I just got new skates. Do I need to have them sharpened?

[vivianmb]

buy your own machine online for 800 bucks and a bench grinder at canadian tire for 55 bucks and take care of your own skates. you'll have your skates the way YOU want them every time. and when you have kids and they start playing you'll save a TON on sharpening. plus you can sharpen them after every skate if you wish.

www.wissota.com

 

[Garfinkel1]

That's outrageous. You see this a lot with newer players though, people buy new skates and really have no idea what to do next. It's pretty crazy considering how much skates cost. Even if skates fit good out of the box I'll have them baked just in case. It shouldn't cost anything and it makes them even more comfortable as they mold to your feet. Next thing to do is find a particular edge you like and stick with it. Again, amazing at how many people just hand their skates to a sharpener and don't know what 1/2 inch means. I think maybe a 1 page tutorial should come with skates or something. I'd be willing to bet many player don't use the right edge and have no idea it would be easier if they did.

Yeah. I just handed my skate to the sharpener and he did it for me. In rental skates I can stop fine but I can't seem to stop well in these. Some kid I played with for pick-up hockey told me I should have asked for a (1/8 or 3/8.. I can't remember. It was something/8th)

 

[Gunnar Stahl 30]

Yeah. I just handed my skate to the sharpener and he did it for me. In rental skates I can stop fine but I can't seem to stop well in these. Some kid I played with for pick-up hockey told me I should have asked for a (1/8 or 3/8.. I can't remember. It was something/8th)

dont get so particular when you first start out. just get teh normal 1/2 inch cut and focus on your skating, dont cut any corners

 

[TheKingSlayer]

a couple things I'd like to say here.

1. when you are getting your skates sharpened they should always be cross grinded first. That removes the old sharpening and any imperfections that are there. A new hollow can then be put on.
2. a heat mold, or 'baked' is only good with higher end skates. Any low-end skates like the Vapor x-15 or say like a 3k skate will not have any effect for the skates and can some times harm them because the construction is not all that great, i've seen bad skates break because they were baked for too long. also if you are buying them used its really risky to bake them because a skate should only be baked 3 times at the most, anything after that, even for high end skates, and your asking for trouble.
3. Whoever is charging up to 50$ for a bake and sharpening should be closed down. At most a bake is 30$ and a sharpening like 5$.
4. When you are first learning how to skate, do what Gunnar Stahl 30 said, just get a half inch cut, and learn how to skate, you can experiment later on with the different hollows you can make.

 

[CanadaBacon]

a couple things I'd like to say here.

1. when you are getting your skates sharpened they should always be cross grinded first. That removes the old sharpening and any imperfections that are there. A new hollow can then be put on.
2. a heat mold, or 'baked' is only good with higher end skates. Any low-end skates like the Vapor x-15 or say like a 3k skate will not have any effect for the skates and can some times harm them because the construction is not all that great, i've seen bad skates break because they were baked for too long. also if you are buying them used its really risky to bake them because a skate should only be baked 3 times at the most, anything after that, even for high end skates, and your asking for trouble.
3. Whoever is charging up to 50$ for a bake and sharpening should be closed down. At most a bake is 30$ and a sharpening like 5$.
4. When you are first learning how to skate, do what Gunnar Stahl 30 said, just get a half inch cut, and learn how to skate, you can experiment later on with the different hollows you can make.

All skates from reputable brands ie Reebok Bauer CCM Mission etc are all constructed with the same level of quality control. There is no such thing has a "bad" skate from a reputable brand (quality wise)

 

[AHF]

1. when you are getting your skates sharpened they should always be cross grinded first. That removes the old sharpening and any imperfections that are there. A new hollow can then be put on.

Hell no.

I only crossgrind if really have to, and I can usually get away without one.

Crossgrinding every skate is ridiculous. What about little Johnny that gets his skates sharpened twice a week...you crossgrind them every time he comes in, and he'll be looking for new skates/steel in two months.

 

[Heat McManus]

All skates from reputable brands ie Reebok Bauer CCM Mission etc are all constructed with the same level of quality control. There is no such thing has a "bad" skate from a reputable brand (quality wise)

I've seen bad batches of steel. Not often, but it happens.

 

[Heat McManus]

a couple things I'd like to say here.

1. when you are getting your skates sharpened they should always be cross grinded first. That removes the old sharpening and any imperfections that are there. A new hollow can then be put on.
2. a heat mold, or 'baked' is only good with higher end skates. Any low-end skates like the Vapor x-15 or say like a 3k skate will not have any effect for the skates and can some times harm them because the construction is not all that great, i've seen bad skates break because they were baked for too long. also if you are buying them used its really risky to bake them because a skate should only be baked 3 times at the most, anything after that, even for high end skates, and your asking for trouble.
3. Whoever is charging up to 50$ for a bake and sharpening should be closed down. At most a bake is 30$ and a sharpening like 5$.
4. When you are first learning how to skate, do what Gunnar Stahl 30 said, just get a half inch cut, and learn how to skate, you can experiment later on with the different hollows you can make.

1. No reason to cross grind if there's no real need for it. You're wasting steel if you cross grind regardless of the condition of the skate.
3. It might be a high charge to bake the skate, but you don't know what that company's overhead is. It's also some places way of offering an incentive for their customers to not buy online.
4. It depends on how big you are, condition of the ice. Ask your LHS about it.

 

[CanadaBacon]

I've seen bad batches of steel. Not often, but it happens.

Impurities in steel has nothing to do with construction.

 

[pfloyd75]

Impurities in steel has nothing to do with construction.

I've seen bad skates from reputable companies. I've seen low end Bauer, Mission, Tour, and CCM skates have severe structural problems long before they should have. Popped rivets, broken bladeholders, busted seams, broken lace eyeholes. Just because they slapped a "Bauer" tag on it, doesn't mean its a high quality skate.

 

[Heat McManus]

Impurities in steel has nothing to do with construction.

Thought you were referring to just blades. SO I'll change what I had said. There ARE bad skates from reputable companies. My Vapor XXs had an eyelet rip out after a week. I had to send a skate back to Bauer this week because it was missing an eyelet. I've seen some top-end skates break down in a month. If there were no bad skates then how do you explain the binding coming apart from the rest of the boot on first run One90s? A One95 came to my shop that had riveted the footbed ONTO the soul. I had to realign the holder on a pair of XXXXs a few months back. I won't even start on Graf or Easton.

It happens, but not very often. It doesn't make these companies crap, it just means the people working there are human.

 

[CanadaBacon]

Thought you were referring to just blades. SO I'll change what I had said. There ARE bad skates from reputable companies. My Vapor XXs had an eyelet rip out after a week. I had to send a skate back to Bauer this week because it was missing an eyelet. I've seen some top-end skates break down in a month. If there were no bad skates then how do you explain the binding coming apart from the rest of the boot on first run One90s? A One95 came to my shop that had riveted the footbed ONTO the soul. I had to realign the holder on a pair of XXXXs a few months back. I won't even start on Graf or Easton.

It happens, but not very often. It doesn't make these companies crap, it just means the people working there are human.

You fail to see my point. Quality control of top end skates is the exact same as low end skates. If an eyelet rips on any givin low end it has the same chance of ripping on any givin high end. Your last sentance is dead on.

 

[CanadaBacon]

I've seen bad skates from reputable companies. I've seen low end Bauer, Mission, Tour, and CCM skates have severe structural problems long before they should have. Popped rivets, broken bladeholders, busted seams, broken lace eyeholes. Just because they slapped a "Bauer" tag on it, doesn't mean its a high quality skate.

I have seen high end skates from the same companies have severe structual problems. Just because they slapped a "Bauer" tag on it, doesnt mean its a low quality skate!?

exactly

 

[raganblink]

know i'm waaaay late on this thread, but, with the baking process....

we say wait 24 hours so we don't get in trouble with anything weird going on like something breaking. you can go out after about 3-4 hours and be perfectly fine. its just coverage on our ass.