A bit of history at the rink

I was at the rink for afternoon public a while back, when I spotted a pair of wooden skate guards in the hands of a woman seated on the bottom row of the stands.

"Oh my god," I exclaimed, "Those are wood skate guards, where'd you get them?"

"They were my mother's; she gave them to my daughter."

The were made by the old Chicago firm of Nestor Johnson. A beautiful cream colored enamel over wood. They were so smooth they looked like plastic until you looked at a tiny spot on the end where the paint had chipped off. I've never seen any this good on ebay or any vintage site.

Then the daughter showed up in her grandmother's skates. They were just perfectly preserved. Five hooks, not four, and made from leather so soft you could have made gloves from them. They went up the girl's calf (she was my almost height). I looked at the blade and they weren't freestyle blades, or figures blades. So recreational in all probability. But those boots were definitely figures boot soft. All leather too, so from the days before plastic. (I rooted around online, and they may have been a version of Carol Heiss Recreational Skates--I found them with both 5 hooks and 6.)

Of course the mother and her daughter wanted to know if they were valuable. Certainly someone like me would like to have them, but I had to tell them there's not much market for used skating equipment.  She should treasure them for the memories of the grandmother who gave them to her.

I showed the girl how to tighten her laces and told the mother that if her daughter wanted to skate more she should get her new skates. Old leather can just give out if it's stressed, and new skates are designed differently.

"But," I told them, "If you show up at the rink with those blade guards, the old coaches will go just wild. Don't lose them. They're a piece of skating memoribilia."

(I'm kicking myself for not taking pictures. But I'm of the generation that doesn't think, "Oh, I have a phone I can take a picture.")

1928 (!) Nestor Johnson Speed Skate Ad

Wood Skate Guards

I know it sometimes seems like the rink guards are wooden headed, but I'm talking about skate guards. Yes, the plastic thingies you put on your blades so you can tromp around. These were actually made of wood up until sometimes in the 60s. I first read about these in the book "I can teach you to figure skate" by Tina Noyes.

I've seen these with the customer's name painted or carved on

Don't these seem classy? One problem. They rotted.

Urgh!

So when plastic guards were invented, people dumped the wooden ones right away. I've got some serious issues about plastic blade guards, but they are an improvement over the wood ones.

But I recently came across some wood ones on Etsy. I think the guy who makes them thinks blade guards are used for storing the skates. I don't think these are walkable. They don't have any clips, instead they use magnets. The curve up front is too shallow to really walk in. Maybe if he changed the front end to something like the other guards pictured above, and curved the bottom a little, these might be walkable, and a cute gift for the skater who has everything.  It would be super cool if the skater's name was painted on the side.

On the plus side they're probably waterproofed.
They have an exterior grade finish.

Ever hear the story of how Maribel Vinson Owens used to whack Frank Carroll with a skate guard? Now you understand why after 50 years he still remembers it. He was getting whacked with two pieces of wood!