I just got ice skates, but have never skated before, so I'm not sure if my skates are sharpened or not...?

Question

the blade is 1/8th inch across (about half a centimeter), Are the sharpened or do i need them thinner? i took them to sportcheck to get them sharpened and brought them home four days later, and noticed that they had not been touched... help?

Answer 1

if they are brand new take them to get sharpened. well take them to get sharpened any way. Take them to like a "play it again sports" or one of those pro-shops in some rinks and ask them to sharpen them. if they don't need to be sharpened they should tell you.

Answer 2

normally if they are not used they sharpen them before putting them for sale. i really think they are sharpened. and its fine if you skate with not fully sharpened skates!!!

hope i helped!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

Return the skates back. & get new skates at another store.

Answer 4

they should be if they're brand new. skate with them a few times. if you start to pull to one side, get them sharpened.

Answer 5

I've kinda never really learned the numercial values of sharpened blades hahaha. However, a good trick to find out if your blades are sharp is to lightly pass your fingerail across the blade. If the blade is sharp, you'll see a lot of your nail scrapped off. The less sharp, the less "scraping" will happen. You can test this on both edges and on both blades.

Oh, and blades always suck the first time you skate after sharpening them. You won't feel the difference until your third practise.

Answer 6

Sharpening skate blades doesn't alter the width of the blade, so you wouldn't be able to tell that way.

If you look closely at the bottom of your blade, you will see that the underside is slightly concave.  The two "sides" of the underneath of your skate are the edges, and these are what are sharpened.  The sharpening maintains the concavity on the underside of the blade, and therefore keeps the edges of your blade sharp.  

If you have a look at this page, it shows an exaggerated cross-cut of your blade:  http://www.sk8stuff.com/f_recog/recog_ed...

To test if it is sharp, run your fingernail across each edge - it should scratch the top of your fingernail.  Light should also not be able to reflect off the edges - if there is any reflection, the edges are dull.

You should aim to have your blades sharpened every 20-30 hours of skating.  Not this time (not having skated before), but certainly next time you have them sharpened you will notice the difference.  They can feel "grabby"  and initially it can be difficult to do things like stopping on a fresh sharpening but it soon settles down again.  

Hope this helps and have fun with your new skates!

Answer 7

Sharpening skate blades does not have to do with the width of the blade, it's more the length, but measurements of your blade is no way to tell if they were sharpened or not. If you feel the two edges on the skate they should feel fairly sharp, and you should be able to scratch your fingernail on the edges.