How to Curve a Mini Hockey Stick

In the 1961-62 National Hockey League season, the curved hockey stick originated during a Chicago Blackhawks practice session. After splitting his stick, Stan Mikita's flat blade looked like a V-shape. Mikita continued to use the broken stick and fired the puck harder than he did with a straight blade. That caught the attention of teammate Bobby Hull, and both players started curving their sticks to become more dangerous offensive players. That's how the curved hockey stick was born. You can curve a mini-hockey stick as well as a full-sized one.

Instructions

    • 1

      Notice there is some give in the fiberglass blade when you bend it. This means you can reform it and curve it. Use a hockey vice designed for sticks to bend the curve to the specifications you desire. The hockey vice consists of a series of vices that will tighten and help form the shape of the blade your want. Keep the blade in the vice for 48 to 72 hours to form the curve.

    • 2

      Use a blowtorch to heat the fiberglass on the mini-hockey stick blade. You will need to be outside and in a safe area that does not include any flammable materials. Once the blade is heated, you can put on heat-resistant gloves to curve the stick to the shape you want.

    • 3

      Use a blow dryer at the highest setting if you have no blowtorch. A blow dryer will take longer but it will get the fiberglass in the blade malleable and you will be able to curve it by hand when it gets hot enough.

    • 4

      Put your mini-hockey stick in a cool, dry place--such as a basement--once you are satisfied with the way the curve looks. You want the curve to stay in place and not lose its shape, so you need to cool the blade immediately.

    • 5

      Put hockey tape on your stick to preserve the stick blade. Even with a mini-hockey stick blade, you will need to protect the surface of the stick if you want your stick to last without breaking. Hockey tape will help preserve the stick.