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tpedersen3118

Hollows

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Look for some recommendations as to steel hollows. I'm 5'9" 240 been playing for 15 or so years. I've always skated 1/2" because "if ain't broke, don't fix it!" And that's the first hollow I ever had. Anyway, the ice I'm skating at is pretty hard compared to my summer rink and I've blown edges like crazy. I'm dropping down it a 9/16" to see if that helps, but any suggestions on hollows and how you've found your fit would help. Thanks!

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In reading your post I got the impression that you were looking for more "bite" on hard ice.

Going from a 1/2 to 9/16 will give you less bite and more glide. Is that what you're looking for?

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2 minutes ago, Anjin-san said:

In reading your post I got the impression that you were looking for more "bite" on hard ice.

Going from a 1/2 to 9/16 will give you less bite and more glide. Is that what you're looking for?

Really just trying to keep from losing edges with a shallower hollow. My thought process was this... Less hollow less bite, but a stronger edge? Maybe? With a 1/2" on the ice I'm currently playing I keeping losing a edge. While 9/16" isn't much, there might be more blade and obviously more shallow hollow so on a real hard stops or turns I'm not taking so much blade off the ice. I'm not sure my thinking here is correct in anyway but I thought I'd at least give it a try. Given my weight and skating ability I don't think going to 9/16 will hurt my play

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Just now, tpedersen3118 said:

Really just trying to keep from losing edges with a shallower hollow. My thought process was this... Less hollow less bite, but a stronger edge? Maybe? With a 1/2" on the ice I'm currently playing I keeping losing a edge. While 9/16" isn't much, there might be more blade and obviously more shallow hollow so on a real hard stops or turns I'm not taking so much blade off the ice. I'm not sure my thinking here is correct in anyway but I thought I'd at least give it a try. Given my weight and skating ability I don't think going to 9/16 will hurt my play

I skate Supreme 190's with the LS3 steel which up until recently has held up really well

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I would try a Fbv cut if it's available in your area. It will give you some more bite without losing any glide. At your weight I would start with something like 90/75, seeing how that feels and then either keep that or ask for a Fbv cut with more or less grip. Any traditional cut deeper than 1/2" for someone that weighs 240 sounds insane.

I grew up not knowing about hollows and just getting a standard sharpening which is usually 1/2" or 5/8" depending on the shop. I would only get my skates sharpened a few times a season and hated freshly sharpened skates. I then joined this site about 12 years ago and learner about hollows. I went from 5/8" to 3/4" to 7/8". I was pretty happy with 7/8" or 3/4" depending on ice conditions - with 5/8" and lower I would get chatter on stops and catch edges during transitions. I then demoed Fbv at a modsquadhockey event and tried the 90/75 hollow. I loved the glide, but had a bit of chatter on stops and caught edges on transitions. I then tried the 90/50 cut at a local shop and loved it. More bite and better glide than a traditional 7/8" cut and a good sharpening at this hollow feels perfect the first skate. I have exclusively requested the 90/50 Fbv for several years now. 

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Your logic is flawed. A shallower hollow will give you less bite. 9/16" would give you less bite than 1/2". 5/8" would give you less bite than 9/16", etc.

Are you sure you're not wiping out because the side of the boot is contacting the ice on sharp turns? That may be happening if you're leaning more to get grip on harder ice, especially if your runners are very worn down.

Like althoma1 said, going below 1/2" for your weight would be quite unusual. I'm 140lbs and get enough grip with 5/8".

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im not bottoming out. I am literally losing an edge on the steel causing it to roll over and create a 3"-4" burr and loss of edge - mostly on the outside edge on both the left and right foot. Bite is non issue nor do I feel like it will be with 9/16" or 5/8" for that matter as my weight digs me in, but like I said 1/2" is all I've ever skated / tried.

My LHS does have the FBV as an option but I haven't gone that route as I haven't done my research to fully understand the benefits and draw backs of the FBV. I have plenty steel left, but that does make me question at what point do you swap steel that when new sits higher (LS3 /LS4) than the traditional LS2 blade?

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I play on fairly soft ice all year round. A few years ago when I was 240 I went from 1/2 to 5/8 and it was great. I'm 260 now and just moved from 5/8 to 3/4. I almost wish I was on 3/4 sooner - So much glide! Just all depends on your style I guess. I've been on 3/4 for about a month and I'm still getting used to the edges - Just takes time.

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The 3-4 inch burr should not be caused by the ice. Burrs like that are caused by stepping on cement, running into posts, colliding with other blades, stepping on steel mounts near the benches or drain covers in the room.

Check if the rink you are skating at has any exposed steel on the benches or in the rooms and take extra care to avoid them. 

Also ensure you have skate guards or good soakers with no holes so your blades aren't being damaged in your bag.

 

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Appreciate all of the suggestions and feedback! I'll check out the rink on Sunday and see if maybe maybe my skates are coming in contact w/ anything that could be causing the blown edges. Soakers are in good shape and I always make sure to put my skates between my pants and shoulder pads when packing my bag to avoid any incidental ding of the blades. 

Biggest lesson learned, shallower hollow for a guy my size. Looking forward to experimenting with different depths

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Appreciate all of the suggestions and feedback! I'll check out the rink on Sunday and see if maybe maybe my skates are coming in contact w/ anything that could be causing the blown edges. Soakers are in good shape and I always make sure to put my skates between my pants and shoulder pads when packing my bag to avoid any incidental ding of the blades. 

Biggest lesson learned, shallower hollow for a guy my size. Looking forward to experimenting with different depths

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On 12/5/2016 at 10:02 PM, tpedersen3118 said:

im not bottoming out. I am literally losing an edge on the steel causing it to roll over and create a 3"-4" burr and loss of edge - mostly on the outside edge on both the left and right foot. Bite is non issue nor do I feel like it will be with 9/16" or 5/8" for that matter as my weight digs me in, but like I said 1/2" is all I've ever skated / tried.

My LHS does have the FBV as an option but I haven't gone that route as I haven't done my research to fully understand the benefits and draw backs of the FBV. I have plenty steel left, but that does make me question at what point do you swap steel that when new sits higher (LS3 /LS4) than the traditional LS2 blade?

Ice does not cause that burr, hard or soft, you likely are hitting something, usually another player's skate while digging for puck or fighting for position. Seeing you are losing outside edges, that just confirms that.  Won't matter what hollow you your, contact will wipe out an edge. On;y way to prevent that is to not go into the dirty areas, or switch to Blackedge runners which can take contact without destroying the edge..

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Just out of curiosity, what are you (OP) doing when you lose your edge? (And there's no downside to FBV performance-wise. It's more expensive and it's said to be more delicate, but I haven't found it to be any more delicate than ROH. Assuming you pick the right FBV edge corresponding closest to your ROH, there's no adjustment time at all.)

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15 hours ago, jimmy said:

Ice does not cause that burr, hard or soft, you likely are hitting something, usually another player's skate while digging for puck or fighting for position. Seeing you are losing outside edges, that just confirms that.  Won't matter what hollow you your, contact will wipe out an edge. On;y way to prevent that is to not go into the dirty areas, or switch to Blackedge runners which can take contact without destroying the edge..

I was under the impression that there isn't a company who makes a a blackedge or dlc runner for the LS3 Edge holder or any Edge holder for that matter because of the Bauer patent?

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14 hours ago, YesLanges said:

Just out of curiosity, what are you (OP) doing when you lose your edge? (And there's no downside to FBV performance-wise. It's more expensive and it's said to be more delicate, but I haven't found it to be any more delicate than ROH. Assuming you pick the right FBV edge corresponding closest to your ROH, there's no adjustment time at all.)

Honestly, I'm not sure. 

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5 hours ago, tpedersen3118 said:

I was under the impression that there isn't a company who makes a a blackedge or dlc runner for the LS3 Edge holder or any Edge holder for that matter because of the Bauer patent?

Some shops send out bauer steel to the coater for DLC treatment.

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for what its worth, I am about 230.  I play league at a rink with very soft ice, so I've found the 9/16ths works pretty good for me there.  When I skate drop in or sticks, most of the rinks have pretty hard ice (especially now that its cold outside), and I feel a little 'slippery' out there skating (or a little less in control), but only slightly.  my normal shop put a 1/2 on my skates last week by accident, and I couldnt skate in them, it was very noticeable.   I'm also on an 11' radius, although I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not. 

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9/16" felt good last week. I may stay with this for a while and then drop to 5/8" to give it a shot. 

As far as losing edges goes, the only thing that I can think of is when I jump the boards my blade may have made contact with the metal frame or door handle. The only reason I think this is because I saw a guy do it on Sunday and he short shift and left because he couldn't turn, it was that bad.

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Another thing to watch out for is kick your feet under the benches, the supports under there are just exposed steel. I've hit them a few times when I was trying to stretch my legs out between shifts

 

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Just wanted to follow up on this topic and get some additional thoughts. 9/16 has been working really well for me, I am interested in dropping to 5/8 though. Am I going to notice any real difference in the two cuts or will it be negligible?

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28 minutes ago, tpedersen3118 said:

Just wanted to follow up on this topic and get some additional thoughts. 9/16 has been working really well for me, I am interested in dropping to 5/8 though. Am I going to notice any real difference in the two cuts or will it be negligible?

Do it. The difference between 9/16 and 5/8 is small. You can always change it back, but I have a feeling you won't.

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2 hours ago, tpedersen3118 said:

Just wanted to follow up on this topic and get some additional thoughts. 9/16 has been working really well for me, I am interested in dropping to 5/8 though. Am I going to notice any real difference in the two cuts or will it be negligible?

I think that if you're a decent skater and skate often enough, you'll notice the difference. A few weeks ago, I decided to go from 5/8" to 11/16" and noticed that I have to lean my skates a bit more to get enough bite, otherwise I occasionally get a small unexpected sideways skid under certain circumstances. I've adjusted to this and feel like I still get as much bite as I need overall. The only doubt this brings up is whether the additional movement to increase the lean of my skates affects economy of movement. In other words, when I make a quick change of direction switching from my inside edge to my outside edge or vice versa, I have to make a greater change in the angle of my skate from one edge to the other to maintain grip. This only adds a fraction of a second but it can make a difference.

I've also noticed that there's less "crunching" on tight turns making them feel smoother.

So those are the things I noticed which you can look out for.

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