Bumping along nicely
A red curling stone speeds across the ice and wobbles slightly as it slides past the marker, before crashing – a few seconds later – into the other stones. Continue reading
The sweeper is downcast, but the opposing team cheer. A quick sip of mulled wine, or Glühwein as we call it around here, and the game goes on.
Bavarian curling, once regarded as a pensioners’ pastime, is now a full-on sport taken seriously in both Germany and Austria. From Flensburg on the Danish border to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Alps, and from Cologne in the west to Graz in the east, teams play on ice rinks, in beer gardens, on school sports grounds or at Christmas markets. And almost every player of this sport has a piece of Kuhn Special Steel in his or her hand, as curling stones are fitted with a stainless-steel ring supplied by Kuhn.
Impact-resistance you can feel
A high-quality curling stone is made up of three elements: the wooden handle, the rubber running surface and the body. The slightly elastic base is fitted with a stainless-steel ring – for good reason, as the stone as a whole weighs between 4.7 and 5.35 kilos. The world speed record for a Bavarian curling stone is 67.16 kilometres per hour (about 42 mph). Even though the stone is normally launched at much lower speeds than this, the inevitable collision still subjects the metal ring to powerful stresses. The phrase “impact-resistant”, makes itself literally plain whenever two curling stones collide. This presents no problem for stainless-steel rings made by Kuhn Special Steel, which are designed to tackle any impact. Their resistance to corrosion also makes them impervious to the constant exposure to humidity that sitting on ice supposes.
Our tip
Get yourself to a curling rink, and discover this great fun sport! You just need to be sure that your curling stones have that Kuhn Special Steel touch.
Photo: © 5shreddhead – stock.adobe.com