Can you break a blade?

[sue123]

I know I posted before asking for some information on blades, but it seems like I might have to get them sooner htan I thought. I went to a public session with my friend today, just skating around. The ice was horrible, and I either caught a rut, or fell over a bump. There were plenty of both. The ice actually felt like gravel, I got scratches from the fall.

Anyway, I was pretty close to the wall, and my skate basically skated against the wall. After I got up, my foot felt like it was basically jumpingover the ice, more than it did before. It felt like I was skipping. I went into the center where the ice is a bit smoother, tried to do some crossovers, and it was a feeling hard to describe, like I was getting caught maybe? I sat down and looked at my blade, it looked like there was a little hairline crack from the bottom all the way up.

Is it possible for the crack to have been caused by hitting the wall? I don't have high quality blades, Ultima Mirage. And if it is cracked, could that be why I had a problem skating afterwards?

[EastonSkater]

Maybe it is cracked, but I would have expected the metal to be tougher than that. It could mean it's cracked though. And it could also mean that running your blade into the wall may have made it dull, like running a sharp knife against something hard. If your skate performance has changed, then better get the skate to the skate shop and get it checked out. Better not skate until it is checked out properly.

[stardust skies]

I've crashed into the boards plenty of times before (good times..) and I've never once broken a blade. People who break blades usually do so landing quads- and it's the big heavy guys. It seems really really unlikely that you broke or cracked it- that "hairline crack" is probably just a deep scratch, I doubt it goes all the way THROUGH your blade. What may have happened, however, is that you loosened it from its screws, or bent it a bit due to the angle at which you hit the wall. Have the aligment and screws checked out.

[sue123]

I've crashed into the boards plenty of times before (good times..) and I've never once broken a blade. People who break blades usually do so landing quads- and it's the big heavy guys. It seems really really unlikely that you broke or cracked it- that "hairline crack" is probably just a deep scratch, I doubt it goes all the way THROUGH your blade. What may have happened, however, is that you loosened it from its screws, or bent it a bit due to the angle at which you hit the wall. Have the aligment and screws checked out.

Definitly not a big heavy guy landing quads. Not even close. I will bring them to a skate shop tomorrow if I can. I just wanted other people's opinion so I'd know what to ask for.

[Rusty Blades]

I bent a blade in the wreck that took me off the ice in 1968 but it didn't crack.

[EastonSkater]

Chances are that it didn't crack, but something has physically changed on the blade, like sharpness or alignment. Although, it's not entirely impossible for the blade to be cracked if the blade was internally flawed from manufacturing.....chance is small though, but not zero.

[sue123]

Is there any way I can check myself if the alignment is off? Or if it's bent? Would it just look bent if I look at it straight on?

[EastonSkater]

Is there any way I can check myself if the alignment is off? Or if it's bent? Would it just look bent if I look at it straight on?

Maybe you can just look at the screws of the problematic skate, and also look for any signs that something has shifted, such as marks around the perimeter of the metal that the sole is sitting on....to indicate movement, or that something has slid. Turn the skate upside down, and pop a coin on across the edge to see if the coil is flat level. Out of alignment is like ... if you prang your front car tyre hard up against a curb, and your front wheel is wrenched into an angle that is different from the other front wheel. If your screws on the skate couldn't handle the impact, then it's possible that something's come loose or the blade has come out of alignment, so will need to be examined.

[luna_skater]

In 20 years of skating, I know one person who's broken a blade, and we're certain it must have been because it was defective...the skater weighed less than 100 lbs at the time, and the blade just broke on the landing of a small two-foot hop. It broke right at the joint of the heel plate. The blade was also just a few weeks old.

[russiet]

It might be a flake of chrome ready to pop off. Ultima Mirage blades are notorious for that.

Flaking chrome will not affect the performance.

Site down the blade for straightness. Using a straight edge as a reference will help. Look for twist or bow. Maybe you only have the temporary mounting screws in the slots?

[icecatepairs]

Yes it is possible to break a blade

sadly this happened to mskater 2 years ago in the 6 minute warm up of the championship masters event in eastern sectionals. we were horrified and sad for him. and he carried on tthe tradition this weekend by having 5 miscues of his music in the same event...we are all hoping for better luck in texas.


also my former coach broke a blade once i think in disney on ice in a jump...


i warped a blade on my old skates..don't know how!!!!

$480 of steel should come with the jumps built in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stardust skies]

Is there any way I can check myself if the alignment is off? Or if it's bent? Would it just look bent if I look at it straight on?

It might be ever so slightly bent that only a machine could pick it up, at at least an expert boot fitter. It shouldn't cost you a penny to have them simply *looked* at, so even if you give them the once-over, I'd take them in just to be sure anyway. I mean...something is off, right? It isn't just in your head, I assume. If something is off somewhere, then it's off, that's official, and you need to figure out what it is. So even if everyone you take the blades to tell you everything is OK, so long as you feel off, you'll have to keep looking at the blade to figure out WHAT is off. Don't just try to skate it off..make sure it gets fixed, whatever "it" is.

[jazzpants]

I've crashed into the boards plenty of times before (good times..) and I've never once broken a blade. People who break blades usually do so landing quads- and it's the big heavy guys. It seems really really unlikely that you broke or cracked it- that "hairline crack" is probably just a deep scratch, I doubt it goes all the way THROUGH your blade. What may have happened, however, is that you loosened it from its screws, or bent it a bit due to the angle at which you hit the wall. Have the aligment and screws checked out.Hey, renatale! How big and tall was your coach when he broke his blade during that competition? Okay, he was doing a triple lutz, but... :lol: (Sorry! Couldn't resist. I think of that video whenever someone mentions about breaking a blade during a jump.)

[vesperholly]

Calling mskater! :halo: :lol:

[renatele]

Hey, renatale! How big and tall was your coach when he broke his blade during that competition? Okay, he was doing a triple lutz, but... :lol: (Sorry! Couldn't resist. I think of that video whenever someone mentions about breaking a blade during a jump.)

Heh, I was wondering who'll bring it up :lol:

Well, he's a tad taller than me - so probably 5'11" or 6" if really stretched ;). I'll leave the weight-guessing game to you.

(to be fair, he told me that blade was not a mass-market blade, and wasn't really designed for triple lutzes...)

Oh, if someone has no idea what we are talking about... right-click and save (http://skating.zachariahs.com/videos/jonathon_short.mpg)