Choosing new freestyle blades for an adult skater

[spiralina]

Apologies, I did mean the matrix version which I haven't seen at all. It's hard for me to visit a good sharpener because of my working hours (the Turners only did Tuesdays at Streatham) so 2 sharpens a year sounded very appealing.

But good news, I found out today, completely out of the blue, that an old friend from San Fran will be paying a visit next month! He will be my blade mule

[fsk8r]

Apologies, I did mean the matrix version which I haven't seen at all. It's hard for me to visit a good sharpener because of my working hours (the Turners only did Tuesdays at Streatham) so 2 sharpens a year sounded very appealing.

But good news, I found out today, completely out of the blue, that an old friend from San Fran will be paying a visit next month! He will be my blade mule

Everglides would be able to order the matrix blades in for you. It's best to contact John and talk to him about what you're wanting and he'll be able to get you a quote. May as well have something to compare against when looking at getting them from the US.

[Bunny Hop]

Apologies, I did mean the matrix version which I haven't seen at all. It's hard for me to visit a good sharpener because of my working hours (the Turners only did Tuesdays at Streatham) so 2 sharpens a year sounded very appealing.

The last few sharpenings we had done before leaving the UK were at Everglides, and we were able to arrange to have them done on a Saturday morning. It was worth the trip from Reading to get a good sharpen (i.e. radius of hollow as requested, and able to stop on the freshly sharpened blades).

And as Taka said, you can then go sightseeing in Portsmouth afterwards. The Historic Dockyard is highly recommended.

[taka]

And as Taka said, you can then go sightseeing in Portsmouth afterwards. The Historic Dockyard is highly recommended.

Wasn't me! 

Everglides is where I've got my boots (and Cor Aces) from. And yep the cor aces were sharpened before shipping! Very helpful guy!

[spiralina]

In case anyone is interested, the Matrix Legacy would be around £220 from Everglides.

[JTSkater22]

Does anybody know if Matrix blades need a special sharpening equipment, different from the one used for any other figure skating blade?
Or should I ask this directly from Jackson's reps?
Or if they are already following this topic anyway...they are welcome to answer here.

[Skittl1321]

They may need a different holder due to the fact that the sides of the blade aren't level.  If your sharpener can do Paramounts, they can do Matrixes (matrices?)

But the actual technique to sharpen the blade is not different.

[JTSkater22]

Hm, I don't know if they can do Paramounts or not. The advanced skaters at my rink all use Gold Seal, or other JW blades
and the intermediate skaters use some other regular blades, like Protege etc.
I haven't seen a Paramount or Matrix blade outside of the 'virtual' world yet.
But I will try to find out, before I order it.

[Skittl1321]

My sharpened didn't have to get anything new, just had to make an adjustment. It is a good idea to ask yours.

[drskater]

Interesting discussion! Thanks to everone for sharing their thoughts.

Currently I'm in Majestics. After talking to a number of experts, I've decided to go with Pattern 99s. Evidently these are the smoothest step up for me since Pattern 99s are similar to Majestics.

I haven't decided on new boots yet. I've heard fanatical raves about Jacksons from my skate buddies. It seems like they are easier to break-in. We'll see....

[Sk8tmum]

Interesting discussion! Thanks to everone for sharing their thoughts.

Currently I'm in Majestics. After talking to a number of experts, I've decided to go with Pattern 99s. Evidently these are the smoothest step up for me since Pattern 99s are similar to Majestics.

I haven't decided on new boots yet. I've heard fanatical raves about Jacksons from my skate buddies. It seems like they are easier to break-in. We'll see....

There is an Ultima "equivalent" to a Pattern 99.  If you found the discussions about the Matrix blades intriguing, you see.  And - I know lots of people who will swear up down left right and centre that you can't break in a Jackson boot without a sledgehammer   which is what makes the equipment for this sport sooooooo much fun - everyone has a different opinion, all of which are correct in their own particular circumstance ...