How do u take care of ice skates?

Question

how do you sharpen them?

how much would you say it would be for blade guards and an ice skating bag ?

i am getting them on thursday and i am going nearly once a week how long would it be till i need to get new blades for them ?

Answer 1

Taking care of ice skates may be more work than you think. When ever you start to feel yourself slipping and sliding on the ice and your blade feels flat on the bottom (you can not feel the little ridge) you need to get your blades sharpened. Take your skates to your local rink and they usually have a supply/skate shop and they usually offer sharpening there. Blade guards prices range from about 7-12 dollars (soft and hard) and depending on what type of ice skating bag you get they can be 15-100 dollars!!!!!!!!! You decide which kind suits your travel needs, etc. best!

As for when to get new blades, it will probably be about another 2 years...it really depends on what jumps you learn and whether you need to advance to a bigger toe pick otherwise whenever your blades get sharpened to the MAX! Dont worry, the polace that sharpens them will tell u when its time!!!!!

Hope this helps!!

Answer 2

Dont ever try to sharpen them on your own. EVER!!! Go to a skates dealer near you, and he can handle. If you go about once a week you should only need them sharpened every 3-4 months ABOUT. However skates all wear down differently, so when you are having trouble holding a sharp edge without sliding is when you need them sharpened. Touch the blades after sharpening to see how they feel (dont run your fingers down them lengthwise!!) and remember that. Then later when you think you need them sharpened, see if they still feel relatively sharp. (this can be tough) If you think you do, take them in anyways. If they are getting a little dull, the dealer will just touch them up without actually sharpening them.

For skate gaurds you need a soft pair for storage, and a hard pair for when you are walking around in skates (these are helpful for when you need to walk into the rink with skates on b/c your running late). Each costs about ten, so about twenty in all. If by iceskating bag you mean zuca bag they run about 140.

Another thing: For best care of your skates, put them on in the car/home/rink whatever, have the hard gaurds on. Walk wherever you have to and when you get to the rink take them off. Put them on the edge, and dont forget to put them back on when you come off. Take off your skates, DRY THEM, then put the soft ones on. When you get home take your skates out and take of the soft ones and let them air out a day or so. then put them back, so they are ready for next time.

Also: the skate dealer will sell something called sno seal. BUY IT! Put it on the bottom of your skates every 4-ish months. To apply you have to use a hair dryer to make it dry.

But it protects your skates from rotting from all the moisture, which is good.

If your only going once a week, your not going to ever need to get new blades most likely. Youll probably grow out of your skates first, or your skates will break down and not support you first, or youll need a step up to tougher skates first.

It takes alot to wear down blades all the way. I had the same blades (mind you they were super expensive) for two years on two different skates. And i skate every day, 7 days a week..besides holidays and when im sick :P

However youd probably have to get the blades replaced in about 5 years. (estimated, hard to tell because you only go once a week)

Answer 3

Take them to your local skating pro shop to be sharpened. Depending on what type of skating bag you get will depend on how much it will cost, I just use a suitcase from the house, it will work just as good as any other bag that you can buy. If you would like to buy a bag, depending on the type they can cost anywhere from $25-$150. The blade soakers that you will need are usually only about $6. Make sure you always bring a soft, absorbent towel to wipe off your blades and your skates after you skate. Usually your skates will last about a year to a year and a half. As long as you take good care of your blades the boots will usually wear out faster than your blades will, but usually after a year you need to advance your blade and boot combination so you will trade in or sell your other skates with the blades and the boots together, they are usually a lot easier to sell that way. Good luck and have fun skating!

Answer 4

Any reputable dealer will sharpen them for you.

The regular plastic guards are maybe $10 per set.

I think the blades last for a very long time. The rest of the boot will likely wear out before then.

Answer 5

you sharpen them by going to an ice skating shop and they can do it for you.

It costed me 8 euro for the blade gaurds and 15 euro for the bag but id advise you to get the blade gaurds as they are great for protecting your blades. You dont really need a bag for them it's your choice

you dont need to get new blades for a long time but whenever you feel they need to be replaced thats when you need them changed

hope this helped !!!

Answer 6

If you are talking about figure skates then its easy as pie!!!

I used ice skate, so while you are preceeding to the ice you must wear the skate "guards" (plastic) and then take them off when you get to rink itself. After, must always keep the actual blade sharpened around5.8'S. And after each use you take them off and dry the blades so that they dont rust, put a terri cloth guard on the blade and then thats it!!!!

Answer 7

Aim to get them sharpened between 20-30 hours on the ice.  Or go by feel.  If you're slipping off edges, it's definitely time to sharpen (you probably waited too long).  Test the blade by scraping the back of your fingernail.  If it's hard to scrape anything off, then they probably need sharpening. It's common to dull one edge faster than another, especially if you always stop in the same way on the same foot.

Make sure you get a pair of soakers with your skate.  I personally think they are more important than hard guards.  Hard guards are for walking around in your skates, like if you have a half-hour to kill at a competition or something.  Soakers are what you put on your blades after skating.  You want to wipe down your blades (and your boots - don't forget the bottom of the sole, it gets very wet!) after skating, but put soakers on to get the rest of the moisture that you couldn't see.  Make sure you dry around the screws holding the blade on the boot, too.

If you put hard guards on after drying them off you will end up with rusted blades - so make sure you get those terry-cloth soakers.  

Congrats on your new skates!

Answer 8

You won't need new blades or boots unless you outgrow them since you only skate once a week. You may have them for 1-3 years, depending on how well you care for them.

Guards are usually $7-15. I recommend getting Guard Dog brands guards.  http://www.Guardog.ca  or  http://www.guardog.ca/figure_menu.html

As for skating bags, most skaters just use suitcases or sport bags. You don't need anything fancy, just something big enough to hold all your skating equiptment. You can buy good skate bags/suitcases from $20+

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search...

http://zuca.com/showroom/

http://www.rainbosports.com/figure-skate...

Sharpening

You don't sharpen them yourself. Ask around, or ask the person who you bought the skates from, a pro skate dealer, or any skating coaches about skate sharpening. Otherwise, ask the ice arena if they can sharpen them for you. Skate sharpening usually costs $5-12, but since you only skate once a week, just get them sharpened every couple months or once you start to feel like you are sliding. Or just get them sharpened every 30-45 hours you skate. Another way to tell if they are dull/need to be sharpened is to take your thumb and lightly swipe it across the blade. If your thumb catches, it is still sharp.

Also, you'll need to get a rag (like a washcloth or dish cloth) to wipe off your skates after you skate. Get all the water and snow off your blades thouroughly. Also wipe the boot off. If you don't do this, the blade will start to rust a little and might affect your skating. But don't worry too much, it usually comes off when you get them sharpened. You might also want to waterproof the brown or black heel/sole of the skate if it is leather.

After you dry your skates, put on soakers. These absorb the extra moisture.

http://www.rainbosports.com/shop/site/de...

http://www.skatesforless.net/home.php?ca...

And, last but not least, unzip your bag at least 3-8 inches once you get home to let the boots air out. Otherwise the skates will get stinky! :P Hope this answers your question!