The radius of hollow in skating is the angular shape between the two edges of the skate blade. Freestyle skaters use a radius of hollow that allows them to start, accelerate, stop and perform jumps and leaps. Each individual freestyle skater has her own preferences on the proper radius of hollow that is needed on the ice.
Skate Blade Radius of Hollow
The typical skate blade is about .15 inches thick, although some are only .11 inches thick. The bottom of that skate blade is ground out by a machine that gives it a circular cross section. The radius of that circle is called the Radius of Hollow. The shorter the radius, the deep the the cut. The longer the radius, the shallower the cut.
Deep Hollow
A sharper or more acute angle makes the freestyle slate likely to slide sideways on the ice. This makes the skater's edges more secure and will help the skater stay on his feet and lessen the possibility of a mistake that results in a fall. However, a deeper hollow is harder for the skater to control and that means the skater may not have as much control over his direction.
Shallow Hollow
If the deeper hollow gives the skater more security that he will stay upright on the ice, the shallower hollow will give the skater more freedom to perform on the ice. The skater that is increasing her jumping and performing repertoire will use the shallower hollow. That skate is less likely to catch an edge while performing. Top level freestyle skaters will eventually go back to a deeper hollow because the greater edge control will be necessary since they are performing their movements at much higher rates of speed.
Radius of Hollow Angles
The variation between a shallow hollow and a deep hollow sounds quite insignificant, but these small differences make a key difference in the freestyle skate. The radius of hollow in freestyle skate usually ranges from 7/16 of an inch to 5/8 of an inch. The width of the skate blade and its radius of hollow combine to give the skate its bite angle. A bite angle of 7 degrees is considered shallow while a bite angle of 10 degrees is considered sharp.
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