The RinkFor the not so ready for prime-time players, coaches, referees, and the people that have to live with them. Discuss experiences in local leagues, coaching tips, equipment, and training.
I have been talking to a couple of guys I play hockey with that have their own sharpening machines and they both recommend I get one because I'm young. I'm just 22 and plan to be playing hockey for at least another 20 years barring some major injury that will stop me. That's a lot of money to spend on sharpening and nervousness when I see new people sharpening my skates. Does anybody recommend a good, cheap machine that is going to just be for personal use? Looking around online only really pulls up heavy duty sharpening machines that are sold to stores. I just plan to sharpen my own skates and maybe some skates for other players if they ask.
the Wissota is a great machine and about as cheap as they get. I've had one for about 5 years and haven't had one single problem.
the advantage of a Blackstone is that you would be able to do Flat Bottom V if you wanted to.
if the price of a new machine is out of reach consider scouring ebay and craigslist for a used one. try to go local though because Wissota's are unbelievably heavy and shipping would add to the cost significantly.
to make up some of the cost you could sharpen for your friends and teammates for $5. if you do a good job you'll make your money back.
Alright, I'll have to talk to some of the other guys I play with to see what prices they got. I'm going to ask around first to see if anybody has any used. Craigslist and ebay don't seem to have any options for Wissota. Craigslist actually didn't have any options which I was surprised about living in Boston. I guess people are waiting until hockey season starts back up. Thanks for the advice!
Look up Modsquadhockey, they have a pretty long thread on the X01 and the Wissota I believe.
Thing about having a skate sharpener of your own is that you can sharpen it after every game. Run it past once or twice. Another thing is that you can do it for other people as well. Might be able to earn a bit of that money back.
Theres a new skate sharpening technique out there called the V-skate sharp. Check it out online.
Its a new technique that many prefer now based on preference, that is there to mix the likes of the glide and the edge. Hardly any reasonable cons... I have never tried it yet, same price, but I will try it soon. Scared too a bit cuz im in a middle of a season
Theres a new skate sharpening technique out there called the V-skate sharp. Check it out online.
Its a new technique that many prefer now based on preference, that is there to mix the likes of the glide and the edge. Hardly any reasonable cons... I have never tried it yet, same price, but I will try it soon. Scared too a bit cuz im in a middle of a season
It only takes a few turns in warm up to get used to it as long as you pick a cut similar to your existing cut. I'd never go back to traditional now. I went from 1/2" to 100/50. The amount of glide is very welcome. I have to lean in a little deeper before the edge bites, but it bites great once I'm there. Totally the best of both worlds.
This is my personal experience with FBV: I jumped on the FBV cut when it came out. I initially liked it, took a few months break from skating, and then started up again with it and really, really disliked it. I felt that the extra glide felt sloppy when going straight. And I really didn't like the extra half-second/lean that it took for my edge to grab the ice when turning. It felt so bad that I distrusted my ability to stop quickly and started to feel unsafe during games. Granted, once the edge bites the ice, it's like riding a railroad track. But the transition really bothered me.
In the end, I ended up going back to a normal cut and a more shallow 1/2" than I had been using.
I will add the caveat that, while I'm a strong skater, I've learned recently that I have poor core stability and that definitely could have played into why the "glide" felt sloppy to me. And like I said, when I first got FBV, I really liked it. I get my skates sharpened at the same place all the time but it's possible they changed something during the break I took. I know the first time, there were no cut measurements for FBV.
Speaking of sharpening your own skates, is it true that you can get sick from the steel dust/debris that comes from machine sharpenings? Probably not a huge concern if you only do your own, but I've come across pro-shop guys that will actually wear a mask due to the massive amount of sharpenings they have to do.
Speaking of sharpening your own skates, is it true that you can get sick from the steel dust/debris that comes from machine sharpenings? Probably not a huge concern if you only do your own, but I've come across pro-shop guys that will actually wear a mask due to the massive amount of sharpenings they have to do.
Yeah we're supposed to wear masks and glasses because there is a ton of stuff coming off of the sharpener but for your own skates you'll be fine. Most people don't actually wear the mask and glasses even with large amounts of sharpens
