As I recently had my blades changed from a 1/2" radius of hollow to a 7/16", I thought I'd ask what everyone is using, and whether you have always used this depth, or whether you have changed and what your experiences were.

I found that the 7/16" R.o.H. was preferable to me. It took a small bit of getting used to, but the most troublesome things to adjust were the things I'm not so good at anyways - so it's like the 7/16" just enforces me to skate better.

Maybe I'm reading into it too much...but the blades sure do have great bite after this sharpening - I feel a lot more confident now, and even though I've had a few stumbles, I have not yet fallen (only 4 hours so far with the new R.o.H., but 4 hours without a single fall seems pretty good).

I've seen some stock blades which come with an even sharper cut, 3/8" and even 5/16" (gold seal and super dance 99). I also heard from a guy who sharpens hockey skates that there are rare individuals who will go all the way to 1/4". On the opposite end, one person here mentioned a 5/8" R.o.H., and this is what came standard on the Majestic blades I have now (though I have never tried it).

...but this link seemed to help me understand grind radius:

http://home.pacbell.net/anamga/blades.html#5.5

I don't have much experience with changing the radius for myself.

Jon

Nope, I hadn't seen it - that's a very very informative page though, thanks for the link! I'll certainly be reading around that site for a while .

I'm happy with 1/2" myself, but my daughter insists on 3/8". She likes a lot of bite, and complains all the time of skidding sideways. We're still working with the guys at our rink, trying to get a sharpening she likes. We had the last one done out of town, at Rainbo. Our guys said they'd put a 3/8" hollow on them, but Rainbo measured it as shallower than that, so there must be some variation between machines. I guess it's a matter of personal preference, finding a sharpener you like, and sticking with them if possible. Her old coach used to sharpen her blades, and since he left the area she hasn't found anyone who does them quite the same way.

Thanks for the link, russiet--
It answered a question I had about the relationship of a deeper hollow and travelling on spins. I recently switched from 1/2" to 7/16" hollow, and I really like the grip it gives me on landing edges and on footwoork. It feels like it permits a faster spin, but I have noticed that when my spins aren't centered, they travel more than they did before.

As I mentioned on the other thread, I've got a 3/8" grind, and I love the extra 'bite'. I hate the feeling of skidding, and it seems that with the usual 1/2", I was always feeling like I needed a sharpening. I have a Pro-Filer, so I sharpen my blades myself. Very easy, hard to 'screw up', and I just feel better having the fate of my blades in my own two hands. Not to mention cheaper, and I can give them a touch-up any time I want to.

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I think that some people treat 3/8" and 7/16" as approximately the same. You probably got a 7/16"...which is only 1/16" down from 1/2"...and up from 3/8"...

I've used 1/2" and 7/16" and found very little different except after the initial sharpening. It takes getting used to for 7/16". 1/2" seems to take little to no effort for me to get used to.

I had skate technician put in 3/8" hollow on my freestyle blades. EEEEK!!! It was AWFUL trying to get an edge out of it. The edge was SOOOO sticky!!! I had to have another skate technician change it to a 7/16" so at least I can get some sliding on that ice.

Moral of the story is you'll have to experiment with your own skates for a while to see what you like best.

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Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

You'll also find that it depends what rink you skate at because depending on whether you have soft or hard ice, can make a big difference on what radius of hollow you want to get. I skate on 7/16, but I've been in rinks where 1/2 worked better in the past. It's whatever works best and it'll take a little while to figure it out. I'd start with 1/2 and go to 7/16 if you are skidding around sideways or finding the sharpening isn't lasting long enough.

Yeah, I guess that is true! I absolutely love 7/16"! I can lean harder and go faster in progressive runs and crossovers and get even more speed now (I love to go fast when there is space in the rink for it).

Ironically, I've found that when doing 3-turns, if I don't do them just right, I'll slide sideways, even with the 7/16" hollow! When my new skates are ready to pick up, I'm going to have them put a 3/8" hollow on my old skates, and use them for a week or so before even using the new skates to see if I like the difference.

I get 3/8"...It's perfect, but I like them sharp, so I have to get them done a lot.

I looked up the link. Thanks!

You sound pleased with how it works.

Is it like a touch up tool that allows you to go a bit further between sharpenings? Is it relatively idiot proof, or can you screw up your blade?

Jon

You can use it for touch-up if you like, or for a full sharpening. When I got my Vision blades, I started using the Pro-Filer on them...I've never had them sharpened any other way. It's pretty idiot-proof...the blade fits into a groove, so you can't 'rock' it. It also comes with a flat stone to take the burrs off the edges. I like it because it seems to keep the rocker intact, in addition to giving a great sharpening.

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
--Thomas Jefferson

www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!

I almost talked myself into buying one...then I realized that these would probably be a disaster on tapered blades...

Yeah, I'm not sure a hand-held filer would be ideal for those. I'm honestly not sure exactly how you'd sharpen those, anyway. I mean, you still have to run a stone right down the center of the hollow, right? But it couldn't be any wider than the narrowest part of the blade, or you'd mash those edges, I'd think. However, how would you get the wider parts truly sharpened, if the stone doesn't reach the edges of the hollow? As you can see, I'm clueless about sharpening tapered blades.

From what I've seen of sharpening in the traditional sense, the stone would be wide enough to reach the widest part, and would just carry down the center to the thinner portion (having the blade properly mounted so that the center of the blade runs parallel to the stone is crucial, and the hard part about tapered blades). So the cut wouldn't actually be as deep on the thin part of the blade, but the radius would be the same the entire length. I will be curious to see how they work myself. I get my new skates this week!! Yay!!!!!!

My daughter has Gold Seals and uses the pro-filer. I think it may even come with instructions specifically for side honed (tapered) blades. If not, then we found the instructions on the web somewhere. Google should do the trick.

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Oh duh...it just occurred to me how you'd do that with a pro-filer. The instructions say to add strips of masking tape to the blade until the filer fits snugly without rattling....I'd forgotten that, since mine fits well enough I don't use the tape. I bet you just put tape (or extra tape) along the tapered section, until it fits smoothly all along. I feel silly now.

Thanks Jon for the link very educational....

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I'm not sure My coach recently sharpened mine and put a sticker on the heel part of my right boot, which I think said the size of my bore. But I didn't notice the size was written on it till later; unfortunately by then, I had skated already and the sticker got wet. That's why I didn't see what size it is, and I can't tell by looking... Guess I'll have to ask my coach.

Using a drafting compass or circle template, draw circles of various diameters on oaktag (manilla folder). Cut out the circles carefully. Hold your skate up to a bright light and try fitting each circle into the grind area. Which circle matches the grind the best? 1/2 the diameter of that circle will be the grind radius.

Examples:

1" diameter circle = 1/2" grind radius.

3/4" (.75") diameter circle = 3/8" (.375") grind radius.

Easy!

Just as an FYI- I know the title says this, but it's NOT called a bore, I hope that word doesn't get around. It's called a radius of hollow. Meanwhile, ask your coach to write it inside your boots next time if you can't remember it, it won't fade out as quickly as a sticker. Plus a sticker is dangerous if it starts falling off and you slip on it.

I edited the title of the first post a good while back - if you scroll up you'll see it's right, so I don't know why it shows up on the thread list page (maybe an admin can fix it?).

Oh I mean it's not a big deal obviously, I'm sure some people would know what bore means, but I just wanted to tell the poster since it seemed they didn't know, in case they went in a store and used that word and they didn't know what she was trying to say and didn't know the proper word for it. I think most people understand what the topic is about, though. I'm just anal.