Getting an edge in figures

[AgnesNitt]

so here's my problem.
I can get an edge, I can float on my edges like a butterfly riding a thermal to the clouds--as long as I'm in a serpentine.
HOWEVER, when I do figures you can clearly see that while I feel I'm on the outside edge, my inside edge is still touching. I have good body position inside the circle, I'm doing as much as I can, yet the :frus: inside edge still hits the ice.
So, being an engineer, I analyze. I decide that my habit of skating with loosey goosey boots because I've got old lady feet, is letting the boot dip enough to allow the blade go on the flat.
I get off the ice, retie my boots with a fierceness, and lo and behold--it works!
For the right foot.
The left foot is still on the flat. I mean it's not a flat flat--the tracings show that the inside is grazing and the outside is taking the brunt of the force, but twin-lined it is.
Right now I'm using a 9/16 radius of hollow, so my tracings are distinct. I also have the blades tilted to make it easier to hit the outsde. I don't see what else I can do.
Coach fixes my problem by touching my shoulder with one finger--and I'm on the edge, so it's got to be a body thing. She's reassuring that it will come with practice.
Still I'm spending half my ice time with my butt up in the air while I check my tracings--I'd like to get past this.
So any suggestions?

[icedancer2]

Lift your free hip a tad more?

[dbny]

Unless you are using figure blades, you are giving yourself a very hard time. I was concerned about the same thing, and asked my coach, who told me that figure blades are wider and flatter specifically to enable that clean one edge tracing you are looking for. I'm not saying it;s impossible, just that when figures were required, the skaters had that edge (pun intended), and it's probably not worth your effort to try without it.

[saras]

FS sharpenings sink "deeper" b/c they're not as flat, so the double-line tracing is more frequent. My FS blades are at 1/2", and my figure blades are at 2" - they're really flat!

Sara
Unless you are using figure blades, you are giving yourself a very hard time. I was concerned about the same thing, and asked my coach, who told me that figure blades are wider and flatter specifically to enable that clean one edge tracing you are looking for. I'm not saying it;s impossible, just that when figures were required, the skaters had that edge (pun intended), and it's probably not worth your effort to try without it.

[Rusty Blades]

I have good edges (according to most) but if my coach examines the track, the off-edge is usually touching the ice to. Also being the engineering type ( :roll: ) I figure it is because I am heavy and skate on a small Radius of Hollow (5/16") on freestyle blades. All I have to do is let my ankle lean a little and the second trace disappears.

Of course when you are on a DEEP edge, the other trace wont show at all.

[Bill_S]

Going faster=deeper edges too.

If you're near a standstill speed, you won't have the lean needed to edge in. You'll be mostly upright on both edges.

[GordonSk8erBoi]

9/16"! These must not be patch blades. My patch blades are 1.5" ROH.

I second what the others said, it would be really hard to do that cleanly in FS blades unless it's a deep edge.

[icedancer2]

I second what the others said, it would be really hard to do that cleanly in FS blades unless it's a deep edge.

I don't know about all of this because I don't use patch blades for figures and don't have trouble staying on the outside edge... am I just a freak?:lol: (don't answer that...)

[AgnesNitt]

These are all good suggestions, particularly the 'raise your hip'. It's simple and elegant. Then I remember I have to simultaneously push down into the ice (not away from it), don't let my arms flop, don't straighten the skating leg during the push, don't swing the hip forward, don't bend at the waist-- put my hip over the ankle, keep that other hip UP, then tuck that free toe behind the boot.

I need a T-shirt that says: "Figures--it just looks easy."

I agree with the comments about the patch blades. I have a pair under the couch. Coach wants me to get some experience under my belt in FS blades before I do the big switch. That lower toepick gives a beginner like me a little safety margin.

My ROH is 9/16. up from something else (3/16?). The intention is to gradually work up to an inch over successive sharpenings and at that point I'll strap on the patch blades.

Bill_S. I wish I could go faster. But at the initial push there's some little combination of balance, position, angle that puts me on the flat before I even start. (sigh)

Thanks for all the advice.
I'll let you know what happens. It looks like a snow day tomorrow. I'll go to the rink and give it a try at Coffee Club