So what year are these skates?!

[jlspink22]

On a whim... I got them for $25 on eBay since my daughters reidell 12s are wobbly and pretty beat up (broke a hook already from tightening laces). No rust, leather is in great shape, as is padding.

[jlspink22]

And I just found the rest of the screws... For the blade mount

[icedancer]

Do they fit?

If so, the year is irrelevant unless she likes them so much she wants another pair when she outgrows these.

[nicklaszlo]

I am pretty sure broken hooks can be replaced.

[jlspink22]

The 2 shops near me won't replace the hooks.

They do fit really well but I was just surprised as they look like they came from 10-15+ years ago!

[jlspink22]

Oh and I emailed about the skates not being permanently mounted - do I let her skate in them and then put in permanent screws? The soles are not sealed? Do I need to seal them?

[sarahspins]

They do fit really well but I was just surprised as they look like they came from 10-15+ years ago!

10-12 years at minimum would be my guess.  The freestyle has gone through a number of changes over the past decade or so, the most obvious being the addition of flex notches at the ankle, which these don't have.  My daughter had a pair that was about 8 years old that did have them.  About 5-6 years ago they also started putting the model name on the tongue in gold lettering (which is how I knew the pair I had was older than that).

I would seal the soles with snoseal, and I would get the advice of a coach before permanently mounting the blades - if she's only in group lessons, just mention to the instructor/coach at the beginning of class that she has new (to her) skates with a temporary mount, so they can watch for any obvious alignment problems.  Depending on your daughter's level it could be pretty easy to work out if the alignment is good, but if she can't hold a steady one foot glide forward and backward it could be much trickier to tell.

[Query]

Some brands have the year printed on the bottom or on the inside of one boot. But I agree that age isn't as important as condition.

Make sure the screws are as tight as you can without being in danger of stripping the leather, especially on a temp mount, or they will shift. Be sure to use a near-perfect fitting screwdriver, and push down hard on your your screw driver before turning, or the head of the screw will shift.

And if your daughter's feet or anything else hurts when she skates, make whatever mods are needed so that goes away. You are making a big step up in stiffness, and it would be easy to mess up her feet if the boots don't fit. (On the flip side, they look like very nice boots!  )

You might ask your pro shop whether they are heat mold-able. The outward curve at the heels suggests they might be. If so, that can help with fit a lot.

If you can make these work, I wouldn't worry about fixing up the old Riedell 12's. They were pretty cheap boots to begin with.

[jlspink22]

I emailed the man in charge of figure skates at the pro shop and he is going to help me with mounting and whatever else I need to do. I will ask about heat molding.

She tried them on and they are snug in a good way but no complaints of pain (although a few Blisters haven't stopped her yet).  The riedell skates have gone from looking like new to being soft in the upper part of the boot in about 2.5 months. They were bought gently used so no idea how long they were worn prior to us having them. We always let them air dry, no bags, etc. You can tell she needs more support just by looking at her skate. Fingers crossed they work out well.