What exactly do I have here?

[Ashmire]

I picked these up for an extremely cheap single digit price in a local thrift store because they looked nicer than the other thrift store skates I've been using since I started skating( just basic recreational skating to get in shape) about 4-5 months ago and am starting to get annoyed with.   They do not, however, fit my feet at all and according to all the size charts I can find the blades are about an inch too short for the smallest size I can wear.  However, they do seem to be from a pair of well-respected companies, so I'm thinking my best course would be( a little sadly, since they're really quite beautiful I think) to Ebay them in hopes of getting some money to put towards something I can use.  As far as I can see, there don't appear to be any marks of sharpening or other signs that they've ever actually been worn at all, though there is damage to the lining that looks like it might have been due to old age/poor storage---I'm almost wondering if they might have been a display set in a pro-shop or something rather than someone's actual skates.   MK seems to be a much-admired brand, but this particular model isn't listed on their website so perhaps it's a discontinued one?   Harlick's, likewise, are said to be very good skate boots, but I don't know how much the trashed lining detracts from the value( I've heard of relining but don't know anything about it), also they feel very soft for skate boots, almost as flexible as my regular walking shoes, though they're good quality leather.  Would I be better off separating the boots and blades, or just sell the pair as is?  Anyway, here are some pictures( hopefully, anyway, since forums always seem to go weird with pics on me) so you can maybe see what I'm talking about.

[sarahspins]

Not sure on the blades... they look like they have dance style picks, but they don't seem to have a shorter dance tail.  They look like they have the older style brazing where the blade meets the sole/heel plates with nice graceful curves (MK doesn't do them like this any more, they stopped sometime in the early 90's I think, maybe earlier)

Here's a shot of the picks on my old (probably late 80's or early 90's era) MK Dance blades, you can see the picks are VERY similar.



HOWEVER, the blades on your boots have definitely been sharpened, and a lot at that.. there looks to be almost no sharpening zone left.

Older boots typically don't have the stiffness and support of modern boots - if you notice those look like they also come higher up on the ankle.  To my eye these have definitely been skated in, but they're just not as beat up and broken down as most skates get.

I think the market for these is limited... they're probably better off as a decoration than being skated in due to their age/condition.

[SynchKat]

I agree with sarahspins bothy he boots and blades look well used.  I would guess they are dance blades and don't look like they have a lot of life left in them.  Th boots look like they have been repolished a lot, especially the black parts.  You might be able to sell them for a little bit of money to someone who can't skate but wants to go out the odd time.

As far as the blades are concerned, I think there must have been a time when MK supplied blades to just everyone.  My mother in law has a pair of cheapo skates and I touched one day they have MK blades! So that being said there are probably lots of discontinued MK brand of blades out thre

[sarahspins]

There are lots of older discontinued MK blades, but these stand out because of the brazing.. I don't think they were low-end blades because of that.  They are probably not very high end blades either, but more mid-range.

[icedancer]

Well, the blade also says "Special" so who knows what they were used for exactly - I have never heard of an MK Special although there is the "Taylor Special" that many people were so fond of... maybe that's what these are.

I doubt that anyone would want the boots although some of us would like to see this soft style come back into favor - it might be better to try to sell through locally through a skate-swap or something like that at your rink rather than trying to sell them on ebay.

[sarahspins]

Taylor's Special was a Wilson blade

[Sk8Dreams]

The blades look like they might be for patch (figures), but I don't know the names of any of the old MK patch blades.  No one makes blades for patch anymore.

[AgnesNitt]

I thought patch too. But they have a TINY drop pick. They're more likely some long ago rec bladed.

[lilicedreamer]

Sorry but I don't really think anyone who is serious about skating, or even just taking lessons would use those skates.  I've been online trying to find a better quality pair of used skates and find that people sometimes think that 20 year old skates are usable.  For the most part they aren't.  And since safety is an issue, I'd just use these, painted and sequined, in my next big Christmas display!