865 Highway 169 N.
Plymouth, Mn. 55441

CAUTION: THIS ARTICLE IS INTENDED TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE PRINCIPALS AND THEORY OF SKATE SHARPENING. YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS, CAUTIONS AND WARNINGS IN THE OWNERS MANUAL FOR THE ACTUAL PROCEDURES. ALWAYS WEAR EYE PROTECTION WHEN OPERATING SKATE SHARPENING MACHINES!

CAUTION: READ AND UNDERSTAND THE OWNERS MANUAL BEFORE STARTING THE MACHINE OR ATTEMPTING ANY PROCEDURE.

CAUTION: THIS ARTICLE IS FOR USE WITH THE WISSOTA #911 MACHINE ONLY.

WHILE IT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS A GROOVE, A HOLLOW GRIND, OR A GROUND RADIUS, YOU COULD REFER TO IT AS FOLLOWS:

"I AM SKATING ON A 5/8" RADIUS"

"YOUR SKATES HAVE BEEN SHARPENED TO A 1/2" RADIUS"

"WHAT RADIUS WOULD YOU LIKE GROUND ONTO YOUR BLADE?"

BY GRINDING A RADIUS INTO YOUR SKATE BLADE YOU ARE MAKING YOUR EDGES SHARP AND DEPENDING UPON THE RADIUS YOU CHOOSE, YOU ARE ALSO MAKING YOUR EDGES MORE (OR LESS) PRONOUNCED IN THE SHAPE OF A "TIP".

FROM GRADE SCHOOL MATH, YOU MAY RECALL THAT A 1" DIAMETER CIRCLE WILL HAVE A 1/2" RADIUS.

A 4" CIRCLE WILL HAVE A 2" RADIUS, A 3/4" DIAMETER CIRCLE WILL HAVE A 3/8" RADIUS, ETC,ETC.

THE DIAMOND DRESSER ATTACHMENT ON YOUR WISSOTA #911 MACHINE WILL DRESS (SHAPE) THE GRINDING FACE OF YOUR GRINDING WHEEL TO THE CURVATURE SHAPE OF ANY RADII BETWEEN 1/4" AND 1-1/4".

YOU WILL DRESS THE RADIUS OF YOUR CHOICE INTO THE GRINDING WHEEL AND THIS RADIUS WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO THE SKATE BLADE BY GRINDING.

BEFORE WE DISCUSS HOW TO DO THAT, WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT........

CHOOSING A RADIUS CAN BE AS SIMPLE OR AS COMPLEX AS YOU (OR YOUR CUSTOMERS)CHOOSE TO MAKE IT.

THERE ARE MANY "EXPERTS" WHO DISAGREE ON SKATE SHARPENING. THERE ARE ALSO SOME SHARPENING OUTFITS THAT HAVE DEVELOPED SHARPENING PROCEDURES (GIMMICKS?) PRIMARILY AS MARKETING TECHNIQUES TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WISSOTA'S MISSION IS TO PRODUCE HIGH QUALITY SKATE SHARPENERS THAT WILL SHARPEN SKATES TO WHATEVER PHILOSOPHY YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW. EXCEPT WHERE SAFETY IS INVOLVED, IT IS NOT OUR ROLE TO DICTATE OR PREJUDICE YOUR VIEW OF HOW SKATES CAN BE SHARPENED.

WITH THAT IN MIND, THE FOLLOWING DISCUSSION WILL ALLOW YOU TO EXPERTLY SHARPEN SKATES. YOU SHOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO FORM OPINIONS ON YOUR OWN.

TO BEGIN , LET'S LOOK AT WHAT DIFFERENT RADII LOOK LIKE ON THE BOTTOM OF YOUR BLADE. CLICK HERE TO DISPLAY FIG A.

AFTER A SKATE HAS BEEN GROUND IT WILL HAVE SHARP EDGES REGARDLESS OF HOW BIG OR SMALL THE RADIUS IS. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE LONG SPEED SKATING BLADES USED IN THE OLYMPICS ARE HONED FLAT WITH NO RADIUS. THEY ARE LOOKING FOR MAXIMUM GLIDE. WHILE THEY ARE CAREFUL IN THE TURNS, DON'T EVER DOUBT THAT THESE BLADE EDGES ARE NOT SHARP!

THE REAL QUESTIONS ARE:

"IS THERE ENOUGH EDGE ?"

"IS THERE TOO MUCH EDGE ?"

IF IMMEDIATELY UPON USE THE SKATER CLAIMS THE SKATE IS NOT SHARP ENOUGH, THEY ARE REALLY SAYING, "THIS SKATE DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH EDGE ON IT TO SUIT MY SKATING".

HOW MUCH EDGE A SKATER CAN TOLERATE IS AFFECTED BY FOUR MAIN VARIABLES. THESE ARE THE SKATERS WEIGHT, THE SKATERS ASSIGNMENT, THE ICE TEMPERATURE, AND THE SKATERS SKILL LEVEL.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING DISCUSSION IS GENERAL PURPOSE IN NATURE. YOU MUST FIND THE RIGHT SETTING(S) FOR YOUR NEEDS. SOLICIT AND ANALYZE FEEDBACK FROM THOSE YOU SHARPEN FOR.

WARNING: IN NO CASE SHOULD A RADIUS SMALLER THAN 1/4" BE ATTEMPTED. BESIDES BEING TOO SHARP FOR ANYONE, THIS WILL WEAKEN THE GRINDING WHEEL AND WILL CREATE A SAFETY HAZARD.

AN EXTREMELY LIGHT SKATER CAN TOLERATE VERY SMALL RADII (PRODUCING A DEEP HOLLOW AND LOTS OF EDGE). THEY DO NOT HAVE MUCH WEIGHT TO BEAR ON THE ICE.

PLEASE NOTE THAT BEGINNER LEVEL SKATERS CAN LEARN MOST SKILLS (PARTICULARLY THE HOCKEY STOP) EASIER BY GRINDING THEIR SKATES WITH A VERY LARGE RADIUS. AS THEY PROGRESS THE RADII IS DECREASED BACK TO A NORMAL LEVEL.

A HEAVY SKATER TRYING TO SKATE ON A SMALL RADIUS (TOO MUCH EDGE) WILL BITE INTO THE ICE SO HARD THAT THEY WILL HAVE TROUBLE STOPPING WITHOUT CHATTER OR GOING OVER THE TOP OF THEIR SKATES. THEY WILL ALSO LOOSE GLIDE TO EXCESS FRICTION AND BE WORKING HARDER. ON THE OTHER HAND, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO HOLD A VERY TIGHT TURN!

PROFESSIONALS CAN SKATE ON SMALLER RADII AS THEY HAVE THE COMBINATION OF LEG/ANKLE STRENGTH AND TALENT TO GET AWAY WITH IT.

SKATING ON TOO SMALL OF A RADIUS FEELS LIKE SKATING ON SOFT ICE.

WHILE 3/8" RADIUS EDGES ARE MORE PRONOUNCED THAN 5/8" THEY ARE ALSO MORE FRAGILE AND LESS DURABLE.

A "GENERAL PURPOSE" CHART FOR RADIUS BY WEIGHT IS AS FOLLOWS:

     VERY LIGHT    AVERAGE    HEAVY    HOCKEY GOALIE

        3/8"         5/8"      3/4"     1 TO 1 1/4"

NOTE: THE WISSOTA MODEL 911 SKATE SHARPENER COMES FROM THE FACTORY WITH THE DIAMOND SET AT AND THE WHEEL DRESSED TO 5/8"RADIUS. THIS IS A GOOD PLACE TO START OR YOU MAY CHANGE IT TO YOUR PREFERRED RADIUS.

HOCKEY: 1/2" SEEMS TO BE THE MOST COMMON RADIUS FOR KIDS THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL. FORWARDS GENERALLY PREFER SMALLER RADIUS THAN DEFENSE MEN OF THE SAME WEIGHT. GOALIES GENERALLY PREFER VERY LARGE RADIUS SO THAT THEY CAN "KICK OUT" WITHOUT CATCHING AN EDGE.

FIGURE: AGAIN THE KIDS (UNDER 60 LB's.) CAN SKATE ON A 1/2" RADIUS. A 5/8" RADIUS WILL TAKE CARE OF MOST RECREATIONAL SKATERS.

WHEN FIGURE SKATERS GET TO THE LEVEL WHERE THEY ARE IN A SERIOUS PROGRAM, THEY WILL BE UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF A COACH OR INSTRUCTOR. THE SKATER SHOULD CONSULT THESE PEOPLE FOR ADVICE ON THE BEST RADIUS FOR THE PROGRAM THEY ARE PERFORMING.

TIP: INDIVIDUALS CAN CALL THE SHOP THAT DID THEIR SKATES AND ASK "WHAT RADIUS ARE YOU GRINDING SKATES TO?" YOU CAN THEN SET YOUR MACHINE TO THE SAME SETTING AND GET YOUR SKATES DONE THE WAY YOU ARE CURRENTLY ACCUSTOMED.

SHARPENING SERVICES CAN CALL AROUND TO GET A FEEL OF WHAT THE OTHER SERVICES ARE OFFERING.

NOTE: INSTITUTIONS WHICH WILL NOT DIVULGE THE RADIUS SETTING OF THEIR SHARPENING TO THE SKATER ARE:

1. TRYING TO PROTECT THEIR BUSINESS.

2. DON'T KNOW.

PLEASE DON'T JOIN THE RANKS OF THESE SHARPENERS. SKATERS ARE STRIVING FOR CONSISTENCY! THEY NEED TO KNOW WHAT WORKS FOR THEM.

MOST RINK MANAGERS SHOOT FOR AN ICE TEMPERATURE OF APPROXIMATELY 25 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. A TEMPERATURE OF 17 TO 23 DEGREES IS CONSIDERED "HARD HOCKEY ICE", 25 TO 26 DEGREES IS CONSIDERED GOOD FIGURE SKATE ICE. SLIGHTLY SMALLER RADIUS MAY BE USED ON COLDER/ HARDER ICE AND VICE VERSA.

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