It felt like tentacles were reaching up from the ice and grabbing my blades, pulling me down, down, down, into a living hell.
Fortunately, I have pictures:
Evil Picture
 | ||||
| Rising from the Cthulu mythos, come the cursed slime tentacles of the Evil One. Arms of of the Great Gods , they slide between the grains of sand until they merge into ice, creeping into the breath of the good earth, reaching into steel of the mystic edge blades of the ice dancer.* |
Banal Picture
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| "Crap, I'm stuck" |
I know of that which you speak. After my guy sharpens my skates I have him dull them down just a little. It's a subjective thing--trial and error. But worth it. I HATE grabby blades.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad we've found three sharpeners in a row who can sharpen blades in a way that still allows me to stop (current sharpener is also my coach). I took a hard fall once from not being able to stop on freshly sharpened blades, and don't want to repeat the experience!
ReplyDeleteI always ask for my blades to be "stoned" after sharpening, to prevent the "too sharp" feeling. --R.
ReplyDeleteMy skate tech does run a stone lightly over the new sharpening. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in the stars---but my skating.
ReplyDeleteWhen I've been skating on dull blades for a long time, I need a little adjustment period. It only takes me a half hour to get my stops back. Although backwards stops will need another run on public.
I had the same problem with my new skates. I couldn't go diagonally at all. No snowplows, no swizzles, nothing involving curves. Just straight forwards. (I was too scared to try backwards.) I did not have that problem with my old blades, in fact, I loved them from the moment I stepped on the ice. They glided without any effort whatsoever and I was finally able to master the snowplow once I had them on. But I had someone different sharpen the new blades. I don't know if he used a different ROH or if they're just way sharper than I'm used to, but it was horrifying. It improved slightly over the half-hour or so that I skated, but not much.
ReplyDeleteRecently went out on my new sharpened blades. During class warm up I'm zigging across the ice. So much fun, I'm going fast with no effort. Suddenly realise that I can't stop and then I do. Full face and body slam into the hockey barrier + glass. My ice halo prevented concussion, wrist guards protect my forearms. My nose and chin leave an impression on the glass, along with my knees they are bruised.
ReplyDeleteVarious family members and friends are suggesting that I switch to hockey just for the protective gear. Cheeky sods!
I have just experienced this today for the first time. I bought second hand professional boots but had to get new blades (my old ones maybe had one sharpen left) and got them sharpened by a professional. Well, on natural ice which was harder than I've ever been on, I could not stop. Well, I did, but it was instant and ballast took me to the ground. It was frightening since I like to come in for long lazy stops. I tried dulling them a little on the rubber mats, but what else can be done?
ReplyDelete