NEW TO SKATE SHARPENING? LET'S GET STARTED!
What is skate sharpening?
Skate sharpening is the process of using a skate sharpening machine and grinding wheel to shape the bottom of an ice skate blade. The grinding wheel creates a hollow between the blade’s two edges, helping the skate grip and move across the ice.
Why do ice skates need to be sharpened?
- Sharpening improves performance.
- Provides better balance for skaters.
- Provides effective stopping, play making and direction changing.
- Assists with energy conservation and efficiency.
How often should you sharpen?
There is no single sharpening schedule that works for every skater. How often skates need sharpening depends on factors such as ice time, skating style, blade condition, ice conditions and personal preference. Regularly checking the edges for damage, dullness or changes in how the skates feel on the ice can help determine when it's time to sharpen.
What is a Skate Sharpening Machine?
A skate sharpening machine is equipment used to sharpen ice skate blades by removing a controlled amount of steel from the bottom of the blade. A grinding wheel or other sharpening system creates the desired hollow and restores the blade’s edges for consistent contact with the ice.
Blademaster manufactures different types of skate sharpening machines for different users and workloads.
What are the Steps of Skate Sharpening?
Skate sharpening is a precise process. Each step plays an important role in creating consistent hollows and sharp, even edges.
The steps: Choose Hollow → Dress Grinding Wheel → Secure Skate in Holder → Sharpen Blade → Hone → Check Edges
Below is a brief overview of the basic steps.
Head over to our Steps to Skate Sharpening to precise instructions!
What Equipment Is Needed to Sharpen Skates?
Understanding the Skate Blade
The bottom of a skate blade has two edges—an inside edge and an outside edge—with a hollow between them. During traditional skate sharpening, this hollow is created by the grinding wheel. The shape and depth of the hollow influence how the edges interact with the ice.
Edge | ← Hollow → | Edge
FAQs
Profiling is a term used to describe the shape of an ice skate blade where it makes contact with the ice viewing from the side. Other common terms for hockey skate profiling you may hear are rocker or contouring.
A hockey skate profile is measured as the radius of an imaginary circle illustrated below, typically in feet. If you were to draw a large circle with a 9-foot radius and then match the side profile of the steel to that circle, you would create a 9-foot radius profile on that steel. (see image below) Major manufacturers ship skates with profiles between 9’ and 13’ for player steel and 27’ to 50’ for goalie steel.
Contouring is the same as profiling. The terms are interchangeable.
Blade profiles help determine your speed, agility, power and performance.
A smaller profile such as 8 to 9 feet is excellent for agility, quick starts and stops, and quick acceleration. The downside is that you bite more into the ice which creates more stress on your joints, it requires a deeper hollow and burns more energy keeping your speed. Glide is lost a smaller profile, so you must move your feet more to keep your speed up.
Player positions that benefit from a smaller profile are ones like defense players. Quickness and agility are very important.
With a larger radius of 11 to 13-foot, glide and speed are enhanced. The larger contact area on the ice makes you dig in less, requiring a shallower hollow to achieve your desired grip level. The downside to a larger profile is that you lose acceleration and agility.
Yes you can! Often different radius's are used at each end of the blade. This depends on the a variety of factors related to the player. Height, weight and position played are to be considered.
Blademaster Skate Sharpeners and Blademaster trained skate technicians are more than capable of creating your best blade profile!
On the bottom of those skate blades there are TWO sharp edges that are connected by a HOLLOWed-out region in between.
This hollowed-out region is created by passing the skate blade along a grinding wheel. The shape of the grinding wheel's surface will determine the size of the hollow on the skate blade. Then the size of the hollow on your skate blade will affect how the skate feels and performs on the ice.
Whether you are looking for more speed & glide or more bite & cut - Blademaster experts can help you find the right hollow for you!
As with skate blade profile, there are many factors to be considered when determining your best RoH or hollow. They include:
- player position
- player height & weight
- skating skill
- desired playing performance
Blademaster Skate Sharpeners and Blademaster trained skate technicians are more than capable of creating your best blade hollow!
Great question! Head over to our"How to know if I am getting a good skate sharpening" page.