[Law Goalie]

Fear not, Bill - there but for the grace of Mods go we all.

The first number (numerator) is the width in thousandths of an inch of the flat-bottom cut in the FBV sharpening; this as compared to the total width of a player's blade (~.110") and a goalie's blade (~.160"). The second number (denominator) is the depth in ten-thousandsths of an inch (IIRC): how far that flat-bottom is pushed into the blade to create the edges.

So, for example, 80/50 is a relatively small flat pushed not very far into the blade, resulting in fairly low-angled 'fangs' as edges. 100/50 would create much more sharply-angled edges because of the much wider flat; 100/75 would make the edges a little more sharply-angled, but significantly (+50%) taller in pushing the same flat-bottom further into the blade.

(Someone smack me if I'm wrong.)

[wex12]

Another skate on the 90/50 last night and 4 skates in two days at a tourney last week for a total of 6 games. So far Still crisp edges, and shuffling feels just fine. Might be that it's just the perfect combination for my ice/style/weight. Even at the other rink the edges felt just fine. Again, this is on non stainless Bauer 7000 steel. I usually got about 5-6 skates out of my previous 3/4" ROH cut, so we'll see how many more beyond this the FBV can last.

[Oykib]

wex12, on Nov 5 2009, 10:47 AM, said:

Another skate on the 90/50 last night and 4 skates in two days at a tourney last week for a total of 6 games. So far Still crisp edges, and shuffling feels just fine. Might be that it's just the perfect combination for my ice/style/weight. Even at the other rink the edges felt just fine. Again, this is on non stainless Bauer 7000 steel. I usually got about 5-6 skates out of my previous 3/4" ROH cut, so we'll see how many more beyond this the FBV can last.

I have been running a smooth stone along the outside of my blade to keep the outside sharp and it has kept them pretty sharp overall.

[Oykib]

I got this from the NYTimes article on FBV

NY Times

FBV picture

[wex12]

As posted in the main FBV thread...just had my skates sharpened again. Normal ROH lasted 5-6 skates..I have had 10 skates on Hard Ice with the FBV. Not going back.

[Gwyren]

I wish I could find this around where I am. I would love to try it.

I have spoken to the guys at the places I get my skates sharpened about it. They are all afraid of the initial startup cost. However I am not sure how much they have looked into it.

[Law Goalie]

I finally got to have a proper on-ice session with my goalie skates on 100/50 (coming from 7/16 ROH), and it was stunning. Took me about an hour of movement to feel totally comfortable, and then the scales dropped from my feet. It really is almost binary: on the edge and dug in hard, or off it and gliding. Being a rather large guy coming from a relatively deep ROH on the wider goalie blade, it made a huge difference. For a while, the glide was so big a difference that I was overskating my angles and backing in way, way too fast in breakways - took a pretty nice spill into the net at one point. Once I adjusted, I found my movements far more economical and much smoother.

I'm very interested to try the new goalie-specific shapes (JR hinted at 115/Y or 120/Y), but I think goalies are really going to take to this or reject it (whether they know it or not) based on the shape of their cowlings. If they bottom out on the inside curve of the plastic too early, they'll feel like FBV might as well be a flat-cut that's hard to shuffle on; if they've got good clearance, they'll love it within 60 minutes.

In this respect, I think early adopters of the new Bauer cowlings (starting with the One100) and going to experience the most dramatic improvement in their skating on FBV. The whole point of that cowling is to allow lower-angle engagement with the ice (esp. in butterfly transitions and movements), and that's where FBV really excels: it gives incredible bite on the edge, from the point the edge engages all the way down to the point the cowling slips out. It does this far better, in fact, than deeper hollows do, and without the commensurate penalty in gliding. I felt shuffling was also easier on 100/50 than on 7/16 ROH, though others have noted that 100/75 is extremely hard to shuffle on.

[kevintung_2k]

I find that the one drawback of FBV for goalies is that the inside of the inside edge does not "catch" the ice as well transitioning from a butterfly slide to one's regular stance. The ease of movement in general more than makes up for this, however.

[Law Goalie]

I noticed that same effect at first, in both recoveries and transitions, and it makes sense - the whole point of FBV is that the edge is shorter (ie. shallower) in relation to a wider flat, but at a similar bite-angle. The more I skated, however, the more reliably I was to find the FBV edge; by the end of the first skate, I wasn't thinking about it, just enjoying the positive effects. It's a small adjustment.

I don't think it's fair to say that FBV edges don't catch "as well" as ROH - it might be more proper to say that because the edge is smaller, it requires a bit more precision during butterfly recoveries. That fits with what skaters have described in their own transitions.

[DangerIsGo]

How is the FBV for goalies in terms of sliding from side to side?

[Law Goalie]

As in shuffling? It's different, and requires some adjustment, but I noticed a significant improvement on FBV 100/50 over 7/16 ROH. It was an all-around improvement, though, obviously, most noticeable in gliding (T-pushes, C-cuts).

[Gwyren]

I am still not able to find a place down here which offers the cut.

[jimmy]

I've been testing the new 100/1 FBV on some local goalies and initial reports is that it's excellent. If you are one of those goalies who likes a 1/4-5/16" type of bite, then this FBV may be good for you. FWIW, Tim Thomas has this for the Olympics.

[docar15]

Did I understand correctly that for people like me who still use 2" hollow on their goalie skates, FBV will be an equivalent of going down to sub 1" feel? Does not sound like its something I want to try. I probably missed soemthing (again).

[jimmy]

They do make FBV's now that have very little bite but this really doesn't make any sense for a goalie who's on a 2" hollow to use it, just stay with the 2". There is absolutely nothing to gain by going to a FBV.