Quote from: Kaitsu on March 25, 2025, 01:07:50 PMMarc, je suis sûr que tu réfléchis encore à la façon de fabriquer cet outil de polissage. Je peux facilement t'imprimer le cadre de ton outil, mais quelle était ton idée ? Comment fabriquer la partie abrasive et comment as-tu prévu de la centrer ? Tu as clairement pensé que l'épaisseur de la lame variait et que tu pouvais l'ajuster, mais la partie abrasive pourrait-elle flotter et suivre le creux de la lame ? Quel était ton plan ?

Il faut également noter que l'outil raye les surfaces chromées des lames si elles ne sont pas protégées par du ruban adhésif.

Kaitsu, yes, I know you can do that, and I thank you for it, but the goal is to try to find a solution for the smoothest possible finish....
As I said earlier, it was when I saw a short track skater who was trying hard to make his finish as smooth as possible that I thought about it again!!
And I'd say that it's much easier to sharpen short track skates than our skates!

Coming back to the manual sharpener, I forgot that the blades are all different thicknesses, and that this scratches the edges, so adding a lot of time to applying tape and adjusting the device for perhaps so little difference in the end....

I think to summarize, I'll stick to the main secrets, namely:
-balance the grinding wheel properly (and I noticed this again recently!!)
-center the blade properly in relation to the grinding wheel
-limit play and vibrations in the shoe holder/bearings/slide

Quote from: Kaitsu on October 15, 2021, 12:03:21 PMHere is one example from the factory sharpening.

Interesting. What are those little grooves? Do you think they use an extremely coarse grain wheel? Except they seem to be fairly evenly spaced, almost like it was deliberate. At a guess, how did they do that and why?

As far as I can figure out, all those little grooves might make it track slightly better - but they might also increase friction.

But I've recently looked at several blades in stores, straight from the factory. None of them had those grooves.

Anyway, do you have any definite plans on when you might release your blades? Will they come with a good factory sharpening? That would be a great selling point. Paramount actually has made the consistency of their sharpening and profiling a selling point.

Do you feel confident you could do a good job of edge hardening? Sounds like something a blacksmith might learn.

Wow Nate, if you add more, you may have to graduate to a large hockey bag. (Not serious, just kidding.)

On a more serious note, some of that sounds more like the amount I would want on a backpacking trip into the back country. Or a sea kayak camping trip (where people sometimes carry everything including the kitchen sink).

I now usually just carry the skates in one hand (by the blade guards), and a large bottle of water. But I have a little more in my coat pocket. Usually my wallet & keys - the wallet so if someone breaks into my car, they won't get it - but it throws my weight off a little. But if I get back to memorizing a sequence (e.g., a pattern dance), I will carry a copy of the pattern. I'm confident enough that I won't hurt myself that first aid supplies are optional.

Marc, I am quite sure that you are still thinking how to build this polishing tool. I can easily print you the frame for your tool, but what was your idea, how to make abrasive part for this tool and how did you plan to center in your tool? You have clearly thought that the blade thicknesses varies and you have adjustment for it, but would the abrasive part somehow floating so that it follows the hollow in the blade or what was your plan?

You need to note also that tool scratches blades chromed surfaces if they are not protected with tape.

Ok kaitsu!!!
Cette idée me paraît très intéressante!🙏
alors je vais tenter de faire un peu moins creux et plus souvent

Quote from: marc on March 24, 2025, 08:07:35 AMSo I'm back with this drawing of a hand polisher because I think it might be possible to polish without touching the sharp edges....
What do you think?

https://youtu.be/_jl_juN8giI
If you look this video from the time stamp 2:02, you will see matte areas close to the both edges. That is the area which is actually touching the ice. This specific blade does have either 7/16" or 1/2" ROH. Since you are making much deeper hollows, I assume the area which touches the ice is even more narrow. You should be able to polish these matte areas, otherwise you are polishing just the air cap between the ice and blade.

Short track blades does not have hollow, so there the polishing really matters and is doable.

If you want to improve your daughters blades gliding properties, easier is to do flatter hollow. Since you have own sharpening machine, you can maintain sharpness with flatter hollow even weekly sharpening's.

Quote from: AlbaNY on March 24, 2025, 08:22:02 AMIn Germany it is offered to polish when sharpening for a bit extra money. 

At least in here they offer "Wax sharpening" which is said to improve surface finish. It costs a bit extra like you said, but this wax sharpening is not polishing. They just use Blademaster Gustoglide, Acculube wax stick, Blackstone Fine Shine or similar. Its applier to grinding wheel just before final grinding pass.

No, it's a design I just thought of that's based on the profiler, but instead of going all the way to the sharp edges, it would stop before...
but like you said, it's definitely for very experienced skaters (including and especially my daughter!)

In Germany it is offered to polish when sharpening for a bit extra money.  I never trusted a sharpening here yet though to say anything more about it.  It's something like 4 or 8 euros more?


This reminds me that I haven't used the ProFiler in a long time and walked around on the mats a lot the past few visits to the rink. 

Marc, that looks like it would work in the same way as the ProFiler.  I'm not sure how much it would help a low level skater like my skating or with the chopped up public ice, but it might feel nice on good ice if smoothed so much more. 

Yesterday, I came across a report of a short track skater (in France) polishing his skates to minimize braking.
So I'm back with this drawing of a hand polisher because I think it might be possible to polish without touching the sharp edges....
What do you think?