There is a skate tech named John Harmata, aka "Mr. Edge". He does offer training seminars (https://geppettosskateshop.com/skate-tech-training/). Anyone familiar with his level of expertise vis-à-vis that of Mike Cunningham?
I have not had John ever sharpen my blades, or work on my skates. But from phone conversations, he seems very knowledgeable about skates. For a long time (maybe still), he wrote a column on skate edges for one of the major skating magazines ("Skating", published by USFS[a]??). And there at least used to be a link on the USFSA page where you could send him questions. AFAIK, he is the most respected figure skate tech in the Chicago area, including I think parts of Canada, just as Mike used to be the most respected figure skate tech in the DC/MD/Virginia area, and someone else held that reputation near the University of Delaware. John's classes are quite expensive, as you can see from his web site, and last I knew, they were taught in person. John wrote a book,
Anatomy of a Figure Skating Injury. He had originally advertised he would include extensive info about sharpening and skate tech stuff in general, in it, but apparently decided to offer his training instead. It is a fairly good book, well worth reading, but it doesn't include as much detailed info as you might want.
John seems to be somewhat younger than Mike, and AFAIK, is unlikely to retire in the near future.
Mike told me that he and John did most of the same things, and implied he was a very respectable skate tech, and I THINK that they had communicated a fair bit. But of course they disagree on some matters. E.g., Mike believed that side honing made little difference, but, on the phone, John told me it made a difference for some customers. Again, Mike believes most skaters benefit from relatively dull blades, so they don't have to make major changes to their skating style immediately after sharpening, so Mike deliberately dulled the blades a bit after sharpening. But based on his store website, John favors very sharp blades. John also pushed Skate Science blades a lot (he tried to convince me to buy them), which Mike didn't stock.
I would be curious how good the training materials that you can buy from various skate sharpening machine manufacturers are. I know that Blademaster says it offers training to people who buy their machines, but I'm not sure if that is just their training manual and Youtube videos, or if they do it in person, with the opportunity to ask questions.
The only manual with much info on sharpening I have read was the
Skateology Manual published by Sidney Broadbent, who makes one brand of sharpening machine, including The Incredible Edger which some on this forum have bought. It has a fair amount of useful material, but doesn't give detailed sharpening directions, and I'm not sure everything he says is completely correct. E.g., he said that all skating is done pushed against the hollow, with no push from the sides of the blade. (That might make sense if there were no edge changes, because skating on an arc requires a centrifugal force.) He also talks about the non-skating zone, and implies it does not affect skating, which I think is wrong, because the blade sinks into the ice a bit. I think some of the info on blades in the manual I read was out of date - but it is possible it has been revised. He did some his work using a grant from the USFSA. Anyway, I think that manual is worth reading.
Some of the boot makers have offered training in skate fitting to people at pro shops. Some of them asked Mike to train people to take measurements to fit their boots at one point. I'm not sure if he did - he told me (when he was working) that it wasn't really in his best interest to train his competitors.
Anyway, if you want to encourage Mike to offer master classes, last I knew his email was
spva@aol.com. He lives in Maryland, I think near Calvert Cliffs.
Topic: Mike Cunningham News (Read 879 times)