Hockey vs. figure skate blades

[jjtt99 0]

Hi folks. A buddy and I were early for a game so we watched some good figure skaters for a bit and started to wonder how their skate blades differ from hockey. A couple things we came up with:

1. The jagged front which we guessed was for traction to launch their jumps.

2. The blades also look longer without much (if any) rocker -- perhaps for stability on landings.

Does anyone know others? They can do some crazy spins, but can't seem to stop "hockey style" so I'm guessing it's a really flat hollow. Correct?

And no, I'm not thinking about making a change from hockey to figure, but if you watch good figure skaters up close you can see they're doing some pretty cool stuff.

Anyone ever tried it? Or care to admit?

Cheers,

JJ

[Chadd 916]

When I've sharpened figure skates I've seen hollows anywhere from 1/2" to 1". It all depends on the discipline they are are focusing on as well as the usual size and strength.

[JR Boucicaut 3760]

Hollows depend on the type of skating they do, as well as blade shapes/profiles.

[hockechamp14 0]

aren't figure skate blades thicker? I thought I heard that somewhere.

[JR Boucicaut 3760]

Yes.

[Bruin88 0]

my sister figure skates. as they move up in levels they have to upgrade the blades. they sell blades separate from boots too. buncha confusing stuff.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

They can do some crazy spins, but can't seem to stop "hockey style" so I'm guessing it's a really flat hollow. Correct?

Figure skaters can definitely hockey stop. They just don't do it very often, I am guessing because it is a little inelegant looking.

[Langenbrunner15 0]

Anyone ever tried it? Or care to admit?

Cheers,

JJ

I actually thought about doing it and still think of it ocassionaly because of how much it would help my balance in hockey. Am I right or no?

[hocckey77 0]

my sister figure skates. as they move up in levels they have to upgrade the blades. they sell blades separate from boots too. buncha confusing stuff.

yea, good figure skates are expensive. When i was molding my grafs Fri. i saw some graf figure skate BOOTS for $675us. then the blades i saw were like $300. Well that was, i guess, high end stuff.

[Patrick67 1]

Lagenbrunner15: You're seriously thinking about picking up figure skateing, as a way to improve your play.... man that's rich :lol:

But hey, if it really helps, I'll start doing it too. (if my GF was a figure skater and an unstoppable urge to jump in tights occurs...)

[jjtt99 0]

Many years ago I once saw a guy playing hockey with figure skates on. The refs made him put tape over the jagged tip. He was pretty bad so not sure what the story was as I never saw him again.

[Eazy_b97 1]

It may help with your balance, but the skates are also designed to keep you on your feet, so I can't see too many gains. The blades comes out at the back, to prevent (or help) you from falling over backwards, so that won't help that much. In my powerskating classes we did some jumps and twirls for edge control, so I'd do that if you were looking to help your game. Figure skates are very expensive, we sold a fair chunk of skates well over $1,000 CAD.

[tuzzifan44 0]

I've always wondered what its like skating in figure skates, but it will probally never happen, a 6'5" 235lb guy in figure skates :D

[whbd18 0]

I used to try them every once in awhile at skating class last year in school.The first time I tried them I thought I was going to break my ankle the boot was so flimsy.

[Grinder 2]

Okay, this is probably high on the list of things I'll regret disclosing, but I learned to skate as a figure skater, starting from the age of 5 until I was 12 years old (I'm 37 now, so take from this what you will!).

When I was 11, I asked to go in a power skating class that the hockey league in town was putting on. My mother put myself and my older brother in. When we got there, we found that we were the two youngest people there (my brother was 13, next oldest guy was 15) The first day on the ice, we got howls of laughter from the guys pointing at our figure skates. But, when the coach said "Okay, down the ice and back!" at the whistle, we were the first ones there by a long shot. We skated circles around everyone else. I just needed to figure out two things: 1) What to do with this long piece of lumber they wanted me to carry around, and 2) what side was the flat end supposed to be carried on, left or right?

Even though I left the sport at the age of 12, it's never been hard to get back out on the ice when I manage to occasionally. The transition to hockey skates was only a challenge in that I no longer had picks (the steel teeth at the toe of the blade) to rely on to stop with (Imagine pivoting so you're travelling backwards, going onto tip-toe, and leaning forward away from where you're going - that's a stop with picks).

Figure skating focuses exclusively on skating technique and form. The pivots and turns of hockey can be slow compared to those in figure skating. Every hour on the ice in figure skating focuses on nothing but skating. No lectures on defence, stickhandling, or an opponent. It's nothing but skating drills and practice. Both sports require excellent balance and explosive power (If you doubt that, check out the thighs on the ladies at the winter olympics this year).

If I was a father (which I soon shall be on or around March 8th, so clearly the figure skating did not have any effect on my heterosexual preferences, you redneck bumpkins!) who wanted my child to be an excellent hockey player, I would let them learn to skate as a figure skater, and make the transition around the age of ten. Stickhandling? That's what street hockey is for in the meantime. I think it's better to learn a good foundation of skating and balance, then add in the stick.

[logan 0]

Didn't Paul Kariya learn figure skating when he was young?

[JR Boucicaut 3760]

As did the Niedermayers.

[Langenbrunner15 0]

Lagenbrunner15: You're seriously thinking about picking up figure skateing, as a way to improve your play.... man that's rich :lol:

But hey, if it really helps, I'll start doing it too. (if my GF was a figure skater and an unstoppable urge to jump in tights occurs...)

When im in the NHL we will see who get'ss the last laugh...

[Neo5370 132]

Anybody who thinks learning to figure skate is something to laugh at is a moron.

They have phenomenal balance and edge control. Langenbrunner15 is right. When he skates circles around someone he is going to have the last laugh.

Same idea with boxer/football players taking ballet to help w/ their footwork. It's too bad when close minded people reject something like figure skating as a hockey training aid.

I'm not saying buy figure skates necessarily but I try to do some of the drills I see figure skaters doing whenever I'm at public skate. I've never been better on my edges before.

[Langenbrunner15 0]

Neo exactly, im not going to go buy the skates but do some of the drills they do.....