Did somebody cut away the heel of my boot?

[sallybee]

Hi guys! I was wondering if anybody here is able to tell to see if the heels on these boots are useless, use able, or repairable : ) It looks like the previous owner surgically altered the heels through cutting a chunk out. I would like to buy them form a nieghbor and am worried becuase I need to mount figure skating blades on them (they are currently synchro blades). These are harlick competitor boots, used, in 4.5 C. I have high arches, wider feet, and am prone to supinating (right foot falls towards outside edge)

I am asking becuase I would like to buy these boots, however, there looks to be a deep slice in the heel area which I am somewhat worried about. THese boots were used for synchro and there is skater's biege synchro tape on the outside (it's not leather peeling off)

If you were me, would you buy the boots given the condition of the heels and soles? Would you repair it? I don't know if I can redrill in holes that have been plugged (sounds unsafe to me!?)

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs321.snc3/28675_409884885888_670390888_4294552_3159284_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs321.snc3/28675_409884900888_670390888_4294553_8085842_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs301.snc3/28675_409884910888_670390888_4294554_2578303_n.jpg

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs321.snc3/28675_409884925888_670390888_4294555_5929870_n.jpg

[icedancer2]

I honestly don't see anything wrong with them - maybe it is the photographs?

It looks like there might be a shim (very thin piece of leather under one side of the blade) - the might have corrected something inherent in the sole or may have helped the skater get on an edge.l

There might be some water damage... I know some people get kind of bent out of shape about stuff like that but I've never found that to be a problem.

[dbny]

The first pic definitely shows a shim under one half of the heel. That's an adjustment made for the skater's natural stance and can easily be removed or changed. The other heel looks like the blade was moved after being in place for a while. The soles look like they are in pretty good condition. When you have new blades put on, the skate tech should be able to tell by your stance (preferably on the ice) what adjustments you might need.

[Sessy]

Around here I've never heard of anyone sealing their soles (that's not saying people don't, just haven't heard of it) and I've only heard once someone saying their boots' soles rotted, this was a girl whose boots I suspect never even got a chance to dry. People manage to break down their boots much quicker than they rot, it seems - at least with the brands carried around here which are graf risport edea and jackson - so the question that's unanswered by your pictures is - what's the boots' condition? Is there a big crease at the ankle, how is the sideways stability of the boot, how many sharpenings are left in the blades, are the boots comfortable for your feet or make-do in size and width and foot shape?

Btw - didn't you just buy a pair of Jacksons artiste? What do you need YET ANOTHER pair of skates for? 4 feet? *grin*

[icestalker]

The soles are black with rot. It's not just water damage. They've already started rotting. A little bit of water is okay. But look at how black and icky the sole is. I bet you it's soft and pliant to the touch. The blades also show rust, another indicator of serious water damage. When you take the blades off, the leather will most likely be rotted out underneath.

The heel looks fine, it's just a shim that got put underneath the blade, but the sole/toe plate is definitely not okay. I can see black rot in the unused holes, indicating that the leather's rotted out underneath.

[RachelSk8er]

How much are you paying for these skates and what do you plan on using them for? Unless they're dirt cheap and just something you're going to use for public session here and there, do not buy them, or at the very least take them to a skate shop to have them inspected first. From your photos, it looks like the soles are beyond water damaged and starting to rot, so you'll be mounting new blades on soles where the leather is breaking down. Not good. You can tell by the rust on the plates of the blades and around the screws that the previous owner did not take good care of them. They look like they were never dried off properly and then left in the trunk of the car on hot days.

Plus I would generally NOT buy skates that were used by a synchro skater for synchro, unless they were only worn for a short while and then outgrown. Especially if this was a higher level synchro skater. Synchro tends to really beat the crap out of skates, and boots break down somewhat unevenly just because of the way you are skating (if you look at all my old skates that I wore for synchro, the outside of the R boot is always very broken down in comparison to the L skate from all the backward CCW skating, leaning into wheels, and all our most difficult turns being on the R foot. My skates that were not worn for synchro are broken down more evenly). Plus leaving skate tape on them for long periods of time without giving the leather time to breathe--which most synchro skaters who tape their skates are guilty of--is not good for the boots, either. So what is the condition of the leather underneath the tape? And are there any worn patches on the inside from the skater doing lunges (that the tape may be hiding)? Gauges kicked into it from run-ins with teammates blades? (Most of my old synchro skates have puncture wounds from that).