Sharpening Ice Skates with Bench Grinder?

Question

It is probably a horrible idea, but I was wondering if I could sharpen my hockey skates with a bench grinder that I own instead of paying every time to sharpen my ice skates professionally. Advice is appreciated.

Answer 1

You run the risk of the blades being unbalanced and not done right.  Not really a good idea.  You need the skates to be done right so you can stop, turn, etc. without hurting yourself and/or others.

Answer 2

This is not a very good idea, and I can tell you from experience. I tried this once before and completely ruined my skates. It's not that you can't sharpen them with a bench grinder, because you can, if you plan on sharpening them like you would and an axe or hatchet. But I found out when you sharpen them this way, it's almost impossible to skate on them and they become useless (unless you want to use them to cut down small trees.)

Next time you get your skates sharpened from a pro, take a look at the blades. They aren't honed to on perfect, sharp v-like edge. A professional skate sharpener sharpens more toward the middle of the blade, allowing a kind of ridge in the middle of the blade. This may not seem like much, but that kind of sharpening is what allows for the best balance and longevity of the blades. It would also be almost impossible to do this on your own with a bench grinder.