How do I get the best edge everytime

[Mgiragosian 0]

I'd like to open up conversation on good habits from members who sharpen regularly. I have had good luck with my edges on the ice, but certainly see room for improvement in the shop. I just switched to bladetech mirror ss blades, pleased after 1 skate.

A few questions I have for the pros:

1. Can I expect to have 1 setup that gives balanced edges on both skate holders?
2. If I mark the bottom of my blade, should I expect this mark to be cleared by the first past, if it does not entirely clean should I adjust?
3. After how many passes should you check the edge to notice a difference in your setup?

Thanks!

[GearNerd 3]

I've been sharpening for a number of years on at home units (Wissota 911, Sparx) and commercial machines (Blackstone and Blademaster 3-head systems), hopefully I can spread some knowledge to interested sharpeners. In response to your questions:

1. Once your jig (holder) is properly aligned to produce a square sharpening, you really shouldn't need to make any further adjustments to it. No matter the hollow, blade/skate type, or blade size a properly aligned holder should give balanced edges every time with minimal manual adjustment. That being said, you should still be checking for square edges every time you sharpen your blades (and especially if you are doing someone else's). One thing that can change the alignment of the holder is if you change the felt pad on the bottom of the jig, as this will change the height of the holder and thus require you to re-calibrate so you can sharpen properly. 

2.  Not necessarily, often times your blades will become damaged during play and will no longer be perfectly square. The first 3-4 passes when you sharpen them should be hitting the full blade, and if there is still marker on the bottom of the steel, then you'd want to look into the alignment of the holder to get back to square.

3. I have found that if I have a pair of skates come into my shop that is out of alignment, I will typically check the edges after 5-6 passes and then adjust from there as needed. One thing to keep in mind if you are having troubles like this, is to always try and do the same amount of passes on each skate, even if it means you have to take off a little bit of extra steel. Even if it is only 5-6 passes, if you are consistently off by that much, the blades will become noticeably different sized and then you have an issue.