Skate Blades
Blades are usually made in 1/4 inch lengths. Blades also have different
widths and radii as well as different configurations of the "bulge"
(spinning area) and toe picks. These all have major effects on the
way that a blade "feels".
Figure skate blades start out as three separate components.
- Toe Plate
- Heel Plate
- Working surface
These are punched out en masse by large presses. The blades are
blanked out of long strips of steel which may vary in carbon content
dependent on the quality of the particular skate blade that is requested
(ie., Majestic would have a lower grade of steel than a Phantom
or Patter 99). Regardless, the steel used for all blades hardens
to the same standard, however the better grade would keep its edge
longer if it was a comparative test.
The blade section is hardened before the three parts are put together
to make the skate. this is done in large quantities and hung on
a frame and lowered into a high temperature salt bath for a set
period of time to be evenly heated. While it is still glowing red,
they are quenched in an oil bath. The decrease in temperature causes
the steel to harden, however, they are still too brittle to skate
on. So, the blades are put into another salt bath of a lower temperature
to bring them to 60? on the Rockwell scale. They are then removed
from the frame and ground to a set thickness.
The toe and heel plates are then brazed to the blade. Some manufacturers
choose silver soldering while other top quality manufacturers choose
to hand braze with bronze.
The assembled blade is now chrome plated the profile is ground
on and the chrome is removed from the edges by grinding. This is
removed so that the hardened steel is what comes in contact with
the ice and not chrome. The blades are then inspected and shipped.
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Buying New Blades:
The blade length is measured from the front of the sole plate to
the back of the heel plate. Measure the length of the sole from
toe to heel and fit blades which are 1/4 inch less in length.
Some people believe that they have to buy blades that are expensive
in order for their child to become great skaters. Advanced blades
require the skater to perfect his/her technique. Top of the line
blades are designed for very advanced skaters.
Advanced freestyle blades have a longer radius and have large toe
picks. Also the portion of the blade that is used for spinning is
much shorter than on intermediate blades. This means that unless
you are perfectly balanced and perfectly positioned going into and
during the spin then you will start rocking on the blade. Intermediate
blades like MK Professional, Coronation Ace etc., provide the skater
more "room" to make corrections and continue spinning
even if they are slightly off balance.
Just because MK Gold Stars are typically over $500 does not mean
that they are automatically better blades than MK Pros or Phantoms.
They are all processed in the same fashion. Simply put, certain
blades are more expensive because of supply and demand and a few
slight design modifications like side honing which makes them slightly
more costly to produce.
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Buying and Checking Used Blades:
- Look to see how thick the dull strip is on the side of the blades
along the edges. Originally, they were 3 or 4 mm when they were
new. If they're much thinner than this, then your blades has been
sharpened many times. The problem here is that the rocker may
be distorted after many sharpenings and it is almost impossible
to restore without specialized equipment.
- Put the skate on a level table and check the position of the
bottom toe pick. The blade should also be touching the table within
1 or 2 inches of the toe pick. If the blade touches the table
further back then it means that the to pick is too low, probably
because of too many sharpenings. If the blades touch closer than
1 inch then the master toe pick may have been ground off. In this
case the blades will be useless for learning spins and jumps.
- Ask your skate sharpener to look at the blade. They will be
able to tell if the blade is straight, incorrectly mounted or
damaged beyond repair.
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Mounting:
Skates that are improperly mounted can be virtually impossible
to skate on. The blade must be correctly positioned and aligned
on the boot. To avoid twisting the blade, the boot heel and sole
contours must match the blade mounting surfaces. If not, the surfaces
can be trimmed with a rasp or shims can be added between the blade
and the boot.
Blades are mounted as follows:
- the center of the tip of the sole and heel are found and a line
is drawn to join them
- the front of the sole plate of the skate blade is placed in
line with the front of the sole of the boot and the skate blade
is centered along the line drawn
- screws will be placed only in the slotted holes so that fitting
adjustments can occur
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Checking for Mounting Problems:
If you are having trouble getting good edges first have the blades
checked to make sure that they are straight, properly sharpened
and mounted perpendicular to the sole. If the problem persists,
have someone watch to see if your blades 'make snow' as you try
to skate on the edge in question. If they do this may mean that
a mounting problem has occurred which can be corrected by a slight
shift of the blade mounting. You will need to tell the person remounting
your blades, which edge that you are having problems with.
You can also check if your blades are mounted correctly by yourself
but you need to have sharp blades for this test to work effectively...
- find a clean patch of ice
- gather some speed and glide on 2 feet on a straight line. Keep
your body upright. Your feet should be directly under your hips.
Try this several times backwards and forwards.
- go back and look at the traces to see if the blades are set
correctly. You should get a set of double lines for each foot.
IF one of the lines is consistently thicker than its mate or if
there is only one line, then it means that your weight on that
blade falls mainly on the edge tracing that line ie., the blade
is unbalanced
- if you are leaning mainly on the inside edge then have the blade
shifted to the inside and vice versa. You probably only need a
small shift 1 or 2 mm to start with.
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Problems with Warping:
Warping may have occurred due to a number of reasons:
- the blade may have shifted sideways slightly when the front
or back pair of screws were tightened on the temp mounts, warping
the blade from front to back
- the holes for the permanent mounts might not have been positioned
perfectly, warping the blade as above
- the heel might not be perfectly level or flat with respect to
the front of the boot. Old screw-holes may have created bumps
on the heel or the boot might have been manufactured with an uneven
heel, twisting the blade.
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Rocker:
The rocker is the curve of the blade from toe to heel and is based
on the arc of a circle with a given radius. The curve at the front,
behind the toe pick is somewhat sharper. It is this difference of
curvature which allows you to turn an spin on the front of the blade.
The smaller the radius, the more rocker, therefore you can make
turns with less chance of falling. the bigger the radius, the flatter
the blade. This will give more speed. When a skater starts learning
jumps they find that they need good edge control. Because they have
more blade on the ice they can start to prepare their body position
for takeoff without falling off the edge so easily.
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Grind or Hollow:
This refers to the concave surface on the bottom of a correctly
ground blade. A small radius creates edges that will dig deeply
into the ice while a larger radius digs in less but glides more
freely. A hollow of 5/8" to 3/4" is recommended for beginners
and recreational skaters.
The width of the blade should be considered too. A deep hollow
with a 3/8" or smaller radius will be UNFORGIVING on freestyle
blades unless you are a petite frame. This small radius would be
ideal for dance or hockey blades.
A shallow "figure" hollow with a 1" or larger radius
will require a more correct lean to prevent skidding and requires
more frequent sharpening but it also gives and easy glide and clean
tracings.
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Maintenance:
There are 2 kinds of blade covers:
- hard rubber/plastic guards
- cloth (usually terry cloth or flannel material) soakers
The plastic guards should be worn any time you step off the ice.
Even "safe" rubber mats or carpets accumulate dirt and
grit from the shoes of pedestrians and this grit will nick and round
off the fine edges of your blades much faster than gliding across
the ice. Do not leave them on your skates between sessions as they
will trap water and cause your blades to rust.
The cloth soakers are put on after you have removed your skates
and after you have wiped them dry with a rag. They protect your
blades from bumping in transit and wick away any condensation so
your blades won't rust. If you still have problems with rust or
want to store your skates then rub a drop of Vaseline Petroleum
Jelly along the bottoms of the blades.
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