Sharpen with the wheel or against the wheel

[DarkStar50 679]

After reading the post about sharpening hollows, I would like to put this topic up for discussion: To all the guys who regularly sharpen skates: Do you only sharpen going with the wheel? Do you sharpen going back and forth? Do you crossgrind each skate before sharpening to set up a "true" first pass down the middle of the blade?

I have been sharpening skates since 1981. I used a Fleming-Gray for over 20 years. The machine was a work horse. The last five years I have been on a Blademaster. My only complaint is that I believe the vacumn(sp) system is pretty lousy. It gets clogged way too fast. It simply does not suck up enough skate dust as the old F-G did. I wear a mask over my mouth and nose when sharpening and recommend it to everyone who sharpens. We have a fan sitting above the sharpening wheels but there is still way too much skate dust flying around. I work in a 4 rink building. In season on week-ends we can sharpen over 125 pair from 7 AM to 8PM, shop hours Saturday and Sunday. I also use my own skate holder to maintain precision on each pair. The shop skate holder takes a lot of abuse from so many different guys using it. Owning my skate holder was the best investment I made for sharpening skates. The best pair I sharpen is always the next pair.

[Chadd 916]

We discussed some of this in one of the other sharpening threads a while ago but:

I always go with the wheel, I don;t mind taking longer to put a great finish on the steel. I only cross skates when they are way out of level or really torn up and missing chunks. Crossgrinding too much kills the radius too quickly. I do level the skates using the wheel before putting a hollow on them.

I've used several machines and nothing works as well as our new Blackstone. The exhaust is very good, I just need to tweak the one hose. It's also much more quiet than the Blademasters I've used.

[Eazy_b97 1]

I am (or was) on a Wissota. I go with the wheel, no cross grinding unless absoloutely necessary. I've used it once and that was after a guy skates on never sharpened skates for 2 months. I still don't get how he did it. It took me 45 to get all of his rust off. We always clean the steel as well, so I couldn't see any silver to start, but by the end its all there was.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

I sharpen both ways and I do not crossgrind, unless they are new.

I'm going to be using a Blackstone at my new shop. I'm probably going to buy my own skate holder as well.

[Chadd 916]

I am (or was) on a Wissota. I go with the wheel, no cross grinding unless absoloutely necessary. I've used it once and that was after a guy skates on never sharpened skates for 2 months. I still don't get how he did it. It took me 45 to get all of his rust off. We always clean the steel as well, so I couldn't see any silver to start, but by the end its all there was.

I don't miss my old Wissota at all. If we don't set up another shop closer to my house I may get a new protable for the guys who drive an hour each way to get to my shop.

[biff44 0]

It is pretty hard to move grinding dust, expecially since it is so heavy. I have a 1 1/2 HP blower, like you see in woodworking shops for wood dust, and a metal shroud on one end of the wissota that gets most of it. I brush off whatever is left on the table into the shroud whenever dressing the blade.

I acutally like to sharpen both ways. I go against the wheel for the first 2-3 passes, or until it looks like any edge knicks are gone. Then I finish going with the wheel for a smoother cut. I think the blade vibrates less when going with the wheel, so it ends up a little more uniform.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

I actually designed a kick-ass filter system for portables.

[prenny207 1]

I actually designed a kick-ass filter system for portables.

not as good as mine....haha!!!

[prenny207 1]

It's also much more quiet than the Blademasters I've used.

chadd, the newest blademasters have a stronger, and quieter exhaust system. they made some good changes that were definetly needed.

[Chadd 916]

It's also much more quiet than the Blademasters I've used.

chadd, the newest blademasters have a stronger, and quieter exhaust system. they made some good changes that were definetly needed.

Unless it's a 2005 model that I haven't seen, the blackstone was much less noisy.

[Jason16 0]

I sharpen both ways and I do not crossgrind, unless they are new.

What do you do when you encounter chips and nicks?

I work in a skate shop at a local community centre rink and we get people who come in trailing pebbles and various other things that belong outdoors. We inevitably step onto these things and chip our blades.

I remember a couple of years ago a sharpener from a pro shop came over to touch bases with us sharpeners and he told us to crossgrind until the chip was gone. But seeing as this was a couple of years ago he may have been refering to our rental skates where apathy is plenty...edges are always straight, though, we are competent Canadian sharpeners after all :D

[Megamandan 0]

I sharpen both ways and I do not crossgrind, unless they are new. 

What do you do when you encounter chips and nicks?

I work in a skate shop at a local community centre rink and we get people who come in trailing pebbles and various other things that belong outdoors. We inevitably step onto these things and chip our blades.

I remember a couple of years ago a sharpener from a pro shop came over to touch bases with us sharpeners and he told us to crossgrind until the chip was gone. But seeing as this was a couple of years ago he may have been refering to our rental skates where apathy is plenty...edges are always straight, though, we are competent Canadian sharpeners after all :D

I only cross grind if the skates are new or it they have nicks in the steel that are too deep (ie: needs more than 10 passes) to get rid of it. I go with the wheel because thats how I was taught.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

Jason - a nice, square sharpening will pretty much eliminate the nicks. I do 15 passes. The only time I use it other than first sharpening is if it is REALLY rusted.

[Chadd 916]

Jason - a nice, square sharpening will pretty much eliminate the nicks. I do 15 passes. The only time I use it other than first sharpening is if it is REALLY rusted.

I get a number of skates that can only be repaired by crossgrinding. Usually they're pond hockey skates or people who only take them out of the bag to play.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

Chadd - do you have a book or video on Blackstone's custom radius? I'm gonna need it once they buy the holders.

[Chadd 916]

Chadd - do you have a book or video on Blackstone's custom radius?  I'm gonna need it once they buy the holders.

Yeah I do. Just call Blackstone and ask Steve to send you a video if you're ordering the holders. He's a good guy. It's very brief and covers a very different way to do the process in record time. Too fast in my opinion.

[Jason16 0]

Jason - a nice, square sharpening will pretty much eliminate the nicks. I do 15 passes. The only time I use it other than first sharpening is if it is REALLY rusted.

We crossgrind our rentals on a regular basis because idiots will invariably step outside through one of our fire exits for a smoke. The type of chipping we see the most are deep ones that chip to the outside of the blade; approximately 1mm in depth. I carry a Miriclestone but that's like pouring a bottle of water into a forest fire. We don't like to do it but crossgrinding seems to be the most effective method of producing a clean slate for a fresh hollow. (It's also much easier to align the blade on the skate holder as well - makes our sharpening days more productive.) The thing is, we don't have cheap-o plastic skates, they're all mid to high end Bauer Supreme, Vapor, Easton blems. which the city gets on closeout prices and sends them off to rinks in need. We have a pair of Vapor XX sitting atop our shelf right now.

[DarkStar50 679]

I will sharpen either with the wheel only or back and forth. While with the wheel is the best and most true method, sometimes b/f is a matter of convienence. When we have 5 or more pair backed up on the machine on a busy Saturday, Sunday, or Week night with mens league, time is a factor. When I sharpen b/f I am sure to go lighter with not as much pressure on the back pass.

I learned to sharpen skates in 81. The old-timer who taught me went b/f. I have been in Ontario and watched guys go b/f and not even stay in the middle of the wheel! Check those blades for waves!! When I do my own skates, I go with the wheel only! BTW, I am not trashing Ontario skate sharpeners. It was just something I could never forget seeing!!

Now for the next question: How much do you charge for sharpening? Maybe this has been asked before but I missed that post. In our shop: Hockey skates $6, Goalie skates $8, 1st time sharpening(skates bought outside pro shop/internet/catalog) $12, prices include tax, sharpening free with new skate purchase in shop. All prices in US $.

[Megamandan 0]

New/Very rusty:$7 USD

Regular:$5 USD

Goalie:$5 USD

Bought in shop: 7 free sharpenings (includes the one when you buy the skates), also there is a free bake and free hardware for life (I think most shops do that though)

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

My old shop: $7.50 while you wait, any skate. $5 overnight

My new shop: $4 for regular skates, $5 for goalie/figure, $10 on new skates.