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Skate sharpening, edge still slipping?

Started by Landing~Lutzes, November 27, 2013, 02:29:07 PM

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Landing~Lutzes

I only ever have problems with my edges slipping when my skates need to be sharpened. I got them sharpened, got on the ice, and found that one of my edges was still slipping. I have dance blades, and have had them sharpened before by the same people with no problem. Does it sound like I should get the resharpened? Is it bad to get them resharpened so soon? Thanks!

EDIT: Another thing I noticed was my stops did not feel any different / difficult as they usually do after getting them sharpened.

fsk8r

If you've ended up with a different radius of hollow after the sharpening it could make them feel slippy while you're still have problems stopping because the blades will still grab.
I had this happen recently when I tried a new sharperner and after a couple of weeks trying to adapt, I gave up and went back to my old sharpener and begged forgiveness...

sampaguita

I had the same problem before -- blades slipping and stops feeling great. It eventually resolved itself after around 6 sessions on the ice. My guess was that there was something wrong with the sharpening, or there was something wrong with the ice.

Have you tried talking to the sharpener to ask him if he did anything differently? From what I've read, there are so many ways that a blade can be sharpened -- you can even keep the same ROH and control how "sharp" it is.

Loops

I have something similar going on.  I need to ask what the ROH my coach is giving me.  I'm slipping off my edges a lot, and most stops are working fine (for some reason I've lost my show stop, which is frustrating, because it was my preferred....argh).

What I do know is that now I'm skating on hockey ice, and things have been weird from the get go.  The ice is definitely faster than I'm used too, if I can still be used to anything at this point.  At first I chalked it up to being out of shape, but at this point I'd like a bit more grab, and thinking that maybe he's giving me a shallow grind, I dunno.

I would definitely check with your sharpener....maybe he did something different this time?  Or has your rink been colder than normal, so maybe the ice is harder?

ONskater74

Get in a good light and turn the skate over and have a sight down the length of the blade from the heel end, looking at a white wall, and make sure they sharpened both sides even. If one edge is higher than the other it needs to be redone. I'd find a new sharpener too. You should be able to notice any unevenness from side to side. ROH should not matter so much I think. Pay close attention to the edge that seems dull or slipping. His grinding wheel might have been used to sharpen a half a dozen skates without a dressing when you showed up. An uneven grinding wheel is going to perfectly copy that unevenness onto your blade. Watch him dress the wheel before you let him do your skates ::>)

I skate on a 3/4 grind and I sharpen maybe twice a year, but I'm super fussy about leaving the guards on the second I'm off the ice. I don;t wander to the canteen in unprotected blades. Last time I had them sharpened I took a very fine file and stone and took the wire edge off. I've skated about 50 hours on them now and all seems just fine still. I'll sharpen in the new year.

Loops

That's a good idea, ONskater.  I'm going to check that out.  I won't speak for the OP, but I suspect that's not my issue.

I don't know about the OP, but in the past I was known to be super picky about my grind.  I've had custom grinds in the past, and it would not surprise me that, now I'm feeling better on my edges I'd want a deeper ROH.  I think the coach does a good job- he sharpens all the skates for the club.  So in my case, I think it's me.

sampaguita

I disagree with the ROH not being a factor. I switched from 7/16 to 3/8, and suddenly I could do swing rolls.

ONskater74

A sharp blade is a sharp blade. ROH is ROH. An uneven grind is an uneven grind. Could be one, some or all of these things are off for a skater.

I can do swing and cross rolls on a 3/4 grind no problem. That's just me.