Pronation/modifying insoles/do I need Superfeet?

[MCsAngel2]

For those who don't remember....I'm a returning skater (skated as a teen) who has not been able to get onto one foot (one foot glides, etc) since coming back 3.5 months ago.

I pronate (what I thought was mildly). After one private lesson in early July, where the coach took some video, I went to my tech who corrected the blade and gave me a 'large' wedge on the foot that is worse, and small wedge on the other foot.

There hasn't been any change except the worse foot feels much straighter, and the 'better' foot was feeling weirder, like would go to push off it and it would feel like it was barely striking the ice. (Like the other leg was longer now).

Today I added half of a furniture disc (AgnesNitt's solution) to the inside of my 'better' skates's insole, to hopefully even out my legs.

I also videoed myself a little bit (Yay quiet adult skate session). And discovered both feet are still pretty obviously pronating. Even with the worse foot feeling much straighter. Even with the wedging. So I have about 98% confirmation as to WHY I can't get on one foot now.

I'm going to have to add a serious amount of stuff to correct this, and probably farther forward than the heel too. I would really prefer not to shim the blades. So I am using the poron insoles that came with my boots. They are not thin liners, they are minimally padded but they do have give. My concern is that the bottom is thick foam, and it has give. Do you think I need something with a rigid underside like Superfeet in order for my homemade wedging to work?

I have read a ton about skates since coming back, but I was a little underinformed about Superfeet before buying them. I did buy a pair of yellow Superfeet, before I found out that they are meant for high arches. Mine are low. I should have tried black Superfeet. Well, I'm already out $50 for the yellow, and I'm groaning at paying that much more again, when I'm not sure whether or not I need the hard plastic to support my heel over the wedging.

ETA: Pretty sure now the weird feeling in my better foot is that the blade is slightly too far outside at the heel, at least that's what it feels like. I swear, I went through this with the tech on the other blade. This blade also makes a scraping sound when I'm stroking.

[tstop4me]

(a) Refer to my Reply #3 in this other thread for background material on adjustments within the boot, placement of the blade, and shimming of the blade:  http://skatingforums.com/index.php?topic=8406.0.  In some instances you need to do all three.  In my experience, a balance of multiple, moderate corrections is preferable to a single, extreme correction (preferred by some).

(b) I have no experience with Superfeet.  I do pronate strongly (previously normal arches, now fallen).  I made my own corrective footbeds, starting with a flat Poron substrate, then attaching heel wedges, longitudinal arch supports, and metatarsal arch supports.  So a rigid substrate is not essential (at least for me; but I can't say whether that applies in all instances).  One advantage of a substrate that provides some cushioning is that it smoothens the transition boundaries between all the corrective elements.

[tstop4me]

ETA: Pretty sure now the weird feeling in my better foot is that the blade is slightly too far outside at the heel, at least that's what it feels like. I swear, I went through this with the tech on the other blade. This blade also makes a scraping sound when I'm stroking.

Some of the problems you've been describing can also be due to (or at least exacerbated by) an improper sharpening, particularly if the edges aren't level. 

[MCsAngel2]

They’ve been sharpened twice now. Honestly, my tech has been doing this for 25 years. It’s not likely it’s an improper sharpening.

[tstop4me]

They’ve been sharpened twice now. Honestly, my tech has been doing this for 25 years. It’s not likely it’s an improper sharpening.

Still worth looking into.  I personally, as well as friends, have come across sharpeners:

(a) Who do a great job almost all the time, but have a rare bad instance;

(b) Who did a great job almost all the time for many years, but then started getting sloppy; and

(c) Who did a great job almost all the time for several decades, came down with dementia, and started wrecking blades.