Skate Riveter

[tomh7 2]

I am in the process of trying to decide which skate riveter to get.  My choices are the Blackstone ROED or the Blademaster TSM811T.

I am really looking for opinions on whether the Blackstone is really worth the extra $600 or not.

This is for personal use for myself, my son (going into Bantams), teammates and friends.

I bought a Blackstone Pro Portable sharpener last fall to replace my 20yr old EZ-Sharp and I love it.  I sharpen skates for friends and teammates and occasionally come across a rivet that needs to be replaced.  Also, my son goes through 2 pairs of skates every year (I only buy his skates in 1/2 size increments) and he likes his skates with a .060" spacer between the rear of the holder and the boot.  Getting the local shop to do that has been getting more difficult every year and I would like to just do it myself.  I have the same setup for my skates which get replaced every 3 years.

 

Thanks in advance for the input.

 

T

[Monty22 833]

For your stated use I think you can cross off the Blackstone just based on price. I don't think it would do anything the BladeMaster can't do as well.   I would check around on Ebay and SLS for used rivet presses, and even ask around at your LHS to see if they have any interest in moving one.  I picked up my BladeMaster off of Craigslist.  

[caveman27 208]

12 hours ago, tomh7 said:

  Also, my son goes through 2 pairs of skates every year (I only buy his skates in 1/2 size increments) and he likes his skates with a .060" spacer between the rear of the holder and the boot. 

Have you tried changing the pitch of the blades to mimic a spacer-lifted heel?

[GearNerd 3]

I would go with the Blademaster, we have the TSM811T model in my shop that gets used on a very regular basis and we have had no issues with it. If you have the attachment that can remove copper rivets it makes changing holders a breeze. 

[tomh7 2]

I went ahead and ordered the Blademaster TSM811T.  ETA is Friday.  Perfect timing since Jr is starting to get really cramped in his current skates so he is getting his new skates Saturday.

On 4/8/2022 at 11:47 PM, caveman27 said:

Have you tried changing the pitch of the blades to mimic a spacer-lifted heel?

Without a shaping system for my machine, this can get very tricky if you don't know what you are doing.  Adding heel spacers allows me more control and consistency when dialing in what works for him.