BTW I suspect the most likely explanation for the o.p.'s issue is that the blades are warped. (Which might also have resulted in sharpening with asymmetric edges, because of the way sharpening machines work, unless one uses an expensive blade holder that removes the bend.) If they are too badly warped, it is going to be hard to use them. And I was told that straightening a blade with too big a warp risks breaking them. (But it sounds like the blades are old enough that returning them isn't an option.)
(Or maybe that her old blades were warped - and she got used to compensating for that, by changing her skating gate to roll through the warp? I suppose that is possible.)
(I still don't really understand why blade warping is so common - especially from relatively expensive brands like JW & MK. Pattern 99's aren't the most expensive blades, but they certainly aren't cheap. They really ought to have better quality control, and not ship the warped ones.)
Though I still wonder if the skate tech(s) could have altered the profile on the old or new blades in such a way as to change the way the blades behave. Or simply that as metal was removed on the old blades, she learned to compensate to avoid the toepick by balancing further back on the blades. And that she now balances further forward... Or that it is somehow a consequence of the lowered heels.
I don't see how to figure that sort of thing out without a good coach's help. Most of the skate techs I have met wouldn't be competent to help with that sort of thing - some of them don't know much about figure skating. Of course, some coaches don't know much about blades - but maybe coaches are a better starting point.
[B]Sk8rgrl234[/B]: have you asked a good coach to help you figure it out?
tstop4me: If I understand right, you press the vertical leg against the side of the blade, so there is no gap there, and look to see if the horizontal leg touches both edges? If it only touches one edge, you conclude the edges aren't symmetric?
I place it balanced across both edges, and press down on it a little to keep it there. So the weight and the pressed pressure is borne by the edges. So I need a light enough square that there is very little pressure on the edges, or it might damage them. (And it would be even worse if I accidentally slide it across the edges a little as I place it there.) I look to see if there is any gap between the vertical edge and the side of the blade. I like my way, because the vertical side is long, so the gap is wide, and is easy to see. (Yes, that only works because my blades have flat vertical sides. But as you noted, you assume that too.)
An issue I ran into while trying squares that were just a little too big (obviously, I wasn't choosing the really big squares, where the vertical leg would hit the side of the boot, and make this impossible): They aren't stable, balanced across the two edges, so it is hard to make sure they are contacting both edges. I need to add a lot of pressure to keep them balanced, which could easily damage the edges. With a very lightweight plastic square, I need relatively little pressure.
But your way, maybe you can still see the gap with a magnifying glass? I hadn't thought of that.
BTW, with an L-Brace, I'm not sure any of them have a well enough formed right angle. In particular, are they all created by bending the metal, resulting in a rounded corner, rather than formed in a way that creates a sharp right angle corner? I haven't actually tried any of them. I saw some images of L-braces which are obviously rounded, but maybe they aren't all that way?
I chose the cheap plastic squares because I think they are stamp cut, so they can have sharp corners (though for some reason, a lot of them don't - many actually have rounded corners, which seems pretty useless). But also, machinist grade tools are expensive (and have no good reason to buy them, since I lack access to a machine shop, or even good quality woodworking shop tools).
Plus there is a certain appeal and elegance to figuring out how to make do with cheap tools, like dollar store tools and popsickle sticks. But obviously, the really good tools tend to be easier and faster to use, and you shouldn't need to compensate for potential flaws.
I just realized that my test for straight edges in cheap tools isn't complete: two straight edges could slide smoothly against each other without a gap if one has a convex edge, and one has a concave edge. I should also turn one of them upside down, place it over the other, and verify that isn't true.
Anyway, this is getting off-topic.
That might be your best bet.