Nope. While the Riedell 117's may well be plastic (I assume the blades are riveted on then, not screwed?), I've never seen or heard of a wooden sole/blade for a boot. What looks like wood is actually layers of leather. It's a common beginner 'error'.

Most of the rest of what you noticed doesn't really matter a whole lot in the long run--it's just that the Teris are a much better, more well-made boot. They look really nice, actually, are they yours?

Well, since a 'last' is the usually wooden foot form that a boot or shoe is shaped to, I would imagine that it means that it's been shaped to the last by hand. It's another sign of a quality boot.

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Flippet
I stand corrected. Yes, I assumed they were wood since there was layering on the heel. I should have questioned it though because I read somewhere that the freestyle boot heel is often a little too high for doing figures and that the bottom "layer" can be removed. It should have registered that cutting a wooden heel would be no easy task. I don't think they make boots with wooden heels, but the original skates, when ice skating was in its infancy, had wooden soles connected to the blades. These were not boots. At that time, I think more emphasis was placed on the quality of the blade instead of the shoe it was mounted on. Now, I think boot and blade get equal attention.

Though the boot is leather, it feels like wood. I'm still trying to break mine in. I can skate for about 3 hours, then I have to take a break. Some hockey guys next to me saw me rubbing my feet and my contorted face. They knew right away. They said the hockey people have it even worse because the plastic boot never breaks in. When it does break in, it's broken.


Thanks for the compliment. Yes, both of those boots are mine.

I noticed some of the boot manufacturers are currently placing their logo on the heel of the boot, like other sports shoes. I don't know how other people feel about this, but I find it extremely annoying. It's distracting to the point where I'd probably cut off the logo, sand smooth if necessary, and repaint the heel. To me, the equivalent is having a little swoosh on the heel of your new Stacy Adams dress shoes. It just doesn't strike me as being very attractive.


Interesting. Ok. I'll buy that.

I agree! My Grafs had their logo printed in gold on the tongue, but it fortunately wore away to nothingness within a couple months. I wonder if the little things on the heel come off very easily...

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

That's not really a new trend. Harlicks, SP-Teri's and Risports have had logos on the heel for years and years. Gams don't have it, and neither do Grafs. Riedell has started to do it on their new models.

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Harlicks also have them... but the new ones are a little cheaper looking than the previous ones are. My fitter also mentioned that a lot of people remove them because they tend to fall off onto the ice. The Harlick logos are held on with a pair of brads, and they can over time work loose.

Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by years and years. My 15-year-old Teri boots don't have them, but my brand new ones do!

And I like it! I have pretty, new boots!

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Cactus Bill

Did the fitter explain how they were being removed? Just prying loose with screw driver or metal file is my guess.


icedancer2
Yeah, my SP Teris are about 5 years old, so I'm guessing they didn't start the logo placement until the late 90's. Is the new boot the same model as the old one or is it an upgrade? Care to post a few pics?

No pictures, sorry -- don't have that capability --

The old 15-year boots were Teri Super-Teri stock boots. Loved them and had no problems with them, they were just really worn out and well-loved.

New boots are the Teri Dance boot -- they are shorter, shorter still in the back but are basically the same weight of leather as the Super-Teri. They are stiff, but so far, so good. Had to get used to the shortness, but I am getting there.

I took out my old boots the other day just to look at them, -- wow, they are really broken down!!

Anybody want to buy a pair of old broken-down Teri Super Teri (about size 9 -- they stretched over the years!) with a 10 1/4 inch MK Dance blade? the blades are in good shape -- only had them about 2 years and maybe 6 sharpenings!

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

With all this talk about SP-Teri and Riedell I just assumed I had the proper pronunciation. Just to make sure I atleast sound like I know what I'm talking about:

Riedell - pronounced [Rid-dell] not [Ray-dell] or [Rii-dell]

SP-Teri - pronounced [Es-Pee-Terry] not [Spit-Terry]

Is this correct? I wonder why Spiteri named their boots SP-Teri instead of just using their last name.

Riedell is like "Rye-Dell" with the emphasis on the 2nd syllable.

I don't know why the Spiteri's call it SP Teri.

Anyone?

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

I dunno....maybe to not have the 'spit' sound?

Actually, according to German pronunciation rules, the Riedell 'ought' to be 'ree-dell'....I have no idea why it's 'rye' instead. RIE is 'ree', and REI is 'rye'.

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
--Thomas Jefferson

www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!

Another basic Americanization I suppose??

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

Beats me! A play on words, I supposed. But yes, it's definitely [Es-Pee-Terry]... at least according to how the guys at the shop says it. (The SP Teri factory shop is a very short drive from my home...)

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Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

In 1963, Joseph Spiteri named his new company SP-Teri because he thought it would be easier for people to pronounce and remember that version of his last name.

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

I know a lot of skaters who wear SP-Teri's who pronounce it "Spi Teri" with the accent on "Teri".

__________________

And that same Joseph Spiteri was a bootmaker for Harlick.

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

My teacher took the logo off of my heel (I had SP Teris). I'm not sure how, but she did it so she could put pretty crystals around the heel, which look actually qutie gorgeous, if I do say so myself

So it looks like [Es-Pee Terry] or [Spi-Terry] are acceptable for SP-Teri and [Rye-dell] or [Ree-dell] for the Riedell.

dbny
Yes, and that same bootmaker jumped to get a patent on his boot. I just wonder if Harlicks have a patent or if there was any controversy about stolen information.

*IceDancer1419*
-I bet it does look nice. Are they like faceted rhine stones or a crystal like quartz? I'd love to see some pictures of the boots if you have any. I think it would look cool if the women had the bottom layer of the heel as a ruby or turqouise crystal. (Probably not the safest thing to do jumps in though). Then put a boa over your shoulder. Glamour magazine here we come!


I have to mention that I looked at my MK Double Star blades and was surprised to see rust residue in the concavity of the hollow. Is this normal, or do I need to do a better job of drying my blades after skating? After seeing the rust it really got me thinking about water-proofing everything. What do you all use to waterproof your boots and blades? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.


Once again, thank you all for contributing to this thread. I had a lot of fun reading it and viewing pictures.

You probably just need to do a slightly better job of drying the blades after skating. Sometimes I find it helps to take my skates off and let the blades warm up a bit before drying them off. That way I don't get condensation from the change in temperature after I've dried them once.

For me this routine works because 99% of the time I'm changing from skate clothes to work clothes. So I get my skates off, let them sit while I clean up for work, then dry my blades, toss everything in my skate bag and ski-daddle for work.

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A feather boa or a boa constrictor? I thought you meant the latter at first until I thought about it for a minute. I'd sure like to see it.

No, it's not. The cavities formed by the rust will also impact your skating, because the amount of friction is increased. So you might want to take them to your sharpener and have him do a quick pass over them...

You should be using soft blade guards on your blades - these will absorb any excess moisture.

There's nothing you can do to waterproof your blades. Your blades can rust if you don't use the soft guards, because after you dry your blades, they are still very cold, and condensation brings new moisture to the blade.

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

jenlyon60
Wow. You're dedicated. You mean you skate before you go to work?


Casey S
I meant a feather boa. LOL, but a skater gliding on ice with a giant snake wrapped around them would be a real show stopper (especially after the skater is squeezed to death)!!

jenlyon60
and

Casey S
Thank you for your responses. I'll make sure to do both of these things. Since it's summer time the temperatures have been in the 100's. The skates sit in the trunk of my car. Maybe that will loosen up the leather so I can break them in faster (and maybe I'm thinking nonsense). I'm guessing they will be ok, but perhaps I need to take them inside... If I can't do anything to seal the blades, what should I apply to waterproof my boots? Any testimony on sealants that work well and last awhile will save me some time and money. Any advice?

Take them inside! I actually don't know firsthand about this one, but I've heard that temperature changes that extreme can be quite harmful to the boots. With regard to breaking them in, there's a bunch of different tricks that people sometimes use to try to break them in faster, but those can also break them in improperly. I think the best quote I heard on the subject (don't have the exact quote, unfortunately), said that the only good way to break in skates was to skate on them.

I'd also be concerned about moisture in the trunk - Ideally you want to hang the skates up or at least take them out of the bag and set them aside so that they can air out between sessions.

Where did you buy your boots? They should have waterproofed the soles right away. I, and most others, have Sno-Seal on the bottoms. It needs to be re-applied periodically, but it's cheap.

You can also get them varnished, which gives a more attractive look, but needs a lot of coats (time-consuming) to be effective, and should you damage it (i.e. with the other blade), then moisture will get to the leather through that hole and cause damage. So basically, pick one or the other, and keep up the maintenance.

The sides, etc. don't need any waterproofing - just the soles.

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Definitely put some Sno-Seal or other similar waterproofing compound on the soles/heels of your boots. Am surprised it hasn't already been done, as most (ice) skate shops do it as a matter of course for new boot purchases (or at least the shops I've always dealt with).

And yes, I skate before work, 2-3 days a week. Much less crowded than skating after work. Although next week with the start of the summer schedule it'll be more crowded with 2-3 novice/junior dance teams all training in the early block. Plus 1 adult gold dance team a couple days a week.

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

Doesn't everybody? We get far and away more ice time then (6.00-10.30 am, if we wanted, four mornings a week, and 6.00-9.00 am 2 mornings), plus there's not being tired, plus the ice is usually reasonable to very good at the start of the session.....

As for drying your blades, I second Jen's idea of letting them sit. You can do a first wipe-off with loo paper or a tissue, then get changed, do your stretching or other off-ice cool down, in whichever order, and then finish drying your blades on a towel or old face-flannel. Then store the blades in towelling soakers, and each skate inside its individual fabric bag to stop scratches on the leather. Don't forget to polish them occasionally, too - the leather needs feeding!

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Mrs Redboots
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Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Actually, I've never heard anyone pronounce Riedell 'ree-dell'. I was just mentioning that it goes against usual German pronounciation rules. (This is sort of a 'thing' with me...my maiden name is Riemann...that's 'ree-man'. I would always get 'ry-man', and had to explain things. Think of Reiman Publications...that's 'ry-man'.) I just think that Riedell being pronounced 'ry-dell' is odd, given my background, but that's the way it is.


So.....with all these questions about equipment and such....have you actually started skating yet?

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
--Thomas Jefferson

www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!