New to no cowling- skate chatter?

[pkbucks]

Hey all,

After many years of not playing, I'm back in the game. Had been using a Graf G50 with standard cowling for years, but since I've been gone the game has changed (butterfly slides, etc), so wanted to see what this cowling-less skate is all about. Went and bought an admittedly cheaper pair of CCM 9370 skates to just get a feel of the way the skate fits, the higher steel, angle of attack, etc. without dropping a ton of money off the bat.

A few things I noticed when I did an open skate the other day and noticed a ton of 'chatter' on the skates when stopping, especially when going backwards. Not sure if this is due to skate geometry, weak legs, inappropriate hollow (1/2"), or something else. Previously would sharpen to 3/8" when wearing the Grafs and had no such issues.

When skating straight line (no pads, etc), I definitely also felt like my weight was all on my heels, which was weird. When I finally strapped up with pads last week for open hockey, I didn't really feel the weight distribution difference.

Anyway, just wondering if anybody else experienced any of this when transitioning to the new type of skate, or if I'm just a poor skater with weak legs haha

[Chenner29]

1 hour ago, pkbucks said:

Hey all,

After many years of not playing, I'm back in the game. Had been using a Graf G50 with standard cowling for years, but since I've been gone the game has changed (butterfly slides, etc), so wanted to see what this cowling-less skate is all about. Went and bought an admittedly cheaper pair of CCM 9370 skates to just get a feel of the way the skate fits, the higher steel, angle of attack, etc. without dropping a ton of money off the bat.

A few things I noticed when I did an open skate the other day and noticed a ton of 'chatter' on the skates when stopping, especially when going backwards. Not sure if this is due to skate geometry, weak legs, inappropriate hollow (1/2"), or something else. Previously would sharpen to 3/8" when wearing the Grafs and had no such issues.

When skating straight line (no pads, etc), I definitely also felt like my weight was all on my heels, which was weird. When I finally strapped up with pads last week for open hockey, I didn't really feel the weight distribution difference.

Anyway, just wondering if anybody else experienced any of this when transitioning to the new type of skate, or if I'm just a poor skater with weak legs haha

A few high percentage answers

1. Bad sharpening, get them resharpened.  New steel needs a couple extra passes. 
2. Uneven edges.  Have your sharpener check edges using a leveler tool.  If they don't have one take your skates somewhere else and never go back.
3. CCM 9370 steel should be 3mm wide; narrower than the Graf G50 4mm.  If you put identical sharpenings on both skates, it would feel sharper on your Graf.
4. Fresh blades = a flatter feel than what you may be used to, unless you regularly profiled your old steel.  You may not be used to the amount of steel under you
   1. In response to your concern in bold, I think this is the most likely issue.  Your old steel was probably rounded out/pitched forward over years of sharpening
5. Make sure your runners are firmly bolted/screwed/dialed in
6. Any combination of the above

One less likely but possible answer

1. Steel is bent, look down the runner from either the front or back.  You can use a credit card and slide it along the edge to check for straightness.  If it is bent this should be covered by factory warranty.

[RichMan]

To add to @Chenner29's response, the Graf blades are shorter than what is out there on other skates and it's most likely that cheaper skates come with cheaper steel and you'll get the squeaking more than a pro level model for sure. And it's true that the 3mm blade will sing more than the 4mm one. I felt the difference, hence why I went back to 4mm on my Bauer 170s.

[Puckstopper]

Great answers above!   I've been on 3mm steel for years now.  It does chatter/sing much more than 4mm especially when new.  Over time it settles in and the issue dies down.  Whether that's the blade channel loosening up or something else I'm not sure.   In my case at least, I doubt it was sharpening as I sharpened my skates myself on my last 2 new sets and I'm pretty anal.   Also, I had the blades profiled right away and had the issue for a couple months afterwards.   Speaking of profiling, one additional point:  

CCM skates sit at a neutral pitch, as do True one-piece customs.   True 2 piece and all Bauer skates all are designed to put your weight over the balls of your feet.  These aren't good or bad things, just a difference in design and preference.    The good news is that there's an easy, relatively cheap fix.    You can get your skate blades profiled with a forward pitch on them to duplicate the feel you're used to.   I've mailed my goalie blades to  NoIcing Sports in Delaware for years and been really happy with the results.  I strongly recommend the triple radius they offer as I feel like it gives me plenty of blade on the ice to push, but removes just enough at the toe that my skating and pivots are improved significantly.   

 

Edit, forgot to mention K&K Skate also has given me great service on Prosharp Ellipse profiles on my forward skates.  I've never tried them for goalie, but I can vouch for their professionalism, quality and customer service. 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by Puckstopper

[pkbucks]

Wow! thanks so much everybody! Great things for me to consider

[mr_shifty1982]

22 hours ago, pkbucks said:

Wow! thanks so much everybody! Great things for me to consider

You could always go back to 4mm blade, which is something you might be used to, all preference. I couldn't deal with the 3mm blade myself. 

[DL42]

profile the skates and adjust sharpenign accordingliy