T-Blades, A Different Skate Blade

T-Blades are a recent development manufactured by the German company "t'blade GmbH" as an alternative to the traditional steel blades found on most hockey skates. They are sold on top-end hockey skates such as CCM's Vectors and Pro Tacks and Graf Skates or can be installed onto any skate boot. Instead of sharpening the blades, T-blades are replaced when worn out. T-Blades stay sharper much longer than a traditional skate blade. As stated on the manufacture's website "Compared to a conventional skate sharpening, the t'blade runner lasts 4-5 times longer." This balances the cost of buying T-Blades versus sharpening a normal blade because the normal skate must be sharpened regularly. This same concept keeps a skater's stride more regular over time because a normal skate blade tends to become uneven on the inside and outside edges after prolonged use and re-sharpening.

The T-Blade Runner or blade itself is held to the skate chassis by a stabilizer and six screws which require a special three-pronged wrench. Unlike traditional skate blades which consist of a single piece of steel, the T-blade is made up of strong plastic material that has only a 1 mm steel blade at the bottom, making it lighter (30% lighter). The thin blade featured in T-Blades heats up faster from friction and has a better glide to it (40% increase). T-Blades have a very distinct sound when cutting into the ice, they are louder and have a bit of a scratchy sound. The blades are sold pre-sharpened, the concept being that the harder the steel the better and longer it will hold its edge and that repeated sharpening softens the edge of a blade and it loses it ability to stay sharp. The fact that edges are precision-made by machines is appreciated by some skaters, since one does not have to rely on a human operator to apply edges on the skates' blades. On the other hand, this is possibly why T-Blades are not very popular among professional players, because of the skill level of equipment managers at that level.

FEATURES
The runner incorporates nearly all the key technology of the t'blade blade system. It consists of a 1mm thick metal running strip which is injected into a low temperature impact strength fiber glass plastic.
Due to the small mass of metal, the runner has a minimum weight and, additionally, excellent thermal characteristics which, in connection with the highly polished rocker improve the gliding characteristics up to 40%. When the runner is worn out, it can be simply and quickly replaced.

ADVANTAGES

• Very light
• Small curve radii
• Excellent maneuverability
• Excellent gliding characteristics
• Up to 4 times longer useful life
• Extreme edge hardness (approx. 54 HRC = 570 HV)
• Constant gliding surface length'/ rocker form
• High cornering speed
• Fast runner replacement
• No edge sharpening
• Fracture-resistant

VARIANTS
The t'blade runner is available in 18 variants. These result from combining the 3 gliding surface lengths [S-M-L] with the six hollow radii [9-11-13-15-18-21]. The respective runner variant (e.g., S-9-280) is identified by:

• Gliding surface length (S)
• Hollow radius (9)
• System size (280mm)

The short gliding surface length [S] offers better maneuverability while a longer one [L] offers more stability. Deeper hollow radii [9,11] achieve a better edge hold, shallower radii [15,18] better gliding capability.

The standard variant for our blade system is the M-13 runner in white. In addition to the white runners (standard), only the variants M-11 and M-13 are also available in black.

How to Sharpen Ice Hockey Skates

Another area of technology that I myself have taken for granted over the years in hockey is the use of skate sharpeners. This is something about the game that you really don't think about that much. Your skates get dull over time or you loose an edge and you just go get them sharpened by the trainer or go to a pro shop. You really don't think about how it is actually done. The only reason why I understand it a bit more is because I have been around the game for so long and have sharpened skates myself from time to time. The following is a video explain the basic technique to skate sharpening.

How Goalie Masks are Made

The following is a video showing how a hockey goalie mask is made

Looking at the Development of Equipment

Like other aspects of the game, the equipment worn by hockey players has evolved over the decades. At first, the only "equipment" worn was a turtleneck wool sweater and a pair of leather boots with blades strapped to them. Sticks were carved out of heavy pieces of wood. Goalies were the first to adopt padding, since they were the ones throwing themselves in front of the puck. At first, goalies were not allowed to fall to the ice when making a save. To protect their legs, they wore leather or horsehide pads stuffed with sponge or deer hair. When they soaked up water, the pads became very heavy.

The other players started wearing shin pads, and by the 1920s, most players wore padded gloves, or gauntlets, and padded pants. Skates became one-piece boots with permanently attached blades.
The next major equipment development came for the goalies. Until the 1940s, they wore the same gloves as the players. A goalie named Emile Francis showed up wearing a first-baseman's glove for one game, and the league approved it. He also started attaching a rubber wedge to his other glove. These primitive designs would develop into the distinctive trapper and blocker worn by modern goalies. Amazingly, despite facing blazing slap shots and repeated injuries, goalies did not wear any kind of facial protection until the late 1950s. Clint Benedict wore a temporary protective leather shield after a serious face injury in 1930, but the idea was soon discarded.

Casualty Only one player has ever died as a result of injuries received in an NHL game. In 1968, Bill Masterton of the Minnesota North Stars was checked hard and fell backwards. He struck his head on the ice, causing severe injuries. Masterton never regained consciousness, and died two days later. Every year, the NHL awards the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.

Jacques Plante is considered the true father of the goalie mask. He designed and made his own fiberglass mask and started wearing it in practice, but his coach wouldn't let him wear it in games. Finally, on November 1, 1959, Plante was hit by a puck and required stitches. He refused to return to the game without the mask. Eventually, other goalies starting wearing them. The last goalie to play without one was Andy Brown of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who was still stopping pucks with his face in 1973.

The early fiberglass masks still allowed goalies to be injured, because the mask rested too close the player's face. For several years, a wire cage design was adopted. Later, a hybrid design was developed by taking one of the old fiberglass masks, cutting out a section in front, and covering it with a cage. This design is the most widely used today. Finally, in the 1970s, players began wearing helmets. The threat of severe head injuries, and NHL rules requiring all new players to wear helmets, made the helmetless hockey star an endangered species. In 1997, the last bareheaded player retired, and the species became extinct.

Modern Equipment
Today's hockey equipment comes from the realm of high technology. Ultra-lightweight synthetics have replaced heavy padding and leather. Kevlar (the material used in bullet-proof vests) is popular, as is Clarino, a Japanese-made material that is light and won't absorb water. Special foams are sewn into the pads to absorb impacts and deflect the puck. Helmets are made of a polycarbonate lightweight plastic. The outer shell offers protection, while an inner liner provides extra padding and comfort. The research and development that goes into goalie pads is astonishing. Every surface of the pad is designed to deflect the puck in a certain way, depending on the goaltender's style. Even the graphics on the pads can be designed to create the illusion of a gap for a player to shoot at. While today's goalies are completely armored, with virtually no spot on the front of their bodies going unprotected, their gear weighs less than ever.

Thinking Back to the First Curved Hockey Stick

Until the early 1960s, hockey stick blades were typically not curved. However, in the late 1950s, New York Rangers center Andy Bathgate began experimenting with "breaking" his stick blades to impart a curve, which he found made his slap shots behave in highly erratic ways. Soon after Chicago Blackhawks forwards Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull stumbled onto the "broken blade", and subsequently began asking their stick manufacturers to create sticks with pre-curved blades.

Soon after, much of the NHL, and Hull in particular, became a proponents of the "banana blade", or stick with extreme amounts (often up to 3 inches (76 mm)) of curve in the blade. These curves made slap shots behave very erratically, and in an era in which goalies did not wear masks, this eventually became an unacceptable danger. By 1967, the NHL began to limit the amount of curve a stick blade could legally have. In the NHL today, the legal limit is 19 mm, or ³⁄₄ of an inch.

Much like the shaft's flex, a blade's pattern is a very important characteristic of a stick's performance. There are three primary variables in blade design: curve, face angle, and toe.The curve refers to the basic amount the blade curves from toe to heel, as well as the part of the blade where that curve is located. A "toe curve" means that the curve is concentrated near the toe of the blade, and it is usually preferred by forwards, who seek better puckhandling and more accurate wrist shots. A "heel curve" is generally better for slap shots, and is thus used more by defencemen.

Face angle is the angle between the ice surface and the front surface of the blade (this characteristic is comparable to the difference between the different irons in golf). A more "open" blade means that the face of the blade is turned up more sharply, and thus will cause a higher trajectory than a "closed" face angle.
The toe shape refers to the basic shape of the end of the blade, and it is typically either round or square. Square toes make it easier to pull a puck off the boards or to do "toe drags" (stickhandling moves using the toe of the blade), whereas round toes make it easier to "flip" the puck, and also offer slight advantages in basic puckhandling. Blades also differ in length and thickness, based on player preference.

As a former ice hockey player, it is hard for me to image using a hockey stick that has no curve on it what so ever. I myself have changes the types of curves I have used numerous times through out my career. I have use larger and small curves. Ones with a round toe and others with a squared toe. I have used one-piece sticks, all wood, two piece wood blades, graphite blades etc. It is truly amazing to see how many different types of curves and stick types that there are on the market. It will be interesting to see where they take this in the next 20 years.

Article on Battery-Powered Skates

The following is an article on the use of battery-powered skates.

Quebec manufacturers, Therma Blade Inc., have recently designed a battery-charged ice hockey skate that literally heats up the competition. The blade on this ground-breaking product, which was invented and designed by Troy Weber, is heated to approximately 41 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing players to skate faster with less effort by actually melting the ice and thickening the film of water between the blade and the ice.

The blade is powered and regulated by a rechargeable battery pack, located in the heel of the skate.
This has not yet-been approved by the NHL, but tests are under way this month. The revolution of technology in sports never ceases to amaze me, especially in the NHL. Changes to equipment that improve the game have been unprecedented. From the composite stick to bigger, lighter goalie pads-the effort to improve the game is always on the rise. And now, the battery powered ice skate. This product, as stated above, is still being tested on the ice, but I personally hope it doesn't make its way to the NHL.

Why?
The "new-and-improved" NHL have already changed it's rules and regulations. Even re-designing the ice rink for faster, more offensive-minded play.
The players nowadays are bigger, faster, and much more athletic than the players of yesteryear. The thought of a battery-powered heated skate to make the game even faster could actually backfire and make it slower.
Take, for instance, hockey teams playing in cities with warmer climates—Florida, Phoenix, Tampa Bay. The ice in these arenas tend to melt a little faster, which slows down play, especially during the end of each period.

Can you imagine heated skates adding to the slush throughout the game? Sure, the players would be moving faster, but ultimately there would be more damage to the ice—more slush, more snow, and less ice, causing the puck to move at a snail's pace. Could this result in more Zamboni time? Perhaps. I certainly admire the thoughts and ideas of these crafty inventors but, bottom line: Leave it alone.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/4321-the-latest-technology-in-hockey-battery-powered-skates

How Hockey Sticks are Made Video

Earlier in my blog, I talked about how the technology of hockey sticks and the materials that they are made from have changed over the years. This is a video showing how a one-piece hockey stick is made today. From this it is clear to see that the technology that goes into the construction of a hockey stick has come a long way over the years.