Step Steel users with Bauer holders - Time to stock up?

[ZeroGravitas]

https://sgbonline.com/bauer-hockey-reaches-settlement-in-skate-steel-lawsuit/

Quote

Hockey equipment manufacturer Bauer Hockey announced Wednesday an agreement with STEP Skating to resolve the ongoing dispute regarding STEP Skating’s sale and manufacture of various models of replacement blades for the Bauer Tuuk Lightspeed Edge blade holder.

...

While the parties have agreed to keep the agreement terms confidential, Bauer Hockey confirmed that STEP Skating has been granted a limited license and will stop selling replacement steel for the Bauer Tuuk Lightspeed Edge blade holder to professional leagues by December 31, 2019, and to retail accounts by April 30, 2020.

While it doesn't specifically mention the Vertexx Edge holders, I wouldn't be surprised if goalie steel is included because the attachment mechanism is the same.

Link to the Canadian patent on the trigger assembly.

Some information on the case in the Federal Court of Canada is here:

Federal Court of Canada - Summary

Federal Court of Canada - Docket

Also a snippet of things to come mentioned in news story - bold emphasis in mine.

Quote

Bauer is the No. 1 global hockey brand and the No. 1 hockey skate in the world. In the National Hockey League, 72 percent of players choose to wear Bauer skates to help them perform their best. As part of the company’s commitment to innovate and advance player performance, Bauer Hockey has continuously invested into its newest skate collections, including with the recent launch of the new Bauer Pulse Ti and Pulse blades. The Pulse Ti utilizes a titanium coating to increase durability and offers premium in-game edge retention.

Edited October 24, 2019 by ZeroGravitas

[CJ Boiss]

Eh. Just another reason to stop buying Bauer.

CCM, here I come.

Edited October 24, 2019 by CJ Boiss

[mr_shifty1982]

I'd like to see the Statement of Claim....

[creasecollector]

Aside from my Step Steel blades, I also own the original blades that came with my skates. So i guess I'll just use those if/when I have no more Step Steel blade left. Though I barely sharpen my skates (I only sharpen then about 4 times a year, max), so I don't think I'll ever run out of steel. 

[bunnyman666]

Somehow, the Bauer steel will probably go down in quality even worse after the agreement ends. Bauer steel is sad, sad, sad. Every time I sharpen Bauer steel, it is TRASHED. Their goal: to keep you buying consumables. 

[BadAngle41]

2 hours ago, bunnyman666 said:

Somehow, the Bauer steel will probably go down in quality even worse after the agreement ends. Bauer steel is sad, sad, sad. Every time I sharpen Bauer steel, it is TRASHED. Their goal: to keep you buying consumables. 

Agreed. In my experience.... if you so much as breathe on a post the LS5G gets chipped... and previous iterations we're even worse than that. I swap out to aftermarket steels almost immediately (although I use Tydan and not Step.) Even the basic offering (non-coated) holds up far better than the highest end Bauer steel.

[bunnyman666]

6 minutes ago, BadAngle41 said:

Agreed. In my experience.... if you so much as breathe on a post the LS5G gets chipped... and previous iterations we're even worse than that. I swap out to aftermarket steels almost immediately (although I use Tydan and not Step.) Even the basic offering (non-coated) holds up far better than the highest end Bauer steel.

Even Massive is better than Bauer steel, and it is in the lower tier of aftermarket steel. CCM’s stock steel was, in my recollection, very good, so Step wasn’t quite the quantum leap forward. 
The proof will be when people will jump to other holders so they can buy better steel. Word on the street is that the new Step/True holder could be what players gravitate towards. It is supposed to be THAT good. Don’t know if a goalie version is in the works.

[Puckstopper]

39 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

Even Massive is better than Bauer steel, and it is in the lower tier of aftermarket steel. CCM’s stock steel was, in my recollection, very good, so Step wasn’t quite the quantum leap forward. 
The proof will be when people will jump to other holders so they can buy better steel. Word on the street is that the new Step/True holder could be what players gravitate towards. It is supposed to be THAT good. Don’t know if a goalie version is in the works.

I personally don't like the new True holder/steel combo.  The steel on the forward skates is significantly shorter than it used to be.  I suspect this was pushed by True to help them reduce weight on the new skate, but I don't have any proof of that.   If the goalie steel is also shortened down I doubt you'll see significant adoption of the combo.   CCM's new holder is the one I'd put money on being the big winner since it sounds like True IS making steel for it and I feel like it addresses the major shortcoming of the Vertexx/LS Edge trigger system, namely pop outs.

[bunnyman666]

40 minutes ago, Puckstopper said:

I personally don't like the new True holder/steel combo.  The steel on the forward skates is significantly shorter than it used to be.  I suspect this was pushed by True to help them reduce weight on the new skate, but I don't have any proof of that.   If the goalie steel is also shortened down I doubt you'll see significant adoption of the combo.   CCM's new holder is the one I'd put money on being the big winner since it sounds like True IS making steel for it and I feel like it addresses the major shortcoming of the Vertexx/LS Edge trigger system, namely pop outs.

Haven’t seen it up close; just a few trainers raved about it. 
 

CCM was the other that came to mind, and their stock steel is pretty good.

[SaveByRichter35]

Does this include the Vertexx cowlings as well?

[bunnyman666]

23 minutes ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

Does this include the Vertexx cowlings as well?

No. Just the quick release stuff.

[SaveByRichter35]

5 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

No. Just the quick release stuff.

[Peter36]

12 hours ago, creasecollector said:

Aside from my Step Steel blades, I also own the original blades that came with my skates. So i guess I'll just use those if/when I have no more Step Steel blade left. Though I barely sharpen my skates (I only sharpen then about 4 times a year, max), so I don't think I'll ever run out of steel. 

How do you only sharpen your skates 4 times a year?!?!

[creasecollector]

45 minutes ago, Peter36 said:

How do you only sharpen your skates 4 times a year?!?!

Not sure, it's just the way I've always been doing it. For those wondering, I sharpen my skates at 5/8. Anything above that I feel grips too much and is too sharp for me. 

Granted, this sharpening schedule was on my old Bauer Supreme 1000 skates that I've been using for the past 10+ years. I just upgraded to a True 2PC skate w/Step Steel, so who knows if I can keep my minimal sharpening schedule going; I have only sharpened them once (still at 5/8, wasn't sure if a new hollow was needed for these skates but it's good so far) when I first received the skates and baked them. I think I will be able to since I'm 5 skates into my sharpening and the blades still feel great. 

Not sure if this makes any difference, but I'm a tiny 26 y/o goalie (5ft5 - 120lbs) so I feel like my skate blades don't take as much of a beating as say a bigger goalie might when transfering weight or slamming into the posts, etc. When I feel my blades start to go, I just treat it with a skate stone and a magic stick once a week to keep the edge. 

It's not perfect, but it works for me. I sharpen them once before my winter and summer seasons (sharpenings 1-2 on the year). I might do another sharpening during each season (sharpenings 3 and 4 on the year), but I'm usually good with one. 

Yeah I know it's weird, but I'm still able to grab my edge and play the way I like which is a very modern, technically sound (I hope) positional game. 

Edited October 24, 2019 by creasecollector

[bunnyman666]

I sharpen mine literally after every time my skates hit the ice. I go with 7-11 passes on my Sparx. Even after a full year playing mostly 1times per week, I only lost about 3mm of blade. Of course since I use Step Extreme blades, so that 3mm makes a HUGE difference. I switched steel. 

If I had Bauer Vertexx holders, I would be clocking mad cheddar knowing that I could not get steel after next year. I would be buying it everywhere and everywhere knowing that would not be able to get it. That being said, I’d maybe get 4, 5 pair max.

I wonder if the True guys will end up in CCM’s QR (quick release) holders? Would we even see Bauer guys with the new CCM holder so they can get Step Steel? 

[TheGoalNet]

@BadAngle41 - maybe ignorance is bliss with steel. I’ve never changed it out and I’ve just noticed that the 5G is better than past iterations. 

Does anyone know what Ti Pulse steel is? Maybe on the 2020 Supreme line?

[BadAngle41]

1 hour ago, TheGoalNet said:

@BadAngle41 - maybe ignorance is bliss with steel. I’ve never changed it out and I’ve just noticed that the 5G is better than past iterations. 

5G is better than previous Bauer gens... just doesn’t seem to hold up as well as other brands who specialize in steels. 
I found I needed sharpenings much more often in 5G than Tydans... and that’s both due to kicking posts and general ability to hold an edge. Just speaking for my own experience though. 

[bunnyman666]

As far as the Pro trainers/equipment managers go, that is who makes the majority of the decisions on what steel and holders are used. Yes- veterans who are picky get their say. But I am thinking either Bauer will improve their steel greatly or there will be a mass adoption of the CCM system with Step not being allowed to make steel to fit the Bauer trigger holder. That goes for the goalies, as well.

[Telfo]

this thread prompted me to go ahead and order some step blacksteel for my 2x pro skates.  I went about twice as long between sharpenings on my old step steel than I can now on the bauer steel.  I figure it will pay for itself over time.

[bunnyman666]

22 minutes ago, Telfo said:

this thread prompted me to go ahead and order some step blacksteel for my 2x pro skates.  I went about twice as long between sharpenings on my old step steel than I can now on the bauer steel.  I figure it will pay for itself over time.

You’ll help save the planet with fewer sharpenings!

[Puckstopper]

10 hours ago, BadAngle41 said:

5G is better than previous Bauer gens... just doesn’t seem to hold up as well as other brands who specialize in steels. 
I found I needed sharpenings much more often in 5G than Tydans... and that’s both due to kicking posts and general ability to hold an edge. Just speaking for my own experience though. 

That's kind of discouraging.  I just ordered 2 sets of LS5G for my Trues.  Oh well...

[BadAngle41]

6 hours ago, Puckstopper said:

That's kind of discouraging.  I just ordered 2 sets of LS5G for my Trues.  Oh well...

I certainly didn’t mean to diminish what Bauer has done with 5G between the height and black coating. It’s definitely a better steel than 3G was. 
I would just say... and this is entirely by feel and not backed by any testing or measures... that Bauer steel feels softer. 
But I do like a good sharp edge and am pretty sensitive to both dull edges and nicks/burrs from posts etc. So my measure is how often I need to get resharpened. 
2 sets of 5G is a good call to keep a fresh set at the ready. By all means though... relay your experience with them. 

[bunnyman666]

18 hours ago, BadAngle41 said:

I certainly didn’t mean to diminish what Bauer has done with 5G between the height and black coating. It’s definitely a better steel than 3G was. 
I would just say... and this is entirely by feel and not backed by any testing or measures... that Bauer steel feels softer. 
But I do like a good sharp edge and am pretty sensitive to both dull edges and nicks/burrs from posts etc. So my measure is how often I need to get resharpened. 
2 sets of 5G is a good call to keep a fresh set at the ready. By all means though... relay your experience with them. 

I judge quality by how much burr I have to clean off when I sharpen and how many passes for a good edge. Bauer by FAR burrs the most and takes the most passes to get an edge into. Step uncoated burrs significantly less (I use leather strop on ALL blades I sharpen, not a stone). Step Black burrs less, and Step coated by Montyhockey burrs the very least.  
 

Haven’t sharpened the new black Bauer steel, yet. I have moved my Bauer customers into Step or Tydan. 

[pgeorgan]

On 10/24/2019 at 8:09 AM, BadAngle41 said:

Agreed. In my experience.... if you so much as breathe on a post the LS5G gets chipped... and previous iterations we're even worse than that. I swap out to aftermarket steels almost immediately (although I use Tydan and not Step.) Even the basic offering (non-coated) holds up far better than the highest end Bauer steel.

I had Step STGoal and got a huge gash in the side running up the height of the blade shortly after I started using them. Ruined the pair entirely. Customer service was of no help and off-putting, in fact. 

Fortunately, the market is moving towards home sharpening and longevity between them is far less relevant. Now, I can simply redo my own skates whenever I please. 

Unless you're a pro, Bauer vs Step vs. Whomever is not going to change your game materially if you have the freedom to maintain your own edges to begin with. What matters, then, is durability against heavy impacts and ability of the overall steel to remain true. 

Admittedly, the one time I did purchase Step was because their website/marketing material sold me on the idea. I didn't have any empirical data in front of me that proved their steel would stay truer, longer. 

Edited October 30, 2019 by pgeorgan

[Big2]

Step confirmed to me that they will stop making Bauer blades !

This might be a stupid question , but do we know if Tydan will incur the same faith ??