Often asked: How To Tell If Ice Skates Need Sharpening?

How do you know if your figure skates are dull?

To see if blades are dull, you can simply feel them with your finger. Run your finger width-wise across the blade, not length-wise as you can cut yourself this way. You should be able to feel two distinct edges.

Do I need to sharpen my ice skates?

Skate blades need edges to be able to dig into the ice. New skates are not sharpened, so you will need to get them sharpened by a trained sharpener, and then re-sharpened every 15-20 hours of ice time – to keep them in tip top condition by removing knicks and deformaties in the metal edge.

How often do skates need to be sharpened?

The rule of thumb is to sharpen ice skates after every 15-20 hours of use. This is typical for athletes who play hockey or figure skate multiple times on a weekly basis.

What happens if you don’t sharpen your ice skates?

When Skates are Not Sharp The edges on the blade will ’round’ away from the hollow due to the weight your body places on them, and due to the friction that is generate with the ice. This ’rounded’ results int he skates not being able to bite into the ice as well as they could when they were first sharpened.

Is it bad to skate on dull skates?

It’s really a personal preference. Basically, get them sharpened when they feel too dull for you, or you lose an edge on one side of the skate or you have nicks in the blade. As a rule of thumb, an average hockeyplayer will lose somewhere between 5 and 10 % of the skates edge per hour of skating.

Can I skate on Unsharpened skates?

Some people believe that a beginner skater should skate with dull blades. While on the other hand, others believe it is dangerous for the novice to do skating drills with an unsharpened blade. The suggestion is for you to have a skate that will grab the snow; unsharpened skate will not do that.

Do skates need to be sharpened after buying?

How Often Do I Need to Get My Skates Sharpened? Frequency of blade sharpening is up to player preference and how often you are on the ice. Some players might want them sharpened after every game, but other players might get them sharpened once every three months. A general rule of thumb is every 12 hours of use.

Can you sharpen ice skates at home?

You can manually sharpen your skates with the right tools, but doing a good job requires a precise level of skill and technique. Skate blades have two ridges, and you must sharpen both to the same level for proper performance. Put each skate into a sharpening jig and tighten the front support first.

How long does it take to sharpen ice skates?

In a perfect world, a professional can sharpen skates in as little as five minutes.

How often do hockey players sharpen their skates?

A rule of thumb is for every 15 to 20 hours of ice time, but let’s go beyond the basics. The biggest factor is how often you skate, hence the rule of thumb based on ice time. It’s not unheard of for some players to sharpen their blades before every game, and others once or twice a year.

Do NHL players sharpen their skates between periods?

Most players do not get their skates sharpened every period. In the NHL, players will have freshly sharpened skates for every game, but not in between periods. That is a ton of weight to wear for an entire game.

How can I sharpen my skates without a sharpener?

Use your flat file and begin at the toe or heel and move it across the blade in a diagonal motion. The file should always remain perpendicular to the blade when sharpening. Run the flat file across a blade in one direction 15 to 20 times and then repeat in the opposite direction. Do the same for the other skate.

Are my figure skates sharp?

Another way to determine if skates need sharpening is to do the fingernail test- turn your thumb upside down and gently run your fingernail width-wise across the blade (if you run it length-wise, you will be sure to cut your nail). If you see that some of your nail shaves off then the blades are likely to be sharp.

Can Ice dull blades?

Cutting ice can surely dull your blade, but cutting just about anything can cause your knife to lose its edge. However, if the ice that is being cut is very hard and dense, this can dull a blade significantly, especially if you don’t cut it properly.