Therma Blade

[Sniper407 0]

thats very insightful. thanks for posting it. it pretty much ends my argument right there. :lol:

[tblade_Germany 0]

For someone with a Ph.D. in Physics it is nice to see that a skate blade prompts so much discussion about the physics of gliding on ice.

Let me balance the above theoretical exhausts with some experimental and observational facts:

- the reduced gliding friction of t-blades has been confirmed by elaborate sled experiments at a university in Southern Germany

- the thermo-effect as one of the possible explanations has been verified by temperature measurement probes located in the runner surface through the same research lab

- the extreme surface smoothness of t-blades contributes further to this, because compared to t-blade a sharpened (even polished) blade is pretty rugged

- every bob sled crew knows about the advantages of heating their skids before the start

- every hockey player can compare himself by pushing off the boards

But is this effect really so important? We at t-blade think not, because in hockey by far the most of your energy is used for starting/stopping/turning rather than gliding.

It is a nice side effect. We think that weight reduction, edge consistency and the convenience of a blade change after hours are more relevant advantages of t-blade, but this is something every player has to decide for himself...

So you "do the math", I prefer observations

And good luck to the guys at Thermablade --- without such people there would be no progress

Many regards from the charlatain / fool :P

PS: The flame in our logo is a reminder of this "thermo-effect"

[Edge 0]

Gretzky endorsing something isn't necessarily because he likes it because here in phoenix he endorses a million things that don't have a thing to do with hockey or anything involving it.

I hightly doubt that heaters for your blades is going to make you skate much faster.

[jimmy 194]

As in any science we all know there are varied opinions. The proof would be in the lab tests so if you have them, that would be interesting reading. Anecdotal evidence is not valid.

If expirement was done correctly, results should show the exact speed difference between a full size steel blade and a t-blade. Of course all variables would have to be the same. I would say the only way to do it correctly would be to mold a full size "t-blade", basically same blade only taller, with same smooth surface, edges, and hollow as the thinner t-blade. Then mount two on skates and add weight to the regular t-blade skate to make both skates have exact same weight on the runners . Then run the tests. The key is that all parameters have to be the same other than the blade height. The end result we care about is how much fast does the thermal effect produce, if any. A t-blade with molded holow may be slightly faster than a perfect conventional cut steel, but probably not even noticable by the skater. A t-blade will be faster than a poorly cut steel for sure.

[Sven 1]

I use t'blades because I can't get a good sharpening around here.

same here... it was either t'blades or drive an hour to get a sharpening i could stand up on..

Well can get a sharpening here, but its not a sharpening with a specific hollow, the dude just sharps them as he wants to.

here in germany (dave and i are from .de) you cant ask for a certain sharpening... thats so ridiculous :(

when i know more about the pros/contras from tblades relating to TUUKS, i will buy them if it convinced me.

[Riggo 0]

To: CEO T'Blade Germany a.k.a. Charlatan

Your response to the physicist was truely poetic. You dissed him in such a manner that it didn't come off as a "diss." Brilliant, my man.

In any case, I am so glad you have joined this forum. You have done much to advance the dialogue on t-blades. Keep posting...

[kosydar 0]

Interesting info...still didn't explain why they make such an annoying noise though.

[jimmy 194]

The proof will be in INDEPENDENT lab results, not results fabricated by the blade maker. If someone (other than the blade manufacturer) can prove using valid test methods that the thin blade retains heat created by friction, therefore making it glide faster, then I may believe it. For now, I will stick with a physics expert wo has no monetary gain from his position.

Suckers are born every minute. That's why so many "fuel magnets" were sold. :-)

[Jordan 13]

I missed this thread initially. Found this about the product:

Physics of Hockey...Thermablade

They claim a weight of 40 grams, which seems light enough to work to me. In the study, they go into a fairly decnt amount of detail comparing the loss of performance due to weight, as compared the performance gain from reduced friction.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

The ThermabladeTM unit is heavier than the regular blade fixture because of

additional components. The difference amounts to an extra 40 grams for each skate. How does this affect the athlete’s performance? In order to answer this, we need to compare this relative importance of the added mass to the mass of skater's leg. The leg of a fully dressed 90 kg (200 lbs) hockey player is on the order of 20 kg. The additional weight of the heated blade is therefore contributes to an increase of 0.2% of the leg mass. Since the energy expended on a moving body is proportional to its mass [12], the energy

expenditure should increase by roughly the same amount. The benefit of a reduced ice friction therefore largely outweighs the cost of carrying the dditional mass. When a 90 kg hockey player saves 10% of his energy, this is roughly equivalent for him to playing with 9 kg less body mass.

[chk hrd 164]

jeez you are only about 2 years behind the last post.

With such modern technology and engineering advancement you think this product would be out selling like mad...2 years later and I still haven't seen one.