Bought new skates, is this a defect?

[icewalker_bg 126]

Compared to the other skate, the front of the holder is shifted to the left, the rear tower is shifted to the right as pictured below. It looks to the eye like it is crooked but I have no tools to be certain. Should I sharpen and use the skates or just contact the manufacturer?

[jimmy 194]

Put a sharpie dot on the middle of the toe cap and at the middle of the boot at the rear. The center of the holder should be near that spot. If they are new, just swap them out for another pair. Repairing that is not going to work. Also, that looks like a EQ5. Could it be a factory second? They didn't sell those in the US market. Some of the ones I've seen that people picke dup online were simply rejects.

[icewalker_bg 126]

I doubt they are factory seconds. Bought from a Canadian store, not online.

[Souldriver 64]

just thinking about this now. i have one skate (roller) where the chassis is shifted about 1mm to the outside of the boot. would that be a problem if the whole chassis is shifted?

[syinx 139]

Same deal happened with me and my Makos. You really have to skate on it to tell. My right foot would wobble like a drunk madman due to the slightly misaligned runner. Took 'em into my LHS and they sorted it out just fine. Harder to tell with the Makos though, they are asymmetrical and some of it might have been psychological :P

[Vet88 674]

Poorly made or an alignment problem during the automated drilling and riveting process, skates from all brands and models have this issue now. The holder on the left skate of my Graf Ultras was out by an 1/8" (positioned to the outside like yours) compared to the right skate. I ended up drilling out the holder and realigining the frame, easy to do with Grafs and screws.

A simple measure from the holder to the edge of the base of the boot will tell you how much difference there is between the two but looking at the picture the holder looks offset. You need to go back to the retailer and sort it out before you sharpen and skate in them.

[jimmy 194]

I doubt they are factory seconds. Bought from a Canadian store, not online.

Just return them for another pair. Inspect the new skates.

[metalwinger13 1]

I had this also happen with a pair of Nexus 400.. Didn't know till i went to skate on them. My left foot wanted to roll in. LHS swapped them out for new ones and don't have that issue anymore.