Skate Sharpening Radius Advice

[RoninNYR]

I have recently been experimenting with everything from 1/2 to 5/8 to FBV.

At the end my 3/8 or 7/16 (temperature dependent) is the best for me.

I am very strong on my skates, great endurance and i love the added grip (altrhough it does impinge my ability to skate backwards as fluid as i would like).

I realized it has a lot to do with the style of game you play, I am a stop n go, pivot, type player so i have my skates cutting off circulation and use my edges a lot lol

 

[hockeymass]

I have recently been experimenting with everything from 1/2 to 5/8 to FBV.

At the end my 3/8 or 7/16 (temperature dependent) is the best for me.

I am very strong on my skates, great endurance and i love the added grip (altrhough it does impinge my ability to skate backwards as fluid as i would like).

I realized it has a lot to do with the style of game you play, I am a stop n go, pivot, type player so i have my skates cutting off circulation and use my edges a lot lol

What was your opinion of the FBV sharpening? I've heard some people rave about it and I'm thinking of trying it out.

 

[Pedagogue]

I play at a variety of different rinks. Therefore, in the winter I use 1/2" and in the summer I use 5/8". Winter, ice is usually hard and summer it's usually softer.

 

[RoninNYR]

What was your opinion of the FBV sharpening? I've heard some people rave about it and I'm thinking of trying it out.

Tried it a couple of times, not a fan. I feel like the grip is good but not as aggressive as i would like.

 

[David71]

i usually do standard cut. but i want to learn how to stop on both sides of my feet. im usually good with my left and stop with my left with the inside edge cutting in. is 3/4 better? for that or a different one? someone help?

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

i usually do standard cut. but i want to learn how to stop on both sides of my feet. im usually good with my left and stop with my left with the inside edge cutting in. is 3/4 better? for that or a different one? someone help?

Start with a 5/8 and work your way to a 3/4.

If you are new to skating I wouldn’t jump from a 1/2 to 3/4.

1/2 has a lot of bite.. 5/8 is a happy medium between 1/2 and 3/4.

Just remember the closer you get to 1” your hollow will have more glide and less bite.

 

[David71]

Start with a 5/8 and work your way to a 3/4.

If you are new to skating I wouldn’t jump from a 1/2 to 3/4.

1/2 has a lot of bite.. 5/8 is a happy medium between 1/2 and 3/4.

Just remember the closer you get to 1” your hollow will have more glide and less bite.

no im not new to skating. used to play drop in ice hockey with my friends but stopped. now want to get back into but doing public skating first practising on my edges and working on how to do a hockey stop and other things.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

no im not new to skating. used to play drop in ice hockey with my friends but stopped. now want to get back into but doing public skating first practising on my edges and working on how to do a hockey stop and other things.

Ultimately only you know your skill level.

If you haven’t mastered your edges and jump from a 1/2 to a 3/4, you will be way more at risk blowing a wheel at higher speeds and getting hurt.

Like I said I’d suggest going to a 5/8 and if you can hold your edges, then eventually move to a 3/4.

As a reference my daughter started skating at 4 and she’s now 13.

I started her on 1/2… around 8 years old I put her on a 5/8 hollow and around 11 moved her to a 3/4 when she mastered all four edges.

Now contemplating putting her on 1”.

 

[sabresEH]

Ultimately only you know your skill level.

If you haven’t mastered your edges and jump from a 1/2 to a 3/4, you will be way more at risk blowing a wheel at higher speeds and getting hurt.

Like I said I’d suggest going to a 5/8 and if you can hold your edges, then eventually move to a 3/4.

As a reference my daughter started skating at 4 and she’s now 13.

I started her on 1/2… around 8 years old I put her on a 5/8 hollow and around 11 moved her to a 3/4 when she mastered all four edges.

Now contemplating putting her on 1”.

I worked in a pro shop for years and always sharpen my own skates. I started to tinker with them one year and made my way to 1”. I found I was losing my balance on 1” and have settled in at 3/4”. I recommend to anyone that knows how to use their edges to skate 3/4”. I think in order to use 1” you have to have some serious weight to you. Cody Franson would come into our shop and I sharpened his skates and like 1 1/8”, but that guy had 225+ lbs helping him naturally cut into the ice.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I worked in a pro shop for years and always sharpen my own skates. I started to tinker with them one year and made my way to 1”. I found I was losing my balance on 1” and have settled in at 3/4”. I recommend to anyone that knows how to use their edges to skate 3/4”. I think in order to use 1” you have to have some serious weight to you. Cody Franson would come into our shop and I sharpened his skates and like 1 1/8”, but that guy had 225+ lbs helping him naturally cut into the ice.

My daughter has become a great skater but I’m really hesitant to let her try 1” - that’s why I’ve been contemplating it for awhile.

She has always let me guide her with her hollow, but now that she’s getting older she wants to try the 1” cut and I don’t feel too good about the idea.

I don’t think it’s going to work out the way she thinks it will.

 

[Yukon Joe]

I worked in a pro shop for years and always sharpen my own skates. I started to tinker with them one year and made my way to 1”. I found I was losing my balance on 1” and have settled in at 3/4”. I recommend to anyone that knows how to use their edges to skate 3/4”. I think in order to use 1” you have to have some serious weight to you. Cody Franson would come into our shop and I sharpened his skates and like 1 1/8”, but that guy had 225+ lbs helping him naturally cut into the ice.

You know this is actually a good way for me to think about skating radiuses (radii?).

I've been using a 5/8" basically just because that's what the local skate sharpening guy recommended (and I recommended his advice). I have my 12 year old on 5/8" as well. My 14 year old though is on a 1/2" and says he prefers it. Sounds like many people though use 1/2".

Local Pro Hockey Life has a chart comparing different skate sharpenings, with more narrow being "more bite" and wider being "more glide" - but that actually didn't really tell me what was better.

The idea you should only have as much sharpness as you need to maintain your edge makes sense. It also suggests my 14 year old should try to move to a 5/8, maybe a 3/4 some day (he's a better skater than I).

 

[sabresEH]

My daughter has become a great skater but I’m really hesitant to let her try 1” - that’s why I’ve been contemplating it for awhile.

She has always let me guide her with her hollow, but now that she’s getting older she wants to try the 1” cut and I don’t feel too good about the idea.

I don’t think it’s going to work out the way she thinks it will.

It probably won’t work out too well, but try it out at a practice if she’s insistent on it. But like I said, you need some weight behind you to use something that flat. Once you get into the stops and starts and sharp turns the game requires, the 1” becomes more negative than positive.

You know this is actually a good way for me to think about skating radiuses (radii?).

I've been using a 5/8" basically just because that's what the local skate sharpening guy recommended (and I recommended his advice). I have my 12 year old on 5/8" as well. My 14 year old though is on a 1/2" and says he prefers it. Sounds like many people though use 1/2".

Local Pro Hockey Life has a chart comparing different skate sharpenings, with more narrow being "more bite" and wider being "more glide" - but that actually didn't really tell me what was better.

The idea you should only have as much sharpness as you need to maintain your edge makes sense. It also suggests my 14 year old should try to move to a 5/8, maybe a 3/4 some day (he's a better skater than I).

It can also depend on your style of play. Someone who mucks it up in the corners and requires sturdiness to their game it’s not bad to go for a deeper hollow. When I played competitive I got my skates 3/8”. I was a grinder who always had his feet moving and battled in the corners and front of the net. Really liked having the deep hollow. Once I moved to defense and beer league I moved to the flatter hollows. Easier for transition, speed, and gliding.

I believe it was Iginla that used to always get 3/8” and when he got traded to Pitt they switched him to 1/2”. My theory is they wanted team speed so 1/2” was the deepest hollow they would allow. Someone on this site posted a picture of everyone’s hollow on the team and no one was deeper than 1/2”. And I know I sharpened Iginla’s at 3/8” during the summers when he played for Calgary.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

It probably won’t work out too well, but try it out at a practice if she’s insistent on it. But like I said, you need some weight behind you to use something that flat. Once you get into the stops and starts and sharp turns the game requires, the 1” becomes more negative than positive.

Ya I’ve tried to explain this, but I highly suspect she wants to switch because she thinks it will give her more speed - but she won’t tell me that outright.

She plays boys AA Bantam and her edge work along the boards helps her survive and thrive with all of the physical play, but on a 1” she will be slipping out and be at risk of getting hurt IMHO.

The issue is she worked her way on to line 1 with their superstar player who is insanely fast.

She is keeping up with him and they work together really well, but he’s so fast he always gets ahead of the play and wants the puck.

So I think she’s frustrated and wants to do her thing to, but getting on a 1” isn’t going to make her as fast as this freaky mutant kid.

I’ve explained why she’s on the perfect hollow for her a few times, and so far she isn’t pushing back too hard like she was earlier in the season.

 

[Manhattan]

1” is the standard in Scandinavia, and We got some guys having 30-35mm, som even 40-45mm (1”1/2).

As a former pro equipment manager I always suggest a higher hollow for more glide, more speed and more endurance.
I also play myself and go for 1”1/5, 30mm.
The skate technique gets easier since you get quickly feet and you it is easier to do longer sliding stops but still being able to do a quick stop.

I recommend changing 1/10” at a time to adapt.

It’s far known North american players one average have far more issues with groins, hips and knees due to the 1/2 or 5/8 cuts.

The ceramic blades and black steels are harder/stiffer and gives you a more stable glide and also takes you longer and gives you sharper stops - worth trying if you got the budget for it.
Backside of those is that you can’t use the grinding stone to touch up a blade like a regular silver one.

 

[David71]

Ultimately only you know your skill level.

If you haven’t mastered your edges and jump from a 1/2 to a 3/4, you will be way more at risk blowing a wheel at higher speeds and getting hurt.

Like I said I’d suggest going to a 5/8 and if you can hold your edges, then eventually move to a 3/4.

As a reference my daughter started skating at 4 and she’s now 13.

I started her on 1/2… around 8 years old I put her on a 5/8 hollow and around 11 moved her to a 3/4 when she mastered all four edges.

Now contemplating putting her on 1”.

i just went to sharpened my skates today. went with the 5/8s im a bit on the heavier side but 5'7 probbaly be sacrificing agility more and then easier for me to stop on my inside/outside edges?

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

i just went to sharpened my skates today. went with the 5/8s im a bit on the heavier side but 5'7 probbaly be sacrificing agility more and then easier for me to stop on my inside/outside edges?

I found the closer I got to 1”, the more agility I had on the ice.

I’m a good skater but if you put me on a noob hollow (1/2), I will feel like a goober - almost feels like my skates are getting stuck in the ice and I’m fighting against my runners/steel.

Everyone is different, but I’ve only known people to be happier with their hollow when they move away from the 1/2.

I’m sure there are people who prefer the 1/2, I just can’t recall meeting any of them.

 

[Boxscore]

3/4 radius is the best, imho.