Figure blades?

[icedancer2]

I'm wondering about figure blades -- I have been doing some figures, recently passing my Adult Bronze figures and now starting on the Silver test. This test includes a lot of 3s (kind of a combination of 2nd and 4th-5th test figures -- change 3s, etc.) and am wondering if I need to get figure blades. I'm currently doing everything (dance, moves and figures) in the MK dance blade (very thin, short blade with short rocker) and am thinking that these won't be appropriate for these figures.

What are you guys who are doing figures using?

I am planning on getting new boots this winter and want to get a new dance blade (I think), so I was thinking about putting a figure blade on my old (current) boots and using those for figures (the boots are pretty soft and I think will be fine for figures. I noticed that phillyskater has a Coronation Ace that is just my size for sale on ebay -- would these be appropriate? The price is certainly right!!

I skated on Coronation Aces as a kid and also when I came back as an adult -- I always liked them, but then again, as a kid, I never really paid that much attention to the blade!

Thanks for your responses.

[Figureskates]

I have a pair of slightly used patch blades I picked up at Lake Placid. They have next to no toepick and they are sure a change from my freestyle blades. As a surrogate for patch blades, I used a pair of Coronation Comets which have a 8 foot rocker and I had them sharpened like patch blades.

I think new patch blades are hard to find since hardly anyone does figures any more.

[IceDoctor]

Hey

I used and loved my gold test patch blades...I don't know if you can still buy them, but they are great!

[mikawendy]

I think that the book that Bob Ogilvie wrote for parents about competitive figure skating talks about figures blades--such as how the sharpener would set the hollow so that they're ideal for figures. I'll check my copy of the book at home if I can remember.

If you can't get an actual pair of figures blades, you could perhaps take an old pair of dance or freestyle blades and have the hollow changed (?and perhaps the pick reduced). You might check around with skate shops to see if any skate pros have experience sharpening blades for figures

[blades]

8-)

back in the old days (not that i'm old enough to have experienced this myself...being sooooo young and all :roll:...) freestyle blades and boots were used the following year for figures...sometimes the first toepick was ground back a bit and the blades were sharpened with a much lighter hollow in the grind...

one almost never used new boots for figures...sometimes one would use new blades (usually a wide blade with a good rocker)...but would have them sharpened with the less intense figure grind...

[dooobedooo]

I'm wondering about figure blades -- I have been doing some figures ... I noticed that phillyskater has a Coronation Ace that is just my size for sale on ebay -- would these be appropriate? ...

Coronation Ace is a free-skating blade, for spins, jumps, programs. Just as free-skating is sometimes termed figure-skating, so these might be called a figure blade.

But they are emphatically NOT a figures blade (with an s).

I skated figures on a blade called Pattern 88 (John Wilson). This blade was absolute top quality, with a blade which you could unscrew from the housing, to send just the blade off to the manufacturers for sharpening, but leaving the housing attached to the boot.

It is quite a flat blade, with a tiny toe rake, unlike eg. Coronation Ace, which has a curvy rocker for spins, and a big toe pick for toe jumps. It is also sharpened very flat, with almost no concave curvature in cross-section, the idea being that you have to use the edge properly.

The quality of the blade means that you can glide for ever, which you need for advanced figures like one-foot eights. Because there is a very large radius of hollow on the blade (ie. sharpened flat without concave curvature), you make very clean edges, and the objective of figures was to cut surgically clean and accurate lines on the ice. "Flats" were a total sin, and identified by a tramline double tracing.

I attached my figureS-WITH-an-S blades to an old pair of figure-WITHOUT-an-S (ie. free-skating) boots that had softened up.

You can probably, if you search around , find a skate supplier who is still bravely carrying some old dusty stock of Pattern 88s and will let you have them cheap (figures were dropped from the regular schedule about 10 years ago).

Have fun! I loved figures ..... :cry:

PS. I just re-read your post and note that you are currently skating on dance blades. I think you owe it to yourself to buy figure blades (without an s) before figures blades (with an s), if you are interested in spinning and jumping. If you can only afford one other set of boots/blades, you can continue using your dance blades for figures for a while.

[Beccapoo2003]

Great subject! I too am looking for a figure blade, size around 9 1/2 to 9 3/4, if anyone has to sell. I am discovering that figures are definitely challenging and fun! They also teach you how to keep still, find and hold your edges, check properly and effectively, push efficiently (sp?), strengthen your core, etc. Too bad figures are expensive for the rink. I wish there were more competitions like the Mountain Cup that would hold figure events. These ole' joints aren't gonna be able to withstand high impact skating forever! ;)
Becca, (who is finally getting back on the ice this week after cracked hip injury from skating) :roll:

[Figureskates]

Becca I am with you on that one.

My frame cannot take the jolts of jumps very well anymore so I am getting more and more into figures.

There seemed to be more interest in figures that is past summer at the Augusts Adult week at Lake Placid. They are talking about having organized patch lessons next summer.

Now if we can get figures into Adult Nats, we "oldsters" may have something over the "youngins"

[icedancer2]

PS. I just re-read your post and note that you are currently skating on dance blades. I think you owe it to yourself to buy figure blades (without an s) before figures blades (with an s), if you are interested in spinning and jumping. If you can only afford one other set of boots/blades, you can continue using your dance blades for figures for a while.

My post must not have been very clear -- I currently skate on dance blades and have been doing figures in them. I want to get new boots with new dance blades for dance and Moves (I don't do any freestyle at all) because I don't really like my current MK dance blade.

So I want to take my old boots (which I am currently wearing) and put another blade on them so that I can do figures. I remember that when I was a kid people would use last year's skates and blades (like "blade" mentioned in his post) and just have them sharpened for figures (small ROH, blunt the first toe-pick, etc.).

It is quite a flat blade, with a tiny toe rake, unlike eg. Coronation Ace, which has a curvy rocker for spins, and a big toe pick for toe jumps. It is also sharpened very flat, with almost no concave curvature in cross-section, the idea being that you have to use the edge properly.

The quality of the blade means that you can glide for ever, which you need for advanced figures like one-foot eights. Because there is a very large radius of hollow on the blade (ie. sharpened flat without concave curvature), you make very clean edges, and the objective of figures was to cut surgically clean and accurate lines on the ice. "Flats" were a total sin, and identified by a tramline double tracing.


This is kind of the information that I was looking for -- should I get a blade with an 8' radius rather than a 7' (which the Coronation Ace and my current MK dance has)? I think that you are right that a flatter blade would make cleaner edges. The problem with the MK dance blade is that it is thinner than a "normal blade" -- turns are very clean but it is hard to stay on an edge in figures because the thinness makes it too easy to go to a flat.

Anyway, thanks for the help. I will look around for some figure blades (that's figureS with a large S!). I know there are people in my area who know how to sharpen and alter a blade for figures. I am not the only one who is interested and doing them, thank god! I just needed some names of figure blades so that I could have the correct information when I start the actual shopping process!!

[CanAmSk8ter]

If you can't find figure blades, an Ace or Comet with the profile redone and the bottom pick ground off would probably work. I was on my First Test when I had to stop doing patch b/c none of the rinks were offering it anymore (and I was so disappointed ;) ) and that's what I was using except I think the blades were an MK Single Star.

Interestingly, after six or seven years of not doing patch, I took some basic figure classes at Adult Week in Lake Placid and the coach immediately had me start on 3rd and 4th Test figures, I forget which ones exactly- maybe double threes? I would love to do patch (there's actually a rink near me where patches can be done during the 6am freestyle and as long as you start at the far end of the rink you have right-of-way for the first 45 minutes) but I just don't have money for the ice time to do everything anymore.

The bad news is, an actual patch blade may be hard to find. The good news is that if you can find one it'll probably be pretty cheap!

[doubletoe]

This is kind of the information that I was looking for -- should I get a blade with an 8' radius rather than a 7' (which the Coronation Ace and my current MK dance has)? I think that you are right that a flatter blade would make cleaner edges. The problem with the MK dance blade is that it is thinner than a "normal blade" -- turns are very clean but it is hard to stay on an edge in figures because the thinness makes it too easy to go to a flat.

Anyway, thanks for the help. I will look around for some figure blades (that's figureS with a large S!). I know there are people in my area who know how to sharpen and alter a blade for figures. I am not the only one who is interested and doing them, thank god! I just needed some names of figure blades so that I could have the correct information when I start the actual shopping process!!

This should give you some of the information you're looking for:
http://www.pro-filer.com/html/education.htm

[icedancer2]

This should give you some of the information you're looking for:
http://www.pro-filer.com/html/education.htm

Thanks -- this is great -- I have seen these types of lists before but I can never find them when I need them!!

I just went onto ebay and found a pair of Wilson IPSA dance blades in my size -- really really cheap!! Maybe I'll get those too -- I seem to remember that these are really nice blades!

(icedancer2, blade-obsessed, with only a month to go before Nationals come to her town!!)

[blue111moon]

I still do figures, and I just checked my blades. They're MK Silver Test from way back in the mid '80s. The boots are similar vintage former freestyle boots, probably Riedell Silver, if they're the first pair of Ridell's I bought. They've been stretched a million times and have NO support but for patch, they're perfect.

[icedancer2]

I skated figures on a blade called Pattern 88 (John Wilson). This blade was absolute top quality, with a blade which you could unscrew from the housing, to send just the blade off to the manufacturers for sharpening, but leaving the housing attached to the boot.

It is quite a flat blade, with a tiny toe rake, unlike eg. Coronation Ace, which has a curvy rocker for spins, and a big toe pick for toe jumps. It is also sharpened very flat, with almost no concave curvature in cross-section, the idea being that you have to use the edge properly.

The quality of the blade means that you can glide for ever, which you need for advanced figures like one-foot eights. Because there is a very large radius of hollow on the blade (ie. sharpened flat without concave curvature), you make very clean edges, and the objective of figures was to cut surgically clean and accurate lines on the ice. "Flats" were a total sin, and identified by a tramline double tracing.



I noticed on the blade list (see previous post(s) that this blade has a 7' rocker, whereas the other figure blades have an 8' rocker -- did you flatten them even more, did they get flatter by just sharpening them a lot, or was the machine-rocker at 7' the right one?

If anyone has a 10 1/4 figure blade for sale I would gladly be interested!!

Yea figures!

the obsessed icedancer2.

[saras]

http://www.kustomedge.com/htdocs/clearance_blades.htm

the above site has some new patch blades for super cheap. I ordered mine about a year ago - and while the site is a little worrisome b/c they don't reply to emails or phone calls etc., in my case - I decided it was worth a $37 gamble for new unused patch blades in my size, and they arrived safe and sound.

I have some blades that I used back in 1981 that are too small for my adult feet :) If anyone needs a 9 2/3 blade, let me know! It's a Strauss blade, I adored it as a patch blade, and for sentimental reasons I've been hanging on to it but that's just a wee bit silly. (sara.schley@gmail.com)

The key difference in patch blade sharpening is the lack of lower toe picks, and more importantly - the hollow. I think my freestyle blades have a 5/8 inch hollow, and my patch blades a 1 and 1/2 inch radius of hollow? Don't quote me on that - I'm going from memory. It's a hugely different radius of hollow.

I passed my 2nd figures test back in 1981, and just passed my Silver Figures test (the BO 8 from the 1st figures test; a BI 8, back serpentine, and a 3 from the 2nd test; and a change 3 from the 3rd figures test. I started working on my 3rd figures test a few weeks ago - for about one day I toyed with doing the Gold instead, but the 3rd is a much more natural progression (it builds on the Silver/2nd). Since I took the 2nd a long time ago, I can :)

I SO wish competing in figures were more of a reality - Sara

[icedancer2]

http://www.kustomedge.com/htdocs/clearance_blades.htm


I passed my 2nd figures test back in 1981, and just passed my Silver Figures test (the BO 8 from the 1st figures test; a BI 8, back serpentine, and a 3 from the 2nd test; and a change 3 from the 3rd figures test. I started working on my 3rd figures test a few weeks ago - for about one day I toyed with doing the Gold instead, but the 3rd is a much more natural progression (it builds on the Silver/2nd). Since I took the 2nd a long time ago, I can :)

I SO wish competing in figures were more of a reality - Sara

Thanks for the link, saras -- I don't have time to look at it now but will later.

It's interesting that you saw this as a natural progression. I passed my 1st figure test in 1965(!) and could never get my 2nd ready to test even though I worked on it for three years as a teen! So I decided to start with the Adult Bronze just to get into it, and now am working on the Silver. From there I think my natural progression would be to work on the 2nd figure test, since I never passed it back then and it would be a major goal. I don't see myself as going on too far in figures, but hey, you never know!

[saras]

Ebay has a few pairs of Silver Test figure blades right now - cheap! Sara

[icedancer2]

Hmm -- I looked and saw one pair -- too small -- I will keep trying though! I noticed that the site you listed earlier in this thread had a pair of Silver Test size 10 -- I bet that would work for me -- my current dance blades are 10 1/4, but I'm used to the shorter length, so -- it would just be the rocker that might not be in the extra right place...

icedancer2, still obsessing about figure blades...

[manleywoman]

I do figures, and am on my 3rd test. I skate in MK Silver Test blades that I bought new from Cyclone Taylor in Canada about three years ago . . . for $20US! They had a ton of them because they had ordered a new shipment back in the early 1990s right before figures were abolished, and they were happy to get rid of them. I think Rainbo has some too that they'll sell for cheap. Ask around to your local shops.

I also mounted mine on some old broken-down freestyle boots. Works great.

Good luck!

[saras]

Thanks for the link, saras -- I don't have time to look at it now but will later.

It's interesting that you saw this as a natural progression. I passed my 1st figure test in 1965(!) and could never get my 2nd ready to test even though I worked on it for three years as a teen! So I decided to start with the Adult Bronze just to get into it, and now am working on the Silver. From there I think my natural progression would be to work on the 2nd figure test, since I never passed it back then and it would be a major goal. I don't see myself as going on too far in figures, but hey, you never know!

I saw the Bronze and Silver as a way to get back (or close) to my former 2nd test level. So doing Silver, then 2nd, would be really good I think. The 2nd test is really an expansion of most of Silver - doing the alternate sides etc. WHich is not a bad thing to do in general just b/c I found it really odd the first week post passing the Silver - I had obsessed about doing my "good" side of things for the test, which just made them really close to pristine, and the bad side had not improved at all!

Oddly - for me the BO 8 was the biggest bugger. It should be the easiest figure on the test....

-- Sara

[icedancer2]

I saw the Bronze and Silver as a way to get back (or close) to my former 2nd test level. So doing Silver, then 2nd, would be really good I think. The 2nd test is really an expansion of most of Silver - doing the alternate sides etc. WHich is not a bad thing to do in general just b/c I found it really odd the first week post passing the Silver - I had obsessed about doing my "good" side of things for the test, which just made them really close to pristine, and the bad side had not improved at all!

Oddly - for me the BO 8 was the biggest bugger. It should be the easiest figure on the test....


Congratulations on passing the Silver test, by the way!! I am just starting it and picking out which of the 3s are easiest so I can get through the test -- but I know that when I have to go to the 2nd test I'll have to have all of the threes and that will be interesting!! So I know what you are going through because on the 3rd test you have all of those threes (plus double threes and loops, oh my!).

Yes, that BO 8 is a bugger -- plus I think it's funny that now I think the BI 8 is so much easier (and so much easier than I though it was when I was 14! What is up with that???

So which change 3s did you do? I'm thinking LFIO-RBOI is going to be the easiest for me and I think that's a 5th test figure!! (HA!)

...the obsession continues...

[icedancer2]

I do figures, and am on my 3rd test. I skate in MK Silver Test blades that I bought new from Cyclone Taylor in Canada about three years ago . . . for $20US! They had a ton of them because they had ordered a new shipment back in the early 1990s right before figures were abolished, and they were happy to get rid of them. I think Rainbo has some too that they'll sell for cheap. Ask around to your local shops.

I also mounted mine on some old broken-down freestyle boots. Works great.
Good luck!

Thanks -- I was hoping you'd respond manleywoman -- Ii will look into those blades -- sounds like the right one for me and definitely the right price!! :)

[daisies]

I did figures up until last July, when I finally passed my 8th. (Sorry to repeat this to those of you who already knew it, but, hey, it's a big deal! LOL!!!) I used MK Gold Test blades that were sharpened at 1 1/2-inch. (As comparison, like Sara, my FS blades are 5/8.) Silver Test blades are just as good. Like others have said, the keys are lack of toepick and sharpening. I'm not sure the width of the blade is as important.

It's so nice to read that all these people are doing figures!

Now if we can get figures into Adult Nats, we "oldsters" may have something over the "youngins"

Well, there were figure events at AN, from 1995 through 2000. They were eliminated after that due to the time they take up and the cost of the ice. :(

[Mrs Redboots]

Just a reminder that there are still Figures classes, at every level, at the Mountain Cup - so those of you who long to compete Figures know where to come!

[Figureskates]

Well, there were figure events at AN, from 1995 through 2000. They were eliminated after that due to the time they take up and the cost of the ice. :(

Well, what else is new. I always seem to becoming up days late and a dollar short. Now in my next lifetime, I plan..........

[saras]

So which change 3s did you do? I'm thinking LFIO-RBOI is going to be the easiest for me and I think that's a 5th test figure!! (HA!)


lessee - for the change 3, I picked the RFOI-LBOI . For the 3, I waffled between the RFI - LBO and the RFO - LBI. I think I did the RFO/LBI on the test - none of my threes were terribly clean heading into the test (F were usually, B rarely), but my apparently tracing efforts outweighed the variety of 3s execution (I think I gave them some flats, some changes, and some clean 3s....). For ME I'm still patching with a not-yet-healed case of patellar tendonitis (jumper's knee...too many axels) - so most of my right-legged threes were way better than my left legged ones.

I can't remember which test the LFIO-RBOI is on - I'll have to look!

[saras]

I did figures up until last July, when I finally passed my 8th. (Sorry to repeat this to those of you who already knew it, but, hey, it's a big deal! LOL!!!) I used MK Gold Test blades that were sharpened at 1 1/2-inch. (As comparison, like Sara, my FS blades are 5/8.) Silver Test blades are just as good. Like others have said, the keys are lack of toepick and sharpening. I'm not sure the width of the blade is as important.
:(

Julie - tell me more if you know about the functional difference between Gold Test and Silver Test blades? I was thinking of trying to upgrade to Gold Test blades - just because!

it IS a big deal to have passed the 8th!
Sara

[daisies]

Julie - tell me more if you know about the functional difference between Gold Test and Silver Test blades?
Honestly, I don't know for sure, but I don't think there is a functional difference between the two. According to some postings on the web, both had a 7-inch radius, but Gold Test came with a 1-inch hollow and Silver Test came with a 1 1/2-inch hollow. IIRC, though, I think the Gold Test blade is a heavier blade.

it IS a big deal to have passed the 8th!
Thanks! Sometimes I still can't believe I did it. I keep stalking the USFS site waiting for it to be posted under Tests Passed. I passed it on 7/22/04, but it didn't get processed till August ... so my stalking should end soon! LOL!!!