Your hockey skates should be sharp enough to ensure the blades have bite and allow you to turn and stop with confidence. Sharp edges mean that the inside and outside edges of your skate blade are razor-thin, clean and without burrs or nicks.
Are the blades on ice skates sharp?
Ice skating blades are sharp, but they’re unlikely to cut you. The blades must be sharp enough to dig into the ice, as it’s very hard to skate efficiently on dull blades. While they are sharp, it requires a lot of speed and pressure for the blades to cause serious lacerations.
Do ice skates need to be sharp?
Skating on dull blades can not only be very annoying, but even potentially dangerous. It’s important you keep your figure skates nice and sharp to avoid damaging the skate and to avoid injury.
How do you tell if your skates are sharp enough?
A quick test for a sharp edge is to hold the skate upside down, place one thumbnail on the edge of the blade and gently pull down and away from the blade on three or four parts of the blade. A good, sharp blade will easily scrape a layer of your thumbnail, leaving the remnants on the blade.
How sharp are Olympic ice skate blades?
Keep in mind that the long speed skating blades used in the Olympics are honed flat with no radius. They are looking for maximum glide. While they are careful in the turns, don’t ever doubt that these blade edges are not sharp!
Can skates be too sharp?
Extra sharp skates can slow a player down or make transitions difficult. Sharp skates result in a slower glide because the blades sink into the ice more. Skate blades are too sharp when the hollow (the curve between the inside and outside edges) is too deep.
Can you skate with dull blades?
No one should ever skate on dull or unsharpened blades. Your skating edge will help you turn and maneuver, as well as keep your balance. The second is that people with weak ankles cannot skate.
Do brand new skates need sharpening?
In sum, new pairs of skates do not come sharpened (unless request). The first skate sharpening after you buy them is also critical to their effectiveness on the ice. So, don’t rush out onto the ice with your new pair of skates. Take the time to sharpen them first so your skates have edges.
Are ice skates pre sharpened?
All skates come Factory Sharpened which is good for a one time use. All skates will eventually need to be professionally sharpened for best use.
What do dull skates feel like?
The dull edge feeling is described most often as a slipping feeling when you try to turn or hook a spin. If you go too long after dullness sets in you’re not getting the best performance for your practice time. Also, getting a set of fresh edges will feel weird and you’ll lose additional training time re-adjusting.
How do you know if your skate blades are dull?
If you feel a little bite to your nail as you drag it across the edge – the edge is sharp. If your fingernail ever feels like it slides across the edge smoothly (i.e. as if the edge were rounded and not sharp) – this is an indication that the edge might not be sharp enough to skate on with confidence.
Can I sharpen my own ice skates?
Use a Hockey Skate Blade Sharpening Stone
If you can learn how to use a skate stone, you can properly sharpen your skates at home. Note that this isn’t so much a way of sharpening skates as it is a way to fine-tune things after you’ve made a couple passes on your blades using an appropriate machine.
What is standard skate sharpening?
The normal range for this is ⅜” to ¾”, although higher or lower hollows are occasionally seen. Typically, skate shops will do 1/2”, 5/8”, or 7/16” hollow as a default if they aren’t given any specific instructions.
How often do ice skaters need new skates?
If everything goes according to plan, Misir said, he wouldn’t be needed. But that never happens. At best, figure skates last about 20 to 25 hours on the ice before they need sharpening — less if a skater likes her blades particularly sharp, or if something goes wrong.
How many times can ice skates be sharpened?
There’s no real limit to how many times you can sharpen your skates. It’s very normal to sharpen them every 3-10 hours of skating. Elite players sharpen them after every 2nd or 3rd game. However the more you sharpen them, the quicker they’ll wear down over time—and blades typically last 5-8 years.
What is the difference between 5/8 and 1/2 skate sharpening?
5/8 (Shallow) grind is what most figure skaters skate on. This gives you a good flowing edge and has little friction on the ice. 1/2 (Standard) grind will be a lot more forgiving when landing a jump giving a sharper edge to land on.
Why do my skates chatter when I stop?
If a player’s skate chatters as the stop occurs, it means the player’s weight is too much on the heel of the skate! Weight will be applied equally on both skates with the feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider in the hockey stance position.
What is the most common skate sharpening radius?
½” and 5/8”
The most common radius of hollow cuts are ½” and 5/8” for skate sharpening shops because it provides the best balance between edge depth and glide speed.
What skate sharpening Do NHL players use?
It’s a 3-millimeter-wide piece of steel hollowed out down the middle in an inverted U to create two edges. An NHL player uses both edges on both skates, like a skier shifting weight from side to side during turns. Most recreational players just want their skates sharpened.
When should you replace skate blades?
SkateWorks – Replacing Hockey Skate Blades
Excess wear on blade or blades. Blades should be replaced if they are lower than 3/8” at the ball of foot center or heal center.
How long do ice skates last?
Anywhere from 1 – 20 years. It totally depends on quality of components, upkeep and maintenance, the type of skating you do, and how often you skate. The wheels may be the first to go, but they can be changed. The key is to clean and maintain your bearings, wheels and other parts to help them last.