How do I know if my skates are too dull?
If you see a reflection in the blade's edge under a bright light, you need to sharpen your skates. A light touch of the fingernail down the length of the blade can detect any nicks or defects and check its sharpness.
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.
If you enjoy skating but find that your blades are too sharp, you can dull them down with a few simple steps. First, use a sharpening stone to smooth out any nicks or burrs on the blade. Next, use a honing rod to create a dull edge. Finally, use a steel wool pad to remove any residual sharpness.
There are 2 common misconceptions with figure skates. The first is that it's better for a beginner to skate on dull blades. This is not only false, but dangerous. No one should ever skate on dull or unsharpened blades.
Dull Skate Blades Are Harder To Control And Struggle More In Ice Conditions. Dull skate blades make it more difficult to control and struggle more in ice conditions. Sharpened skates provide a smoother glide, making them easier to maneuver and stay on your feet longer.
Unlike shoes, skates should offer a snug fit, tight but not painfully so. The worst thing that a skater can do is purchase skates that are too big. If they are too big, they will only get worse as they stretch. Skates that are a little small can be easily fixed.
Sharp blades provide a smoother and faster feel on ice because they have a better grip. You can glide and train better even with minimum effort. On the other hand, dull blades will just make your skating experience awful. You also increase the chances of injury.
If you or your child is having trouble with stopping… then the skates are probably too sharp. A skate that is too sharp can certainly hurt a players ability to stop because before you stop, you need to slide and that is easier with a duller skate.
Generally speaking, the golden rule for proper skate fit no matter the brand or kind of skate is as snug as possible without being painful or uncomfortable, with the ability to still wiggle the toes up and down.
Sharpen them too often and your blades will wear out prematurely. Not frequently enough, and you'll find yourself losing an edge when trying to turn, or being unable to control your skates.
How do NHL players like their skates sharpened?
Most skates are sharpened by cutting an arc in between the two edges, known as the radius of hollow (ROH). This is measured in inches. Hockey player and goalie skates are often sharpened with a ROH from 3/8” up to 1-1/2”.
Chattering occurs when the edge being stopped on (inside or outside) has too much bite. Sometimes the radius of hollow is too small for the player, or "too sharp." More often it is because the skate was not centered on the sharpening stone resulting in one edge being "higher" than the other.
Whether they spent more time upright and cruising around, holding onto a trainer for support, or falling down, our Kindergarten and Grade 1 students have had a great time challenging themselves to improve their ice skating over the past month.
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.
Use a flat file to file the blade from toe to heel in a diagonal motion. Be sure the file is always perpendicular to the blade. Slide the flat file across a single blade in the same direction roughly 20 times, then perform the same motion in the opposite direction. Repeat the process for the other skate.
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.
When you buy a new pair of skates they come with a factory grind on the steel. It is recommended that you get them profiled before skating in them. The most common profiles are 7 foot 9 foot 11 foot and 13 foot. Most players go with a 9 foot radius, but there are many options to consider.
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.
You will need to do this for a few minutes to sharpen the blade. If you do not have a sharpening stone, you can also use a piece of sandpaper to sharpen the blades of your ice skates. The hollow of a skate has a big impact on how it feels and how it interacts with ice.
A correctly fitted boot should feel snug in the heel. There should be little or no movement when you try to lift your heel. Your toes should be able to wiggle freely but not slide from side to side.
Can skates be baked more than once?
While they'll look the same, the problem is that the ankle supports will start to break down and the bonds will loosen. If possible, heat them once and never again. If you have a lower-end model, you're taking a chance baking them once.
The stiffness restricts ankle movement in the boot & holds the ankle up. This allows for jump execution but also as a result most skaters have fairly weak ankles. This can cause injuries in the foot including ankle sprains, tendonitis & bursitis or even knee, hip and low back pain.
Keep a Space Cushion Around You.
Novice skaters can put those around them at risk by grabbing onto them if they start to fall. If you're a newbie, try not to skate too close to others around you. The last thing you want to do is be the cause of a painful injury for someone else.
Perhaps the most common example of an illegal move is the backflip, prohibited along with other aforementioned “somersault-type jumps.” Though sometimes seen at exhibition performances, the move is rarely executed in professional competition, and has been considered “illegal” since 1976.
The idiom “skate on thin ice” usually means: danger—stop what you're doing, or else.
The Chemistry of Water: Ice Skating | NSF - National Science Foundation. Speed skater glides on ice. Ice skating works because metal skate blades glide with very little friction over a thin layer of water on the ice surface.
Make sure you break your skates in slowly, and practice movements that require you to bend your knees and ankles. You can also break in a new pair of skates by wearing them around the house or having the skate shop punch out the leather in areas that rub your feet or ankles.
For most people it will take about 12 hours to break in a pair of skates over the course of roughly a month. Start out with shorter skate adventures and build up to longer skate adventures.
The toe area and the area high above the ankles should be tied so they are moderately snug or even on the loose side. The tightest area of lacing should be from a point above the ball of the foot back to a point just above the ankle bone i.e. the top 2 or 3 eyelets. This is where the most support is required.
In addition to causing a width issue, as discussed above, skates that are too long can also result in these sort of problems: When too much growth room is given length-wise, in addition to sliding to the inside of the boot, the foot will also slip forward and back, making it difficult for the skater to balance.
Are tight shoes better for skating?
Your skate shoes should fit snug and secure. That being said, you don't want your toe to be touching the end of your shoe. When you skate and try tricks—especially when you don't land on the board—your foot will slide forward. If your shoes are too tight, it's going to be painful on your toes.
The quick answer is no, hockey skates do not come pre-sharpened when you buy them new. Even the best pair of hockey skates will need to be sharpened before you can let them rip out on the ice. However, most hockey skate manufacturers will put a hollow or contour on the blade before they sell the skate.
Skaters will usually have their blades sharpened by professionals, but you can also do it yourself if you have a radial hollow gauge in between 10/16 and 6/16 of an inch. Regardless of how well your blade is sanded, Figure Skating blades will still feel different when touched with a radius of Hollow in this range.
...
Some examples of ROH used by current and former NHL players are:
| Wayne Gretzky – 1/2″ | Sidney Crosby – 9/16″ |
|---|---|
| Paul Coffey – 1″ to 2″ | Alex Ovechkin – 1/2″ |
Each player also has his own preference as to how often his skates are sharpened. Some players may go a couple of games between sharpenings, while others may even request that their skates are sharpened between periods. Occasionally, a player will even change the depth of his hollow depending on ice conditions.
In the FBV, the traditional half-moon concave shape is modified so the bottom is flat and the two edges extend more like fangs. In theory, the FBV provides more grip without sacrificing as much glide by affecting the relative friction coefficient.
As I'm walking with my skates on, I can hear a clicking sound. Can I do anything to prevent this? Yes, your skates blades have simply loosened. In most instances, blades can be tightened externally on the plastic holder.
Leather is stiffer on the new skate, the new boot hasn't conformed to the shape of your foot, and blades are at their original manufactured height as opposed to thinner due to being sharpened hundreds of times. So just get out on the ice at a local rink regularly and you'll be used to your new skates in no time.
Let the skate keep cooling and the materials harden again. It's recommended to wait 24 hours before using them but if you are in dire need of using them, putting them in your freezer for an hour can help speed up this process but you should not use them for 12 hours at the very minimum.
If your skates don't support your foot and ankle, it's time for a new pair. Also, check the steel blades on your hockey skates. If they're pitted, rusted, or worn, they might need sharpening—or replacing. Further, inspect the blade supports for any cracks that might loosen the blade and make it unstable.
How can you tell if roller skates are good quality?
The hardness of a wheel is specified by the durometer scale that goes from 0-100A. The closer you are to 100, the harder the wheels will be. Harder wheels provide a longer lifespan, but less grip and shock absorption. Softer wheels provide better grip and shock absorption, but a shorter lifespan.
1/2 and 5/8 inch hollows are the common radiuses that you can get when having your skates sharpened. The latter has a duller profile and less prominent tips, while the former has a sharper feel and more pronounced tips. The 5/8″ hollow has a larger radius than the 1/2″ hollow, resulting in a duller edge.
