Hi everyone!

I bought my first set of Figure skates today!
I bought the Jackson Mens Elite Marquis with Ultima Mark IV Blades.

They Skate nice and my problem with keeping my feet upstraight has dissapeared! But They still hurting me like hell and killing my feet totally!

My question is, are these blades sharpen when you buy them or do you still need to sharpen then ?

Will the Stiffness of the boot go away?
How tight should I tie them ?
Why is my toe peck touching most of the time ?

Thanks!

Jo

well. I have heard you have to sharpen your skates every 20 hours. If you dotn go very often i think about every 2 -4 months. As long as you can feel the two edges of the blade.

The stiffness in the boot is good for support.
You should tie them pretty tight. I think you should be able to stick your finger or two in the space between the tounge of the boot and ur leg.

Yeah! New skates are great!

If you could stand up on them, they were probably sharpened. You need to make sure you find a GOOD sharpener from now on. Sharpening is very important - a bad sharpener can ruin your blades and make it more difficult for you to learn. Ask other people at your rink.

Not for quite a while, depending on how heavy you are and how much you skate. When they can no longer support you properly, you need to replace them. The pain should go away fairly quickly, depending again on how much you skate and what you are doing. That's called "breaking them in".

I tie mine just snug over the foot, then tightly on the part right before you get to the hook part (to lock in the ankle), then snug (but not tight) at the top. With new skates, some people leave the top hook undone. I just tie them looser than usual until they get broken in. You'll know when to tie them tighter when you feel like the boots aren't quite right on top.

I don't know!

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"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

Sorry your feet are hurting. Did you have the skates heat molded? Are they even heat moldable? I know the high-end Jacksons are, but I don't know if they all are.

As for your questions:

1. I assume you bought the skates at a skate shop, in which case they probably were sharpened. (When you buy cheapo skates at a big-box or general sports store, they usually aren't- not that they bother to tell you that). If they feel like they're slipping sideways or anything, it's probably worth having either the fitter or a coach or someone look at them; they should be able to tell.

2. Eventually, yes, the boots will feel less stiff.

3. They need to be snug- not tight- over your foot and to the instep. Gradually let them be looser up through the hooks. Some people recommend not tying the top hook until they start to feel a little more "bendy". Work on bending your knees while you skate- it's a good habit to get into, and it will help the skates break in.

4. Probably just because you're not used to it being there! Try to get used to shifting your weight back a bit while you skate. The easiest way to do this is to concentrate on bending your knees and keeping your back straight. The toe pick scrapes when your weight is too far forward on the blade, which is often caused by skating bend forward at the waist.

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First time I got my boots (Risport super) I skated until my pinkie bled and had to dip it in warm water.

I loosen the top for comfort.

I have this problem too, and I find focusing on keeping my rocker centered and staying within my "sweet spot" even when just skating forward helps avoid this. Standing up straight (but not locking your knees) also helps. Many people skate hunched forward for balance purposes, but that actually slows you down and makes scraping likelier in my experience.

If you are wearing thin socks, sprinkle/soak them with warm water just before putting your skates on. Some skaters blow dry their skates just before using them. Both acocmplish the same thing -- they temporarily soften the leather, making them easier to break in, but the water's just easier.

As for sharpenings, I think every 20 hours is a little overkill. If I went by that rule, I'd be sharpening mine every week. As it is, I get them sharpened abo8ut once a month (every 80-100 hours), which is probably slightly less than I should. I go untul I can feel my edge slipping, but since you probably won't know that feeling yet, I'd go for ebery 1-3 months (every 30-40 hours) deepending on how much you skate, and then sharpen them less as you get beter (since when you're first learning, you don't want anything but perfect edges).

Really? I've heard that it can damage the leather, either by outdrying it(which can lead to cracked leather, or over-dampening(which can lead to mold). However, I'm not absolutely positive it's true, as it's never happened to me before. Have any of you tried these methods before? If so, and nothing happened, I might just use one of them myself.

Do NOT blow dry your skates. The leather WILL crack. You need to wipe them off and let them air dry.

It's perfectly fine to blow dry your skates IF the leather is heat-moldable. In fact, that's the recommended way to heat them, so they can mold to you. I personally break my boots in without punching anything out, soaking anything, or heating anything. But I know many people who heat their skates and have no problems. Just don't bake them in the oven....because yes, I know someone who did that.

Wow, Thanks guys for all the nice responses! I will try working on not letting my toe pick touch!
Everybody have different opinions on how to break the skates in with water and blowdryer. Which one should I try now ?

Should I use thin or thick socks ?

I think the blade is sharpen because it doesnt slide out easilly.
But I go very slow on the ice, as if the blades doesnt wanna pick up speed ?

What can be the problem of that ?

I've never tried blowdrying, as I prefer the wet-sock method, but a couple girls at my rink swear by it and have been using it since their first pair of skates. I stopped having to do anything to break in my skates when I got Klingbeils, but when I was still in Reidell's, I had to use the wet-sock method for about a week, and as long as you let your skates airdry afterward, it's fine. You sweat in them anyway, and that doesn't cause mold.

Thanks for the feedback Perry.
So must I wet my whole sock and then dry it a little and put it on my foot and skate with a wet sock ?

I broke my skates in by wearing them around the house with the guards on. Since I sit at work in front of a work station, I wore them there as well. Did get some funny looks and comments when going to the printer. "Did you put on 3 inches last night"

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Keeping School Figures Alive!!

I wouldn't skate with a wet sock - it could raise blisters.

The "Wet Sock Method " is to be used to help break in new skates by simulating sweaty feet. Using plain warm water will not damage the leather; it's the salt and chemicals in your sweat that break down the leather, not the water.

The method is simple: soak a pair of the socks you plan to skate in (thinner socks are better than thick ones but I know guys who use both or neither; it's your choice, but I'd use whatever ones you wore when you got the skates fitted) in warm water. Wring them out until they're almost dry or as dry and wringing can get them. Put them on your feet. Put your skates on. Watch TV for half an hour. Take skates off. Let them air dry. Repeat at least once a day for a week. More often is fine but the skates should dry between sessions.

I've done this with every pair of skates I've had in 20 years and it always works. I don't get blisters or sores from my skates.

Also for the first few times you shouldn't be lacing your skates really tightly. Leaving the top hook undone is fine until the ankle area gets aa little flexible. You need to be able to bend your ankle to skate; if the boots are stiff and you lace tight, you don't get enough bend and it can strain your muscles.

Ok, I'll take your advice and do that every night for a week or two. Should work hopefully.
Thin or thick socks ? I've seen most people use thin one's though....so i'll keep with that strategy.

Tonight i'll try losening the top hook and see how much control I got with the skates still....and I'll work on leaning back a bit to keep off my toe pecks! hehe

Why does my one boots tongue keep slipping to the side ?

That's fairly common, at least for me. Do you have any kind of loop on the tongue (kind of like what you might see on a pair of sneakers)? If so, you can take part of a lace that's been cut to size, pull it through the loop, tie it into a circle, and hook it to one of the hooks on the side of the skate away from the direction it's slipping in to keep it stable. (I hope that made some kind of sense). That's what I did with my old Klingbeils, and it worked fine. My new ones have hooks in the middle of the tongue that I can loop my laces around to keep the tongue stable.

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"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

I dont have the center loop on the tongue, but I will see when I've skated with them more if it stays in place....

Im going skating again tonight, and hopefully I can master some more skills!

I will try all the advice you friendly people gave me and will give you feedback tommorow!!

Thanks

Ah I was specifically taught NOT to do that. Perhaps my leather is not heat-moldable.

You might want to have a good skate-person at a pro shop look at the blade. They may need a sharpening or something to take the burrs off (which might be there and casuging your blade to feel sticky.

You can try to "train" the tongue to go the other way. When you take the boot off and go to put them away, force the tongue over to the other side -- you can twist it a bit to keep it there until you skate again.

I don't know why some tongues do that. I have never had that problem!

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The tongue in my patch skates stays in place just fine. The tongue in my freestyle skates wonders to the side and it seems to be on the right skate only. Both pairs of skates are Reidells.

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Keeping School Figures Alive!!

None of these various tricks are really necessary. I wouldn't wear a wetted sock, or take a blow dryer to them. They may help, they may not. All brands of skates are not created equal, but one thing can be said of any brand - simply wear them skating enough, and they will get better and better every time until they don't hurt at all anymore. The other tricks might help, but I wouldn't want to take the risk, personally. Wear the thinnest socks you can find. After 20 or so hours skating, they should feel fine.

You're probably on the toepick because of the difference between hockey and figure skates. In hockey skating, you pitch forward and your weight is more towards your toes. This is largely because the back of hockey skates are rounded, so standing up straight with good posture can tip you over backwards a lot easier. You have a lot more heel support on the blade of figure skates, and can stand up straight. This will take some time to come to accept though. One thing to work on that may help is simple stroking down the rink. Make sure that when you push off, you do NOT touch the ice with the toepick - that is bad form. You should be pushing with the entire length of the blade - to learn that, think of pushing off with the heel, pulling up on the toe.

Learn that well, and you'll be able to outrun any hockey skater with much better form and trust the back of your blades too In whatever you do, remember that the toepicks should never touch the ice and try to keep them from doing so, unless it's something where they should actually touch the ice, like jumping.

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
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I went to the Ice rink tonight and tried all the tricks you guys said.

I didnt tie the skates on the top bracket and they felt much better and easier to control.
I also mastered to turn around with a little bit more speed but am still struggling not to slow down a bit when doing so...and then to go backwards.
I dont feel comfortable at all when I turn around. Any tips on that ?

My toe pick is not touching much anymore because I am leaning back a little bit when skating.
I also sorted out the tongue that was moving.
I feel much more comfortable skating now and im sure the skates will start feeling better soon, as ive put 5 hours of skating on it already!

My blades are defenatley not sharp enough because the skates seem to go sideways way to easy without the edge digging into the ice....
So I'll find a place to sharpen them tommorow. In South Africa its not that easy to get blades sharpen as we dont have skate shops that only cater for ice skates. But they do fuly import the skates from the US or Canada.
I've seen the little handy skate sharpener on the net, does this thing actually work ?

Thanks for the support and help, I really appreciate it!

Jo

I agree with Casey that if you simply skate around in them enough, you'll break them in without having to do anything. That's the best method. Also, I re-read your post and saw that you have boots that are not all that stiff to begin with- if you rush the break in process now, you will have to buy new skates in six months. If you were breaking in Quadra Bond custom harlicks, I'd say...a little wet sock can't hurt. But you'll kill your skates if you try to break them in too soon, and then you'll just need new ones.

Also, as a rule, any blade that is brand new needs to be sharpened. This is true of any blade, even ones that were factory-sharpened because they intentionally put a flatter grind on it than a regular sharpener would, and there might be oils on there as well that will cause you to slip. All in all, get blades sharpened before you skate in them when they are new.

As for gaining speed and feeling comfortable turning around- these things have to do with technique, not the skates. It comes with practice. A dull blade would actually make you go faster than a sharp blade, because there is less friction. The sharper the blade, the slower you go.

Finally...you'll need to know what radius of hollow to ask for when you take your skates to be sharpened. If I were you, I would start with a 1/2 inch sharpening. If it's too dull for you, go to 7/16 on the next one.

It is good for topping up your skates between sharpenings, but not to put a good edge on in the first place. Ask your teacher, or one of the teachers at your rink if you aren't having lessons yet, where to take them.

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