| Dutch ice skates with curled-up runner blades (4) |
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Fig.1: Holland skates with curled-up blades, c. 1880 The high rising curls were unsafe because they could easily hook with sometimes dramatic consequences. Therefore gradually the curls disappeared. But before the vanished completely the industry offered ice skates with symbolic curls. It is interesting to realize that this happened all over the skater's world at about the same time. Good ideas have many fathers and thus this design detail is named after men like Paulsen, Salchow and in the Netherlands Wichers-de Salis. The model marks the end of the blacksmith-made ice skates. The runner blades no longer are forged by man power but punched out of metal sheets. The curls become as flat as sheet of paper (details 1a and 2a). Thus, also the connection between platforms and runner blades changes. The forged eyes are replaced by bolts and mutters. The bolts are fixed to the blades by means of pins or slots (details 1b and 1c). A side effect is that the blades now easily can be extended at the rear or even beyond the end of the platforms. This made the ice skates not only safer, but faster as well. Manufacturer: unknown Mark: none Technical data: total length: 35.5 cm; height over ice: 3.3 cm; platforms: 28 cm long, 6 cm wide; runner blades: 14 mm tall., 3,5 mm thick; weight: 275 g |
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Fig.2: Holland skates with curled-up blades, c. 1900 Original solution providing for a design just in between two style periods. Manufacturer: P. van Staveren Mz Mark: detail 2b Technical data: total length: 38.5 cm; height over ice 3.4 cm; platforms: 31 cm long, 6.5 cm wide; runner blades: 15 mm tall, 3 mm thick; weight: 300 g |
 detail 1a |
 detail 1b |
 detail 1c
 detail 2b |
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