When do you know it's time for a blade adjustment?

[masterblaster]

I got new skates and blades in May, and I feel pretty used to them now. I'm still working on basic skills, and I've noticed that my right foot is consistently falling to the inside edge, moreso than my left foot. I can see it even when I'm just standing around on the ice, consciously trying to keep my ankles straight. To straighten my right blade, I have to do what feels like overcompensating to get on the flat. My ankles are very strong, so I don't think it's just a strength issue.

I can do forward one-foot glides fine, but I think I've learned to shift my weight (and possibly twist my shoulders improperly) to compensate for my right foot. When doing 2-foot turns with speed, I have a tendency to catch an inside edge, and backward one-foot glides are basically nonexistent because I fall inward and struggle to shift my weight. Two-foot spins are also a challenge due to catching an inside edge.

I already skate with arch supports as I have naturally flat feet, but they have not corrected the problem. Nor has a heel wedge.

Does all this mean it might be time to try adjusting the blade or shimming it?

[MCsAngel2]

So you didn't have this issue in your old boots. Have you looked at your boot and blade carefully, to see if they are mounted the same way (centered?) your old ones were? Do the blades *feel* right, under your feet, when standing on the ice?

I had a bit of blade alignment drama one one boot (first skates since coming back as an adult though). The front had been moved slightly inside on one foot to compensate for pronation, but he got the back wrong and it was slightly *outside*. It was causing me to be way pronated even when standing still and it *felt* wrong.  I had him remount it completely so it was totally centered and am preferring to work the problem from inside the boot (with wedges etc). Not perfect but the blade feels a million times better now.

[masterblaster]

I believe I had the same problem in my old skates, but I was just so new at skating that I didn't know exactly what was wrong (also, those skates were a size too big, adding to overall problems.) I can take a look at the blades though.

[tstop4me]

OP:  I suggest you read this article, written by a sports podiatrist:  http://www.aapsm.org/pdf/humble-skatinga.pdf

You start with corrective action within the boot, then move the blade if needed, then shim the blade if needed. 

* Corrective action within the boot requires sufficient room.   
* Skate techs have different preferences; so be careful.
* Moving the blades may require plugging up the old holes and drilling new holes; takes time to do; some skate techs don't want to bother, and go straight to shims.  Quick and dirty shimming is easier and faster; but, if shimming is not done correctly, you can warp the blade.  One skate tech I know doesn't like shims at all, and prefers to move the blades an extreme amount if needed (but that can lead to problems with stability). 
* A proper balance of all three corrective measures may be best, depending on the severity of the condition.  I pronate strongly; that's what I do.