs you'd be able to do yourself without the help of a knowledgeable LHS or sports repair shop, or additional tools/equipment. I'd send them out to pasture and move on.

[BraveFart 1]

Without looking at them and going purely from your description, I'd honestly just let em go. Six years is a pretty good lifespan for a pair of skates, and not to doubt your abilities in any way, but I'm not sure how many of the repairs you'd be able to do yourself without the help of a knowledgeable LHS or sports repair shop, or additional tools/equipment. I'd send them out to pasture and move on.

Thanks for your feedback. I agree 6 years is pretty good, but I'm just sorely disappointed that it didn't last longer. It's not like I'm a professional hockey player - I did play a lot of hockey when I first bought them though. Oh well. :(

[bigdmac 12]

I had the 7.0's and picked them up around the same time as you, and they only lasted me about three and a half years. They started falling apart almost right away, and pretty much everything you commented on happened to me as well. I think it was just a very poorly run line (durability wise). It's a shame because I did like the weight and performance of the skate, but I'll tell you my next pair definitely wasn't CCM.

[njt42 0]

my v10.0s had the plastic chrome on the quarter panel crack everywhere cause the skates werer too shallow for my foot, and the outsole was delaminating. now i rock a pair of ccm pro stock u+ and theve been better