Shortening Tails of Gold Seal Blades

[Bill_S]

I decided to plunge ahead with my plans to shorten the blade tails of Gold Seals. They are about 1/4" longer than my Pattern 99 blades (which I really like, BTW). I was afraid that I'd step on the tails of the Gold Seals at some point and tumble. I shortened them to match the Pattern 99 blade length.

The first step was to mark the amount of grinding necessary to reach the goal.



To the bench grinder I went. I'd do 5-second grind, then a quick quench before grinding more. Rinse and repeat. The frequent water quench should preserve blade hardening.



After shortening, I rounded the top to echo the old shape then smoothed the sharp edges. The left blade in this photo has been shortened, and the right one is the original length.



Here is an end view of a modified blade...



I'll have to coat the machined end with a gray or silver paint to prevent rust.

The whole operation from marking the blade to the finished photo took about an hour.

[aussieskater]

I had my MK Pros shortened in a similar way (and for the same reason!) several years ago, and they've never shown signs of rust or anything else untoward on the cut ends.  On the assumption that Gold Seals are made using better quality base metal than MK Pros, you might not need to paint that edge after all?

[tstop4me]

I had my MK Pros shortened in a similar way (and for the same reason!) several years ago, and they've never shown signs of rust or anything else untoward on the cut ends.  On the assumption that Gold Seals are made using better quality base metal than MK Pros, you might not need to paint that edge after all?

I have some high-end machinist's tools made from high-grade hardened tool steel.  They are highly susceptible to rust, and I need to keep a film of oil on them.   So it is possible for a higher-end steel (in the context of blades, higher-end = harder and tougher) to be more susceptible to rust than a lower-end steel; you don't know in advance, depends on the specific composition.

With respect to modified blades (shortened tails) in regular use (as opposed to long-term storage), if you dry them off properly after skating and store them in a dry place between sessions, you should be OK.  After all, there is no plating in the chrome relief, hollow, and edges; and these do not rust, if properly cared for in regular use.  The steel composition on the ground off tail away from the edges will vary from the steel composition near the edges because of different hardening and tempering processes, and potentially could have some effect on susceptibility to rust.  No harm in coating the ground tail, though, and easy to do.

[Bill_S]

FWIW, I blued the exposed steel at the tail using Birchwood Casey Perma Blue Paste. The cold bluing process isn't completely rust-proof, but provides an inhibiting layer to slow rust formation. I don't expect to have any problem with rust, especially given aussieskater's experience.

The deep blue tint is a nice touch on the chrome blades. I'd post a photo, but I'm a little short of time right now. Gotta run.