Matrix legacy blades
- Thread starter Timonerr_
- Start date
All I said was, they don't spin the same (different materials) and I'm not the only one here and otherwise to say it, so feel free to call them out/ask them as well.
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2019
Definitely. I have Matrix Supreme, and before had gold seal. with Matrix supreme I struggle to spin at all without hitting with my toepicks, producing a scratchy spin. With Gold seal I used to hit the spin rocker with ease.
That's not the only difference - as far as I'm concerned, the blades are similar to the extent that I found my footing in exercises quickly enough, but skating on them can feel a lot of difference. I guess it could be 'inspired' by gold seal, but everything feels different when skating on them vs gold seal. Edges and Jumps are okay in them, as I said - the huge weakness in them is spins.
It could be the material, and it could be the profile/spin rocker location - I feel like when I spin I need to move much further forwards along the blade to hit the "sweet spot", and my toepick drags along the ice at this point. Could be an affect of something else rather than the cause.
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2022
Does the Supreme have the dove-tailed cross section? If I understand the info on the Ultima site, the blade has a dove-tailed shape of the same width along the full length of the blade. With the bigger chassis, the Matrix will also be stiffer both laterally and longitudinally, particularly compared to the GS Revolution.
The JW Gold Seal is tapered in width so that the front is wider than the back, so the edge angle on the blade changes from front to back (more bite at the front due to a wider blade being cut deeper by the same ROH, less bite at the back where the blade is thinner) which may be part of what you are used to feeling as you enter a spin.
I've really been wanting to talk to someone who has these blades and can also describe the difference in how they feel from a technical standpoint. As a skate tech, my biggest concern about the JW GS is that they are a pain to sharpen because of the side-honing and that many pairs do not have parallel stanchions, so it is very challenging to find a reference point along the blade for assuring that the edges are level.
Many people that sharpen skates (I am not going to call all of them skate techs because some are completely lacking in technical understanding) do not even understand that some blades do not have parallel sides, plus do not check level with any kind of tools--they just try to center the wheel on the blade and call it good. That might work okay if the previous sharpening was level, but what I see with skaters that have their skates sharpened out of town and then come back, is that each of these sharpenings is a little less correct and after two or three sharpenings, the edges may be sharp but they are nowhere near level. I would think that would feel terrible to skate on. Do you have any experience with this?
The JW Gold Seal is tapered in width so that the front is wider than the back, so the edge angle on the blade changes from front to back (more bite at the front due to a wider blade being cut deeper by the same ROH, less bite at the back where the blade is thinner) which may be part of what you are used to feeling as you enter a spin.
I've really been wanting to talk to someone who has these blades and can also describe the difference in how they feel from a technical standpoint. As a skate tech, my biggest concern about the JW GS is that they are a pain to sharpen because of the side-honing and that many pairs do not have parallel stanchions, so it is very challenging to find a reference point along the blade for assuring that the edges are level.
Many people that sharpen skates (I am not going to call all of them skate techs because some are completely lacking in technical understanding) do not even understand that some blades do not have parallel sides, plus do not check level with any kind of tools--they just try to center the wheel on the blade and call it good. That might work okay if the previous sharpening was level, but what I see with skaters that have their skates sharpened out of town and then come back, is that each of these sharpenings is a little less correct and after two or three sharpenings, the edges may be sharp but they are nowhere near level. I would think that would feel terrible to skate on. Do you have any experience with this?
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