Narrow Shape Cross-Section
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Narrow Shape Cross-Section - known by the acronym NSX is a patented design for an ice skating blade whose blade tube cross-sectional dimensions vary throughout the tube length.
Designed by Dutch Design Engineer Diederik Hol at Mogema, the NSX ice speedskate was devised to eliminate the traditional need for pre-bending of blades to handle left turns thanks to a Narrow Shape Cross-Section extrusion of the blade tube.
Traditionally, the blade of an ice speedskate has been attached to an intentionally rigid blade tube. The blade itself has a machined radius, controlling the amount of blade contacting the ice longitudinally, and a transverse bend that the experienced mechanic installs by hand to give the blade a left-turning bias. This bend is fixed, and although it distorts somewhat when the skater applies pressure through the turns, remains bent in a leftward curve during straightline skating.
Essentially, the NSX ice speedskate provides the skater with a straight blade when skating in a straight line, and a bent blade for skating turns – without the need for any permanent bend being applied to the blade. The NSX is designed to provide an adaptive radius that responds to the forces generated by the skating style of any individual in any situation.
The Narrow Shape Cross-Section design enables forces applied to the extruded alloy blade tube during skating to actively bend the affixed blade when skating through the turns, temporarily causing the blade to take on a radius that improves grip and steering by optimizing the turn-inducing contact between the blade and the ice surface. The cross-sectional dimensions vary throughout the tube length, causing the forces applied during turning to optimally curve the blade.
