Getting to Know Paramount Blades

[RosiePosie.iskates]

So unfortunately, after only 7 months of wearing them, my boots are beginning to break down.  Which, I guess is a decent amount of time considering I skate around 15 hours a week. But anyways, I know that when I get new boots, I'm going to need new blades as well. I skate alot,alot per week, so I'm having to sharpen really often, because I like a really sharp bite on the ice. Which is why I was considering Paramounts. Right now I have Eclipse Mist, and I love them! I've been comparing Paramounts with Eclipses, and have been weighing the pros and cons.
My Eclipse M's do tend to hold they're sharpening a long time, I can go around 120 hours on them before needing them sharpened. They may feel dull to the touch, but they have a nice grind/ripping sound on the ice.
I know my Eclipses are lighter thant John Wilson or MK blades, but this is only from actually picking them up, I've never skated on John Wilson or Mk's before.
I'd be looking for a blade that has the Pattern 99 profile. Which would be equivalent to the Eclipse Infinity or the Paramount C9's I think? So if anyone has skated on Paramounts, (or specifically C9's) I would love to hear what you think of every aspect of them?
*Do they feel lighter than traditional blades? Is it noticeable when you skate on them?
*How much  longer to they typically hold their sharpenings for you?
*Any Pros or Cons to them I should be aware of?
I've heard at my rink that the different models of Paramounts can have varying hardnesses of the steel? I really don't know anything about these blades, what attracted them to me was that they hold their sharpening for a long time, which would be great for my budget! Any explanations/reviews would be very helpful! 

[sarahspins]

C9 are the pattern 99 profile but with carbon steel runners.. the 420SS or 440SS have stainless steel runners, which should hold a sharpening longer than carbon steel.. the C9 would be about the same as any other carbon steel blade.  The default profile for the higher level paramounts is the equivalent of the pattern 99.

I switched to 440C paramounts about a year ago. My initial reaction was that I didn't have as much "rip" as i did before, which is the opposite of most skaters, however I went from a dovetailed blade (Phantom Special) to my paramounts, which is why.. I stayed with the Phantom profile though, because it's what I am used to and I like the larger picks.  I also had to ask for a slightly deeper ROH to get the same bite angle with my edges.  I am my coach's only student skating on them and she says she normally doesn't like them and doesn't recommend them because they tend to be "noisy" compared to other blades - but she says she likes mine.

As far as the lightness, I don't know... they are lighter than my phantom specials, but do I actually notice the difference on the ice?  Not really.  I do notice they hold a sharpening longer, which is mainly why I switched.  I get my blades sharpened every 3-4 months now... I skate about 10-12 hours a week currently, including the time I spend teaching LTS.  I'm currently going on about 5 months with my current sharpening, and I could probably stand to sharpen them now, but they're not really feeling too dull yet.

[severina]

I love my new C9's.  I didn't like the steel on the 440's that I had before.  I probably needed a deeper hollow, but they just felt too different for someone that's been used to carbon steel for 20+ years.  The carbon steel probably won't hold a sharpening as long, but I still like the way they feel on the ice in comparison to the stainless steel ones.

[RosiePosie.iskates]

Thank you for the information! So what I've gathered from your replies is that the C9's are made from carbon steel, therefore they'd feel more like standard blades and wouldn't hold they're sharpening quite as long as the Stainless Steel ones. As for the stainless steel, they'd probably require a deeper hollow to get a sharper bite on the ice. 

I have heard that the are a bit noisier than other blades, but that wouldn't be much of a problem, because I've been told by other skaters that my Eclipse M's are a bit loud too!  I have my blades that I have currently sharpened to a deeper hollow already, so it probably wouldn't be a huge switch if I got the 440ss or 420s.

I have also noted that the Eclipse Infinity and the Paramount C9s are the same price. Whereas the 420s and the 440s are $100-$200 more expensive.  So depending on how much money I can raise by selling stuff, I will probably go with the Infinity's, C9's, or 420s.