I just got my new skates (skate and blade set) and the blades are half mounted ie the screws are there but not tightened. Can I just simply tighten them or do I need to adjust its alignment?

When you first get new skates, it is important for an educated blade mounter to watch you stand and walk in your skates to determine the appropriate blade alignment. If you have issues with knee or hip turn-in or turn-out, the blades may not need to be in the center, but slightly to one side. Did someone spend time mounting them with you?

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Do align them carefully. Make sure the blades are mounted in a way that you can glide along a long straight line comfortably without having to twist your feet or body in certain weird way.

I first bought my skates at a shop that has a professional boot fitter recognized by multiple brand name companies. I was walking in the skates at the shop and told the boot fitter that my left foot does not feel centered. He just told me that the skates would feel differently on ice than on floor and dismissed me. I had to skate with a ill-aligned left skates ever since. The problem with my left boot was that there are many many nails planted in the heel that limit the positioning of the screws, which prohibits me from mounting the left blade in the right way. I moved the blade once, and it was better, but just couldn't get it perfect. The first time I replaced the blades, I moved it further, and it got still better, but I know it is not optimal. Lately, I replaced the blades again and found better way to re-align it, but it is still a bit off. It is possible to skate on such blades, but it does influence your skating in a noticeable way. For my experience, it is hard not to think that the professional boot fitter was trying to hide the problem with the nails in the left boot.

So align your blades carefully and make sure they feel right. Things get harder after you use up more of the mounting holes.

Good luck!

You can practice moving blades around on your old skates. If you feel comfortable with that then you might consider moving the blade yourself.

If this is still a problem for you, xgskater, talk to Terry in the Ice Oasis pro shop. He's excellent at mounting skates.