Consistency is the key to good skate sharpening, skate blades which have been poorly maintained are harder to sharpen and do not perform well. The life span of a poorly sharpened skate blade can be less than half that of blades sharpened and maintained properly.
A good profile and proper radius (depth of hollow) allows the skates to work with the skater. Skating on the ice not in the ice. A clean accurate radius will produce equal bite angles, improving a skater’s confidence in the blades and reduces body compensations.
If the blades are poor quality steel, rusted, or have been overheated by a bad sharpening, they are considered to be weak. Weak edges wear down quickly and are prone to breaking off leaving behind a false edge. Some skate sharpeners try to solve this problem by sharpening with a deeper radius, but this only compounds the problem.
The deeper hollow gives the skater an edge, but the skate will control the skater and we all know the number one factor in skating is SKATER CONTROL.
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