ice skates - The virtual ice Skates museum

Friesland speed skates (1)

	Fig.1: Friesland speed skates, middle 19th century Traditional 'common' model with high rising necks and short blades. 'Common' means that the blades end before the platform end under the middle of the heel. Braking with this type of ice skates was done by lifting the toes and scratching the ice with the sharp hook at the rear. This required balance and often caused injuries when the skater lost it and tumbled backward. Manufacturer: unknown Mark: none Technical data: total length: 42 cm; height over ice: 3.2 cm; platform: 29 cm long, 5 cm wide; runner blade: 12 mm high, 3 mm thick; weight: 230 g.
Fig.2: Friesland speed skates, last quarter 19th century Contrary to 'common' Friesland ice skates the blades of these skates run until the end of the platforms or even beyond them making them both faster and safer. They required a different method of braking which was done by sliding sideward and scraping the ice in stead of scratching it. Nowadays this is standing practice. Manufacturer: unknown Mark: none Technical data: total length: 40.5 cm; height over ice: 3.3 cm; platform: 28 cm long, 5 cm wide; runner blade: 15 mm high, 2.5 mm thick; weight: 240 g.
	Fig.3: Friesland speed skates, last quarter 19th century These skates have just an iron tip without a protecting brass finial. All Friesian skates from before the middle of the 19th century looked like that. On later skates the finials were applied to protect against the chance of injuries due to the sharp tips. The tips and the finials were just decorations and at last disappeared completely for reasons of efficiency when skates were manufactured industrially. Manufacturer: unknown Mark: none Technical data: total length: 37.5 cm; height over ice: 3 cm; platform: 28 cm long, 5 cm wide; runner blade: 12 mm high, 2.5 mm thick; weight: 235 g.
Fig.4: Friesland speed skates, first quarter 20th century Traditional model with middle high neck, provided with a modelled platform for better contact between shoe and skate. Manufacturer: B. Lantinga, Warga Mark: Technical data: total length: 40 cm; height over ice: 3.3 cm; platform: 28 cm long, 6 cm wide; runner blade: 11 mm high, 2.8 mm thick; weight: 300 g.

Friesland
The Netherlands comprises 13 provinces of which Friesland (pronounce freezeland)
is one. It lies in the northeast. The original inhabitants have a long history. They belong to the population group of the Fries that have blood ties with the Celts. They are stubborn people with their own specific culture. Apart from Dutch they speak their own Fries language (which is not a Dutch dialect!). Hence it is not surprisingly that they had their own model of ice skates. Friesland is a low lying country of meadows cut by small canals to keep the grass dry. In autumn when there is more precipitation the meadows flush and not much cold is necessary to freeze the thin layer of water. It seems that the Fries have always wanted to measure their strengths on the ice as speed skating has been a popular pastime for ages. Friesland skates are always speed skates.

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