Have to say I'm a bit confused by some of the responses as the thread seems to have got a bit off track.

I was thinking that moving the blade back would help to ensure the rocker is in the correct position under the foot, and that is the main reason why it could be beneficial? I suppose it does mean the toe pick location relative to the foot changes too, but not sure that has as much impact as the the rocker location?

I'll give you a simplified perspective.  If you want to play around with your equipment, there's no harm in doing so, as long as the changes you make can be readily undone.  So if you simply want to change the placement or orientation of your blade relative to the boot for whatever reason, go ahead and try it.  It doesn't matter what you define as the rocker, sweet spot, or anything else.

Depending on how close the new mounting holes are to the old mounting holes, you might need to plug the old holes first.  If the new mount doesn't work out, again you might need to plug a set of existing holes before drilling new ones.  I highly recommend permanent plugs cemented in with suitable adhesive, not simply pounded in.

On the other hand, I'd be really, really leery of changes such as:

And of course, an alternative way to make someone touch the toe pick less often would be to trim the drag pick - which would not adjust the sweet spot.

Once you've trimmed the drag pick, it can't be readily undone (in the event that what you consider to be the sweet spot does depend on the height of the drag pick; or in the event that the height of the drag pick affects something else).

Once screws are placed in the "permanent mounting holes", then it's easy to remove then replace the blades without changing their position on the sole.

However, removing then replacing screws that often in soles, whether plastic or leather, is fraught with peril. One small over-tighten slip can strip the threads in the sole. That leads to a lot of work to get back on the ice. Over time, the threads themselves will weaken too. Removing/replacing screws every 20 hours would make me nervous.

My old Matrix I Dance blades don't have the same measurements as my Matrix 1 Supreme runners. They are substantially less tall, and they lack the indented portion - the sides of the Dance runners are parallel. Hard to take accurate measurements without mounting them - which I don't want to do, because it wears out the hex key holes in those soft bolts. Anyway, all my runners are at least somewhat used, so the measurements don't reflect what they were like new.

I also notice the Supreme runners (of which I only have one pair) have had enough metal removed that they will soon be hard to sharpen with my Pro-Filer, because of that indented portion, which will probably make them flop around - unless I add tape to create a tighter fit at the bottom, so the top doesn't matter. Which, as we've discussed before is a bit of a hassle and a challenge to do right, so that the edges are even.

I was talking to someone who tells me that they remove their blades from their Edea boots every 20 hours and ship them to their skate tech for sharpening, then they reinstall them. They said they'd done it for a few years and never had problems but it did make me wonder:

How many times can you reuse the same screw holes in the Edea soles before they start to enlarge?
If you remove then reinstall blades into the same holes will the blades always be in the same position or could they be reinstalled at slightly different angles each time?

I ask because I have considered shipping my skates for sharpening, but didn't think I could remove then reinstall the blades, because of the questions above, and obviously I know with other brands such as Risport that have leather soles, it wouldn't be possible to remove the blades more than once or twice.

No need for calipers.  A ruler will do.  Thanks.

With my current blades ("Supremes" - freestyle blades) installed, there is about 1/8" height of thinly ground blade at the bottom (in the orientation we skate in; also maybe it was lightly larger when I started using the blades)), followed by about 1/8" indented  portion (Why? I assume it is decorative, or to save a few grams, but if the Pro-Filer like tool didn't have a deep enough gap, it would matter.), followed by a variable width of parallel sided runner, for a total (including the two 1/8" heights) of about 1/2" near the stanchions, to .75" at the center.


Hey, I just figured something out about the new replaceable runner Matrix RXS blades.

I already knew they made each chassis have one particular non-replaceable toe pick - which means you need a different chassis for each type of blade - whereas the older designs had the same chassis for all runners. The toe picks were included in the runners, as with most blades.

But that non-replaceable toe pick also means you wouldn't want to trim the toe pick when the blade starts to wear down. So you maybe  have to replace runners more often...

Interestingly, the RXS ad says you don't need a special blade holder - because the runners fit all machines. But to take advantage of that, I guess you'd have to remove the runner every time you sharpened it. And it looks like they still attach with those stupid bolts that use the tiny hex inset, that will probably wear out if you do that a lot.