Blade edge durability?

[krisdrum 233]

My son is currently running standard STEP steel (stainless) on his skates having upgraded him from the stock CCM steel.  I've noticed lately that after almost every skate, but especially games, he has blade damage (rolled edges, nicks, gouges).  He is a D man and play is getting more physical (first year U12).  He is pretty careful with his blades, so I don't think he is doing something stupid like stepping on cement or supports for the benches, etc., so I am assuming this is coming from him battling for pucks, maybe stepping on a stick or another skate in the heat of the moment.  Wondering if there is anything I can do to help avoid damage (DLC coated blades less prone?)?  Is this typical regardless of the quality and coating on the steel? 

Unfortunately he also happens to be a "princess and the pea" when it comes to his edges, he seems to feel EVERYTHING, so I've been sharpening his stuff way more often than I was previously and we've already had a few "hot changes" on the bench or during warm ups when he's deemed the blades unusable. 

It is what it is for the remainder of the season, or at least the life of these skates (which he'll probably outgrow soon), but I want to be prepared for the next pair, so I can get ahead of this, as I doubt it will become less prevalent. 

[noupf 42]

Interesting, I too use the standard step steel ( the $80-90 price point version ) blades and I have not noticed this.  I skate twice a week in men's league, play D and I'm a pretty active skater and put plenty of weight and abuse on my blades weighing in at 235 lbs.  My experience is kind of the opposite, as I feel that my step steel blades have held up better and longer between sharpening's than the original steel that came on my Grafs.  Nicks and gouges i think are just part of the game, as you catch another players blade, step on sticks, the bench area and so on...... I too have had the occasional nick or gouge, but nothing more or less than i've ever noticed before.  

Edited December 13, 2021 by noupf

[hockeydad3 51]

What is his ROH?

Could it be that the steel has got too hot during sharpening? 

Is there fake Step steel on the market? 

[krisdrum 233]

16 minutes ago, hockeydad3 said:

What is his ROH?

Could it be that the steel has got too hot during sharpening? 

Is there fake Step steel on the market? 

He uses 5/8", which based on my understanding would give him a thicker edge wall compared to a deeper ROH.  But maybe that is minute compared to other factors. 

Bought them off what appeared to be a reputable seller on SLS from Canada.  So I did save a few bucks with the exchange rate.  They appear identical to Step I've seen in retail LHS. 

Maybe he is just way rougher on them than I am giving him credit for.  Rarely had these issues with Bauer LS2 steel, but also less bumping and grinding and battling when he was using the LS2. 

[caveman27 208]

21 hours ago, krisdrum said:

My son is currently running standard STEP steel (stainless) on his skates having upgraded him from the stock CCM steel.  I've noticed lately that after almost every skate, but especially games, he has blade damage (rolled edges, nicks, gouges).  He is a D man and play is getting more physical (first year U12).  He is pretty careful with his blades, so I don't think he is doing something stupid like stepping on cement or supports for the benches, etc., so I am assuming this is coming from him battling for pucks, maybe stepping on a stick or another skate in the heat of the moment.  Wondering if there is anything I can do to help avoid damage (DLC coated blades less prone?)?  Is this typical regardless of the quality and coating on the steel? 

Unfortunately he also happens to be a "princess and the pea" when it comes to his edges, he seems to feel EVERYTHING, so I've been sharpening his stuff way more often than I was previously and we've already had a few "hot changes" on the bench or during warm ups when he's deemed the blades unusable. 

It is what it is for the remainder of the season, or at least the life of these skates (which he'll probably outgrow soon), but I want to be prepared for the next pair, so I can get ahead of this, as I doubt it will become less prevalent. 

No, you can't do anything to avoid the blade damage. It happens. There are tools out there to temporarily fix minor issues during a game or practice.

[mhein22 9]

his blades are fine.  just tell him to go play.

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

On 12/13/2021 at 8:25 AM, krisdrum said:

My son is currently running standard STEP steel (stainless) on his skates having upgraded him from the stock CCM steel.  I've noticed lately that after almost every skate, but especially games, he has blade damage (rolled edges, nicks, gouges).  He is a D man and play is getting more physical (first year U12).  He is pretty careful with his blades, so I don't think he is doing something stupid like stepping on cement or supports for the benches, etc., so I am assuming this is coming from him battling for pucks, maybe stepping on a stick or another skate in the heat of the moment.  Wondering if there is anything I can do to help avoid damage (DLC coated blades less prone?)?  Is this typical regardless of the quality and coating on the steel? 

Unfortunately he also happens to be a "princess and the pea" when it comes to his edges, he seems to feel EVERYTHING, so I've been sharpening his stuff way more often than I was previously and we've already had a few "hot changes" on the bench or during warm ups when he's deemed the blades unusable. 

It is what it is for the remainder of the season, or at least the life of these skates (which he'll probably outgrow soon), but I want to be prepared for the next pair, so I can get ahead of this, as I doubt it will become less prevalent. 

Seems a bit excessive for him to be worrying about edge feel from tiny little nicks, etc. but if it affects his confidence, it affects his confidence.

I use both Step Blacksteel, Step Stainless, CCM and Bauer steel in the family.  I find the major difference is not it's durability, but how they sharpen.  The higher end steel sharpens cleaner with less "fight" on the sharpener.  Not as much de-burring necessary either. (with Blacksteel, virtually no burrs)

But on the ice, nicks/gouges are gonna damage any blade.  Remember, the edges are like microscopic and any trauma will mess up an edge.  My best guess is that he's just dealing with more contact at higher speed...

[puckpilot 312]

If you have access to video of him playing, maybe watch some of that to see if you can figure out what exactly he's doing to the steel to accumulate the nicks. I know you're dismissing this as a possibility, but it could very well be he's just accidentally scrapping them against the bench support posts etc. I'm careful and I still do it from time to time.

Also, you described him as the princess and the pea. Could it also be some of this sensitivity is in his head? I know this could be construed as mean, but have you tried swapping one set of roughed up steel for another set of roughed up steel and see if he really does notice?

And finally, one other option you could do is to move him to a shallower hollow. It can slow the accumulation of nicks, but even then, if he's stomping steel on steel, nothing is going to stop the nick from happening.   

[krisdrum 233]

Thanks @shoot_the_goalie and @puckpilot, helpful input.  He is sensitive, but I am also new to the sharpening game (I have access to a ProSharp Home), so I'm sure I play a part in this sensitivity/hyper focus on his blades.  

This week I let him practice on steel I would have probably already re-sharpened due to some nicks and rolled edges in a few spots.  He hasn't complained, and his skating hasn't suffered (he is still able to go hard, quick stops and turns, etc.) so I think this is more about the learning curve of finding out what damage is enough to warrant a run through the machine and what I can let slide.  I think I'm not used to seeing this many nicks and damage because his game is changing.  He is becoming more gritty and involved in board battles than he used to.  I'm sure that is contributing to what I am seeing.

Lesson learned - I didn't grow up playing hockey, so some of these nuances are new to me.