Imagine this, you’ve brought your skates into your favorite hockey shop and they ask you the age old question, “how do you want these cut?” You stare blankly at them for a second then mumble, “regular is fine.” What you get for a sharpening could be a house standard of ½” to 5/8”, or you could get whatever the kid in the back sharpened the last pair on. Knowing how you like your skates cut is important for consistency and performance.
Binnie’s Skate Sharpening offers two types of sharpening styles for hockey skates: radius of hollow (RoH) and flat bottom V (FBV). Both have advantages and benefits and no matter your choice, you’ll always get a game-ready sharpening.
Radius of Hollow (RoH) - $6
RoH is the traditional method of sharpening hockey skates. Radius refers to the distance edge of a circle from its center and hollow is the depth of the concave groove. To create the RoH cut, the skate is moved carefully against a spinning grinding wheel that has been contoured to create the correct hollow for you.
When choosing a radius of hollow, there are a few things to consider. As the radius of hollow gets larger, the depression in the skate blade becomes shallower. Typically, a deeper hollow will give a skater more grip or bite, while a shallow hollow is better for gliding. This means a deeper cut may feel slower to a player when skating in a straight line because the edges are digging in more developing greater resistance.
Your personal RoH will depend on your skating style and preference. Binnie’s Skate Sharpening & Equipment Repair will sharpen your skates to your specific request or can make a recommendation based on information from you about how you play. Traditionally, younger or smaller skaters will use a deeper hollow such as 3/8” to ½”. Older or bigger skaters will traditionally use a less deep hollow like ½” to 5/8”.
| DEEPER HOLLLOW | VS. | SHOLLOWER HOLLOW |
| Harder and tighter turning | More forgiveness in turning with less bite | |
| Greater immediate acceleration | Better gliding and retained speed | |
| Better grip on ice for stability in battle situations | Ability to “slide” into position due to reduced friction | |
| For goalies, it can benefit push offs and quick movements | For goalies, it can benefit small lateral movements with less resistance |
Flat Bottom V (FBV) - $8
The Flat Bottom V cut, developed by Blackstone, puts an updated spin on traditional skate sharpening. In a RoH, the hollow is curved but on an FBV cut, the bottom of the groove is flat and the two sides extend out like fangs. The theory is FBV gives skaters the benefit of greater bit and grip like a deep hollow while capitalizing on enhanced glide like a shallow hollow. The variable resistance factors result in more energy transferred back to the skater allowing for less fatigue over time.
Choosing the correct FBV cut is much like RoH. Your personal FBV will depend on your skating style and preference. Binnie’s Skate Sharpening & Equipment Repair will sharpen your skates to your specific request or can make a recommendation based on information from you about how you play.
