Jackson Ultima Matrix (interchangeable) Blades discontinued!

[Query]

Some of us loved having easily interchangeable (and relatively cheap - mostly $110/pair) blade runners. It made it possible to use multiple styles (e.g., freestyle, dance, synchro...), to pack the blades alone in checked luggage while you carried on the boots, or to send one set of blades back to a sharpener while you continued to use the skates.

To the best of my knowledge, only the Jackson Ultima brand offered them, at least for figure skates (speed skates and some hockey skates have had interchangeable runners for a long time).

The system included an aluminum Matrix mounting chassis, and separate stainless steel runners. Chassis + blade were lighter combined than most figure skating blades. Stainless steel blades retains an edge much longer than the high carbon steel blades MK/Wilson uses, resulting in a longer lifetime (though high carbon steel can hold a sharper edge for the first few hours).

It was an excellent product, though I like the MK Dance blade (with a smaller rocker and thinner blade) better than the the Ultima Dance blade.

Jackson has now discontinued the whole Matrix line, and suppliers are rapidly running out. (I helped - just ordered a few runners for my own use, BEFORE I posted this:roll:.

For those of us stuck with Matrix chassis, there is now a market for someone to provide replacement runners that fit.

For that matter, there is a market for someone else's interchangeable blade system for figure skates.

(Suggest: learn from Jackson's mistakes. Use a compressible cushion so the blade doesn't click against the mount, or sometimes fit very tight, due to thermal expansion/contraction. The tamper resistant nuts that Jackson used made them difficult to seat. Use a normal hex head nut or do it right - build normal threads into one side of the mount. The hex key driven bolt was OK, but a larger size would have been more robust. Or use lighter materials for the mount, like high end hockey boots. And I would love a dance blade runner more like MK Dance. But these are minor nitpicks.)

BTW, it is possible to interchange normal mounted blades, if they happen to have holes in exactly the same places. You have to do fancy custom stuff inside the boot, under the insole, so you can screw in bolts instead of screws.

[katz in boots]

Jackson has now discontinued the whole Matrix line ...

8O
I have the freestyle runner. My thinking was that I could more cheaply send the runner off for sharpening. But then I bought myself a Profiler sharpener and so don't need to do that.

Can't say I am devastated, it has taken me ages to get used to these blades. Different rocker, and thinner than I'm used to.
And it'll be a while before I need new ones anyway.

[Query]

I hope you photocopied the new blade, or at least traced the profile.

If you aren't careful to keep the profile the same, you will gradually alter your blade shape - probably flatten it out to an even larger rocker, and eliminate the sweet spot, because you will probably move fastest in the middle. It will also be easier to sharpen the whole blade if you take the runner out of the mount - maybe for commercial sharpeners too.

I thought about grinding a runner down to a 7' rocker, but that would have lost an awful lot of metal and blade life, and maybe required reshaping or trimming the toe pick.

I wish someone would sell blades at reasonable prices. Doesn't seem there is that much to them.

[katz in boots]

I hope you photocopied the new blade, or at least traced the profile.

If you aren't careful to keep the profile the same, you will gradually alter your blade shape - probably flatten it out to an even larger rocker, and eliminate the sweet spot, because you will probably move fastest in the middle. It will also be easier to sharpen the whole blade if you take the runner out of the mount - maybe for commercial sharpeners too.

I thought about grinding a runner down to a 7' rocker, but that would have lost an awful lot of metal and blade life, and maybe required reshaping or trimming the toe pick.

I wish someone would sell blades at reasonable prices. Doesn't seem there is that much to them.

I didn't trace it cos I got them sharpened before I got them, so who knows how close they are to the original profile anyway.
In my experience (and you have to remember I don't have access to pro-shops and a range of professionals where I live), I am sick of paying other people to ruin my blades :twisted: when I am perfectly capable of ruining them myself. The profiler takes off a lot less metal, so it's going to be longer before they're that out of shape compared to previous sharpenings I've had.

Give me the 7' rocker anyday, I'm aiming for Phantom Specials next time.

[Bill_S]

Give me the 7' rocker anyday, I'm aiming for Phantom Specials next time.

Be careful what you wish for. The Phantoms are side honed and tapered blades, so you won't be able to use your Profiler hand sharpener on them.

[katz in boots]

Be careful what you wish for. The Phantoms are side honed and tapered blades, so you won't be able to use your Profiler hand sharpener on them.

Ah, but Phantom Specials are neither side-honed nor tapered, which is why I thought they were a better option than the standard Phantoms I had before.

[Query]

You obviously have to be more careful sharpening side honed and tapered blades.

I don't use tape anyway on the sides of the blades, which means I leave myself space to hand control the exact orientation, so I can get exactly the edge I want. For example, if you start to get an assymetric shape (where one edge is higher than the other) being able to hand control the exact orientation of the stone lets you get rid of it - so you don't need periodic machine sharpenings. I admit the instructions that come with the sharpener don't talk about that, and it takes practice.

Could apply tape in a non-uniform way to the sides of the blade to effectively eliminate the taper or side honing in terms of how it guides the sharpener? I seem to remember that is now mentioned in the instructions.

[katz in boots]

Could apply tape in a non-uniform way to the sides of the blade to effectively eliminate the taper or side honing in terms of how it guides the sharpener? I seem to remember that is now mentioned in the instructions.

yes, they do give instructions for that. Seems like a lot of scope for inaccuracy though. I figure getting the non-tapered Phantoms made sense if I am going to hand sharpen.

I do have to use tape on the matrix Freestyle runners though, because they are so narrow; too much wobble without tape. Even with tape I have to concentrate to slide the sharpener down the blade without veering to one side.