For Rich@TheRink, getting the perfect skate is more than a job - it's a passion. Innovation and engineering is at the heart of everything that Rich@TheRink does.
In today's world of cost-free publishing to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and web site creation, it's easy to find misinformation on the craft of maintaining skates, and this information is picked up by AI tools such as ChatGPT, which can then playback this potentially incorrect or suboptimal advice with the air of authority.
Rich@TheRink has made it his priority to truly understand the physics behind skates, sharpening and other maintenance, having worked with seasoned skate technicians and others in the industry. This understanding is put to use daily to provide his services to skaters at Cambridge Ice Arena in the UK.
Furthering the technology behind sharpening by bringing engineering into the workshop was the next obvious step. Sharpening relies on sub-millimeter accuracy, and constant measurement and adjustment throughout the process to maintain blade profiles and ensure level edges.
TheRink Skate Engineering Lab has a number of lines of research.
Innovating, designing and developing tools and processes that maximize quality and minimize profile deviation
Researching materials, bonding methods, torque and sole strength
Creating methods for alignment that account for biomechanical variances of each skater
Improving boot fit advice and boot reshaping aftercare
Taking the guess-work out of profile selection
Ensuring skate safety with management tools
Rich@TheRink invests a great deal of time innovating to continually improve measurement accuracy (now down to 0.01mm) and control during the sharpening process. The Skate Engineering Laboratory is chook full of tools, some experimental, some actively being used for sharpening skates. There are a few key aims of the lab:
Customers have asked Rich@TheRink how he can keep sharpening prices so low, but with a quality far in excess of other skate technicians - the answer is simple: The tools produced out of the lab plays a huge part. In fact, Rich@TheRink could charge significantly more, based on other technician's prices vs. the enhanced quality Rich@TheRink provides, but prices are kept low for two reasons:
Element 1 to maintaining a skate profile during sharpening is speed and pressure consistency. If you don't maintain a appropriate speed and pressure throughout the entire pass of the skate on the sharpening machine, you will be removing more material from some parts of the blade than others.
This is the fundamental reason why automated machines alter a blade profile; the wheel performing the sharpening is spring loaded, and springs do not give constant and appropriate pressure to the various parts of the blade, as the height of the wheel changes according to the blade shape. Skates that have been sharpened on automated for an extended period of time will inevitably become flatter and flatter.
But, no matter how good the skate tech, consistency can never be perfect. There are so many factors in play, from the changeable friction and wear of equipment, deposits on the wheel, and even the pre-existing shape of the blade causing wear of the wheel in ways that while invisible to the human eye, cause unintentional variations to the blade.
Element 2 to maintaining a skate profile is understanding the profile. Different parts of the blade (for both figure and hockey blades) are used for different things. Understanding why skates are curvier in some places than others gives a greater awareness for ensuring that the profile is maintained, and is essential for diagnosing issues skaters are facing.
Level edges are vital for carving turns and smooth edge to edge transitions. Without level edges, one edge will be sharper than the other. Good skaters will tolerate up to 1 degree out, though many would notice uneven edges much smaller than this.
Blade straightness affects two elements of skating: how level the edges can be from toe to tail, and skate direction relative to true-forward of the foot. With a bent blade skate technicians will struggle to get a good finish, and skaters will feel the impact.
The blade profile (toe to tail) affects a number of different elements to the skate - the the skate performs on spins, jumps and glides.
Getting deep rust out of the blade hollow improves the overall skate, and ensures blade longevity. While the best thing for rust is prevention, cure is necessary!
Sadly edge rust will make an otherwise healthy blade unskatable; one area of focus in the Engineering Lab is how to repair edge rust.
In investigations carried out by a prominent blade manufacturer, pick engagement was one of the most important elements to a blades performance, even over profile.
This page has been put together simply to highlight the current areas of investigation at the lab, but we will have details of the projects added very soon!
Whether you're an innovator, an engineer or just looking to join the conversation, we'd love to connect! TheRink's Skate Engineering Lab is open for collaboration. Drop Rich@TheRink a line!