I have some very puzzling issues with my ROH, and I hope other members could help me out. My new blades (Mirage on Jackson Freestyles) supposedly came with a shop-sharpened 7/16" ROH (I ordered the skates from abroad). However, the edges were slipping, so I thought maybe it wasn't really 7/16" (my first estimates were 1/2" or 9/16").
When I took it today to our one and only sharpener locally, he insisted that the blades were only factory-sharpened, and that I needed an ROH of 3/8", the same as that used by all freestyle skaters in my rink.
I told him that when my previous blades (Quest Onyx on Riedell 133) were sharpened at 7/16", and I had difficulty stopping (and that was on harder ice!), and that when it was changed to 1/2", I was happy with it (on the softer ice in the new rink). I told him that I don't know the ROH of my current skates, but that I'd like to get it 1/16" deeper.
The sharpener didn't tell me what my pre-sharpening ROH was (I don't think he has the equipment for it). My post-sharpening ROH is 7/16", the same as what the online shop told me it was. However, after a closer examination of the blades, I can't help feeling that the hollow feels very much the same as pre-sharpening. I haven't skated on it though.
1. How did that happen? I was doing well on 1/2" before, why would I be complaining about the 7/16" not being deep enough?
2. How many ROH changes can my blade tolerate before being unusable? It has been my 2nd sharpening in a month, and I think I just threw away $10 for nothing.
3. Aside from this, I checked somebody else's newly sharpened blades on 3/8". They seem very similar to the first sharpening of my old blades (which according to the sharpener who did it is 7/16). What is going on here???
4. If I'm complaining about 7/16" as not being deep enough, and the 3/8" as being too deep, what should I do?