Thank you for the responses.  I don't have experience to understand the advantages of a smaller wheel, but it sounds like maybe that's what I should be looking for.  I have five children skating six days a week and my spouse and myself skate less often, so it seems like I could justify buying a machine and learning to sharpen myself.  I also have a hard time trusting shops to do well, and don't especially like making arrangements to drive farther and pay even more for a more for a more reputable sharpening.  My intention isn't to make money, but potentially save it in the long run.  More importantly, I'd like to take time to practice on some old blades and do careful work and hopefully maintain  better quality rocker profiles.

Something to watch if blade mounting theory (one of the many) is inteteresting. You can set English Subtitles.

https://youtu.be/av_QwdBkEnY?is=7BDdYlrnf-FZr8bW

Perhaps a curved sole is physically more stable? More like an architectural arch than a beam - though perhaps the tradeoff between arches and beams depends on material properties. (E.g., materials like non-reinforced concrete which tend to fracture if stretched can't take much weight if you shape them into beams, because when the beam bends, the side away from the bend stretches.)

Or maybe it has something to do with the foot. Most of the time, when you walk or, the bottom of the foot takes a long-wise concave shape, that helps it roll through a walking or running gait. (OK, maybe not in ballet - it's often convex- but they do a lot of physical conditioning to be able to do that.) I guess it also extends the time some part of the foot is in contact with the ground.

But it isn't clear that applies to boots - because it is the bottom of the blade curvature that affects contact with the ice, not the mounting plate or boot sole.

Maybe it is just history. I.E., that skate boot companies were formed by people who made other shoes and boots. If I remember right, Riedell was formed by people who worked for Red Wing shoes, but I might have that wrong.

Or maybe it has to do with the way boots are made, or the way heels are mounted?

Anyone? Maybe tstop4me could come up with a valid mechanical engineering reason.

I do not know why this mounting plates rocker is made, but even harder is to understand why so simple thing seems to be impossible to standardize.

It also seems that most of the manufacturers does not have any tolerances. This makes manufacturers life easier. => reduces warranty costs as well as production costs when you can focus just to increse volume and minimize used time on the production. In the other words, maximize profitability.

Are you currently familiar with any other companies who have cited the 65' boot sole or blade mounting plate rocker?

One person - I think it was someone from Riedell - once told me that the boots all had a lateral (not longitudinal) curvature. Which seemed to me like it made it harder to offset blade mounts sideways, which as you know is often done to compensate for pronation or supination.

Of course, Riedell now makes boots and blades too. (Or at least sells them. Someone told me that subcontracted the blade manufacture. I don't remember who for that either, so both of these might be inaccurate.)

Is there a good engineering reason for a boot sole or blade mounting rocker of that length? I could sort of think it was structural, if it roughly matched the leg length, or the working blade surface rocker, but it doesn't. But since I'm not an engineer, I might be completely missing the point.

Quote from: Kaitsu on July 28, 2023, 02:27:15 PMRecently Jackson has started to promote that they monitor their boots and blades to avoid such a caps which may break blades. More of my thought you can read from the Youtube.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CukDRQksENb/?mc_cid=a58d7928fd&mc_eid=dfeeb821b6

Some update to this thread. https://youtu.be/pJM-rWEkkwc
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/blade-swap-issue.95785/#post-3139624

Casey,
I forgot to mention that no machine — not even the best on the market — can compensate for problems in motivation. If the driving force is purely making money, as is too often the case, it can be expected that quality will suffer. The sharpening's you see in the linked video were done with an Incredible Edger. The skate shop in question has over 20 years of experience and, according to their own claims, they always put the skater's best interests first. I have a somewhat different opinion on whether those promises are reflected in these sharpening's. All the skates they sharpen to look the same. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBRAX-ui4GY

Quote from: Casey on April 08, 2026, 10:12:45 PMIs the IE still an ideal sharpening machine to buy today, or should I consider other options?  I have no experience or background knowledge, but with 8 skaters in the household and some bad sharpening experiences in the past, I'm toying with the idea of buying something and learning...

If you're willing to forgo the advantages of a 3" diam wheel, you could also consider the Wissota, which has a 7" diam wheel. It is considerably less expensive than the 3" diam wheel units.  Bill_S did a thorough review of his experience with the Wissota (from unboxing and setup to final results):  https://skatingforums.com/index.php?topic=8453.0.

Casey,
There don't seem to be many options if you want a machine with a 3" grinding wheel. At least, I'm not aware of any manufacturers other than Incredible Edger or Blademaster. Personally, I wouldn't consider anything other than a 3" wheel—it makes things much easier, especially for beginners.

Both machine options have their own pros and cons. I've already listed the drawbacks of the Incredible Edger in this thread. As for Blademaster, I see its biggest weaknesses as the grinding dust falling onto the table where the carriage is moved. Even a clean table creates some friction, and the table itself is quite small. On the other hand, the Blademaster is not as prone to vibration.

In the end, it comes down to personal preference which type of machine you like more.

Blademaster options: BRPD1B or BREXD1 and SH6500
https://eishockey-onlineshop.de/BLADEMASTER-Kunstlauf-Schlittschuhhalter
https://wissota.com/product/elite-3-d-universal-figure-skate-holder/

Is the IE still an ideal sharpening machine to buy today, or should I consider other options?  I have no experience or background knowledge, but with 8 skaters in the household and some bad sharpening experiences in the past, I'm toying with the idea of buying something and learning...