Skate Hollow Help!?

Question

I am getting really confused with the skate hollow thing right now. Can someone tell what would be the "standard" hollow. (ie. rental skates/ beginner hollow.)

Also can someone tell me the hollows from least grip to highest grip.

Answer 1

Most rinks use 1/2" hollow. If you want to be able to learn to skate and technique, I personally would suggest 9/16" hollow. This will allow anyone less resistance yet teaching more technique with proper instruction.

Answer 2

The hollow is what actually grips the ice. Common sense might say, the deeper the hollow the better the “bite”. However, in the case of skate sharpening more is not always better. Secondly, the portion of the blade that contacts the ice is important too. This is where “the glide” comes into play. These two factors, the edge and the glide can either help or hurt your game

( HERE'S THE KICKER)

Pro-Shops sharpen skates using a 3/8”- 7/16” radius. They rarely dress the wheel and don’t finish the job properly. The sad part about this is a 3/8” or 7/16” hollow is too deep for most hockey players. Deep hollow provides too much bite into the ice, forces the skater to work harder and burn more energy. I’ve seen it time and time again, especially in new hockey players that are learning to stop. They try and try to get on the edge but can’t because the skate has too much bite. They fall over, trip up, and in some cases try a different method like using the boards. When you take a look at a hockey stop, it’s nothing more that a slide. The more pressure you put on the edge the shorter the distance to the stop. If you can’t roll onto your edge you can’t stop. The ability to stop or “slide” is a critical part of the game.