New to skate blade profiling, where to begin?

[ThisisBen 0]

For as long as I've been playing, I've always used whatever was the stock profile of the blades I had. Never thought anything of it.

Now, being a part of this forum, I see a lot of talk about "Quad profiling"/"prosharp"/ "ellipse" etc... on the various topics which has got me curious to try these new profiling systems and seeing what impact it will have on my skating and technique.

Where do I begin?  Where/how do I research about these profiles and what they offer vs the old school profiles?  Is there a gateway profile to try out or is the profile I choose all based on my skating/playing style?

Thanks!

[hockeydad3 51]

I like the Quad XS for my TF7 6.5R. This profile is recommended from Prosharp for my skate size (5-6). With a 3/4" hollow(recommended by Prosharp) it has better speed and stability than the stock profile and the agility/acceleration is the same or better in my opinion. It's an improvement over the stock profile but do not expect a miracle. I also tried the Ellipse and Zuperior profiles, but for me they are too far away from the stock profile. You can get more information in the Ellipse profiles thread, and on the Prosharp homepage. From my experience (I have the Quad XS profiles tried at the end of 6 profiles) if I were you I would start with the Quad XS if your skates are the same size range as mine. However, I would combine it with an 11/16' hollow if you are coming from a 5/8" or deeper hollow.

Edited May 6, 2022 by hockeydad3

[BenBreeg 493]

3 hours ago, ThisisBen said:

For as long as I've been playing, I've always used whatever was the stock profile of the blades I had. Never thought anything of it.

Now, being a part of this forum, I see a lot of talk about "Quad profiling"/"prosharp"/ "ellipse" etc... on the various topics which has got me curious to try these new profiling systems and seeing what impact it will have on my skating and technique.

Where do I begin?  Where/how do I research about these profiles and what they offer vs the old school profiles?  Is there a gateway profile to try out or is the profile I choose all based on my skating/playing style?

Thanks!

Read and read more.  It’s an idea that has very little data behind it so there is more opinion than fact.

[puckpilot 312]

It's not comprehensive, but here's a link that should get you started and informed in terms of knowing what's what.

https://issuu.com/elinmalmsten/docs/script-tryckfilus

But here's the thing, if you're expecting night and day changes you're going to be very disappointed. A profile is kind of like a stick curve, it'll help you do what you want to do, but it's not going to turn you into something you're not. There's no free lunch. You always give up something to gain a little more of something else. And the hope is what you give up isn't as significant to your game as what you gain.

IMHO, if you don't have a specific idea of what you want to get out of a profile change, then it's a shot in the dark, a roll of the dice. It might help. It might make things worse. And one of the things about some profiles they make it easier to churn over your legs, and that can give you the illusion of being faster, because more strides right? More strides does not necessarily mean more power or the even the same power in each stride. It can be like changing gears on a bike. And I'm sure you've seen when people shift gears to go up a hill, they end up on a gear where they're churning their legs like crazy, but only slowly going up the hill. The biker is giving up speed for less exertion per push on the pedal, making it easier to get up the hill.

Now, I'm not saying this is exactly what happens. There might not be any power loss at all. The bike example is just to illustrate a point. What I'm saying is if you switch profiles without an understanding of what each of the different changes is doing for you, specifically you--not what the marketing spiel promises--this is how it can fool you into thinking you've gained something when you haven't.

When I started to look into profiles, I had a specific goal in mind of what I wanted help with, and I started with one change, going from a stock 10' profile to a 12'. And I went from there, making  about a half a dozen incremental tweaks over a period of a couple of years to find the profile that was right for me. But that was just the start. Once I had the profile I liked, I had to roll up the sleeves and start working on using that profile as a jumping off point to addressing the flaws in my skating. I had plateaued in my skating, and the change in profile was a little kick in the ass so to speak that allowed me to start making progress again. It didn't solve my problems for me. I am a better skater for it, BUT am I a better hockey player? No, not really. 

my2cents

Edited May 7, 2022 by puckpilot

[ThisisBen 0]

On 5/6/2022 at 5:59 PM, hockeydad3 said:

I like the Quad XS for my TF7 6.5R. This profile is recommended from Prosharp for my skate size (5-6). With a 3/4" hollow(recommended by Prosharp) it has better speed and stability than the stock profile and the agility/acceleration is the same or better in my opinion. It's an improvement over the stock profile but do not expect a miracle. I also tried the Ellipse and Zuperior profiles, but for me they are too far away from the stock profile. You can get more information in the Ellipse profiles thread, and on the Prosharp homepage. From my experience (I have the Quad XS profiles tried at the end of 6 profiles) if I were you I would start with the Quad XS if your skates are the same size range as mine. However, I would combine it with an 11/16' hollow if you are coming from a 5/8" or deeper hollow.

 

On 5/6/2022 at 7:21 PM, BenBreeg said:

Read and read more.  It’s an idea that has very little data behind it so there is more opinion than fact.

 

8 hours ago, puckpilot said:

It's not comprehensive, but here's a link that should get you started and informed in terms of knowing what's what.

https://issuu.com/elinmalmsten/docs/script-tryckfilus

But here's the thing, if you're expecting night and day changes you're going to be very disappointed. A profile is kind of like a stick curve, it'll help you do what you want to do, but it's not going to turn you into something you're not. There's no free lunch. You always give up something to gain a little more of something else. And the hope is what you give up isn't as significant to your game as what you gain.

IMHO, if you don't have a specific idea of what you want to get out of a profile change, then it's a shot in the dark, a roll of the dice. It might help. It might make things worse. And one of the things about some profiles they make it easier to churn over your legs, and that can give you the illusion of being faster, because more strides right? More strides does not necessarily mean more power or the even the same power in each stride. It can be like changing gears on a bike. And I'm sure you've seen when people shift gears to go up a hill, they end up on a gear where they're churning their legs like crazy, but only slowly going up the hill. The biker is giving up speed for less exertion per push on the pedal, making it easier to get up the hill.

Now, I'm not saying this is exactly what happens. There might not be any power loss at all. The bike example is just to illustrate a point. What I'm saying is if you switch profiles without an understanding of what each of the different changes is doing for you, specifically you--not what the marketing spiel promises--this is how it can fool you into thinking you've gained something when you haven't.

When I started to look into profiles, I had a specific goal in mind of what I wanted help with, and I started with one change, going from a stock 10' profile to a 12'. And I went from there, making  about a half a dozen incremental tweaks over a period of a couple of years to find the profile that was right for me. But that was just the start. Once I had the profile I liked, I had to roll up the sleeves and start working on using that profile as a jumping off point to addressing the flaws in my skating. I had plateaued in my skating, and the change in profile was a little kick in the ass so to speak that allowed me to start making progress again. It didn't solve my problems for me. I am a better skater for it, BUT am I a better hockey player? No, not really. 

my2cents

Thanks for the inputs, much appreciated!

A little background on me: Consider myself a strong skater and have played (house league level) hockey most of my life(took a break in my early to mid 20's, now entering my 30's).  Recently got new skates(True Stock Junior Skates in size 5.5/6) and put 263 Tuuk holders on them(couldn't fully adjust to the 254 Step holders after about 15ish hours of skate time.  Also, coming from size 7 Nexus so I've been used to 263 for a long time).  Got new Steel for very cheap and I figured, why not try out these new profiling styles and see what they're all about?

I'll do more research and I think I'll start with the Quad 0 and compare it to the stock 10" that my Step steel comes in. 

[hockeydad3 51]

Finding a profile is somehow a mix of try and error, personal preferrence and habituation.  If your profile changes through multiple sharpenings with very little steps, you won´t even notice it for a long time. And the better you can skate, the better you can cope with different profiles.

The Prosharp recommendation for the Quad Zero profile is a 7/8" ROH. I would start one step lower with a 3/4" ROH if you are coming from a deeper hollow.