Which Blades?

[Purpuddled]

We are considering a switch in blades. The current blade is a gold seal. We are thinking about a pattern 99 or an Ultima. Will the straight toepick be better or worse than a cross cut one? What about the parallel edge vs the honed edge? What is a parabolic blade? Do you need or want a K-pick?

Now you know why I am purpuddled (purplexed and befuddled). :??

[Elsy2]

I guess it's just you and me on this forum today!

Most skaters I know on Gold Seals love them and would not switch. One guy at our rink was telling me he loved his Ultimas because he routinely bends blades, and they seemed to hold up better. But, his coaches persuaded him to go back to Gold Seals.

None of our top skaters have gone with K-picks. Pattern 99 remains popular with some. I'm not sure, but I think the tail may be shorter on Pattern 99, and that could be an adjustment. Check that out before you decide.

That's all I know. I don't have personal experience for you, as I'm just an adult skater. My daughter switched to Ultima and does fine with them. But I think she could adjust to any blade, that's just the way she is.

[MQSeries]

I've been using Pattern 99 K-Pick for years. Honestly I can't tell you if the K-pick made any differences in my jumps or not. They're not any better or worst than when I was using a non K-pick. I also don't see the elite skaters at my rink using K-pick either. Plus if K-pick was really successful at helping skaters with their jumps, then you would see more skaters on TV using them but I haven't seen it at all.

[fadedstardust]

Gold Seal is unarguably (by most) the best blade in the world. The problem is many people use it even though they don't need it. Unless you're doing triples, you probably don't need it- there is such a thing as buying TOO good a blade. Pattern 99 is amazing, and useful for a versatile range of levels, although it's typically reccomended for axel/double jumps and up.

K-pick was made by a coach who tried to fix his student's bad habit of "slipping" when he picked on a triple toe loop, which means his technique was wrong, and the coach tried to fix it with hardware rather than fixing the problem. He reasoned that if there were more picks, he wouldn't slip. People were landing triples and quads before k-pick, and it doesn't do anything you shouldn't be able to do on your own- IMO. And again, unless you're struggling with triples, you really shouldn't need it. And even if you are struggling with triples, that's something you can fix on your own. K-picks are looked down upon where I skate, but it's different everywhere. I personally think it could lead to bad habits, but I've never used it so it's just speculation.

Straight cut picks are hard to get accustomed to when you've had cross-cut, you'll probably miss the top pick for a little while, but you get used to it, and there are advantages to straight-cut picks- like more precise picking and more momentum (IMO). Depends what you are working on, and what you like. I love my pattern 99, but, you should also keep in mind that Gold Seal has a certain rocker (7 I believe) so if you change rocker size (pattern 99, for example, is a 7 1/2) then it will take quite a bit to adjust to. The larger the rocker, the flatter the blade. Flatter the blade, the less curve you get. So if you have a bad habit of curving, a flatter rocker can help. It does however make it slightly harder to spin.

I've heard nothing but bad things about Ultima. Depending on what you are working on, again, I'd consider keeping Gold Seals, trying Gold Stars, trying Pattern 99, or Phantoms. Those are the best blades out there. I'm against k-pick so I won't reccomend it. I've heard nothing about parabolic, I just know I'm a believer in "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and I've heard they're much harder to sharpen so that may be a deciding factor in what you choose, also. What parabolic is supposed to do is deliver crisper edges and turns, it's designed to help with fast footwork, and spins. No proof on whether they do or not. They are characterized by the fact that they taper in the center, which you would imagine WOULD make them harder to sharpen. My logic is that if either K-pick or parabolic were indispensable add-ons for today's skating, we'd know about it by now. Good luck!

[luna_skater]

I've heard nothing but bad things about Ultima.

I'm curious exactly what you've heard? I've heard nothing but good things about Ultima, and I have personally loved both sets of Ultima synchro blades I have gone through.

[jp1andOnly]

my brotehr bent his pattern 99's numerous times and switched to ultimas. He loved them

[NCSkater02]

Bearing in mind I skate Pre-Bronze--I have Ultimas and have had no problems with them. They don't take much abuse at my level, though.

[Elsy2]

Most of the complaints I've heard about Ultima have been the chrome chipping, which doesn't look the best, but doesn't affect the function of the blades. My daughter has had new Ultimas for a month, and so far no chipping this time around.

I want to clarify that both Pattern 99 and Gold Seal are 8' rocker. Gold Seal is cross cut and tapered. Pattern 99 is straight cut. The tapering of the Gold Seal is supposed to give extra bite on edges. Gold Stars and Phantoms are 7' rocker. Ultimas used to be 7 1/2' rocker, but when Jackson took them over they switched to 8' rocker.

[luna_skater]

Most of the complaints I've heard about Ultima have been the chrome chipping, which doesn't look the best, but doesn't affect the function of the blades. My daughter has had new Ultimas for a month, and so far no chipping this time around.

I want to clarify that both Pattern 99 and Gold Seal are 8' rocker. Gold Seal is cross cut and tapered. Pattern 99 is straight cut. The tapering of the Gold Seal is supposed to give extra bite on edges. Gold Stars and Phantoms are 7' rocker. Ultimas used to be 7 1/2' rocker, but when Jackson took them over they switched to 8' rocker.

When I first bought my Ultimas four years ago, my blade mounter did warn me about the chrome chipping; however, I never had any problems. I was under the impression that was one bad batch of blades. As well, I spoke to the Jackson rep just before I bought my new blades just a few months ago, and she explained to me that they are making the blades differently now that the factory is in Canada, and the chrome chipping is not a problem at all.

I also thought Ultima blades always had an 8' rocker. I know both pairs of my synchro blades have been an 8'.

[Elsy2]

I was first attracted to Ultima Freestyle blades because they were 7 1/2' rocker.... We were switching from a 7' rocker, and didn't want a huge adjustment. 7 1/2 seemed like a good solution. I'm thinking our original purchase was between 3 and 4 years ago.

[fadedstardust]

I'm curious exactly what you've heard? I've heard nothing but good things about Ultima, and I have personally loved both sets of Ultima synchro blades I have gone through.

I've definitely heard of the chrome chipping off- which yeah, isn't a big deal, but for that much money I don't want my blades looking like they've been to hell and back after 3 weeks. I've heard that the toe-pick is too large and that's bothered some of the people I know who've worn them (same deal with Phantoms, actually). In general, about 6 people I've spoken to do not like Ultimas at ALL, just the feel of them, and the two pro-shops I skate at tell me they try to dissuade skaters from buying them because they have had a lot of unsatisfied customers. I've never tried them, so I can't say. Just what I heard, and since these blades are fairly new, I figure it's good to hear both sides of the story before choosing. If you're going from Gold Seals which are approved by pretty much everyone and anyone accross the board as the best blade in the world to Ultimas which are pretty new, and less known, it's only fair to hear what percentage of people like them and don't.

To the person who said her brother bent her pattern 99...yeah, from what I hear, they bend/break easier...I know this isn't a problem for girls (so I'm not too concerned) but I guess if you are a more muscular man it might be something to take into consideration. Although I know Kurt Browning landed the first quad ever in comp (or in practice..? I think it's in comp) on pattern 99 and he wasn't the smallest of the bunch, yet the blades seemed to hold just fine.

As far as rocker- to my great shock, both pattern 99 and gold seal ARE 8 inches, so forget what I said about adjustement between those two. You would have to adjust if you picked Gold Stars or Phantoms, though. All this time I thought I had a 7.5 inch rocker...hah, good to know. Thanks for pointing it out, Elsy2!!

[Isk8NYC]

I've switched back-and-forth between Gold Seals and Pattern 99's, but I have to say the Gold Seals are my favorites. I found that, on the Patt99's, I had trouble centering spins, I rocked off the heel constantly, and my footwork was worse than usual. Disclaimer: changing blades takes time, but I used the Patt 99's for over a year before I switched back to Gold Seals. My skating is much stronger and better now.

One really important note about changing blades
DO NOT LET THE PRO SHOP REUSE THE HOLES !!!
HAVE THEM PLUG THE HOLES AND ATTACH THE BLADES FROM SCRATCH !!!

On my last changeover, I let the Pro Shop guy attach the blades. He reused the holes and warped the blade. You could actually see the bend in the blade at the instep. It made edges really difficult.

PS - Both pairs of my daughter's Jackson Freestyle skates have had a problem with the chrome peeling off. It doesn't affect the blade use, but it looks awful and cheap. On her last pair, they replaced the blades twice before sending a different blade entirely. This time, I told her to just forget it and I'll buy her separate boots and blades when she needs them.

[Integrity]

I'm curious exactly what you've heard? I've heard nothing but good things about Ultima, and I have personally loved both sets of Ultima synchro blades I have gone through.
My skate salesman also talked me out of buying Ultimas. He claimed that the blades were more difficult to give a decent edge to when sharpening than other blades. However, this was a few years back and prior to the takeover by ?Jackson?.

[luna_skater]

I find the comments about Ultima very interesting, and wonder if maybe they just seemed to hit the mark with the dance and synchro blades, but don't have as good a quality freeskate blade. Every synchro skater I know that has the Ultima synchro blade loves them to death and wouldn't trade them for anything. And I also know many people who are extremely happy with their Ultima dance blades. Interesting that it seems there is so much distaste for their freeskate blades....especially since they have been worn by top skaters: S/P, Elvis, Yagudin, to name a couple...

[dbny]

I just know I'm a believer in "if it ain't broke don't fix it"

I am too, and so my question for Purpuddled, is "Why are you considering a change?"

One more difference between Gold Seals and Pattern 99s is that the Patterns are not as high as the Gold Seals, so the boots are closer to the ice.

[Purpuddled]

I'm working on triples. I was doing reallly well on my old Gold Seals but when I got new ones (because the old ones were worn out), started having trouble getting all the way "up" to rock off the toepick. I also do a skid axle and with the new blades started missing my toepick. I have been told that the 99 is a "flater" blade and was wondering if it might be closer to the well-worn gold seals.

[4rkidz]

I agree with the past poster... the current and used pattern 99 are very similar to the 'old' gold seals - which is why you see a lot of the top skates using pattern 99 now. Sometimes new isn't necessarily better.. if the majority use pattern 99 must be for a reason... especially for those who are working on doubles and triples..