Goalie Skate Steel

[2nhockey 21]

My son is currently in Reebok 12k goalie skates (bought used). He seems to really like them but as 10 year olds go, he is outgrowing them. Right now they fit him perfectly which is to say I'm reasonably sure they'll be too small by his birthday in December. I am hoping he can still wear them for tryouts and such in October and practices beginning  in November. So in anticipation of him outgrowing his Reeboks plus the arrival of his 11th  b-day I picked up a pair of new Graf 5500G's. I did my best to anticipate his growth and account for size differences between Graf and Reebok.

I've never dealt with brand new goalie skates before. Do I need to have these profiled or radiused? Recommendations on what to ask for?

Can goalie skates with the cowling be baked? Should they be? Specifically the Graf 5500's.

His Reeboks have 4mm steel sharpened at 5/8. Stick with that? There isn't necessarily a skate-related problem with his movements in and around the crease - at least not that my untrained eye has seen.

Should have knee protection for him in 2 weeks and then he is completely outfitted for the new season! Waiting on October...

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I don't bother getting my goalie steel radiused, unless I want it to feel a specific way or trying to mimic a previous pair of skates (neither situation applies to me). If he's on 5/8 and likes it, stick with it. 

Yes, they can be baked and yes they should be. 

[psulion22 402]

Are you sure that those Grafs will fit him?  There's a difference bewteen the way they fit, and feel.

You don't need to profile the steel, though I always have new steel profiled because they are never matching and accurate out of the box.  That goes for any skates or steel.  yes they can, and should, be baked.

I don't know if the Graf's are 3 or 4 mm steel.  If it's 4, the sharpening is fine the same, if it's 3 mm you will need to go 1/8"-1/4" cheaper.

[Kgbeast 195]

Graf is known to be the thickest blade (4.2mm) although by a pretty minute amount. Problem with Graf steel is that it is known to be a bit softer which should not matter for 10 years old, but it might be more prone to being bent if he takes a strong shot in the blade. That said I think Reebok 12K comes with pretty basic steel that might be actually worse. You can consider getting StepSteel for G5500, but probably a little down the line if you see if there is a problem or not. Some claim that the steel does not hold edge, so keep an eye on that, although once again I doubt 12K can do better.  Even though the boot is tighter fit, it might be a good thing. Comparing to 12K , these things are pretty legit. You son should be pretty happy with the upgrade.

[2nhockey 21]

Thanks for the feedback. 

No, I am not sure on fit. I mean, I am trying to forecast a growing child's fit a half a year in advance. An average child's growth is 2-3 half sizes per year so before we even get going we are going on best guesses. There are several difficult to account for variables, so... having said that, it isn't like I went in totally blind. The boy has 2 older sisters and me, and we have never thrown or given away a pair of skates, yet. So I made my guess by having him try on several skates I have on the skate shelf in addition to his current goalie skates (12k's), and his current player skates (Easton RS). Since he had a pretty good fit in some Graf 535's I decided the 5500G's wouldn't be too much of a stretch. At the end of the day if I  completely botched this and the skates don't work, I will have the bigger problem of scrambling to find skates that work than these skates not fitting well.

Appreciate the info on the steel. I had no idea. I didn't understand why guys were putting expensive steel in goalie skates. That answers so many questions. 

My son will be a first year peewee. Around here that is when the talent levels start getting noticeably different between kids, especially between a 2nd year PW A skater and a first year B/C skater. So, having said that, last year (Squirt), bent steel wasn't  on my mind. It sounds like it is a possibility this year so now I know to keep an eye out for that. I'm not planning on new steel now, but at least I know that bent steel can happen and to watch for it.

Also, I had no idea how good the 12k skates were. I bought them used last year and received minimal input on their relative quality level. I just needed goalie skates, these had all their steel left and were broken in (not down). I think I gave  $40 for them and felt that was a good deal.

Thank you for the help! 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Keep in mind that when we say fit we mean a whole lot more than just size.

[2nhockey 21]

Right, thanks. For my son the length seems to be hardest to pin down. Otherwise he seems to think everything works. Imagine as he gets older he'll develop better fit preferences.