Inline skates were invented over a century ago. The original US patent #480,610, granted in 1892, describes a multi-wheeled skate with the wheels in-line. It even had provisions to allow one to remove the wheels and attach a blade for ice-skating! The materials available then (low grade steel, leather or rubber for wheels and/or brakes, plain bearings) did not adequately promote the sport of inline skating. Paved surfaces were probably hard to find too.
Not until the advent of light-weight thermo-plastics, precision molding, and with the marketing savvy of several pioneer inline skate manufacturers in the mid-1980's did the sport finally establish itself.
The inline skating giant RollerBlade(TM) was at the forefront of the movement, and even found it difficult to keep its tradename from being used to describe the sport.
Currently, there are dozens of manufacturers that provide inline skaters a wide variety of quality, fit, style, and cost. Companies whose sole purpose is to provide accessories for inline skates are also popping up. This is where Shing Industries, the makers of LASERBLADES (US pat. 5,320,366; pat. pend. Canada), makes its contribution. Neither Shing Industries or LASERBLADES are affiliated with RollerBlade corporation.
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What are they for?
Shing Industries isn't interested in competing within the inline skate market. Its flagship product is a patented design for a blade that attaches to most inline skates, allowing a skater to adapt his or her inline skates into functional ice skates.
The concept is straightforward. Use one pair of boots for two different but similar activities. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that removing the wheels from an inline skate and attaching an ice skating blade should work.
As the inventor of LASERBLADES, I recognized that the need for such a product when I shopped around for a pair of inline skates that fit and performed well for the type of skating that I do. Occasionally, I like to ice skate, and it seemed wasteful to me to go out, buy another pair of skates, and break them in just for ice skating.
Also, renting ice skates is never ideal. The blades of the rental skates are usually dull, and the boots never fit that well. There's nothing like owning your own pair of skates.
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What makes them better?
Other products exist that allow you to switch from inline skating to ice skating (e.g. Switch-It(TM)). Once you buy their boots, however, you are constrained to buy their products. With such a system, you are not free to choose who's accessories to buy. You won't be totally satisfied if any of the boots or accessories don't feel right, have the wrong color, or cost more than those of competing brands.
Or, perhaps you don't have the luxury to choose for yourself which inline skate to buy. Maybe some one else bought a pair for you, or you got hand-me-downs, or you don't feel like going through the ordeal of buying another pair of boots.
LASERBLADES afford you the freedom to choose almost any inline skate, and use that same boot to ice skate. It would also make a convenient gift for some one who already has a pair of inline skates.
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How do they work?
LASERBLADES bolt onto the inline skate using the same bolts that hold the wheels on. With the same bolts fastened hand tight (people tend to over-tighten the bolts), LASERBLADES attach firmly in place.
The patented design allows LASERBLADES to fit a range of different models of inline skates; in addition, it also allows LASERBLADES to fit a range of sizes! Whether you outgrow your boots, or just wear them out, the LASERBLADES that you used on your old pair might fit on your new pair of inline skates (one size does not fit all, but does fit several sizes).
And, LASERBLADES are available in both hockey and figure-skating styles.
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How do they perform?
Needless to say, I use LASERBLADES on my inline boots, and they work great! But I'm at best a recreational ice skater, so I asked roller hockey pro Billy DelliGatti from the Oakland Skates, a professional team, to try out LASERBLADES.
Hesitant at first, he thought the blades might not be rigidly fixed in place, or that he might not get as much lean on the turns before the inline skate itself would start hitting the ice. These misconceptions were dispelled after he tried LASERBLADES on his own pair of inline skates. He darted around on the ice as nimbly as you would expect of a professional skater. With a grin on his face, he skated circles around me and other folks at the rink. Billy did tricks, jumps, and carved turns effortlessly.
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How are they made?
The high quality blades are made of a unique steel alloy (Sheffield Steele for the curious), and are chrome-plated to protect them from the elements. The blades are precision cut by high tech, high power lasers. The patented design allows us to cut a pair of blades at the same time, thus producing a minimal amount of scrap and using a minimal amount of raw steel. We use the earth's precious resources sparingly to create LASERBLADES.