New blades immediately lost spinning ability

[lorisk8]

I recently switched from phantoms to phantom revolutions thinking it may help me with my doubles and be lighter as I’m not getting any younger (35 year old). I immediately lost my spins. if I can find somewhat of a sweet spot and center I am dragging my toe pick the whole time. If I attempt to go further back on my ball of my foot the teenie slightest more I’m then on a flat. So it’s either toe pic drag or flat, no inbetween. Let me preface this with Ive tested through junior level So not a newbie here. At this rate I want to just can it and go back to my standard phantoms. But maybe someone out there has some experience or knowledge to help. I’m worried it’s my blade placement which is on a temp mount right now. I don’t think I need to move it to either side as my edges, power pulls etc feel fine. I just can’t spin without toe pick drag. Thoughts? I also live in a area without a very great skate tech. Oklahoma is a bit of a black hole for skating so taking it to a skate tech to fix is not the best solution. But if I know what to tell the guy here that is really trying to help me it may help my cause. I’m stumped! help!

 

[MCsAngel2]

The most likely explanation is that over multiple sharpenings of your old blades, the sweet spot changed slightly. It is possible to change the profile of new blades, but you'll lose a bit of metal doing that (plus you'd need someone super experienced at it). Stuff like this is very common on new blades, you just have to get used to it.

ETA: Did you buy your new blades brand new?

 

[tstop4me]

I recently switched from phantoms to phantom revolutions thinking it may help me with my doubles and be lighter as I’m not getting any younger (35 year old). I immediately lost my spins. if I can find somewhat of a sweet spot and center I am dragging my toe pick the whole time. If I attempt to go further back on my ball of my foot the teenie slightest more I’m then on a flat. So it’s either toe pic drag or flat, no inbetween. Let me preface this with Ive tested through junior level So not a newbie here. At this rate I want to just can it and go back to my standard phantoms. But maybe someone out there has some experience or knowledge to help. I’m worried it’s my blade placement which is on a temp mount right now. I don’t think I need to move it to either side as my edges, power pulls etc feel fine. I just can’t spin without toe pick drag. Thoughts? I also live in a area without a very great skate tech. Oklahoma is a bit of a black hole for skating so taking it to a skate tech to fix is not the best solution. But if I know what to tell the guy here that is really trying to help me it may help my cause. I’m stumped! help!

With repeated sharpenings, the spin rocker typically gets flatter and the sweet spot moves further back, relative to that of a brand new blade. In your instance, it appears that the spin rocker on your new blades is flatter and the sweet spot is further back, relative to your old blade: exactly the opposite scenario. If your new blade is indeed new from the factory, are you skating with the factory grind, or did the tech sharpen them? Mistakes at the factory can happen, or one bad sharpening by an incompetent tech can ruin a blade pronto monto.

Assuming the blades are the same length (or nearly the same), you should compare the lift angles of the two blades to assess the condition of the spin rocker of the new blade relative to that of the old. If you don't know how to do that, watch the video "Lift Angles" on the Paramount website:

https://www.paramountskates.com/videos.

The discussion of comparing lift angles (no special equipment needed) starts at 1:50 on the video, but I would recommend watching the complete video (you can measure the distance between the drag pick and the sweet spot without the special gauge shown in the beginning of the video; if you're interested in how, you can PM me).

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

With repeated sharpenings, the spin rocker typically gets flatter and the sweet spot moves further back, relative to that of a brand new blade. In your instance, it appears that the spin rocker on your new blades is flatter and the sweet spot is further back, relative to your old blade: exactly the opposite scenario. If your new blade is indeed new from the factory, are you skating with the factory grind, or did the tech sharpen them? Mistakes at the factory can happen, or one bad sharpening by an incompetent tech can ruin a blade pronto monto.

Assuming the blades are the same length (or nearly the same), you should compare the lift angles of the two blades to assess the condition of the spin rocker of the new blade relative to that of the old. If you don't know how to do that, watch the video "Lift Angles" on the Paramount website:

https://www.paramountskates.com/videos.

The discussion of comparing lift angles (no special equipment needed) starts at 1:50 on the video, but I would recommend watching the complete video (you can measure the distance between the drag pick and the sweet spot without the special gauge shown in the beginning of the video; if you're interested in how, you can PM me).

OP, TStop hit it right on the head.

I'm also personally going to say that from experience with wearing and testing many blades (as I've said many times before in this forum), I am not a fan at all of the rev blades.

 

[lorisk8]

These were purchased brand new. My skate tech sharpened them & mounted. Upon inspection now though on one skate it does look like he mounted slightly a little more towards the back of the skate From my prior mount. it’s not much but you can see where the wood rot is from my last blade and he’s behind it a smidge. Wondering if i move it more front if that will help me find my sweet spot? My old phantoms had hardly any rocker left and I was spinning/twizzling fine. Also one more thing that’s weird is I feel I have to push more into the outside edge in my backspin. Is that normal? I used to just push straight down now I feel I have to turn my ankle to get close to spin with toe pick drag of course

 

[MCsAngel2]

If I had the money, I'd just get new regular Phantoms and sell the revs. And make sure the new ones were mounted in exactly the same place as the old ones.

 

[gliese]

I'll just add that lighter blades are not going to help you as much as correct technique and adequate levels of strength ever will. I agree with @MCsAngel2, get new ones for sure.

 

[sandraskates]

If I had the money, I'd just get new regular Phantoms and sell the revs. And make sure the new ones were mounted in exactly the same place as the old ones.

I totally agree. While 35 is not old, I think it's harder to switch blades the older that you get - which is why I stuck with regular Phantoms when the time came for new blades.