How Are Hockey Sticks Manufactured?

Hockey sticks can differ greatly based on the materials they are made of and the process in which they are made. As of June 2010, hockey sticks were made of either wood or composite materials. Sticks are manufactured to get the maximum amount of stiffness and response without incurring excess weight. Despite changes in technology, many hockey sticks are still manufactured by hand.

  1. Materials

    • Since the early 2000s, the demand in the hockey stick market has been for composite sticks. Composite sticks are made with a graphite mesh---in the form of carbon fiber---mixed with various amounts of fiberglass and Kevlar. The blades of the sticks are made by mixing composites with foams. Wood sticks are made by mixing such woods as maple and birch to form the shaft. The wood blades are made from ash.

    Stiffness, Responsiveness, and Weight

    • The goal of hockey stick manufacturing is to produce an effective stick while keeping the weight around a pound. Decreasing the stiffness of a stick's shaft increases the speed the puck can be shot, but reduces the accuracy and durability of the stick. Increasing the responsiveness of the stick increases the accuracy and speed of the shot. Lighter sticks are easier to handle compared with heavier sticks.

    Wood Manufacturing

    • Wood sticks are manufactured by hand. A worker takes multiple sheets of different woods and glues them together in a press to form the shaft. The blade---just one sheet of wood---is steamed then pressed to form the curve of the blade. After drying, the blade is glued to the shaft. The final shape of the blade is cut out and the stick is sanded. The stick is laminated by wrapping a fiberglass sock around it, dipping it in an epoxy and placing it in a heated press. The excess fiberglass is cut away before the stick is sanded again and painted.

    Composite Manufacturing

    • Composite sticks are made by hand and machine. A worker wraps multiple sleeves of composite materials around a form and loads the form into a machine. The machine coats the materials in an epoxy and heats them in a hydraulic press. The blade is formed the same way, only the composite materials are wrapped around foam---usually polyvinylchloride. The blade and shaft are combined and laminated with at least one more layer of composites. Excess material is cut away and the stick is sanded before being painted.

    Wood versus Composite

    • Wood sticks are generally more durable and much cheaper, while weighing significantly more and having low responsiveness. Composite sticks vary in price---based on the amount of fiberglass or Kevlar in the stick---have a wider range of stiffness and have faster response than wood. However, composites are much less durable and are more likely to contain manufacturing errors.