New Blades: Alignment?

[Skittl1321]

So the "getting new blades" tribulations have finally ended as I now have new blades that are on my skates.

I tried them out today- only for 15 minutes, as I was incredibly dizzy and wanted to get home- and the results were not disasterous. I can do all my forward 3 turns. I have rudimentary crossovers in both directions. Every stroke is labored, but I remember it being that way when I switched to gold seals. I don't remember how long it took to get back to 'effortless'. Because of the dizzy I didn't try to jump or spin, but I no longer have mohawks. Hopefully they come back soon!

So here's my question: How do I know if they are the right place on the boot? When trying to skate straight I was able to skate in a straight line fairly well, without looking. But if I looked at my foot, it really looked like I should have been on an inside edge, I'd over compensate to get my foot looking flat and end up on an outside edge. Doing alternating edges on the line (pre-pre moves) were fine, if a bit labored because I'm not used to the glide of the blade (see stroking..) Is the moral to this story to stop looking at my feet? I also noticed one of the blade plates hangs over on the inside edge of one of the boots- just a bit, maybe 1/8" - is that okay? Or will it mess up lunges or something?

[aussieskater]

The preliminary test I was taught for blade alignment involves a friend and a quiet session. The idea is that you skate forward on two feet, then close your eyes, then lift one foot up and see what tracing the other one leaves. The idea of closing your eyes is to stop you aiming at a particular place to maintain a straight line. If you can maintain a pretty straight line with no "forcing" of the ankle / knee / hip, then your weight is probably reasonably centred over the blade, and it then becomes a matter of whether you can hold your edges with that alignment.

Re blades hanging over the inside edge - I gather that this is a very common mounting trick to cope with pronation. I have it and haven't noticed it affecting lunges etc.

Good luck with the blades! How do the pink ones look? Any chance of a photo??

[katz in boots]

Bit worried about the blade hanging over the edge. My coach always says to have them as close to the centre line as feels good. I think the idea is that at the front they should be one blade width to the inside of the centre line (not the seam, as that can be misleading).

Another thing to watch out for is if the blade is kicking up 'snow' when you do an edge or 1 foot glide. Or not being able to hold an edge after a turn like you used to be able to.

Best tip is to get your coach to take a look, and to trust your instincts. Chances are that if it doesn't feel right, then it isn't right for you.

[Mrs Redboots]

If you find you can hold all eight edges comfortably, you're probably fine. If you can't, they may need adjusted a tad, but if whoever mounted them in the first place knows what they're doing, it probably won't be an issue.

[Skittl1321]

Good luck with the blades! How do the pink ones look? Any chance of a photo??

The blades are GORGEOUS! I love em! You can definetly tell they are pink/mauve on the ice, and they look very pink off the ice, but I think in a group (like synchro) they won't stand out too much- they aren't bold. I will bring my camera to the rink tonight and make quarkiki take a picture of them for me.


I had a lesson last night and everything went great with it. I was able to hold all my edges just fine, and skated straight lines without problem, so I'm going to keep them as is. I don't pronate, but the coach thought it was possible they hang over just a bit because my feet are just so small and sometimes as the blades scale down the ratios don't stay correct (though my boots are actually D-widths.) The actual tip and back of the blade is aligned directly to the center, and I think that's what matters more than the blade plate.

[icedancer2]

I have had blades that hung over the edge a little bit and there was never a problem - I however, have pretty narrow feet and I figured that was why that happened - the plate is just bigger than the bottom of the skate (my feet are very long as well so my blade size is pretty big.

For what we pay for blades, they should be custom sized to the bottoms of your boots!:roll:

Glad to hear they are working out. It always takes a bit of time to get used to new blades.

[Query]

For what we pay for blades, they should be custom sized to the bottoms of your boots! :roll:

I guess a good sharpener could grind away the excess width of the plate, maybe you could do it yourself with any of several grinding or file tools. But leave enough metal to hold the plate on the boot without the hole tearing away. I'd hesitate to remove metal, unless it is getting in the way.

I used to have the plate hang under one side of the boot, before I realized that offsetting the blade from the center isn't needed, if I adjust the insole depth in various parts with tape, so as to make pressure on the foot more equal.

Put your whole team "in the pink"! Maybe paint designed for cars, including primer??