Should I get my blade readjusted?

[jazzpants]

The right side blade is slightly off... I could do a forward glide, but it tends to move slightly to the left if I just let it go. But w/some effort, I can force it to go straight down the line.

The reason why I'm concerned is that I can't do good scratch spins anymore... I feel myself falling on the inside edge a lot. But it could also be b/c my new boots too...or even more likely, just me! :P

I'm tempted to get Phil from Harlick to do a slight readjustment. I really want the blade to be just perfect, but I can definitely live with what I have. Plus, I'm afraid that I might end up screwing up the right boot too.

Any thoughts on this? Should I just leave it alone, or go ahead and get an adjustment on the blade alignment?

[LittleBitSk8er]

I would give Phil from Harlick a call talk it over and talk with your coach. Hope it all works out for you.
Good luck and let us know how it turned out and what the problem was boot/blade.
:)

[TashaKat]

If you're going off line when you're just doing a simple, relaxed push then it's probably worth getting it looked at and especially if your spin has gone off and you feel like you're falling in.

When I was starting out I struggled for ages with mohawks. I could do them on one foot but not the other. THANKFULLY a skate guy who knew what he was talking about (now retired) called me over and moved my blade slightly. I was adamant that it was me that was rubbish .... until I got back on and VOILA mohawk :D

I know that some people can skate on anything, I'm not one of them, I've very susceptible to the blade not being quite right.

[Isk8NYC]

Boots and blades are THE most important pieces of equipment in this sport. By all means, get the alignment checked. Before you take them in, wear them and make notes. If you know the right skate is "off", put a sticker on it so you remember. Write down on paper (or my personal fav: my left hand) what's bugging you. I always seem to forget which foot when I describe the problem to the adjuster.

At the old Sky Rink, the Pro Shop staff would adjust the blades off-ice, then make you skate on the rink for a few minutes to verify the adjustments. It was very convenient and I never needed a second adjustment. Of course, I was in better shape then, too. :roll:

[Elsy2]

I'm voting yes.....get it checked and adjusted. Sometimes the smallest of adjustments can make a big difference. Having the blade off can put pressure on your feet and ankles that can cause pain and problems. I had bones in my feet enlarge due to pressure from slight pronation. The last time I got new blades, I had the right one moved 3 or 4 times before I thought it was correct. My backspin returned just in time for the Bronze test.....whew!

[backspin]

if your blade is off, the new boot will twist as it breaks in to compensate for the misalignment. Get it fixed!!!

[AstarZ41]

I've been wondering about this too...I sort of *suspect* my left blade might be leaning a bit too far to the inside. I haven't really done the straight line test but I will next time I'm on the ice. If there is something, it must be pretty slight.

But my question is.....there's glue underneath my blades along with the screws. Can that still be easy to re-align?

[jazzpants]

WOW!!! 8O Thanks for the response!!! :D

Well, I talked to the skate technician and he said I should talk to my coach first about it. He thinks adjusting the blade probably won't help and may cause problems with ankles and foot in the long run if he did do it. Now... if my coach says I need to get the blade aligned, THEN he would be more than happy to do it.

The skate guy also said that the one foot glide is not necessarily the best method of determining whether or not the blade alignment is off b/c your body/hip alignment may also be slightly off and you can adjust that thru raising the free hip. The skate technician made an assumption that since I'm a pre-Bronze level skater that I probably haven't done one foot glide since alpha. (In this case, he's wrong. I did one foot glides on my old black boots a month ago and I couldn't do them quite right until the end of the session. And I had another lesson a few months before that and managed a good one, but it was on my old PURPLE boots!)

So... until I show off a decent enough one foot glide (to my secondary coach's eye) and I still swerve to the left on my right foot, it's probably best to leave things well enough alone for now. Besides, my one foot spins were a bit better last night. (Even managed a REAL scratch spin!) :mrgreen: I suspect though that, more than likely, I'll just get the blade permanent mounted so I could finally get back to doing some jumps too! (But I'll let my coach determine that!!!) :P