Are blades suppose to be straight?

[thechefnextdoor]

I have Legacy 7 blades and they bow slightly towards the outside edge. The store I purchased them from brought out more blades and all of them are bent the same way. Three coaches I've talked to said they should be straight but the store seems to think it's fine and normal. When I do the prebronze outside edges, I spray snow and keep skidding away from the circle on that outside edge on each foot. My waltz takeoff makes a sideways rectangle and I slip during the takeoff. My basic spins no longer have the three turn entrance, it's basically a circle. I switched to using my old boots and I've made more progress than I have new boots. I'm just confused on what the issue could be.

 

[Diana Delafield]

I have Legacy 7 blades and they bow slightly towards the outside edge. The store I purchased them from brought out more blades and all of them are bent the same way. Three coaches I've talked to said they should be straight but the store seems to think it's fine and normal. When I do the prebronze outside edges, I spray snow and keep skidding away from the circle on that outside edge on each foot. My waltz takeoff makes a sideways rectangle and I slip during the takeoff. My basic spins no longer have the three turn entrance, it's basically a circle. I switched to using my old boots and I've made more progress than I have new boots. I'm just confused on what the issue could be.

Hi! Can we get it straight first that the problem blades are only attached to your new boots, and the old boots have older/different blades attached? There are skate technicians on GS far more knowledgeable than I, but I'm trying to picture what you mean by curved blades. Do you mean when you look down at them from above, or along the length from the heel, they're a ) shape instead of a straight I shape? They should be I . So far it sounds as if the skate shop got in a batch of defective blades, but more detail would help. Can you take photos of the blades against a plain background, maybe with a ruler beside them for comparison, and send those for our technical members to see? I hope someone here can help you.

 

[thechefnextdoor]

Hi! Can we get it straight first that the problem blades are only attached to your new boots, and the old boots have older/different blades attached? There are skate technicians on GS far more knowledgeable than I, but I'm trying to picture what you mean by curved blades. Do you mean when you look down at them from above, or along the length from the heel, they're a ) shape instead of a straight I shape? They should be I . So far it sounds as if the skate shop got in a batch of defective blades, but more detail would help. Can you take photos of the blades against a plain background, maybe with a ruler beside them for comparison, and send those for our technical members to see? I hope someone here can help you.

Inside Edge

Discover the magic of the internet at Imgur, a community powered entertainment destination. Lift your spirits with funny jokes, trending memes, entertaining gifs, inspiring stories, viral videos, and so much more from users like AJadeMoon.

imgur.com

Here's the image

 

[Diana Delafield]

Inside Edge

Discover the magic of the internet at Imgur, a community powered entertainment destination. Lift your spirits with funny jokes, trending memes, entertaining gifs, inspiring stories, viral videos, and so much more from users like AJadeMoon.

imgur.com

Here's the image

Well, speaking as a longtime skater who's seen a lot of blades attached to her boots, that looks like a warped blade to me. Is your blade attachment and sharpening done at the same shop where you bought the blade (and boots, presumably)? Can you get your coach or another blade tech to give you a second opinion that backs you up and then insist on a replacement pair? And not one of the other bent ones they showed you! You might also go over their heads and send that picture directly to the blade company, and tell them that the shop tried to say it was all right and so were all the other similar ones they had in stock. No manufacturer wants their product to get a reputation for defective workmanship, or have a defective batch of their product pushed by a dishonest dealer.

I'd also look for another skate shop, if that's possible. Where do you live? There are people on GS from all over the world, who can usually recommend a shop near just about anywhere.

I hope someone else chimes in on this with advice as to what to do next, but I think it's a business problem with that shop. I doubt if the blade can be straightened. And in the meanwhile, I wouldn't try skating on it if I were you, especially not try to jump on it. Not safe. Good luck!

 

[Query]

In the past, Ultima usually hasn't had this problem. It was more typical of MK and JW blades. It's called warping. Your blades look warped.

The alternative would be that your blades could be "parabolic". But AFAICT, Legacy 7 isn't available in a parabolic shape. Or the warp could have been produced by the way they were mounted on the skates - but you said they brought out more warped blades, which I assume were unmounted?

Because metal rulers and other metal straight edges, are sometimes also warped, you should place the narrow edge of rulers against the blade, instead of the wide edge, to look for warping. But I assume your straight edge was truly straight. I.E., if you switch sides, the blade should curve away from the straight edge instead of towards it, at the ends.

You can straighten blades. But a very good skate tech, Mike Cunningham (with many Olympic level customers, though he is now retired), told me he wouldn't try to straighten blades with over about 1 mm of total warp - because blades sometimes break when you straighten them. He returned warped blades to the manufacturer. But he found out that they then sent them back out to less picky skate techs. Perhaps your skate techs didn't complain or return blades, so blade manufacturers send them the warped ones.

It's possible (I'm not sure) that you have 1 mm or less warpage. But before letting your skate tech straighten them, ask if they will agree to pay for new ones if they break. But better to try to return them, and go elsewhere, as was suggested by Diana Delafield above.

Maybe you will get lucky, and if your skate shop won't take them back (and I believe they should, if you haven't used them for long, because they are defective), the manufacturer will. You can find contact information for Jackson Ultima on their website. But a good skate tech would have already contacted them for you - in fact they would likely have checked the blades before giving them to you.

In addition to the problems you note, warped blades have more friction, and glide less well. I used to have warped Coronation Ace blades, that got very hot while skating, due to such friction. I was essentially a beginner, and I didn't understand there was a problem.

I'm a bit troubled by how rough (scratched) the bottom of the blade is. I assume you have in fact skated on it for a while? Because if not, the skate tech did a horrible job of sharpening those blades. Just after sharpening, I would expect them to have closer to a mirror finish. Maybe not perfect, but surfaces that rough might create extra friction too. Of course, if you walk off-ice on your blades, on a dirty floor (even if it is rubber), they will get scratched like that - which wouldn't be the skate tech's fault. Likewise, if you skate on very rough or somewhat dirty ice, or you store them in dirty skate guards.

However, while my blades are Ultima, they are quite old. Maybe Ultima has gone downhill in quality control, and those are the factory sharpenings.

 

[tstop4me]

I have Legacy 7 blades and they bow slightly towards the outside edge. The store I purchased them from brought out more blades and all of them are bent the same way. Three coaches I've talked to said they should be straight but the store seems to think it's fine and normal.

* Legacy 7 blades should have parallel edges with uniform thickness from pick to heel. If you place a reference straight edge against the sides of the blade from pick to heel, the blade should be straight, not curved. Your coaches are right; the store is not. I'm not sure what you used as a reference straight edge. If you wish, I can send you a DM later with more details on reference straight edges; let me know.

* Curved blades should be considered a manufacturer's defect. I personally would not agree to the store trying to straighten them. They should be exchanged for straight ones.

* Note that a straight blade can end up curved through improper mounting. But typically in that instance, when the blade is unmounted, the blade will relax to a straight geometry. You mentioned that the store checked other blades in stock, and they were all curved. So yours was likely to be curved prior to mounting. But if you file for a manufacturer's defect, you should have the store demount them to verify; the manufacturer will probably require it.

* If you end up dealing with the manufacturer yourself (which you shouldn't; the store should take care of it, but in case they don't), don't get too hung up on calling the blades warped. That might cause confusion. There are no industry standard terms that I'm aware of. But if the blade is curved in a simple arc from pick to heel such as ( , the defect is often referred to as bowing. Warping can refer to more complex defects such as ~ (rotate this 90 deg to compare with previous).

 

[Diana Delafield]

* Legacy 7 blades should have parallel edges with uniform thickness from pick to heel. If you place a reference straight edge against the sides of the blade from pick to heel, the blade should be straight, not curved. Your coaches are right; the store is not. I'm not sure what you used as a reference straight edge. If you wish, I can send you a DM later with more details on reference straight edges; let me know.

* Curved blades should be considered a manufacturer's defect. I personally would not agree to the store trying to straighten them. They should be exchanged for straight ones.

* Note that a straight blade can end up curved through improper mounting. But typically in that instance, when the blade is unmounted, the blade will relax to a straight geometry. You mentioned that the store checked other blades in stock, and they were all curved. So yours was likely to be curved prior to mounting. But if you file for a manufacturer's defect, you should have the store demount them to verify; the manufacturer will probably require it.

* If you end up dealing with the manufacturer yourself (which you shouldn't; the store should take care of it, but in case they don't), don't get too hung up on calling the blades warped. That might cause confusion. There are no industry standard terms that I'm aware of. But if the blade is curved in a simple arc from pick to heel such as ( , the defect is often referred to as bowing. Warping can refer to more complex defects such as ~ (rotate this 90 deg to compare with previous).

Thanks for weighing in on this, as I'd hoped you would. My concern, with my limited technical knowledge, was to jump in quickly and get the OP off those unsafe blades and hope someone else could get into the problem to a greater depth. Also thanks for explaining the difference between warping and bowing! I'd heard both terms used interchangeably and now I know the difference.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Those are definitely defective blades.

 

[thechefnextdoor]

In the past, Ultima usually hasn't had this problem. It was more typical of MK and JW blades. It's called warping. Your blades look warped.

The alternative would be that your blades could be "parabolic". But AFAICT, Legacy 7 isn't available in a parabolic shape. Or the warp could have been produced by the way they were mounted on the skates - but you said they brought out more warped blades, which I assume were unmounted?

Because metal rulers and other metal straight edges, are sometimes also warped, you should place the narrow edge of rulers against the blade, instead of the wide edge, to look for warping. But I assume your straight edge was truly straight. I.E., if you switch sides, the blade should curve away from the straight edge instead of towards it, at the ends.

You can straighten blades. But a very good skate tech, Mike Cunningham (with many Olympic level customers, though he is now retired), told me he wouldn't try to straighten blades with over about 1 mm of total warp - because blades sometimes break when you straighten them. He returned warped blades to the manufacturer. But he found out that they then sent them back out to less picky skate techs. Perhaps your skate techs didn't complain or return blades, so blade manufacturers send them the warped ones.

It's possible (I'm not sure) that you have 1 mm or less warpage. But before letting your skate tech straighten them, ask if they will agree to pay for new ones if they break. But better to try to return them, and go elsewhere, as was suggested by Diana Delafield above.

Maybe you will get lucky, and if your skate shop won't take them back (and I believe they should, if you haven't used them for long, because they are defective), the manufacturer will. You can find contact information for Jackson Ultima on their website. But a good skate tech would have already contacted them for you - in fact they would likely have checked the blades before giving them to you.

In addition to the problems you note, warped blades have more friction, and glide less well. I used to have warped Coronation Ace blades, that got very hot while skating, due to such friction. I was essentially a beginner, and I didn't understand there was a problem.

I'm a bit troubled by how rough (scratched) the bottom of the blade is. I assume you have in fact skated on it for a while? Because if not, the skate tech did a horrible job of sharpening those blades. Just after sharpening, I would expect them to have closer to a mirror finish. Maybe not perfect, but surfaces that rough might create extra friction too. Of course, if you walk off-ice on your blades, on a dirty floor (even if it is rubber), they will get scratched like that - which wouldn't be the skate tech's fault. Likewise, if you skate on very rough or somewhat dirty ice, or you store them in dirty skate guards.

However, while my blades are Ultima, they are quite old. Maybe Ultima has gone downhill in quality control, and those are the factory sharpenings.

I think I mis

In the past, Ultima usually hasn't had this problem. It was more typical of MK and JW blades. It's called warping. Your blades look warped.

The alternative would be that your blades could be "parabolic". But AFAICT, Legacy 7 isn't available in a parabolic shape. Or the warp could have been produced by the way they were mounted on the skates - but you said they brought out more warped blades, which I assume were unmounted?

Because metal rulers and other metal straight edges, are sometimes also warped, you should place the narrow edge of rulers against the blade, instead of the wide edge, to look for warping. But I assume your straight edge was truly straight. I.E., if you switch sides, the blade should curve away from the straight edge instead of towards it, at the ends.

You can straighten blades. But a very good skate tech, Mike Cunningham (with many Olympic level customers, though he is now retired), told me he wouldn't try to straighten blades with over about 1 mm of total warp - because blades sometimes break when you straighten them. He returned warped blades to the manufacturer. But he found out that they then sent them back out to less picky skate techs. Perhaps your skate techs didn't complain or return blades, so blade manufacturers send them the warped ones.

It's possible (I'm not sure) that you have 1 mm or less warpage. But before letting your skate tech straighten them, ask if they will agree to pay for new ones if they break. But better to try to return them, and go elsewhere, as was suggested by Diana Delafield above.

Maybe you will get lucky, and if your skate shop won't take them back (and I believe they should, if you haven't used them for long, because they are defective), the manufacturer will. You can find contact information for Jackson Ultima on their website. But a good skate tech would have already contacted them for you - in fact they would likely have checked the blades before giving them to you.

In addition to the problems you note, warped blades have more friction, and glide less well. I used to have warped Coronation Ace blades, that got very hot while skating, due to such friction. I was essentially a beginner, and I didn't understand there was a problem.

I'm a bit troubled by how rough (scratched) the bottom of the blade is. I assume you have in fact skated on it for a while? Because if not, the skate tech did a horrible job of sharpening those blades. Just after sharpening, I would expect them to have closer to a mirror finish. Maybe not perfect, but surfaces that rough might create extra friction too. Of course, if you walk off-ice on your blades, on a dirty floor (even if it is rubber), they will get scratched like that - which wouldn't be the skate tech's fault. Likewise, if you skate on very rough or somewhat dirty ice, or you store them in dirty skate guards.

However, while my blades are Ultima, they are quite old. Maybe Ultima has gone downhill in quality control, and those are the factory sharpenings.

I misspoke, the straight edge steel he was using to measure is on the outside edge in this picture. I looked at my blades and they aren't cut up at all.

 

[Query]

But the bottoms of both the straight edge and the blade have a lot of scratches that one can see in your photograph.

Some skate techs use a polishing fluid, to make a smoother hollow surface, on the theory that it reduces drag. However, that adds a tiny bit of extra time and cost to the sharpening process. Done right, you really do almost get a mirror finish. That also means that they can sight down the blade, and see whether there is any variation in edge evenness.

Regardless, the longer you wait to contact the blade manufacturer (if the pro shop is unwilling to make good), the less likely they are to replace your blades. It can't hurt to try.

It may amuse you to know that hockey blades are often warped by collisions between blades. Any reasonably experienced hockey skate tech has probably tried to straighten a few blades, and sometimes succeeded. Maybe that sometimes occurs in Pairs and Dance too. But new blades shouldn't be like that. Especially not reasonably expensive (though admittedly not top end) blades, from a reputable company like Jackson Ultima.