Ice Skate

Skate Shoes are boots with blades attached to the bottom, used to propel oneself across a sheet of ice. The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with leather straps. A pole with a sharp metal spike was used for pushing the skater forward. According to a study done by Federico Formenti, University of Oxford, and Alberto Minetti, University of Milan, Finns were the first to develop Skate Shoes some 5,000 years ago from animal bones.This was important for the Finnish populations to save energy in harsh winter conditions when hunting in Finnish Lakeland.The first skate to use a metal blade was found in Scandinavia and was dated to 200 C.E. and was fitted with a thin strip of copper folded and attached to the underside of a leather shoe.

In about 1859, James A Whelpley of New Brunswick, Canada developed a skate that was well suited for long distance skating on the bays and lakes of southern New Brunswick.Skate Shoes was called the Long Reach skate, after Long Reach, a section of the Saint John River, where the Whelpley family operated a factory manufacturing the skates. The skate had a steel blade about 40 cm long, on a wood platform that was attached by leather straps to normal boots.The Whelpley family continued to make the Long Reach skates in New Brunswick, until about 1886, when the factory was moved to Keene, New Hampshire. Modern ice skate blades are not shaped like knives. The bottom of the blade has a crescent-shaped hollow, creating two sharp edges on each skate.

Ideally, the two edges of a blade are parallel, but poor maintenance practices, such as improper sharpening or lack of consistent sharpening, can often result in oblique edges. These "bad" edges can affect skating ability significantly. The depth of this hollow is known as the Radius of Hollow (RoH). The Radius of Hollow is typically between 1/4" and 1" depending on the type of Skate Shoes and the user. The optimal depth depends on factors such as the skater's weight, ability, strength, sporting activity, and (for ice hockey) style of play. The skater uses these edges in different combinations in order to maneuver. When ice skates are sharpened the blade is ground against a template either to restore the hollow or provide a different radius.

It's written by skate shoes date 11.15.2011

Tags: Skate Shoes

Sources:http://www.goodlandshoes.com