Skate Advice

[Isk8NYC]

I have a pair of custom Klingbeils with custom insoles (to match my orthotics) with a set of JW Gold Seal blades. I've had trouble with the blade alignment from the first day. The custom insoles help with my heel spurs, and the boots are okay. (Right one's a bit loose due to some weight loss.) I've been coping - skating barefoot, having the blade moved, shims inserted, shims removed, bla bla bla.

I've always felt that I was leaning on my inside edges and outside edges were a struggle. RO turns were more uncomfortable than they should be, and my backspins really dig into the ice.

A month or so ago, I had the blades sharpened at a new pro shop. I decided that I was being a baby asking for 3/8" ROH, so I told him to do a 1/2". I could skate on the 1/2", but I was sliding sideways on everything. At least now I know - stick with 3/8".

When I was in NJ last month, I had the blades adjusted (right foot shims) and resharpened at 3/8" by a reputable guy that I've used off and on for years. The next day, I went skating with Renatele but couldn't really do anything well. I figured they were going to take a bit of practice to get used to the adjustments and the skates were now too sharp.

For the last two weeks, I've been trying to "dull them down" on my limited skating sessions so I can actually skate. I tried scraping the edges on the ice a bit to wear them down and they feel "sticky."

Last night, I realized that there's something seriously wrong with the right blade. I stood at the wall and really studied it carefully. Twist-and-spins are snowplowing, literally - I scraped up ribbons of ice into snow. Three turns are all scraped; mohawks are a bit scary - I stop as soon as I step on that foot. I can't hold an outside edge, and my inside edge feels like I'm on a flat. I regularly feel like I stepped on something. I'll go around a curve on one foot and feel it slow down for a second or two.

Any and all advice is welcome - HELP!

[jenlyon60]

Was the blade possibly mounted poorly so that it's warped? I know someone who had that problem. They ended up having to buy new blades.

[Isk8NYC]

On the old skates, they were mounted wrong. The guy removed Pattern 99's and mounted the Gold Seals using the same holes. That warped the blade which was noticeable because you essentially end up with two different edges on the front from the back of the skate. You can feel it change as you shift weight along the blade. (It was corrected by clamping it with a straightedge and remounting properly.)

This feels different from that - I have the same inside edge front-to-back.
I just can't "roll up" to the rocker or toepick. It's like the blade is flat.

[CoachPA]

I'm confused: did the problem occur after the new sharpener or after you went to the reputable man you've used for years?

Perhaps you can take them back to your regular sharpener and have him look at the blades? Maybe he'll be able to resharpen or at least give you a clue as to what could be causing you problems.

[Isk8NYC]

The "reputable guy" (RB) adjusted them and I was okay skating on them with the 1/2" but I was still sliding. He then sharpened after the adjustments (incl. shims) were done. The next day I tried them and wrote off the bad skating to too-sharp skates.

Now I think there's something else wrong.

[dbny]

Try tracing the rocker on each blade and comparing. Maybe the rocker on the R blade was changed in sharpening, or was off to begin with (too late to tell that now, though.) Email or PM me about the reputable guy in NJ. I now know of two skaters who got boots fitted by a highly respected fitter/sharpener in NJ who literally cannot wear the skates because of pain. The first one I wrote off to the skater herself, but two in a row makes me think something is going on with the service provider. I'm wondering if it's the same guy.

I myself had a serious issue after a sharpening of new blades by my (formerly) favorite sharpener, who was in a hurry when he did that job. My issue was similar to yours, so it could be the sharpening, and if so, you will be able to wear the blade into better shape.

[Isk8NYC]

Rocker of the right blade is more flat than the other one and substantially different from both tracings on Bill's site and my tracing of another pair of blades.

I think I have to buy new blades.

[renatele]

Well, Bill's tracings are those of Coronation Aces so that may not be an ideal comparison, but difference between your right and left blade is definitely not ok. If you have enough sharpening material left, would re-rockering the blades be an option?

[Isk8NYC]

The RO edge is down past the beveled steel, so I'm guessing the edges are uneven. If the pro shop guy here is around tomorrow, I'll ask him to take a look.

[aussieskater]

If the blade has been used and sharpened with shims in place, this might have resulted in uneven sharpenable metal inside vs outside (less on the side with the shims in). This is not a problem until you remove the shims...

Also, have you checked with a straight metal rule that the blade is straight front to back, and that it's otherwise the same (apart from the rocker) as the other (good) blade?

[teresa]

My old blades had a warping issue too. I always struggled with my left blade/side and believed it was just me. This is my weaker side so it was easy for me to think this. When I got new blades the skate guy couldn't believe how warped it was and how I had been skating on it. I felt a big difference right away with the new blades, but it hasn't fixed my weaker issues with this side completely. Now my struggles are all me! I truly used to feel my old left blade were fighting with me and I almost never won. I guess my warp was visable on the skate but more so off. It never occured to me a warped blade could happen. Now I know. Good luck.

teresa

[kander]

I'd go along with the warped blade theory. Your description of scapping up ribbons of ice would back that up. Either that or your blades have been mounted wrong.

The front mounting plate on my left blade is warped quite a bit, which caused the blade to not be perpendicular to the boot. George at SP Teri put a shim under the opposite end of the blade on the heel plate and it improved significantly. When you eyeball down the length of your blade, does it appear to not be perfectly perpendicular?

Kevin

[Isk8NYC]

While he didn't remove the blade, he did put in new screws when he did the shims.

Not sure what you mean by perpendicular, but they are shimmed.

When I lay my metal straightedge ruler along the edges from toe to heel, the blade DOES have a bend in the middle. I don't know if it matters, but Gold Seals are tapered blades. (They're not parabolics.)

I'll show that to the tech when I see him tomorrow.

[aussieskater]

When I lay my metal straightedge ruler along the edges from toe to heel, the blade DOES have a bend in the middle. I don't know if it matters, but Gold Seals are tapered blades. (They're not parabolics.)



(a) If you place the straightedge along the other side of the blade with the bend, does it also bend by the same amount in the other direction (like an hourglass - kind of hard to describe)? If it only happens on one side, you have to wonder why, as symmetry is all in skating (in more ways than one ;) ).

(b) Do both blades do the same thing, or only the difficult blade? Again, symmetry is good.

Good luck tomorrow with the tech - let us know what happens! I hope s/he can fix the blade so you don't need new ones.

[kander]

While he didn't remove the blade, he did put in new screws when he did the shims.

Not sure what you mean by perpendicular, but they are shimmed.

When I lay my metal straightedge ruler along the edges from toe to heel, the blade DOES have a bend in the middle. I don't know if it matters, but Gold Seals are tapered blades. (They're not parabolics.)

I'll show that to the tech when I see him tomorrow.

The tapered blades aren't the cause of your problems as that's the way the gold seal is designed. By perpendicular I mean: if you hold your boot upsidedown with the heel closest to you and the toe away from you, eyeball down the blade and see if the blade is perpendicular to the bottom of the boot. If it's off just a tiny bit it will screw up your edges big time.

[Isk8NYC]

UPDATE:

My old blades were fried, so I MEASURED my boot soles for new ones. My old 10" blades went from heel to sole with no gap, so I bought a pair of used 9.75" ones for < $90.

They need to be sharpened, of course, but they have more hard steel than my old ones. The guy at my rink is meticulous, so I'll let him have at them once I've made sure they're mounted well.

(Not sure what I'll tell him - he'll notice they're not the same blades. Do I admit I took them elsewhere? Hmmm...maybe I'll just say they were a bargain, lol.)

I was too impatient to wait for the pro shop guy, so I just mounted them myself. Had to drill a few new holes. Just put in the slotted screws and a temporary toe screw in each boot.

I checked the length and height before tightening the screws with a level/straight edge. These suckers are on straight and perpendicular! Now I have to "erase" all the blade marks on the carpeting with my stocking feet, lol. DH will think I'm nuts.

We'll see what these wonders can do for me at 6am tomorrow. Worst case is that I'll use these for teaching and get a new pair of freestyle boots/blades for skating. I miss skating, it's been weeks since I've been able to get on the ice.