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Tire grooving to some may seem like black magic, but it is not as bad as it sounds and one company has been helping off-road and racing DIYers do it for 75 years. Ideal Heated Knives [2] was founded in the 1940s and has provided a hand-held tire groover which is 100 percent USA-manufactured at its factory in Michigan.
“The Ideal groover is a simple solution to tire grooving whose effectiveness accounts for the groover’s decades of success in the marketplace,” John Sukenik of Ideal Heated Knives explained. “The cylinder on the pistol-grip tool delivers very high heat to a solid brass head inserted in its end.”
“The cutting blade is mounted on the brass head, which rapidly heats the blade,” Sukenik continued. “The depth of the cut is controlled by adjusting the position of the blade. The brass heads and razor-sharp blades are available in nine different widths. The blades also come in five different strengths and a variety of tip shapes.”
It is known in the marketplace both as “The Ideal Tire Groover” and “The Ideal Heated Knife,” but the affordability of the product may be its most striking feature. A complete Ideal groover starter kit, which includes the electric tool, the most popular brass head, and 12 blades, can be purchased on the web for well under $100.
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As the name suggests the Ideal Groover is a product for the guy who works on their own tires to race teams. The groover allows new grooves to be made and the ability to modify existing ones while also being used for siping simply by mounting the blade upside down.
Stay tuned for a hands-on lesson in tire grooving when we get our hands on the tool. For more information on Ideal Heated Knives, be sure to visit its website [2].