Weird blade for sale - adjustable length?

[icedancer]

I saw this on ebay today:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MK-Sheffield-Steel-Elite-Blade-Figure-Ice-Skates-Adjustable-Length-/310674567306?ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

They say that the length is adjustable but it looks to me like it is only the sole plate that is adjustable, not the blade itself.  What do you guys think?

[FigureSpins]

Cool find!

I'd say that the only adjustment is moving the blade forward or backward to "grow" the blade.  By extending the plates towards the opposite ends, you gain an extra bit of length.  Must have been intended for growing skaters, to save the cost of blades by making them longer to fit new boots.

Actually, the blade length stamped on a blade is the length of the soleplate from front to back, not the length of the business end.  So, it does make sense that adjusting the plates would let you continue to use the same blade.  As long as it's adjusted so the rocker is in the right spot, the skater could deal with the shorter length, especially if they were already using the blades - they would already be used to that amount of steel on the ice.  Changing the soleplate length is mainly to ensure good support to carry the weight across the bottom of the boot and fit on the boot heel properly.

They're for school figures - look at the flat rocker profile and the lack of bottom toepick.

[icedancer]

Cool find!

I'd say that the only adjustment is moving the blade forward or backward to "grow" the blade.  By extending the plates towards the opposite ends, you gain an extra bit of length.  Must have been intended for growing skaters, to save the cost of blades by making them longer to fit new boots.

They're for school figures - look at the flat rocker profile and the lack of bottom toepick.

Oh that's funny - I hadn't noticed that they were figure blades - and yes it must be so the sole plate can fit better on a new boot (bigger) boot.

[Query]

The relatively flat profile and the lack of (or shaved off bottom toe pick) might also reflect a very old and worn out blade.

It looks like the whole runner is removable - true of many blades from the early 20th century and earlier. In which case, the blade is probably also thicker than modern blades. Which would be good for figures.

I suppose almost any worn out blade could be flattened, dulled, and the drag pick removed to make a "school figures blade."

At which point you could sell it for a lot more than it was originally worth, because it is a special purpose "School Figures" blade! What a great racket... Too bad the person selling this on eBay didn't figure that out.

Great find.

P.S. "Sheffield" may be where the blades were made. Perhaps the model is "Elite", from the picture.

[AgnesNitt]

Sheffield was a large industrial center in the UK that had steel works for two centuries. I thought Sheffield steel was a type of steel (like wootz steel) but  it appears to be a generic term for stainless steel. The maker appears to be MK.

Good catch FigureSpins on the Patch Blades.

[sarahspins]

Sheffield steel is definitely not stainless

[AgnesNitt]

Sheffield steel is definitely not stainless

So carbon steel then?  Not my area of expertise. So I stand corrected.

[Isk8NYC]

The relatively flat profile and the lack of (or shaved off bottom toe pick) might also reflect a very old and worn out blade.

Did you look at the photos of these blades?  You're dead wrong with that supposition-these blades look barely used.  (I don't think you could see that on a phone, though.)  The "hard steel line" is perfectly even from toerake to tail.  The blades were designed to have that distinctive flat rocker and no bottom toepick.

It looks like the whole runner is removable - true of many blades from the early 20th century and earlier. In which case, the blade is probably also thicker than modern blades. Which would be good for figures.

Actually, blades weren't designed with removable runners back in the day.  Steel casting hadn't advanced enough to allow one-piece production of a one-piece blade in a "T" shape as is needed to fasten the plate on the sole.  So, manufacturers made two pieces and bolted them together. 

In the time frame you're talking about, skaters had only one set of Figure skates.  The other disciplines didn't exist in such a way that required specialty blades.  These blades aren't turn-of-the-century old.  They're probably from the 1950's, when steel and metalworking factories technology advanced using war-time technology.

These particular blades have measures at the adjustment points, so I don't think your theory about removable runners fits. 

I suppose almost any worn out blade could be flattened, dulled, and the drag pick removed to make a "school figures blade."

You suppose?  Many of us have stated that we reused old freestyle blades for patch blades with the help of talented sharpeners. 

At which point you could sell it for a lot more than it was originally worth, because it is a special purpose "School Figures" blade! What a great racket... Too bad the person selling this on eBay didn't figure that out.

I don't think there's a huge market for Patch blades, nor are there a lot of collectors.  Most ice skating collectors who hoard equipment go for older skate and blade sets, or strap-on blades with leather straps.

P.S. "Sheffield" may be where the blades were made. Perhaps the model is "Elite", from the picture.

Yeah, Sheffield is where MK and Wilson had their factories. Still do, in fact.  Did you not know that?

These are MK Elite blades, but if you look closely, they say "patent pending."  I don't think these were produced in great quantity.  They may in fact have been prototypes.  It would be worth an email to MK to ask about the backstory.

[Isk8NYC]

Sheffield steel is definitely not stainless

I didn't know that; Sheffield was also famous for their stainless steel cutlery.  I know the shiny upper part of blades is chrome plated, but I thought the underlying material was a form of stainless, just not 18/8.


So, what is Sheffield steel?

[sarahspins]

It's just carbon steel.

[fsk8r]

Sheffield steel as far as I was aware is just the name given to steel made in the city. Within England that standards for quality as Sheffield was renowned for its steel industry but it doesn't mean anything more than the steel was made in Sheffield and not anywhere else in the world.

[Query]

>these blades look barely used...

The constant width of the hard steel line could just be the result of very careful sharpening, by someone trying to maintain the original profile.

Rust spot and the peeling chrome (nickle?) layer, on both blades. Also many scratches near the nut. Doesn't look new. Unless the damage occurred during storage rather than use.

Drag pick is at a weird angle, not like freestyle blades. Why is it there at all?

Not many scratches on the sides. But is possible with very careful sharpening. I grant most people occasionally click blades together and scratch.

>Actually, blades weren't designed with removable runners back in the day. 

I had seen some pictures of turn-of-the century blades which were bolted, and had removable runners, and just assumed that's what these were. I know people who used to use blades (hockey and figure) with removable runners, from I guess the 1950s and 1960s.

MK and Wilson and Riedel have advertised they are "Silver Soldered" together.

Some other brands are riveted together (mostly very cheap blades), or screwed and glued (Paramount and Ultima Matrix II).

I don't know of any brands that are cast together - do you?

I actually think bolting together with removable runners would still make sense, but with round holes instead of slots. I've seen a few old hockey blades like that, and Ultima Matrix I did that too.

>They're probably from the 1950's, when steel and metalworking factories technology advanced using war-time technology. These particular blades have measures at the adjustment points, so I don't think your theory about removable runners fits. 

I don't know much metalurgy, but what tells you they aren't turn-of-the-century? I think the "measure" (what needs to be measured?) is a retaining screw, so the blades wouldn't slip too much. 

The MK factory used to be in Sheffield. But I was told it moved around a decade ago, when another company merged them into one factory with Wilson. Is the new factory in Sheffield too?

BTW Sheffield Steel is a trademark, unrelated to MK, I think. Mike claims modern MK and Wilson blades use steel from a German factory, not from Sheffield. But perhaps the steel used to come from Sheffield.

So many people here have posted here about Figures, plus I know people here who teach it. I assumed it was coming back. And that it would be very hard for most people to find blades. Not So? Besides, was joking.