Colored blades- help!

[Skittl1321]

Okay, someone PLEASE make a decision for me!

I just got an email from the rink, and the blades I ordered in May, that Jackson told them would be at the rink last Tuesday (after having like 4 other delivery dates) are once again backordered. I've given up on the idea of Ultimas, and am ordering Paramounts.

Do I get a color or not? Right now my blades are colored with sharpies- pink- and I love them so much. However, I'm not a wonderful skater and will definetly take the color off of the blades before a test session- don't want the judges looking at those!

I also skate synchro- and I hate the idea of my blades attracting more attention to my footwork- eek! (Though my coach has said she could not careless what color anyone on the team's blades are.)

So- do colored blades attract to much attention? I'm thinking about either icy pink (which is apparently quite light) or the icy purple. Will I have to worry too much in the future about my blades matching costumes? Does it really matter at all? Ideally I want their new hot pink color- but I KNOW that one attracts too much attention, and with synchro I really don't need it.

I should probably just get plain ol chrome- right?

[Isk8NYC]

You can ask JenLyon if there are any rules against wearing light pink blades.

I would go with the icy pink. You love them already.

[Skittl1321]

I don't think there are any rules against it- I've seen the colored blades at low level competitions. The problem is whether they are going to be like gold blades on freeskaters- you expect the bravado to be backed up. Though like I said- I've seen colors at low levels, the high level skaters in these all seem to have chrome.

I guess my biggest worry is if they are going to be super noticable in synchro. There were a few teams at ISI synchro nationals that had 2 girls with gold blades and the rest in silver, and it didn't really distract, but I don't want attention drawn to my footwork- arguably the worst on the team!

But I'm glad you voted for pink. I really do want pink. I just want someone to tell me it's okay :) (And right now my blades are actually a very dark pink/purple- since they are just sharpie. For awhile they were one side green, one side pink, but the green kept wiping off. the pink stays on.) This is what they looked like while they were green- the blade plate is the pink that the entire blade is now: http://pics.livejournal.com/skittl1321/pic/00069xe5/g10

[jenlyon60]

There's no rules against pink blades!

I have black Ultima dance blades and had them before the Paramounts came out.

When I'm judging a test, I may notice off the top of my head "oh, those look different" but I'm certainly not going to let it impact my assessment of the skills/elements being tested.

[Skittl1321]

I ordered pink. Quarkiki pointed out that pink makes me very happy, and I should just order the pink already.

So now unless these blades have a ridiculous 2 month period of back order/ 'they'll be here this week'- I can stop being neurotic about getting blades and finally get them in.

Now I just have to figure out when I can get them mounted once they come in. I teach LTS Tuesday and Saturday, and have synchro on Wednesday, so all those days are just no good to not have skates... and the woman who mounts them is in a different city. Is it a while you wait sort of thing? Or a "leave the skates for 3 days"?

[Isk8NYC]

Is it a while you wait sort of thing? Or a "leave the skates for 3 days"?It depends on the person doing the mounting. I've had both experiences and I very much prefer the while-you-wait version.

At Hackensack, NJ (with four sheets of ice) there the luxury of actually TRYING THEM OUT during the mounting process. Wonderful.

[Skittl1321]

I wish I had a rink like that. Unfortunately, that won't be the case. The "pro-shop" is out of a coaches home.

Oddly enough, I'll be in hackensack for just a few minutes this weekend, to pick someone up before we drive down to Cape May for a week at the Jersey shore. No one in the family thought an ice skating vacation would be preferable (except maybe one cousin, who is 8 and a skater)

[Isk8NYC]

Well, if you get hit with an impulse, know that you must have an appointment and it takes about an hour or two for the mounting at Hackensack. Jim's very talented, though.

[Skittl1321]

Well, if you get hit with an impulse, know that you must have an appointment and it takes about an hour or two for the mounting at Hackensack. Jim's very talented, though.

Nah, no room in the luggage for skates. I already have to pack queen size sheets and towel- the rental doesn't come with linens!

On a random but funny note- I just got called back with a tracking number (yay quick!) and it turns out I called the wrong place! oops. I had looked at a few pro-shops and decided on one with a higher price but lower shipping. The place I accidentally ordered from was lower price, higher shipping- and it ended up costing me $9 more. They need to answer their phones more clearly- it wasn't until they called me back that I realized who I ordered from! Oh well, it's not much money- and it is the pro-shop that drove all the way to our rink for the local competition to demo Edea boots (with a fantastic discount, didn't let it tempt me). Guess I need to support the shops that support our rink anyway.

[Sessy]

At my rink, they have the while-you-wait option for almost anything but if you want anything done WELL, you've to leave them for a day or so so he can do them in the quiet hours at leisure and he does things MUCH better when he does them at leisure than when pressed.

With mounting though, he did a semi-permanent mounting when I dropped them off and then I tried them, we made a few adjustments, I tried htem again and he mounted them permanently while I waited. I went at a quiet hour on purpose.

[flying~camel]

One of my very good friends (who skated Silver I at ANs) has VERY HOT pink Paramount blades and they look really sharp (no pun intended) on the ice. :D

I just got new blades myself, but opted for the more conventional MK Visions because the help they will give me with spins & turns outweighs just looking cool on the ice.

[Skittl1321]

One of my very good friends (who skated Silver I at ANs) has VERY HOT pink Paramount blades and they look really sharp (no pun intended) on the ice. :D

I just got new blades myself, but opted for the more conventional MK Visions because the help they will give me with spins & turns outweighs just looking cool on the ice.

Yeah- the HOT PINK ones are gorgeous. Definetly my first choice, but I went with icy pink due to synchro concerns.

The paramounts have the 8' rocker that the two previous blades I've skated on (Mirage, Gold Seal) have- so I'm hoping the adjustment won't be too difficult. I'm spinning alright on the 8' (though I'm not entirely sure my Gold Seals have a rocker at all right now), so here's hoping I can handle the paramounts.

[RachelSk8er]

I personally don't like colored blades (with the exception of black blades on men's boots, I think that looks nice). I don't even like gold blades. I find them distracting. Normally I go for anything pink--pink cell phone, laptop, iPod, etc, so you think I'd be all for the pink blades, but they're not really my thing.

I'm surprised your synchro coach will allow colored blades--I'm used to teams being strict to the point where all skaters' boots must be taped so that the finish matches (even if, for example, you're going with tan skates and your skates are already the same color tan), and your soles must be painted black so they all match. But I've also skated USFS for large clubs my whole life.

[Skittl1321]

I skate on a synchro teams where we joke that the qualifications are thus:
1) must be able to do a mohawk (and I really can't even do them well in one direction.)
2) must be able to do backward crossovers.
3) must be willing to at least TRY to do new things

We don't wear the same hair, or makeup, usually. We always wear OTB tights because one skater has beige boots, but a few ladies didn't even wear the same tights as the coach recommends. Maybe after this coach leaves the blades will become an issue, but for now, we have other things to worry about.

I did the "can't even cut your hair without the director's approval" dance team in high school. My synchro team is more about enjoying skating and comraderie.

[BuggieMom]

My dd has the icy pink blades...at first I told her she would get the chrome since they looked TOO colorful on the website. Then I saw a pair at a skate camp and saw how subtle the coloring is. You can really tell up close, but out on the ice, the coloring is so subtle, the light has to catch them "just right" in order to really be sure that they are pink. She is a Pre-Juv skater, and I really don't think judges have a big issue with the color. We have another skater who got the icy blue ones, she had them a full week before I realized she had blue blades. She skates Intermediate.

[Skittl1321]

My dd has the icy pink blades...Then I saw a pair at a skate camp and saw how subtle the coloring is. You can really tell up close, but out on the ice, the coloring is so subtle, the light has to catch them "just right" in order to really be sure that they are pink.

YAY! That's exactly what I wanted to hear! I love my bold pink blades right now for practice, but was wanting something subtle if I'm going to test/compete/synchro in them!

I really cannot wait for these to come in! I wish I wasn't going on vacation next week. I know they are going to get here while I'm gone!

[Helen88]

Wow, you can GET coloured blades!? I want some! :lol:

[Skittl1321]

Wow, you can GET coloured blades!? I want some! :lol:

I think other than gold or black, Paramount is the only company currently offering colored blades (and they have lots of colors! http://www.paramountskates.com/ColorsandStyles.php if you watch the banner at the top it will scroll the older "icy" colors. Apparently they will do custom colors too, for a higher price.)

I currently have colored blades because I colored them with a sharpie- they look fantastic. I found that some of the sharpies would wipe off, while others do not. I need to recolor, because it's been about a month and they do get a bit scraped up, and I have a few chrome spots.

Another (expensive) option that was mentioned on the board quite a long time ago is to take your blades to a custom auto shop and have them dipped in a colored chrome.

[Mrs Redboots]

Wow, you can GET coloured blades!? I want some! :lol:
I'm not sure who stocks them in the UK, but I expect I could find out - two of the skaters at our rink have them.

Paramount blades are lighter than most blades, though, and apparently are more difficult to sharpen - my former sharpener told me he hated sharpening them, although he could if he had to.

[BuggieMom]

YAY! That's exactly what I wanted to hear!
Glad to help! When I saw them for the first time, I was like "is THAT what they look like? You can get the pink blades, no problem!". Now, the HOT pink...ummm, maybe not so subtle, but they still look totally hot to me! The Sharpie is a really cool idea...I might do that to mine!

As far as sharpening, our sharpener only had to get a new bar for the carrier to attach to, which was about a $30 cost, and he was good to go. They are a harder metal, and he has mentioned needing different stones, but he CAN use the ones he has. He has not complained about them any more than others. The sharpenings last FOREVER! I just had them sharpened yesterday, after over 2 months of skating, at 7-10 hour/wk, and that was only because I felt it was time. They were still pretty sharp.

[Sessy]

Anybody know where you can get the blades dipped in color on the european mainland Netherlands/Belgium/western Germany (nordrhein-westfahlen ish?)

[Skittl1321]

They are a harder metal, and he has mentioned needing different stones, but he CAN use the ones he has.

I got the mid-level ones which are carbon steel, not stainless steel- so I don't think I get any sharpening benefits. But a coach at the rink suggested I get them for the light weight, and to get used to the blade/toepick for when I want to spend the money to get the stainless steel ones.

[manduh]

Kind of OT but: do the colored blades chip?

[Skittl1321]

Kind of OT but: do the colored blades chip?

I know this is an old thread, but now that I've had them long enough, I can answer. Yes- they do. It's not chipped off, but where they scratch, they are silver underneath the color.

The aluminum holder will dent if you hit it with the steel blade. Paramount advertises this as a "good" feature, because you are denting the holder, not the blade you skate on (actually, not having to sharpen out nicks is a good thing).

You cannot see these scratches at all from a distance (like head to foot looking down) but they are noticeable when you inspect the blades. They probably would only have a lifetime of 2 years or so before the color is a bit uneven due to this.

[dizzyyaya87]

Please, please, please, if you care anything about your skating, do NOT purchase these blades! I bought my blades about 8 months ago. At first, they were ok, a little hard to get used to compared to other blades, but ok. Then, after about 7 months, the runner started to separate from the holder. Basically, the blade fell apart. And not just one, but both blades. I called the company and told them what happened. They immediately accused me of not wiping my blades down thoroughly after skating. I've been skating for 10 years and have been a coach for the past 4. I KNOW how to take care of my blades and I clean and dry them religiously. Now, my I can literally push the runner (the actual part you skate on) in and out of the holder because they have come apart so much. When I contacted the company again, I spoke with the president (if you could call him that). I have never been more insulted in my entire coaching/skating career.

He not only accused me of trying to get a free pair of blades, but also called me a liar and said that I was only lying to get free merchandise. He said this directly to me, after I explained that I was a coach who also skates regularly.

There is another coach at my rink and she had the same pair of blades. Her's fell apart about 2 months before mine did. You can literally push the runner of the blade in and out of it's holder. Not only is the product below par, so is the customer service. If you buy paramount blades, there will be consequences. Please, do your research!