Mismounted/warped blade holders

[DekeHead 0]

I'm about to pick up a pair of XXXs, and I'm a little hesitant now that I've heard of at least one case of mismounted LightSpeeds. What exactly am I looking for when I inspect my blade holders? How can I tell if the holder has been misaligned and misdrilled?

Thanks!

[MDE3 0]

The front and rear of the blades should line up with the centers of the boot at each end. The blade should not be curved side to side when you sight down the length of it from one end. If either situation is present there will be a problem skating with it.

If the blade does not track with your boot alignment, you will have a lot of trouble driving off that side, and turning etc. If the blade is curved from side to side, it will not sharpen correctly and you will have big problems.

[Speed Demon 0]

I have an excellent question for anyone that works in a shop. When you see mismounted holders and warped blades what do you do?

To tell you the truth, I am full of repulse due to the fact that there are skates being sold that have the crooked holders and screwed up steel and the people that own the hockey shop don't do anything to stop the buyers from buying the skates. If I was working at a shop and I saw that my shipment of Vapor XXXs came in with a bunch of crappy blades and holders, I would send them back.

[MDE3 0]

When these shops get large inventory orders, it's not so easy to start taking them down in front of the public and looking at every one. Maybe if there is a known common flaw with one brand/model you could, but the problems we see here are mostly from a new product line, where you have no reason to suspect that the skates are flawed until the complaints come in. At some point a distributor wants to trust that the manufacturer has done their QA.

I think if the LHS is doing the sharpening of these new blades, then the employees could be put on notice to report any blade curving that is a result of mismounted holders. This would help nip some of the problems in the bud. Inspecting alignment could also be made mandatory where certain models are now suspect. If an employee does this without being so directed by his manager, and were to lose a sale because of finding a flaw in a new skate, he might well be fired in some stores.....No one on here of course...... :P

But if the customer just picks up a skate shipment that comes in from a manufacturer and is handed over by an hourly employee, it would be an easy oversight to make.

[biff44 0]

Some people can see the blade warp by eye. I have poor eyesight, and can not see the warp unless it is pretty bad.

So if you sight down the blade and it is clearly warped in one direction, and if you turn it around 180 degrees and it looks warped in the other direction, then you are pretty sure it is warped.

For the visually handicaped, like me, there is a simple guage, about as long as a blade, that they slide over the blade. If it sticks, the blade is warped, If it falls off the blade freely, the blade is straight. Most good sharpening operation have the guage, so have them show you the blade is flat with the guage first.

[Buzz_LightBeer 973]

usually small warps in blades arent enough to affect ckating and go unnoticed, but large bends in skates can usually be straighened

[Speed Demon 0]

I respect your comments MDE3, however, no matter how big the shipment, there should be someone there to check all that stuff to make sure everything is in perfect condition. Maybe there is the odd one in there that is screwed, but how would you feel if you were the odd one that bought the skate?

[mojo122 538]

I'd rather see the manufacturer do a better job of Quality Control. These flaws should really be picked up and remedied before the product gets shipped to the retailers.

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

I respect your comments MDE3, however, no matter how big the shipment, there should be someone there to check all that stuff to make sure everything is in perfect condition. Maybe there is the odd one in there that is screwed, but how would you feel if you were the odd one that bought the skate?

your right, but a lot(most) of Hockey stores don't care about that.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

IN a lot of cases, a straightener will not fix it - a dismount and realignment of rivets will.

Speed Demon - there's not much you can do. If it is slight, you can keep on using the straightener. If it is drastic, you gotta R/A the skate...

[biff44 0]

Buzz, you are right. A small warp is nothing while skating, as the blade bends all over the place as you are skating. However, even a small warp will effect how the blade can be sharpened. You want the blade to return to flat when your weight is off of it. The way most skate sharpener holders work, if the blade is warped, you will end up with a high edge on one side at the front of the skate, and a high edge on the other side of the blade at the back end of the skate. More than a 0.0015" difference in the two edge heights is very noticeable, and will screw up your cornering and stopping.

[MDE3 0]

I respect your comments MDE3, however, no matter how big the shipment, there should be someone there to check all that stuff to make sure everything is in perfect condition. Maybe there is the odd one in there that is screwed, but how would you feel if you were the odd one that bought the skate?

Should the same thing be applied to gloves, sticks, shin pads, helmets, shoulder pads, wheels, chassis, etc.etc....? Do you understand the cost of doing this? I would agree that a responsible LHS might do an inspection of each skate as they are sold, in particular when there are known problems with a specific model in this regard, but to do an across the board recheck of every skate and every other piece they might sell before it is put on the shelf, is pushing the limit.

[Chadd 916]

I look at stuff before I sell it but I don't have time to inspect everything when it comes in.

[Speed Demon 0]

I respect your comments MDE3, however, no matter how big the shipment, there should be someone there to check all that stuff to make sure everything is in perfect condition. Maybe there is the odd one in there that is screwed, but how would you feel if you were the odd one that bought the skate?

Should the same thing be applied to gloves, sticks, shin pads, helmets, shoulder pads, wheels, chassis, etc.etc....? Do you understand the cost of doing this? I would agree that a responsible LHS might do an inspection of each skate as they are sold, in particular when there are known problems with a specific model in this regard, but to do an across the board recheck of every skate and every other piece they might sell before it is put on the shelf, is pushing the limit.

Agreed, the cost is high.

Now, shame on all the hockey companies that distribute their defected stuff. However, I am still with the notion: shame on the store owners that sell the defected stuff without checking it. Skates in specific and even more specific, holders and warped blades.