Beyond ROH

[Query]

ROH isn't the whole story in sharpness. The very tip of the edge can be extended, rounded or truncated, even, ragged, or curvy, bent in or out, materials differ, and the blade can have several types of horizontal and/or vertical side honing. People play a lot with sharp metal.

MK says 1" (16/16") for MK Dance blades in one web page, 5/16" in others. Maybe 1" was a typo. I use 3/8" (6/16") on mine, but I extend the tip of the edge a bit, and touch up often.

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To expand the discussion:

I understand why lightweight people and hard (cold) ice need sharper blades to penetrate the ice.

But what do you prefer for rough ice?

What about artificial ice?

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Not everyone follows manufacturer recommendations, but here they are:

  http://www.mkblades.com
  http://www.mkblades.us
  http://www.mkblades.com/jw-about.html

  http://www.jacksonultima.com,

  http://www.riedellskates.com/

  http://paramountskates.com/

  http://www.jerryskate.com/



Mod note: Split from ROH discussion.

[Skate@Delaware]

For myself (and I don't consider myself a lightweight at 140+/- lbs) 7/16"...I have Jackson Ultima Matrix Legacy blades.


for artificial ice, it's 1/2" since the blade doesn't sink into the surface, and any sharper & deeper ROH the blades gets dulled fairly quickly (usually within the first hour) plus you end up carving up more bits of plastic. On artificial surfaces, sharper is counter-productive, the sharper the blade, the more resistance you encounter since it scrapes, vs. a less curved ROH where it can ride on top of the plastic. You can try yourself if you have a plastic cutting board-take a sharp knife and wiggle it back & forth to imitate a deep ROH, then take a butter knife and do the same. You will encounter less resistance.  There is a certain period when the blade is perfectly "dull" and you can skate very well on the artificial surface...then after that short period you blade dulls down and you skid & slide and it's all downhill after that lol!