subject: Buy the Right Skate Blades for Your Ice Skates [print this page] Buy the Right Skate Blades for Your Ice Skates
On the ice sliding from one end to the other, Ice skating is sometimes viewed as an art and those that participate in ice skating are greatly admired. The actual activity of ice skating has a long history and has been around for a number of centuries; possibly even before the discovery of metal blades, it is believed that animal bones and wood were used.
Today ice skates are boots made and attached to metal blades and are sometimes seen an a mastered art that looks easy to learn but can prove otherwise difficult. Because skate blades are used in various ice sports and activities, it is essential to understand the different types, their uses and designs. There are two main ways or styles of ice skating today, they are figure skating and hockey skating. Figure skating is used for ice skating activities such dance, freestyle skating aerobics and as the name suggests, figure skating. Where a skater creates figures when moving across the ice, a good example of this would be creating a plain 0 in ice. Hockey skating is part of the sport of hockey, there is no art to this, only balance and control of one's body and being able to move quickly on the ice field of play. Each one of the two types of ice skating uses a different kind of skating blade that is designed specifically for that type of skating.
- The figure skates - blades are longer styled in the shape of a "rocker" and give life to the name the blade carries that of a rocker. The blades are designed for a slow halt and have a small tail at the back which is used to enable a skater to come to a halt. The rocker design is effective for a skater on the ice as it gives them more control over their movements as they slice their way across the ice.
- The hockey skate blades by comparison are very different. Instead of the rocker design, they are designed to build momentum and enable skaters to easily move across the ice and make sudden stops. Thus the hockey skate blades are designed narrower and less curved than figure skates.
Skate blades are manufactured using carbon steel and are heat hardened to make them stronger and last more on the ice. If the skates are not hardened, they can easily wear with time. Because of carbon's reaction to water, it is essential to ensure that proper care is given to maintain ice skates. Areas such as a person's body weight, skill level on the ice, personal discipline and ice temperatures contribute to the wear and length that ice skates last. If there is any sign of wear on the blades it affects the way one moves and skates on the ice.
If a person is to own and keep a pair of ice skates, one must show the passion that is so clearly exemplified on the ice by dancers and hockey players
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