Skating Equipment History
Rosin
Up until the late 1960's to early 19770's, the skating surfaces were made of a 'bare' hard wood, without any coating. They were typically Maple, Oak or occasionally Elm. And until the early 1960's, wheels were also made of Maple wood. The grip was poor between two. Skaters turned to ballet dance and gymnastics for an answer - Rosin. This white powder, applied to the floor, improved grip tremendously (for that time). As skaters spread it around the floor on their wheels, it had the unfortunate side effect of filling the air with dust, making rink cleanliness a nightmare and coating skaters cloths, hair and mouth.
As Kathy Peterson Tini relates, "As nouns the difference between rosin and resin is that rosin is (organic chemistry) a solid form of resin, obtained from liquid resin by vaporizing its volatile components while resin is a viscous hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees.
I can remember tracing the dance patterns with a can of it in an old coffee can with holes punched in it and nailed to a long stick. We used to leave the rink looking like we had white wigs on!"
Up until the late 1960's to early 19770's, the skating surfaces were made of a 'bare' hard wood, without any coating. They were typically Maple, Oak or occasionally Elm. And until the early 1960's, wheels were also made of Maple wood. The grip was poor between two. Skaters turned to ballet dance and gymnastics for an answer - Rosin. This white powder, applied to the floor, improved grip tremendously (for that time). As skaters spread it around the floor on their wheels, it had the unfortunate side effect of filling the air with dust, making rink cleanliness a nightmare and coating skaters cloths, hair and mouth.
As Kathy Peterson Tini relates, "As nouns the difference between rosin and resin is that rosin is (organic chemistry) a solid form of resin, obtained from liquid resin by vaporizing its volatile components while resin is a viscous hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees.
I can remember tracing the dance patterns with a can of it in an old coffee can with holes punched in it and nailed to a long stick. We used to leave the rink looking like we had white wigs on!"