Skate socks, and rivets?

[scorer75 9]

Guys, I have two questions I'm looking for some input on.

1. Skate socks

What's the deal with skate socks? I generally use regular cotton athletic socks when skating. For those who use skate socks, why do you use them and what advantage over regular socks do you get using them?

2. Rivets

I've been in Bauer One.8 skates for a year, great skates. I skate a lot, like 20 hours a week on average. I'm 6' 3" and weigh 215 lb. and from day one I have consistently needed to replace rivets because they are coming loose.

I realize I am big, and I do skate quite hard, and a lot of hours, but is this normal?

Is there anything I should be looking at that this keeps happening? Anything I can do to stop this from happening?

Thanks.

[matix218 11]

As far as skate socks, from what I know they are just thin "compression" socks for the most part. There are other types (like the protective kevlar ones to prevent Karlsson like injuries) but Personally I have found that Under Armor compression socks (not specifically made for hockey) are my favorite.

Rivet wise, I would venture a guess that given how often you play your skates do not get adequately dried out and the moisture/sweat are probably rotting out your rivets causing them to weaken and break/loosen. I usually only play once or twice a week but I always hang my skates on a drying rack near a dehumidifier with the insoles out to make sure that sweat/moisture does not collect under the insole and rot out/weaken the rivets.

[jonesy9020 77]

I recently brought my skates in which had been getting loose as well. The guys at Total Hockey replaced the rivets in the front, and instead of going with the regular black ones, used copper rivets on the back two holes on the front part of the holder -- haven't had any issues since replacement.

[Matty33 6]

I can't comment on the rivets as I haven't had that issue thankfully.

As far as socks go, I use to go bare foot for the longest time but about 6 years ago started trying different skate socks. I use them to help wick away the sweat but mainly to keep the skates from getting all funky. I tend to use either the Under Armour skate socks or one of the Easton brand. Another reason to go with compression socks is to keep your foot from moving around at all, if you use regular socks or thick socks there could be some movement with your foot sliding around.

[t6lock 24]

I have rivet issues too. Someone on this forum once said "once rivet issues start, they never stop" and it holds true for me. I also had the back 2 of the front portion of the holder replaced as copper and they have been holding well since.

[SCOMPL 14]

Regular cotton socks can bunch up, especially at the top of the foot. This can cause skates to fit poorly and/or reduce circulation, causing cold toes.

[scorer75 9]

I remove the inserts after every skate, and dry them whenever possible. They aren't rusted out because they're not very old (the rivets have been replaced already).

I guess I'll just keep an eye on it and see what happens.

Thanks for the replies.

[Vet88 674]

You could try painting the rivets with some anti rust. It worked ok with my inlines and my grafs are a year old and hanging in there. However I personally believe the raw materials they are using to make rivets today are garbage. If you want long lasting rivets go copper all round, these also have issues with a chemical reaction to salts in sweat but they do last a long time.

[Amiroo39 121]

+1 for copper rivets. Much better than the black stock rivets, specially if you're a big heavier fellow.

[jimmy 194]

Copper rivets are good for strength, but do not use them in place of steel rivets. They do NOT hold the holder in place and it will shift/twist causing the steel to take on a bend. As someone said above if you are having rivets problems, you are not drying your skates. Remove footbed and blow air into the skate. A nice skiboot dryer like DRYGUY WORKS PERFECT.

[AIREAYE 248]

Yeah, jeez, don't go all copper LOL.

What jimmy said.

[Amiroo39 121]

Yeah, jeez, don't go all copper LOL.

What jimmy said.

Would some copper be OK? I was lead to believe since a young age that they do a better job of keeping the holder in place, so my LHS replaces some of them when I buy the skates brand new. I weigh about a 165lbs if that means anything.

[AIREAYE 248]

I'd leave that question for jimmy.

[MaximRecoil 7]

Why don't they make the rivets out of stainless steel, or brass, or anything else suitably strong and malleable that doesn't have the corrosion/rust problem of ordinary steel?

[Vet88 674]

I have been told by a guy who used to work in a pro shop that copper rivets are stronger than steel rivets. But they typically aren't used all round because of the cost, around 3 - 4 times more expensive than steel and the difficulty in getting them to fit right. You have to take a lot of care to make sure the rivet is a perfect fit to the hole in the boot and the holder to prevent it shifting around, whether or not you can get that level of skill from your local shop is another matter. This is why the standard approach is to mix them, steel rivets lock everything in place with the claw and stop the holder from moving around, then copper rivets are added in areas where extra strength is needed.

You can get other rivet materials, even steel that is corrosion resistant eg used in airline construction. Whether or not you can get it in a skate size I don't know as I'm not in those industries anymore. At the end of the day it all comes down to cost and plain steel is cheap.

[MaximRecoil 7]

The standard black steel rivets are just tubular rivets, traditionally used for riveting leather, like so (which makes sense, since skates traditionally had leather soles), and when peened they form sharp-edged "legs" or "petals" that spread out and dig into the top of the insole. This helps to resist side-to-side and fore-and-aft movement, but they aren't as strong as the solid copper rivet/washer combination when it comes to resisting being pulled straight out of the hole. On the other hand, the solid copper rivet/washer combination doesn't dig into the insole, so it doesn't resist side-to-side and fore-and-aft movement very well.

Using a combination of both styles of rivets, with the solid copper rivets usually being installed in the rearmost pair of holes where they are most needed, gives the best of both worlds.

So, if someone is having rust problems with the black plain steel tubular rivets that skate shops have onhand, why not just buy your own tubular rivets (after determining what size you need) and have the skate shop install them? You can get tubular rivets from e.g., Grainger.com in a variety of lengths and diameters, and in a variety of materials, e.g., aluminum, brass, nickel-plated steel, stainless steel. I'd think that stainless steel would be ideal.

[scorer75 9]

Excellent replies and info guys, thanks so much. I went to the skate shop on my way to the rink last night and this is exactly what he did. He put some copper rivets where the steel rivets were loose. He also mentioned that some of the pro stock skates come that way from the factory. When I asked why he didn't do this the last time we replaced them he said that when he first replaced them he just figured they were installed poorly at the factory, but now he feels copper is warranted.

Thanks again for the info guys.