How do I know if I need to sharpen my ice skates?

Question

How do I know if I need to sharpen my ice skates?

Answer 1

turn your skate upside down so that the blade is facing up. Balance a coin (dime works best) on the skate blade. Look down the blade like you would if you were aiming a gun down the centre of the blade. if underneath the coin there is a semicircular space and you have a distinct ridge on each side of the blade with space for the melted water underneath you are fine to skate. Dull skates are essentially melted down to be one flat or even rounded blade instead of the desided two distinct ridges

Answer 2

okie dokie, well if everyone answered than theres no poin in me answering but I'll answer for da heck of it!

When your skates are able to slide, and do a Hockey Stop, Than :O, thus, you need sharpening! Lolz! ANd when you are going into spins, and your skate slides, than get em sharpened right away, cuz i almost broke my jaw from sliding on my skate while goin into a spin :o well good luckz!

Peace out peepz!

Answer 3

Run your finger side to side.  If it catches your skin a little bit, they are sharp.  If you can't stop very well or get a good edge, you need to sharpen them.  Also, run your nail on the blade to feel for any nicks.

Answer 4

If you skate on a regular schedule, you might want to get your skates sharpened on a regular schedule too.  I skate 4-5 times a week and get mine sharpened every other month.  If you skate more, then you may want to get them sharpened every 4-6 weeks.  If you skate less often, you can go longer in between sharpenings.

Otherwise, the easiest way to tell when you need a sharpening is when you start slipping on edges.  I always notice it on 3-turns and spin entries (I skid on the turn or on the spin entry).

There is a fingernail test, but that only works for me when my blades are deadly dull & I'd rather not let them get to that point;)  It's best to keep up with regular sharpenings so you don't have to go through an adjustment period from super dull to super sharp blades.