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MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE
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| Care and Awareness Off-Ice | |
| Quality Sharpening and Profiling | |
| RUST - What Now? | |
Different skaters have different needs and preferences. How many hours of skating can you expect to enjoy between sharpenings?
Are you walking around in dressing rooms and concession foyers without skate guards? Do you skate outdoor? Do you ignore how you transport or store your skates?
If you answered "no" to these questions, then on average, a pair of properly profiled and sharpened skate blades should perform for about three to five hours of on-ice use between
tune-ups.
Why is there a difference between actual sharpening intervals?
There are many variables which determine the consistent sharpness of your skates.
Understanding and recognizing metals is important. High quality stainless steel, carbon-steel or superior titanium blades keep their edge the longest. They are,
however, more brittle, vulnerable to damage and tend to be the most expensive.
More economically designed skates have either steel or softer alloy-type blades. These alloys can lose their edge quickly. Basic steel and/or plated steel are better, but can be heavier and more
prone to rusting problems.
A good average blade should be a stainless steel type. Moderately priced but still durable performance and blade life. A recreational skate blade should last five to ten years when continually
maintained by our profiling systems. We can control the accuracy of grinding to 0.01mm.
Skating Proficiency - Youngsters
The young and/or novice skater has much to benefit from properly profiled and sharpened skates. More skating with less effort increases progress, skill and
confidence. These elements are critical to the full enjoyment of the activity.
Experienced skaters are always aware of the condition and sharpness of their skates. They realize it is the most important piece of equipment they have.
Skaters which are bigger need less sharpness due to their sheer weight. Lighter skaters require consistently sharper blades to prevent loss of traction. This can be achieved by changing the R.O.H. (radius of hollow) which is the grinding shape. The smaller the hollow, the longer the edges, the sharper the blade. A large skater on soft ice with 3/8" ROH would be barley able to move. Basic rule of thumb: light skaters = deeper hollows.
Indoor arenas are the best for finely tuned blades. Variations of these can drastically affect performance. A soft ice surface will
cause you to sink. Lack of maneuver ability and sluggish performance is the result.
Harder ice surfaces require very sharp blades. Maximum skating speeds (and puck movement) can be obtained. As well, the demanding nature of freestyle and figuring jumps make sharpness a top priority,
and ice temperature critical.
Although the sport was originally developed outdoors, this type of ice is very damaging to skate blades. If you are skating outdoors,
then you may as well be skating on sandpaper. The wind deposits dirt and fine sand constantly on the ice.
Although this is our favorite ice surface, walking around parking lots searching for pucks or hanging around the concessions means trips to the sharpener constantly.
Anytime you are not on the ice, you are probably damaging your sharp blades. Most arenas have a black, hard composite flooring.
Considering people's shoes (and boots) share some of this area with skaters, the dirt, sand and stone hazards can be worse than outdoor ice. This also applies to any soft rubber-type arena flooring
as well. Consider that there has been maybe 160 players in your particular bench during the last ten hours. The minute debris can cause contributing damage.
It should be understood that proper skate guards should always be used when not on the ice surface. They can be the one small investment which pays for itself in a matter of minutes. Just do not
forget to remove them before you step onto the ice! Ouch !
It is assumed that skate guards are used for transporting skates. If not, the skates may become dull on the way home from the arena,
rink or even the sharpener.
When returning from a skating session, the guards must always be removed. A dry, medium weight, cotton cloth should be used to wipe the entire blade and boot. Caution must always be exercised when
handling ice skates. Children should always be supervised.
Remove the replaceable in soles and wipe inside the boots as well. Now apply a product like our Ultra-Glide lubricant to the blades. Stand your skates on a piece of cardboard with the laces loose and
the tongue forward. The object is to allow your skates to completely dry as quickly and as naturally as possibly.
Quality Sharpening and Profiling
"Should I have my skates Profiled?"
Absolutely. Profiled skates offer so much advantage that the extra cost is unweighable. Among the advantages is that all four edges (two edges per skate) are identical in length and are
perpendicular to the ice. Instead of standing like "//" , "\\" , "/\" or "\/" , you are standing like "II". Your entire sense of balance and center of gravity are restored. Accelleration and turning
become fluid and spontanious. Decisive stopping power and control with less muscle fatigue. In the case of hockey, shooting and passing accuracy is increased.
Profiling also allows you, through precision grinding, to manipulate a preference between increased speed or superior maneuverability. Standard profiles are usually the best choice initially. The
profiling system applies to goalie skates as well.
Figure skates are not profiled, but rather straightened first, and then a radius hollow is ground into the blade. Freestyle/Jumps are ground to 1/2" hollow. The combine and competition dance are
ground to 3/4" and 1" hollow, respectively. Our hollows range from 7/16" to 1"1/4 and for most blade widths.
Rust can be avoided by following the storage procedures outlined above. If you spot rust, you must take action immediately. Rust actually "eats" into the metal over time and causes surfacing "pitting". This means that if it attacks near the edges, these edges will no longer exist, let alone be sharp. The blade will need to be ground drastically to move above the corrosion. This can be avoided by using a small, organic hand-stone at the first sign of rust. If possible, use a lubricant such as our Ultra-Glide when using the stone. Any type of oil would also be acceptable, however, snow will stick heavily to an "oiled" blade.
We are dedicated to the skater.
We custom profile ice skates to exacting standards using computerized, precision equipment by factory trained technicians. Our small but proficient team has over sixty years combined skating/hockey experience, as well as machinery and cutting tool training and expertise. Our profiling/sharpening services and products are of the highest quality and fully guaranteed.
Our goal is to provide amateur sport enthusiasts with a truly professional advantage, and give them every opportunity to develop,compete and excel at the world level.