MK Blade Question

[davincisop]

I'm currently in the MK Professional blade and out of curiousity, I'm trying to figure out what the difference is between the Professional, Gold Star and Phantom blades.

Profile-wise they're all listed as:
ROCKER 7FT
RADIUS OF HOLLOW 7/16"

The only visual difference I see between Phantom and Gold Star is the toe pick, both are cross cut, but Phantom is straighter while Gold Star is more curved.

Can anyone explain what the differences are?

[Query]

The toe pick differences are a pretty big deal, in terms of how the blades perform in various contexts.

Regarding rocker changes, if you trace all three blades on tracing paper, and overlay them, you may see something, though I don't think so for MK. Or at least not consistently.

E.g., I think MK always positions the sweet spot (where the rocker changes) the same number of inches back from the drag pick, which I don't think scales with blade length or with blade style, but I might be wrong. You may have trouble seeing the exact sweet spot, but if you slide the blade along the tracings, you will find that the rocker profile abruptly becomes more curved near the front. There is usually a secondary sweet spot near the tail, but I'm not sure if that is on purpose.

But look at blade thickness variations, at various heights above the bottom, and at various places along the length.  (Sometimes called "side honing", though that term is also used in a more specific way, e.g., for a blade that is thicker at the bottom.)

Do you have a micrometer, a caliper, or a pair of dividers you can cover in tape (so the blades don't scratch) (or a compass), so you can compare the differences in thickness? They are probably different by about 0.001", so you may not see it easily, but you can feel high tight the measuring tool feels against the blade as you move it around. You can find some cheap tools at a dollar store.

MK charges A LOT for those .001" or so level differences. Do they matter? Some say yes, some say no.

But it's more complicated than that - all three blades are available in more than one blade thickness pattern.

It's also very important to find out whether the shop has sharpened them before you looked at them - most shops do for MK blades, and that changes the rocker profiles, in ways that vary a lot skate-tech-to-skate-tech. A very few shops change the blade thickness pattern too.

And if the blades aren't new - forget about it. The shapes, other than the toe picks, have more to do with the skate tech than the manufacturer.