Sharpening Speed Skates
Sharpening Speed Skates
Speed skates must always be sharpened by hand using a jig and stone. If you have them sharpened by a power grindstone just once, the correct rocker can be removed and the blade permanently damaged. The object of the sharpening process is to achieve a razor sharp 90 degree edge on the blade, and to make the flat part of the blade as smooth and friction free as possible. Learning how to manually sharpen your child’s skates, as well as learning how to tell when the skates need sharpening, are important skills. Once a speed skate gets really dull it can take over an hour to sharpen them, rather than just 5-10 minutes.
The frequency with which you sharpen your speed skates varies with a skater’s preference and experience. Younger, lighter skaters can sometimes go for up 4-6 hours between sharpening, while older, more assertive skaters tend to sharpen their blades after 2-4 hours of skating. Please always use skater guards when walking in skates from the change room to the ice surface.
The Club has some jigs and stones available for use at the rink. The sharpening kits are stored in the storage room and must be returned there after use. The kits include a jig, a 2-sided sharpening stone (coarse and fine), WD-40, a burr stone, and a rag.
Skate Sharpening Clinics
The club offers informal sharpening clinics throughout the skating season. Please attend a clinic to familiarize yourself with hand sharpening speed skates. Sharpening your speed skates can be performed quite quickly and often only takes 5-10 minutes.
Please see the Equipment manager/Coach or any executive member for any additional information regarding sharpening skates.
Older youth skaters are also available to assist in sharpening skates.
Use the following guidelines as a reminder of the steps involved in sharpening skates only after attending a skate sharpening demonstration. There are also several videos available on YouTube.
Testing for sharpness
Sharpening
Speed skates must always be sharpened by hand using a jig and stone. If you have them sharpened by a power grindstone just once, the correct rocker can be removed and the blade permanently damaged. The object of the sharpening process is to achieve a razor sharp 90 degree edge on the blade, and to make the flat part of the blade as smooth and friction free as possible. Learning how to manually sharpen your child’s skates, as well as learning how to tell when the skates need sharpening, are important skills. Once a speed skate gets really dull it can take over an hour to sharpen them, rather than just 5-10 minutes.
The frequency with which you sharpen your speed skates varies with a skater’s preference and experience. Younger, lighter skaters can sometimes go for up 4-6 hours between sharpening, while older, more assertive skaters tend to sharpen their blades after 2-4 hours of skating. Please always use skater guards when walking in skates from the change room to the ice surface.
The Club has some jigs and stones available for use at the rink. The sharpening kits are stored in the storage room and must be returned there after use. The kits include a jig, a 2-sided sharpening stone (coarse and fine), WD-40, a burr stone, and a rag.
Skate Sharpening Clinics
The club offers informal sharpening clinics throughout the skating season. Please attend a clinic to familiarize yourself with hand sharpening speed skates. Sharpening your speed skates can be performed quite quickly and often only takes 5-10 minutes.
Please see the Equipment manager/Coach or any executive member for any additional information regarding sharpening skates.
Older youth skaters are also available to assist in sharpening skates.
Use the following guidelines as a reminder of the steps involved in sharpening skates only after attending a skate sharpening demonstration. There are also several videos available on YouTube.
Testing for sharpness
- Check the blades for bends and dents by looking down the blades end on and looking for any imperfections along the length of the blades.
- Lightly draw a fingernail down the blade, moving perpendicular to the edge, of the blade (back of the hand facing the skate). Check all along the length of the blade, both the inside and outside edges.
- If the edge is sharp, you will see a tiny pile of fingernail shavings on the edge.
- If you find any dull spots along the blade, then it is time to sharpen.
- Alternatively, in one long motion, lightly slide a fingernail along the edge of the blade.
- If your fingernail becomes unhooked from the edge and slides off, then the blade needs to be sharpened.
Sharpening
- Place the jig on a stable surface at about hip height.
- Place the skates in the jig so that the blades are facing upward, toes pointing forward up against the stopper bar at the front of the jig, arches facing each other (left skate on the right side of the jig and right skate on the left side).
- Before tightening the clamps on the jig, make sure that the skates are sitting evenly in the blade holder so that the sharpening will be even.
- Apply baby oil provided in the kit on the rough side of the stone and spread out with your fingers.
- Place the stone across both blades and slide the stone back and forth from one end of the blades to the other using a consistent speed and a light, but even pressure. Keep the long axis of the stone perpendicular to the blades at all times during your stroke.
- As you slide the stone forward and back along the blades, the motion of the stone should be diagonal (with the stone always remaining at 90 degrees to the blades). This ensures that the stone wears evenly and results in the formation of a slight burr on all four sides of the blades.
- Make 5 strokes in one direction and then five strokes in the other. Repeat this cycle about 3 times.
- Turn the jig around so that the stone is traveling from the toes to the heels of the skates now, and repeat the same number of cycles. This ensures that any pressure differential in one direction is cancelled out, allowing an even wearing of the blades.
- You want to sharpen only until you feel a light burr along the whole on both sides of the blades. To check for burr use your fingernails. With the back of your hand facing the skate, move your fingernail up from the bottom of the blade to the top. (This is the opposite motion used for testing for sharpness.) If there is a burr, your fingernail will catch it at the top of the blade.
- With the fine side of the stone begin stroking forward and back in a straight line to remove all scratches. Polish 10-15 strokes and then turn the whole jig around and repeat.
- Place the small burr stone against each side of the blade and slide it along the blade, using moderate pressure, from heel to toe until the burr is gone, checking with your fingernail. You will probably need to deburr the very ends of the skates after removing them from the jig. Depending on the depth of the blade, you may need to remove the skates from the jig before deburring.
Remove the skates from the jig and wipe the blades with a cloth. - Check the blades for sharpness.
- Clean the stone by wiping it off with a cloth.
- Put the soft, fabric "soakers" skate guards on the skates. Do not store in the plastic walking guards.