Ok Today, I was talking to my coach about Boots and Blades anyways, he checked out my boots and blade and noticed that my blade was a little bit shorter than my boot. He said the top of where the blade was positioned is correct, but he also noted that the length of going to the Heel should of been right at the edge of the HEEL. Can anyone verify this for me?? anyway here is a diagram of one of my boots.

A link to the picture is here http://rf3ray.sk8rland.com/pictures/?s=mounting

He's correct that the front of the plate should be flush with your toe, but it's not uncommon for the heel plate to be a bit short. Mine is probably 1/8 of an inch short on my heel. A friend of mine's blade is a good 1/4 in short.

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Actually, according to all the pros and fitters that I've talked to (when I was getting new boots and blades) your blad SHOULD be around 1/4 inch short on the heel and flush on the toe. I know that all of my skates (dance and freestyle) have been exactly 1/4 inch short.

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TreSk8sAZ is correct...it is best to have the blade mounted flush with the toe, and 1/4" short on the heel. I insist on this for my students. There are some who have their kids/skaters purchase blades flush heel and toe thinking that they can remount/reuse the blades on their next pair of skates.

I just checked my skates, and it's flush with the toe, and a bit shorter on the heel (I'm not good with estimating sizes, definitly less than an inch, probably 1/4 inch). My old skates were half a size bigger, but the blades were 1/4 size smaller. So on my size 7 skates, I had a 9 3/4 blade, but on my current 6.5 skates, I have a 10 inch blade. I thought this was weird, but they seem to fit fine.

It also depends on what you want... hubby has his dance blades mounted so its flush with toe and heel... but some people prefer more blade than others...

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you are only supposed to have the blade from end of heel to end up toe if your foot is growing and you want to mount the blades on new boots when you go up a size. otherwise the blade should be shorter than the boot by 1/4 of an inch.

an adult whose feet don't grow anymore doesn't need to take this safety measure against growing feet by having as long a blade as possible...its jsut not necessary.

So are you saying that the Blade should be from Toe to HEEL?

The rule of thumb is that the blades should be 1/4 inch shorter than the sole of the boot as measured from the tip of the toe to the end of the heel. However, many skaters push the limits to get longer blades, which are faster. I've seen blades actually a very small fraction longer than boots, with the tip of the blade projecting just barely projecting at the front of the boot.

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This now opens a new concern, for me at least. I"ll be getting new blades soon & this thread makes me wonder if I should get shorter blades.

Right now my blades are almost an exact length fit.

It was my boot fitter who originally sized & mounted the blades. I think I'll ask my instructor what I should do. That always seems like the best answer, doesn't it?

Jon

Thats what I did I asked my coach and he the blade should be from TOE TO HEEL Flushed

Well, like we've said. The GENERAL rule of thumb is 1/4 inch shorter than the length of the boot (meaning not flush on the heel). However, if you think your coach knows what he's talking about, then try it. Just be ready for an adjustment period getting used to the new centering of the blade if you choose to get it the same length as your boot since you are used to one that is shorter. Granted, there will be an adjustment to any new blade which can take a few tries to get used to. (believe me... my spins were HORRID for two weeks after I got my new blades!)

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Klingbeil asks if your existing blade reaches from front to back. I've learned that preference overcomes rule of thumb everytime in skating. I think the "growing foot" explanation makes sense, too.

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Another point is that if you have custom boots or a combination length (meaning one skate is a little bit longer than the other) then you will have a discrepancy wrt how the blade fits on the sole of the boot. In other words, one blade may go from heel to toe -- flush and on the other one (the longer foot) the blade may be 1/4 inch or even more from the end of the heel.

Also, sometimes the heels on the boots are not cut exactly the same -- my boots have one heel that is cut slightly smaller than the other. It doesn't make a difference in how the skates fit or how they feel when you are skating in them, but the person mounting my blades found it a little disconcerting. I think personal preference is the rule of thumb here.

And I sure there are lots of opinions about this among coaches and such!

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I went with my fitter's recommendation of "maximizing the available boot length". After the boots came in, the soles were measured, and then blades were ordered that are flush with the front of the toe and back of the heel. It's always worked for me...

I can't imagine 1/4" really makes all that much difference - I've known skaters who have skates more that 1/4" shorter than the sole, and others who have blades whose heel plates actually overlap the back edge by an extra 1/4" (kept blades when switching to shorter-soled boots). Your heel plate seems waaay off to one side though - one would think it should be centered between the left and right sides.

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Mine look like that too, and worse on one boot than the other, in an attempt to get me to hit outside edges (pronation...) Even custom orthotics didn't help the edge-hunt, although they did fix the pronation; the weird blade mounting worked, thank goodness, but it does look a little odd...