The wood of the skate should be slightly hollowed, so as to adapt it
to the ball of the foot; and, as the heel of the boot must be thick
enough to admit the peg, it may be well to lower the wood of the skate
corresponding to the heel, so as to permit the foot to regain that
degree of horizontal position which it would otherwise lose by the
height of the heel; for the more of the foot that is in contact with
the skate, the more firmly will these be attached. As the tread of the
skate should correspond, as nearly as possible, with that of the foot,
the wood should be of the same length as the boot or shoe; the irons
of good steel, and well secured in the wood.
These should pass beyond the screw at the heel, nearly as far as the
wood itself; but the bow of the iron should not project much beyond the
tread.
If the skate project much beyond the wood, the whole foot, and more
especially its hind part, must be raised considerably from the ice
when the front or bow of the skate is brought to bear upon it; and, as
the skater depends upon this part for the power of his stroke, it is
evident that that must be greatly diminished by the general distance of
the foot from the ice. In short, if the skate be too long, the stroke
will be feeble, and the back of the leg painfully cramped: if it be too
short, the footing will be proportionally unsteady and tottering.
As the position of the person in the act of skating is never vertical,
and is sometimes very much inclined, and as considerable exertion of
the muscles of the leg is requisite to keep the ankle stiff, this ought
to be relieved by the lowness of the skates. Seeing, then, that the
closer the foot is to the ice, the less is the strain on the ankle,
it is clear that the foot ought to be brought as near to the ice as
possible, without danger of bringing the sole of the shoe in contact
with it, while traversing on the edge of the skate. The best height is
about three-quarters of an inch, and the iron about a quarter of an
inch thick.
The grooved or fluted skate, if ever useful, is of service only to
boys, or very light persons, whose weight is not sufficient to catch
the ice in a hard frost. It certainly should never be used by a person
who is heavier than a boy of thirteen or fourteen years of age usually
is, because the sharp edge too easily cuts into the ice, and prevents
figuring. Fluted skates, indeed, are even dangerous: for the snow or
ice cuttings are apt to collect and consolidate in the grooves, till
the skater is raised from the edge of his skate, and thrown.
In the general inclination of the foot in skating, no edge can have
greater power than that of rectangular shape: the tendency of its
action is downwards, cutting through rather than sliding on the
surface; and greater hold than this is unnecessary. The irons of
skates should be kept well and sharply ground. This ought to be done
across the stone, so as to give the bottom of the skate so slight a
concavity as to be imperceptible, which insures an edge whose angle is
not greater than right. Care must be taken that one edge is not higher
than the other; so that, when the skate is placed upon an even surface,
it may stand quite perpendicularly. The wear of the iron not being
great with a beginner, one grinding will generally last him through an
ordinary winter’s skating on clean ice.
The bottom of the iron should be a little curved; for, if perfectly
straight, it would be capable of describing only a straight line,
whereas the skater’s progress must be circular, because, in order to
bring the edge to bear, the body must be inclined, and inclination can
be preserved only in circular motion. This curve of the iron should be
part of a circle, whose radius is about two feet. That shape enables
the skater to turn his toe or heel outwards or inwards with facility.
A screw would have a firmer hold than a mere peg in the hole of the
boot; but, as it is less easily removed, skaters generally prefer the
peg. The skater should be careful not to bore a larger hole in the heel
than is sufficient to admit the peg. The more simple the fastenings of
the skate the better. The two straps--namely, the cross strap over the
toe, and the heel strap--cannot be improved, unless perhaps by passing
one strap through the three bores, and so making it serve for both.
[Illustration]
Before going on the ice, the young skater must learn to tie on the
skates, and may also learn to walk with them easily in a room,
balancing alternately on each foot.