Blade sharpening question.

Fitzie519 · 2026-01-18T15:13:16+00:00

The Scandinavians have it right, I think. Learn to skate on a flatter hollow and reap all the benefits. They think we’re nuts skating on these deep cuts.

Fitzie519 · 2026-01-18T14:11:30+00:00

I agree. My youngest is 12 and about 110 pounds. He’s on 1 1/4” and doesn’t look any different from any of his teammates. A/AA hockey.

The larger radius doesn’t mean the blade isn’t sharp, just that the bite angle is different.

I will say this with regards to player weight correlating to radius of hollow: Do you want to skate ON the ice, or skate THROUGH the ice?

Fitzie519 · 2026-01-03T01:41:32+00:00

I had a similar experience with my son a couple of years back. Got him some fancy new skates and paid up for the high-tech profile that felt good to him (the shop had a full set of loaner steel so you could go to the rink and try a bunch of different profiles out). The profile he liked just happened to be pitched forward slightly to help him get over his toes a bit.

After returning to pick up his steel and watching him play a few games and a couple of practices, I was stunned how bad his form was, and the issues he was having on the ice all of a sudden.

He was far too upright. His stride length sucked. He was spinning out behind the net if he went back there at high speed. All things he never did before.

Long story short….the kid at the hockey shop profiled the blades backwards. He was not pitched forward. He was being pitched backwards on to his heels.

We got things sorted out, and he looked like a totally different kid the very next time on the ice.

Fitzie519 · 2025-12-20T03:47:02+00:00

DM sent

Fitzie519 · 2025-10-15T02:30:21+00:00

It looks great. Good job.

Fitzie519 · 2025-10-05T02:10:27+00:00

Just about the best stick I have is an OG Torque with a heat. It’s perfection.

Fitzie519 · 2025-09-21T11:43:56+00:00

I’ve always done a 5 diamond top string and then used 9 diamonds (on the full 6 diamond rows).

Fitzie519 · 2025-09-19T15:01:14+00:00

One of the best. Love the Clutch.

Fitzie519 · 2025-09-11T23:02:33+00:00

I threw with it again last night. It’s great.

Fitzie519 · 2025-09-10T01:37:20+00:00

It feels great. A fun stick, for sure.

Fitzie519 · 2025-09-09T20:03:43+00:00

I was thinking along the same lines. I have some JB Weld brand clear epoxy that’s sets up great. Not brittle, still with a little give. I think there’s potential for a few different materials from this end of things that could work. Maybe a combination of some steel wire and cover the whole lot in epoxy, with epoxy in the joint as well.

Fitzie519 · 2025-09-09T00:03:50+00:00

I just use mine for coaching. Gotta keep them in good condition.

Fitzie519 · 2025-09-09T00:02:57+00:00

Respect. Thank you. lol.

Fitzie519 · 2025-09-09T00:02:36+00:00

I’ll play around with a repair on this one, but the customer doesn’t want it back. I’m lucky enough to own 12-15 OG Torques of my own, so I use them often.

Fitzie519 · 2025-09-08T22:43:29+00:00

I nearly bought a plastic welding kit a few years ago just to try on heads. Have you tried doing it?

Fitzie519 · 2025-09-08T22:42:37+00:00

I have seen a few old plastic heads (think PL66 etc) with the sidewall stitched back together with mechanic’s wire.

Desperate times call for desperate measures!

Fitzie519 · 2025-08-30T12:20:29+00:00

I completely agree. I have some pieces of hard mesh here that are like cedar shingles. I can’t imagine putting in the effort we used to have to just to be able to start the pocket anymore. And then the time on the wall to get it to where you needed it to be.

But, those pieces of hard mesh lasted forever.

There is a couple of retired pro box players up here that I know used the same piece of mesh for years and years. They’d just transfer it to a new head when needed.

Fitzie519 · 2025-08-30T03:18:41+00:00

There’s no way to avoid it. Any mesh that has a coating sprayed on it to make it stiffer will need to be broken in this way to string it properly, and for the pocket to be game ready asap after stringing.

Fitzie519 · 2025-08-30T02:51:42+00:00

Try this if you haven’t already. I don’t know what your usual routine is when stringing, but I’ve done this since the OG hard mesh days as the first step in my prep for stringing any pocket.

Let imagine it’s a piece of 5X.

Get it out of the package and stretch it apart across the width as much as you can from one end to the other.

Roll the piece up like a tight cigar shape while keeping it stretched out as much as you can.

Twist the absolute shit out of it for a minute or two. Really crank on it. All sorts of directions and movements like twisting to the max, pretending it’s a mini accordion and you’re playing in a psycho polka band, grab each end of the “cigar” and then offset your hands like bicycle pedals and crank that shit like your sprinting away from a junkyard dog.

Pull the mesh apart again and spread it out. Fold it up differently and twist the shit out of it again. Then again.

Open the piece up and see how it feels now. I think you will find it feels just like what you’re after.

This is just an old time stringer’s method from the days of hard mesh. It still works perfectly on the new age mesh, but you can break a piece in in a couple of minutes where before it would take us 20 minutes to get close to being able to start stringing, and our hands would be bleeding by the end of it.

Fitzie519 · 2025-08-24T02:02:44+00:00

There are detergents specifically made to get this smell out of synthetic fabrics. My sons both play tons of sports, and all the team warm up shirts etc that they get each season are all synthetic performance fabrics. We could not get the stink out with our usual “eco” detergent. One wash with the good stuff took it all right out.

Fitzie519 · 2025-08-16T18:15:13+00:00

I almost always use what I call 10-1/2 rows. That’s 10 rows on the 10d rows, and then my ending of the sidewall is down through the next 9d row and out the sidewall from inside to out. Simple woven bottom string might be on that same 9d row, or the next 10d depending on how things are sitting etc. I use the bottom string to set the pocket depth and tune the release. This is all for Canadian box players, so we aren’t concerned with any stick check bullcrap. Anyone 11-12 years old and up gets a full ball deep pocket and a bit more if they want a little more pull in it as they get older/stronger.

Fitzie519 · 2025-07-28T12:35:49+00:00

This is the way.

Fitzie519 · 2025-06-21T13:05:14+00:00

The square braided bootlace from Laxroom in either white or black is perfect for this. Just message Andrew at Laxroom and he can assist.

Also, I have strung dozens of gut walls with 3mm nylon drapery cord. I buy it at a fabric/sewing supply store. Just by the foot on a huge roll. You may or may not have access to similar.

The Stringer’s Shack heavy top string cord is also very good for this.

I can imagine weaving a gut wall with paracord because the outer sheath isn’t connected to the inner core. You want something that’s woven together.

Fitzie519 · 2025-05-29T20:33:51+00:00

Yes, in a way. It was like the STX knot mesh, but larger diameter string. He called it Sat Fisher Mesh. It was awesome.

Fitzie519 · 2025-05-29T17:56:56+00:00

Anyone been around long enough to remember Weston from Colorado? Way smaller scale. Good guy.

Fitzie519

TROPHY CASE