Behind the Scenes at Riedell: How Ice Skates Are Made

Written By: Riedell | April 19, 2012

You know Riedell creates amazing ice skates for all levels of skaters. But have you ever wondered how our quality figure skate boots and ice skate blades are made? Keep reading to learn more about our facility and production process in this “behind the scenes” look at Riedell Skates!

Founded more than 65 years ago in the town of Red Wing, Minnesota, Paul Riedell had the goal of making comfortable, quality and affordable ice skates. Paul played a huge role in making recreational skating widely available to children, teens and adults and became a member of both the roller and ice skating Hall of Fame. Today in Red Wing, Paul’s four grandsons along with 100 skilled employees handcraft and finish more ice skates than anywhere in the world!

Did you know? The manufacturing process for building figure skate boots involves as many as 125 different production steps!

To see this process in motion, check out our feature from Twin Cities Live:

First, all ice skates go through the cutting department to cut the leather that will make up the overall skate. Next, the fitting department provides all the necessary stitching and cementing for the components on the upper of the skate. Then, the ice skate moves to the lasting department where the upper is shaped around the last (the last is a molded foot formation that gives the skate consistent shape, width and dimension). This process is one of the most important when building skates because it determines the overall sizing of the skate.

The final step in the boot making process is the bottoming and finishing department. Here, the skate bottom and outsole are prepared, and the outsole and heel are trimmed to match the size of the skate. Finally, the skate is ready for polishing, final inspection and packing!

With Riedell Skates and the precision edges of Eclipse Blades, our ice skates are infused with performance and comfort features to make the most of every moment on the ice.

Looking for Riedells near you? Through a worldwide network of authorized dealers, Riedell helps match skaters’ feet with the right skate. View our Dealer Locator to find a dealer near you.