How would your edges measure up?

This is seen from 1st time customers too often

Skate Care Tips - You’ve just bought a great pair of skates and you want to be sure to take good care of them. So here are a few helpful hints.

Never store skates with hard plastic blade guards on - the blades will rust. Even if you have dried your blades really well, the blade steel is cold from the ice, condensation will form and collect inside the skate guard (metal + heat + moisture = rust)

Always dry your blades really well immediately after use with a soft absorbent towel, then again once you arrive at home, be sure to leave your skates opened up, so they can air to dry the inside and outside (pull the insoles out and dry them also)

Odour a problem? Half of a 'dryer sheet' in each skate will cure any odour while they are airing out. Transfer the 1/2 sheet to the hockey bag once the skates are dry & the bag will remain fresh as well. The half sheets will last for weeks.

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after thesweetness of convenience is forgotten


400 meters past the Perimeter
Across the highway from the Arena
minutes from Route 90 & McGillivray
BLADE-TEK®
Attn: Brian Lauzon

PO Box 313, #81 Highway-3,

Oak Bluff, MB. R0G 1N0

 (204) 770-9864


precision

sharpeningandprofiling

Inspection - routinely all skate blades are examined prior to sharpening, in order to determine condition. After sharpening blades are measured to ensure the edges are even.

Sharpening accomplished with precision machinery, the CAG One™ & the proven bench grinder from Wissota Model-911™.

Profile - Maintain the present or factory profile or have a custom ProFile applied to your skate blades. Precision ProFiling and sharpening is available with CAG-ONE™.

Blade Edge Measurement – Regardless of how your edges measure up coming in, they will be precisely even going out.

Custom Profiles

Virtually any variation of skate blade profile can be placed onto your blades. Classic profile examples are seen below.

Blade-Tek will work with you to ensure the profile you choose will ultimately work for you.

What do players expect from their skates? Well for starters, to be able to stop exactly when and where they want. While going full tilt, to be able to shift body weight and change direction. To be able to lean into a turn, at an angle defying laws of gravity and physics and propel themselves out the other side. To be able to dig their skates in and accelerate. Blade-Tek strives to meet all of the player's expectations.

THE MEANING OF SHARPDid you know the inside edges of skates wear more rapidly than outside edges? Are you aware there are four main considerations when deciding radius of hollow . . .? Weight - skating skill – skating assignment - ice temperature. After a skate has been ground, it will have sharp edges regardless of how big or small the radius is. Keep in mind that the long speed skating blades are honed flat (no radius), to obtain maximum glide. While they are careful in the turns - don't ever doubt that these blade edges are not sharp! The real questions to ask are:

For my purpose:

  • Do I have enough edge or bite?
  • Do I have too much edge or bite?

Profiles (Shaping the Blade) on brand new from the factory skates, the working radius (flat spot) is typically in the center. Unless specially ordered, the length of that area is about 17% of the total length of the blade. On a size 8 skate, that is very close to a 25/50 profile. Consider this, repeated sharpening done by hand (non-precise) will accumulate and your blade profile will change.

Once or twice a year skates should be profiled to give them the proper Lie and working radius.

Profiling is not a 'free-hand' operation. The blades are shaped and matched for the skaters' specified preference. Blade-Tek's CAG system ensures the profiled blades each have the exact same lie and working radius. Profiling takes out the guesswork and gives you the same precision time after time. The Lie of a skate is the pitch of the center or working Radius. It is this pitch (Lie) that controls the skater's posture. Radius is actually secondary to Lie in proper skating. Even though the Radius may be correct, if it is not pitched properly, the skater will experience great discomfort and difficulty in skating.

Can I get a better sharpening than this?

Of course, simply visit any NHL or other Professional Hockey Team’s equipment room.