I spoke to Yuri last night, and he showed me his blades ... the heel is cut away at 45 degrees, which I could see instantly would enable him to lean back ... he claims this 'pattern' is quite normal ...

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The impossible is just a journey away ...

I just wanted to add a couple things... I've been a ballet dancer for a lot longer than figure skater and the Gaynor Minden pointe shoes are verrry controversial amongst dancers. I get all alarmed when I hear someone bring up the Gaynor topic because it can get so heated in certain circles. Some people say they are "cheater" shoes because the shoes may offer more support than traditional paste/paper shoes. The theory taught is that the dancer should do most of the work getting en pointe, not the shoe. Anyway, doubt we want to have a long conversation about that but from what I've observed in dance is that a lot of people were excited about the Gaynors when they first came on the market, but the frenzy died down a few years later and I know very few people who use them now.

Another thing about the pointe shoe ribbons is that they offer very little or no ankle support. They're present mainly to keep the heel from slipping off and the shoes properly aligned on the foot. Same goes for the elastic. The ribbons actually are very irritating to the achillies tendons and cause more trouble than they're worth sometimes. "Sansha" came up with a lace-up pointe shoe several years ago that didn't use ribbons. It looks like a satin sneaker really with a pointe like toe box and I found it great to dance in but it never seemed to catch on either. Whoa this is way off topic... sorry.

The weird ballet boots that someone posted a piccy of is a fetish ballet shoe or boot. There is practically nothing, aside from the Gaynor Minden controversy, that will ruffle the feathers of a dancer more than this kind of "ballet" shoe. I believe most of the weight is on the toes but the heel does offer some support. ****shudder**** lol

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it here yet but there used to be "figure skates" that looked like ballet slippers but they had blades attached. I have a picture of some at home but I'm at college so I can't show you right now but I was always amazed when looking at that, that anyone would be able to skate in a ballet shoe. Does anyone know what I'm referring to? The photo I have is in a very old skating show brochure. I just can't believe they would work but somewhere along the line someone must have gotten tired of the traditional figure skate or very creative and wanted to try something new, not unlike the pointe shoe "experiments" that I've talked a little about above.

I think maybe (and I'm a simpleton) the reason figure skates seem to be more ideal with a raised heel is that you can't rise up on the ball of your foot because of the restrictions of the boot and so the heel gives you that lift. I can't imagine trying to jump or do anything flat footed (without the heel) and have very much power. In dance, if you're going to leap, you really get the power to do that from the plie' (knee bend) and then the roll-thru in your foot from the heel to the ball. It's a very quick and smooth action but you'd get nowhere if your foot was encased and flat footed in something stiff such as a skate boot. So maybe somebody realized along the way it was beneficial to have a raised heel and that it wasn't just an accident. I don't know..

Query, I'm really intimidated by you, so please try to be kind in your reply. I'm just a freshman in college and not really that bright, lol. I'm just saying things from my experiences and trying to add some perspective since I dance and skate. In no way am I meaning to be argumentative, mmmmmk?

mandy

p.s. Another thing to add was that I went from SP Teris to Jackson skates and the first time wearing the Jacksons, I noticed the heel was a lot lower. It took quite a while to get used to that. I don't know if my heel was just sitting lower in the boot or if the heel was actually shorter but it put a lot of strain on my calves.

Ouch again!

You know a lot more than me.

oddly, mine only squeak rarely. Haven't figured out why/when they do. It's like once every few weeks they'll squeak. And it goes away once I have warmed up usually.

I adore the hinged boots. A few weeks ago, I skated in my old (non-hinged) boots that I haven't used in over a year. I could still skate in them (though the boot leather has stiffened and the tongues were curling in on top of my foot painfully), but I didn't like not being able to bend any more.

Honestly, I think much of skating is learning fine-tuned control of where to skate on your blade for different things. It's really about learning control - and you teach yourself whether to be forward or more behind on the blade. There are times when you're on either - back three turns happen by going back to the heel of the blade. I think the high heel is probably there for historical reasons (first skates were attached to boots), and b/c of the "line" it creates - the look of extension. Functionally, I'm not convinced it helps. I had one pair of custom Harlick's made with a lower heel than usual - and *loved* it. I felt much more stable and like I was in charge of where I skated. I think the heels detract from control just like walking in high heels does - it's like you're operating up on the ball of your foot which is more teetery than on the flat of your foot. (I have since switched to Jackson hinged boots and love 'em even more for different reasons, so I'm no longer in Harlicks).

Anyway, to my knowledge no one has actually studied figure skating on flat boots - though I believe Elvis Stoiko really really wanted his boots made without a heel. Not sure how low he was able to get the boot though - boot companies resisted if I remember correctly.

Hockey skates do have a slight elevation of the heel over the ball of the foot. Not a high-heel, but the blade edge is definetly farther away from the heel of the foot than from the ball of the foot. Probably about 3/4" or maybe 1" higher.

Take a look at the hockey skate here: http://store.skate-buys.com/basu20icehos.html

See what I mean?

I don't have any hockey skates to look at anymore....I sold them last year. As a matter of fact I saw them on the ice just last month. I didn't recognize the the person I sold them to, but when I saw the skates it was like seeing an old friend.

Haha I know what you mean. I sold my first pair of skates (ProStar) when I started skating in 2006: having skated on them twice a year for a few years and then like five more years collecting dust in the closet, they were in perfect condition, plus I used bootcovers which I sold with the skates.
Then this new girl at the rink shows up this season. She's a beginner, she's got the same model skates and from the looks of it, the same size too. And her mom goes on about how lucky they were to get used skates in such good condition pretty cheap from this other woman who'd just had them for very short and bought them second-hand too...

I don't know if they're actually my old skates or not but they just might be...

Which is nowhere near as weird as my coach's daughter, who at the skate exchange afternoon discovered about a third of the club (beginners not counted) was skating in a pair of either her or her sister's old skates.