TK Hockey Stick Care and Maintenance

All hockey sticks, wooden or composite, require simple but regular care and maintenance to maximise durability and ensure that it performs well throughout its playing life. Outlined below are some simple practices which, if followed, can help achieve more from TK sticks.

Before reading on however, a few simple facts regarding hockey sticks have to be remembered:

Sand filled artificial turf is as abrasive as sand paper. It will damage the painted finish and structural thickness of sticks just as sand paper would damage a car's paintwork.

Superficial damage to the painted finish or labelling of sticks as a result of contact with the ball, pitch or other sticks is never a justifiable cause for complaint.

Hockey balls are hard, but sticks are designed to hit them. Hockey sticks are also hard, however sticks are NOT designed to hit them. Hit the ball, not the stick and there should be no durability problems.

The edges of the shaft and the toe are not as strong as the face. If players use these parts of the stick to strike the ball then they must protect them.

Any inherent manufacturing fault in a stick will typically manifest in the first few instances of use. Problems thereafter are normally down to regular wear and tear or abuse.

The main three areas of the stick - the head, shaft and handle - should be maintained as follows:

Protecting the Head
Most damage to the head of hockey sticks is caused by the abrasive nature of sand filled artificial turf. Regular application of our specially formulated high strength resin TK Stick Magic can help to counter the effects of pitch contact on the stick by ensuring the first point of contact with the pitch will be resin - not the structure of the stick.

Protecting the Shaft
The shaft of the hockey stick forms the main part of its structure. It is responsible for its rigidity (and therefore the potential power of the stick) and its strength. Damage to this area is usually as a result of impact from either the ball or other sticks, but this can be countered by the application of TK Cloth Tape. Binding a layer of cloth tape over the bottom 10cm of the shaft of the stick will go some way to protect it from impact damage and also assist cushioning and control of the ball. Please remember that damage caused by stick tackling, which always leaves obvious signs of impact, or being stick tackled is not a justifiable cause for complaint. It should also be noted that the world governing body, FIH, makes the following statement in the Rules of Hockey regarding the use of the inner edge of the stick to strike the ball:

“.. manufacturers may refuse replacement in case of breakage as a consequence of using the edges for hitting the ball”.

Remember, it is now illegal to use the leading (heel) edge to strike the ball (blading).

Finally, from time to time sticks may develop rattles inside the shaft. These are caused by flakes of loose resin/fibre inside the shaft. This does not affect performance but can be annoying. This is easily rectified and please contact us for help in doing so if and when necessary.

Protecting the Handle
To maximise their sticks performance players need to be able to control it! Controlling it begins with a good grip and the maintenance of this area is vital. The grip needs protecting from excess moisture as this will break down its composition and the adhesive keeping it in place. All grips will wear out after a period of time and some players are harder on their grips than others, so players must be prepared to maintain the quality of the grip on their stick by replacing it as soon as their control is impaired.