Time To Get My Blades Sharpened Or Not?

Question

I got my ice skates in May and I've use them 5 times only. I go once a week for one hour. They're Riedell with a Saphire blade and I got them sharpened when I bought them. I'm in Gamma and I'm working on my three turns. I got my three turns down pat for weeks now, but I can't here that little scratch on the ice when I switch directions anymore. Does that mean I'm getting better with it, or is it just time for me to sharpen them? I tried that thing with nail, and it scrapped off a little bit, but it wasn't that much as before. Is it time to get them sharpened?

Also, the first one or two lessons of ice skating, I felt REALLY off balanced, and hit my toe pick on the ice A LOT and fell when I was doing forward crossovers! Those are usually easy for me, but that time it was awful. Would I have to repeat that process ALL OVER AGAIN or no? Thanks a ton!

Answer 1

NO 5 HOURS IS A RIDICULOUSLY SHORT AMOUNT TO SHARPEN YOUR BLADES. Normally you should do it every 3 months or so, but I like to do it on the 4th month. Just when you feel your blades are slipping then you know it's time.

Answer 2

if your blade feels "flat" meaning they don't feel sharp then you (obviously) need to get them sharpened. But since you used them only 5 times, I don't think that's nessary.

Answer 3

Have the class instructor look at your blades - most should know if you need a sharpening.  If not, they should be able to direct you to someone who can tell.

If you turn them upside down and look straight down the blade, you should see a U shape to the blade.  If it is flat or an upside down U then there is no question that you need them sharpened.  Also, if you run your finger along the blade and feel nicks along the way - you need a sharpening.  

The amount of time that you skate on them will determine how often you need them sharpened.  Also, the quality of the ice that you skate on is a factor.  If you skate on clean ice all the time, less often.  If you are skating on torn up public session ice, more often.

Depending on the skate sharpener, it may take a little getting used to the sharpening each time.  Our local sharpener is so good that our blades just feel better after a sharpening - not so sharp that you cannot stop - that's ideal.  Make sure the sharpener knows figure skate sharpening or you could wind up with some messed up blades.  Hockey blades are sharpened WAY different than figure skates - and don't ever leave them where they use an automatic sharpener.

My daughter gets hers sharpened every 4 weeks and she skates 3-4 times a week for 2-3 hours, but always on clean ice.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

no, i dont think you need to get your blades sharpened.

but take better care of them. dry them off really good before you put them in cloth soakers. then when you get home, take out the insoles. this will make the boot and the blade last a lot longer.

for your knew skates, no you will not have to repeat the process. your boots are just stiff because they are new. once you break them in you'll be fine.

Answer 5

5 times is what, about 10-15 hours? That's too soon.  We aim for 40-50 hours (my daughter likes hers a little dull, I like mine a little sharp). Some people sharpen them as soon as 20 hours, but that's too often in my opinion.

If you get a really good sharpener stopping after a sharpening isn't a problem - seriously!  Also, getting a sharpening wouldn't make you fall on your toe pick.

Edit:  hockey blades are very different - definitely they need more sharpening than a figure blade. You don't want to shorten the life of your blade by sharpening too often.

Answer 6

I don't think you need to get them sharpened.  When you don't hear you toe pick scraping when you turn its a good thing.  It means you on the right spot of your foot.  Your suppost to get them sharpened every 24 hours of skating, so you have a while to go.  You won't have to start over, you just need to get use to our skates.  I hope I helped you, The best of luck skating.  Thank you for posting!

Answer 7

If you have only skated with them 5 times your blades are definitely still fine. Getting rid of the scratching noise when you turn is a good thing! It means your turns are getting smoother. Also, getting your blades sharpened CAN make skating a little bit more difficult at first before you wear them down again. If it really bothers you try asking the people who sharpen your skates to run over them once or twice with steel wool. It dulls them down just enough to make you feel like you have been skating on them for a few days.

Haha I also enjoyed reading how often all the other posters sharpen their skates. I only sharpen mine every two or three months which comes out to about 200 hours between sharpenings. Ah well, guess I'm just special =] Go dance!

Answer 8

Well, i'm a hockey player and i skate 4 times a week for an hour each time and i get my blades sharpened around once a week.  i'm not sure if there is a difference for figure skaters, but i assume you would go for around the same thing, every 5 hours or so of skating.

Answer 9

that crunching sound means the blades are really biting into the ice, you're getting a good edge..

if you cant hear it anymore it doesn't necessarily mean you need to get your blades sharpened. unless you're skidding out on corners and feel like your blades don't grip the ice anymore, then I'd say you'll be OK...

whenever i felt like my blades might need sharpening i asked an instructor to check them, and they gave me advice on whether they should be sharpened. the fingernail test is a good thing, and it sounds like you still have edges....

straight after a sharpening you may find it hard to skate. i couldn't manage stopping for 3 days when i got my new skates lol :) but you'll get used to it, just take it slowly for a while and they should settle down in a few hours depending on what you're doing. as you progress you'll get more confidence and it wont take as long to get used to newly sharpened blades..

good luck :) happy skating!

Answer 10

I would check with your coach to see if  you need to get your blades sharpened or not.

But, since your kinda of new to the skating world, you may or may not know about blade care.  

Your skates guards should ALWAYS be on your blades(while you're wearing them). If your not on the ice keep those guards on.

If you have walked around without you guards on, you can dull your blades in a instant by walking on dirty floors or surface other then the rubber mats.

Make sure you wipe down your entire blades when your done skating and then store them with soaker on.

I always keep a can of wd40 in my kids skate bags. They use it once a week or so on the blades to repel the water and prevents rusting.  This is not a necessary step but they skate every day so it helps with my investment in the blades.

Here is a link and a little snipit from sk8stuff.com on boot and blade care.

Taking Care of Your Skates

Keep them sharp -- but not too sharp: A sharp blade grabs the ice better than a dull one.  Sharpen your blades when they start to slide uncomfortably when you land.  Keep a log of the number of hours you skate between sharpenings.  After a while you'll figure out how many hours you can average between sharpenings, and this will help you to avoid surprises at inconvenient times.

You want a balance here -- if you wait too long, the change when you get them sharpened is pretty dramatic and your performance suffers.  If you do it too often, you'll wear out the blade too soon (yes, there is a finite number of times a blade can be sharpened).  In my family, we average about 20 hours on a sharpening - you might find that  you like either less or more than that though.

Sharpen responsibly too -- be careful of who you trust with your blades.  If the place you go doesn't have a specialist in figure skates, be careful.  Figure skates are sharpened with very different goals than hockey skates.  NEVER have them done by one of those automatic machines you find in some rinks.  Figure skates are ground with a "hollow" in the bottom (to give them those "edges" you hear so much about).  The radius of that curvature can vary anywhere from 5/16" to about 2" depending upon  your weight, the disciplines you skate (FS, dance, patch), and the level of jumps you do.  A good sharpener will want to know these things.  If he looks like he wonders why you're telling him that stuff, consider finding someone else!

Answer 11

You probably don't need to get your skates sharpened for that reason. The person who should determine whether or not your blades need sharpening is your coach/instructor or someone at your trusted pro-shop. I know, it can be hard to decide whether or not they need sharpening, so these people can help you decide.

        As for not hearing that scratch, that's great! It probably means that you aren't hitting your toe pick anymore, and instead staying towards the ball of your foot (a.k.a. where you're supposed to turn!)

       Additionally, don't worry about those crossovers. You're probably just having an off-day. I get those and sometimes even off-weeks!LOL!