Straighten warped steel

[krisdrum 223]

I have a set of steel that are backups to the backups and just noticed the blades don't lay flat on a tabletop.  Both are warped towards the toe enough that looking down the blade, I can clearly see them being off.  Is there any way to straighten these out?  Or are they just doomed to stay this way forever?  

[Buzz_LightBeer 962]

Within reason, most places that sharpen have a blade straightener and can flatten them out well enough. 

[Larry54 243]

Are they warped while they are in the holders, too?

[marka 519]

Howdy,

If you're handy, this isn't crazy to do yourself as well.  The blade straightener tools I've seen make it easier / faster, but some sockets and a vice let you do the same things.

Mark

[Buzz_LightBeer 962]

17 hours ago, Larry54 said:

Are they warped while they are in the holders, too?

This also, check the steel in the skates, sometimes a puck strike knocks the holders out of alignment

[Vet88 673]

On 1/11/2024 at 11:10 AM, krisdrum said:

I have a set of steel that are backups to the backups and just noticed the blades don't lay flat on a tabletop.  Both are warped towards the toe enough that looking down the blade, I can clearly see them being off.  Is there any way to straighten these out?  Or are they just doomed to stay this way forever?  

An issue that often doesn't get covered with bent steel is the sharpening. In general, when using a hand sharpener the holder will straighten the steel. Depending on the design of the holder this could happen all the way to the toe and heel or at least 90% of the blade will be straight. However with the popularity of automatic sharpeners such as Sparx and Prosharp Home and Prosharp Skatepal Pro, the blade holders in these machines are much smaller. They clamp the middle portion of the blade which allows the toe and heel to bend away. It's why a lot of shops will check the level in the middle of the blade but not at the toe or heel, they know it's bent but it just isn't worth the hassle to explain the how and why to the customer (or an employee).

I come across bent blades all the time and have built a clamp for my Skatepal Pro to hold bent blades straight as I sharpen them.

[VegasHockey 1261]

2 hours ago, Vet88 said:

An issue that often doesn't get covered with bent steel is the sharpening. In general, when using a hand sharpener the holder will straighten the steel. Depending on the design of the holder this could happen all the way to the toe and heel or at least 90% of the blade will be straight. However with the popularity of automatic sharpeners such as Sparx and Prosharp Home and Prosharp Skatepal Pro, the blade holders in these machines are much smaller. They clamp the middle portion of the blade which allows the toe and heel to bend away. It's why a lot of shops will check the level in the middle of the blade but not at the toe or heel, they know it's bent but it just isn't worth the hassle to explain the how and why to the customer (or an employee).

I come across bent blades all the time and have built a clamp for my Skatepal Pro to hold bent blades straight as I sharpen them.

That's why I use this when I sharpen

https://shop.blackstonesport.com/custom-skateworks/product/free-runner

[krisdrum 223]

Thanks all.  I should add a bit.  Blades came off a new pair of skates.  A warranty replacement, so luckily I already had additional steel I knew was good.  Was looking to add the new steel into rotation when I noticed the warp.  The holders appear to be straight and aligned.  I'll see if I can get them straightened.