Does anyone know the standard radius for sharpening goalie skates?

I have an old ez-sharp machine in my garage that I use to do my own skates but I have never played goalie. As a favor, I am sharpening my friend's kid goalie skates and I am not sure what fraction to use. Can any goalies out there give me the standard radius so I can help him out? He is too young to know. I am guessing a 5/16, but I am not sure.

Does anyone know the standard radius for sharpening goalie skates?
I do mine at 1". But from what I understand, a lot of NHL'ers use around a 3/4" hollow for a good slide. 5/16" would be a bit too deep for a goalie and restrict the lateral slide that's so critical. Maybe start it at 3/4", and then experiment up or down from there. Good luck.





Check out the Goalie Discussion Board link I've included.
Reply:I don't know but good luck!
Reply:thats wat i think
Reply:I'm pretty sure goalies are supposed to be 1/2" or so. That would be pretty shallow, and allow it to slide across the ice.





A 5/16th is pretty aggressive hollow, which means it bites into the ice more.





http://noicingsports.com/frequently_aske...





Q I'm a goalie. What do I ask the sharpener? I don't like sharp edges so I generally avoid having my skates sharpened.


A Contrary to popular belief, goalies can benefit from sharpening (and profiling) and there are MANY choices of hollows for goalies. Remember, it's not the sharpening that give that sharp feel, rather the depth of hollow that creates pronounced edges. Unless you ask, most shops put a 1" hollow on all goalie skates. This generic grind is shallow and may not work well for you. I know some who use 1/2" and others who use 1 1/4. It all depends on your style of play. I personally use 3/4" - 15/16ths. Also, I like to see goalies sharpen frequently as they can loose an edge very quickly slaming their skates on the posts to stop those wrap-arounds. Keep in mind, you do need some edge to help get footing to get up from the butterfly, so don't write off sharpening. If you are a roaming goalie, a deeper cut may be better for you than a stay-in-crease goalie. Profiling goalie skates can also help with agility and proper stance. In addition, most goalie skates come from the factory with a reverse radius (only toe and heel of blade touching ice.) A profiling can correct this. We can also do custom combo cuts, deeper at the toe and shallower along rest of blade. This is great for control.
Reply:Prevailing wisdom used to say a flat 1" to 1 1/2" was the general guideline for goalie skates. With that said, some NHL keepers go as deep as 3/8".





Richter used to get a 1/4" cut which, anyone who's tried that deep a hollow would know is flat out ridiculous. Then again, Forsberg skated on 13' radius which feels like being on skis. Gee, I wonder if that had anything to do with his foot problems.





I digress. For a kid I'd go 1" and no sharper than 3/4". 5/16" is too deep, unless the goalie is a college level athlete and really knows what he's doing.



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