Uneven sole issues?

[Christy]

A few weeks ago I tried making the blade level checker based on the info from Tstop4me, and I think I got it right. It showed that one of my blades wasn't level - higher on the outside than the inside. I then asked someone at the rink if they could check the blade as they had a proper level checker. They said the blade was higher on the outside compared to the inside. We also noticed that the blade appeared to bend inwards, so was at a 75deg angle to the inside of the sole.
I didn't get the blades sharpened at that point, but I did move blade itself, sideways, towards the outside of the sole, and it then appeared to be at a 90deg angle, so straight. It was only moved a tiny amount, as I just undid screws and moved blade to other side of the slider holes.
I then checked the blade level again, and it showed the inside edge was higher than the outside. I got it rechecked at the rink, and same thing.
So blade close to inside, outside edge appears higher than inside edge
Then blade moved a small amount towards the outside of the sole, outside edge now lower than inside edge.

I'm confused. Does this mean the sole is uneven? or is something else going on?

[tstop4me]

I'm confused at what you're doing.  In the blade level checker I described (and similar one-piece blade level checkers), the "level" is with respect to a virtual horizon perpendicular to the sides of the blade, independent of how the blade is mounted to the boot.

You have a Matrix blade, correct?  If so, you won't be able to use standard two-piece blade level checkers (with a separate reference horizon): Paramount sells a special one.  As an alternative, you'll need to get hold of someone with a machinist's square and adept with it's use.  The HDI gauge won't work on Matrix either.

[Query]

I'm sometimes not good at figuring out what people mean.

Do you just mean the edge (e.g., 1 mm or so, at the very bottom) is tilted at an angle, which is easy to fix using a flat stone, or tat a large part of the blade is bent over? The former sometimes occurs if you sharpen the blade very sharp (i.e., a sharpening burr), but don't correct the edge with a flat stone, or if you step off the ice without a blade guard.

Or do you mean the sole is tilted, or the mounting plate at the top of the blade?

If it isn't just the bottom mm or so, could you provide a picture? If you try to unbend a big change like that, you could easily break the blade. And it is likely to be a manufacturing defect, and the blade manufacturer might be willing to replace it at no charge, but maybe not if you break the blade.

[Christy]

I'm confused at what you're doing.  In the blade level checker I described (and similar one-piece blade level checkers), the "level" is with respect to a virtual horizon perpendicular to the sides of the blade, independent of how the blade is mounted to the boot.

You have a Matrix blade, correct?  If so, you won't be able to use standard two-piece blade level checkers (with a separate reference horizon): Paramount sells a special one.  As an alternative, you'll need to get hold of someone with a machinist's square and adept with it's use.  The HDI gauge won't work on Matrix either.

I think this answers the question as that is what I was using as was the rink guy. We both put the level on certain points of the blade, and it was showing that one side / edge of the blade was higher than the other, then after I moved the blade it showed the other side / edge was higher. I was wondering if it meant the sole wasn't flat, but it sounds like we were using the wrong tool to measure with.

[Bill_S]

Just FYI, It's easy to get reversed high/low edges along the blade length if the sharpening setup is off. This can happen if the sharpener's skate holder is adjusted high on one side and low on the other.

If a skate tech is not aware that this can happen, it's pretty much guaranteed to happen. It's one of the things that I check several times between passes as I sharpen a pair of blades.

EDIT: I should add that a blade bent along its length will also exhibit a combination of high vs. low edges on any given side. Check for bent blades with a straight-edge place against the side of the blade near the edges but below the chrome-relief grinding.

[Query]

Of course, reasonably good skate techs usually don't make that mistake.