Making high-performance skate blades

By Julia Chapman, CBC News

Posted: Sep 26, 2013 2:20 PM ET

Last Updated: Sep 26, 2013 2:20 PM ET

Chris and Mike Verticchio say they’ve developed a product that is quintessentially Hamilton, combining two of the city’s loves.

“Steel and hockey,” Chris said.

Their product? A hockey blade superior to anything in the Canadian market, the brothers say.

Mike, 26, has worked in hockey pro shops for the past ten years and says he got fed up with the quality of steel he was seeing when sharpening skates.

“[The blades] are made overseas and the quality control just isn’t there,” he said. “They’re high in carbon, they’re soft, they rust.”

In true entrepreneur fashion, Mike had the idea to make his own. He approached mechanical engineer friend Nick Montecchia, who designed the skates, and hooked up with his brother Chris, 32, who has worked in sales and marketing in the steel industry for about a decade.

RZR Skate Blades, a custom-made blade with an edge that’s five times harder and a core that’s three times stronger than the average skate blade. What that means, Chris said, is the blades last about five times longer and won’t lose their edge during a game.

The Verticchios believe the have a game-changing product on their hands.

The product

The game of hockey is changing, the brothers agreed.

“Its more east-west,” Mike said. “There's much contact, the players are faster and stronger, you can’t skate north-south.”

“Our skates have a tougher core to produce power and resist force on the ice,” Chris chimes in.

With their product, players don’t need to worry about breakage, brittleness, lost edges or snow piling up on the blade, he said.

RZR blades are made to fit high-end boots, with custom blades for several popular skate brands like Bauer, Easton or Reebok. But Chris points out the blades that come on these boots are nowhere near the quality of RZR’s blades.

“You wouldn’t put the same tires on a van and a Porsche,” Chris added.

Right now, the Verticchios are looking for a third party to endorse their product and had plans to meet with Brock University’s skate lab for testing.

But through their own connections from playing in local leagues and being around the city’s rinks, they’ve found a few professional players who love their product. One is Ryan O’Conner, a Hamilton player who is in Davos, Switzerland with the Swiss Elite League, Mike said. They’ve also got the Senior Stoney Creek Generals wearing their blades.

RZR blades have been on the market, selling online and in high-end pro shops, since June and retail for about $120, but Mike said they pay for themselves in a season in sharpening.

The team

The Verticchio’s product marries Hamilton’s love for hockey and history of steel, but also allows these closely-knit brothers to work on a venture together.

“We love the game, we’ve both dreamed of this,” Chris said. “It brings the two things we have been involved in for the last 10 years together.”

Both Chris and Mike grew up playing hockey in Stoney Creek and now still participate in local men’s (read: beer) leagues.

They both have maintained their day jobs – Chris in the steel industry and Mike coaching hockey and working around rinks.