How often should skates be sharpened?

[Dan_The_Man_16 0]

Every other game. I'm really tough on my blades and sometimes I even have toget them sharpened before any game.

Edit: hip check : what kind on holder/steel are you using?

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

I had my blades thermal-tempered at my brother-in-law's machine shop. Increased the strength of the blades and almost double the time between sharpenings. Made them more resistant to the little nicks and burrs that would require using a stone. I'm experimenting with them for the shop. Another company has done some work with the Red Wings and Windsor Spitfires (local area teams for them)

Interesting.

I'm assuming since you mentioned "shop" that you work in one. How does it sharpen?

[djinferno 2]

3 to 4 hours... depending if i've been on ruff ice... it also depends on the steel...

Easton blades, never every 15 hours.. the bend makes em last for ever...

i have graf 703 right now...

i do it more often on tuuk...

[Aussie Joe 0]

Hey guys, I just started playing ice this month after being on the Inline rink for 10 years. The shop where I bought my skates from is quite good for an Aussie store but Im not sure on some of the store owner's sharpening advice...

I skate roughly 2-3 times a weeks, the sessions last about 1.5 hrs on avg. The store owner suggested I get my skates sharpend about every month. I personally didn't like the "freshly sharpend" feel at all and prefer them slightly blunt. Sould I follow his advice about the sharpening frequency? Or hold out and get them sharpend every 6-7 weeks?

[KBO25 0]

IMO, and I don't claim to be any kind of expert, but, you could try and get a more shallow cut(I think that's the correct terminology).

I never liked the "freshly" sharpened feel, until I went to 1/2 inch.

Now, I love skating with newly sharpened skates, I would do it before every ice time if I could.

[Hockeydog 8]

I am not an expert either but from what I have learned a more shallow hollow

such as a 5/8" or 3/4" will not dig in as much, therefore giving you that "blunt" feel, and also hold it's edge longer. Don't confuse a fresh sharpening with a deeper hollow. Some NHL players use a 3/4" or even more shallow and they get their skates sharpened every day. You should try a shallow hollow and get them sharpened when you feel you can't hold an edge.

[DamnLocust 0]

KBO is right on the money. The first sign of using a hollow that's too deep is that you like the blades only after a session or two on the ice. Next time you go in, tell him that you feel too much bite when they're first sharpened, and you'd like a shallower hollow. Many shops, however, aren't willing to do this, as it eats at both the wheel and the diamond. I'd suspect this may be the case in your shops in Australia moreso due to inflated costs of these items.

I usually go about 7-8 skates between sharpenings, but I use a shallow cut (edges last longer because they aren't as thin) and I'm skating on missions with Pitch, which probably hold an edge better than any other steel around. As a matter of fact, I could probably go longer with them, but I have my own machine so it doesn't cost me anything. On my Bauers, I was going 5-6 skates between, and it was a more noticeable difference. If the ice there is soft, you can go longer.

[tomh7 2]

I sharpen my skates about every 8 hrs of ice time and it is mainly just touch-up since I go with about a 5/8 hollow. Usually for tournaments and playoffs, I will touch them up before each game. I am very particular about my skates though so I have my own machine as i was getting tired of sending my skates back home to get a good sharpen.

[Chadd 916]

Looks like everyone hit the nail on the head, go to a more shallow hollow and they should feel right from the first skate to the last.

[bheidepr 0]

I have also read that 3-5 hrs is a general suggestion on when to sharpen. It is different for every person as we all skate with a different stride, weigh different, etc....

[BluXington 0]

I get my skates sharpened when they start feeling dull on and off the ice.

Which is usually around every 4.5/6 hours to a max of 9 hours of play.

[jimmy 194]

I have also read that 3-5 hrs is a general suggestion on when to sharpen. It is different for every person as we all skate with a different stride, weigh different, etc....

Yes, that's right. I recommend 4 hrs. A stainless blade looses about 25% of it's edge for every hr of skating. If you are just skating games, you're probably on the ice 20 minutes total. If you have a practice, those are much more demanding on the edges and your on the ice a good 1.5 hrs. Still, the greatest wear on edges is from off ice. Walking on the dirty matts wears edges so much.

[Gaborik41 0]

i get mine sharpened about every two weeks with two or three one-hour practices and two games, so its about every seven hours of skating

[BK 0]

I haven't had mine done in about 6 months. Its all personal preference.

[chippa13 1844]

I haven't had mine done in about 6 months. Its all personal preference.

Not when you go that long between sharpenings.

[jimmy 194]

I haven't had mine done in about 6 months. Its all personal preference.

Not when you go that long between sharpenings.

True, here's why. As a skate gets dull, you get use to the dullness and adapt your game. You loose all performance from a dull blade, so you can't accellerate as fast, stop as fast or turn as fast, so your whole game changes. If you don't mind or care, then it's no problem. I know people who get sharpened once a year. I also know people who bought new skates and skated 6 months on them without ever sharpening them out of the box! :lol:

[nicksmission14 0]

Oh man jimmy, I used to see that all the time when I worked at the pro shop, People would come in from public skating with skates that had never been sharpened before.

[evor1 6]

i use 5/8th hollow and i get my skates sharpened about every 2 weeks. thats about 10 hours ice time.

[TheBert 0]

I say it's personal preference. I skate with a 3/4" and I'll stay on them as long as I can hold an edge during tight turns with them. I like the trade-off for speed.

[qmechanic 17]

I like a 7/16" edge, so that I don't fall so much. During the regular season, I have a 1.5 hour practice each week and 3 games a month (probably about 12-15 minutes of ice time per game). I get my skates sharpened once a week, so that's about once per 5 hours of ice time.

Of course, if my edges get ruined during a game, I have to take my skates in to be sharpened more often.

[jimmy 194]

Oh man jimmy, I used to see that all the time when I worked at the pro shop, People would come in from public skating with skates that had never been sharpened before.

It's more common than you would think. That's why skates at the "chain stores" have those stickers on them that say "must be sharpened before use". I find it common among young hockey players whose parents never skated. One of my customers told me a story of sitting in the stands watching his son play and casually talking to a teammates father about how his boy was falling often and asked him when his skates were last sharpened. The guy replied, "sharpened????" :D

[TBLfan 25]

hahaha, that's pretty damn funny!

I like my skates at a bit less than 3/4. I normally just rub the blade lightly against the bench once and they feel good to go. I normally get a few icetimes out of them before i get them sharpened but it all depends on how the ice is and how well the blade has held it's edge. You can feel when you need to get them sharpened, this time my sharpening only lasted 2 skates but I went a 3rd on them because my LHS was closed when I got to the rink.

[hunterphfr 12]

The hardness of the ice you play on can have a difference as well. When I lived in Canada the ice was much colder/harder/faster and I sharpened my skates very frequently, they just wore down fast. Now living in Florida where the ice is very soft and gets noticeably softer as the game goes on, I find myself sharpening them just because it's been so long since the last sharpening. The blades look good, still have a good edge but my gut just says you have to get these things sharpened it's been forever, or I might have picked up a nick/bur/gouge on an edge making it necessary.

[AnthonyJTa 0]

My local Pure Hockey uses "code" as opposed to inches... H-4, H-5, etc... so I never really knew what hollow I ended up on. I got tired of the inconsistency (one week I had NO inside edge on my left skate..) I was getting a sharpening there almost every other week sometimes, because my skates were so sloppy. I said something to one of the guys, and he recommended I go with an H-4... a deeper hollow. I noticed I was getting gassed easily, and fell behind rushes. I assumed it was too deep.. as their chart said an H-4 was deeper than standard ROH.

I got tired of it all, and took my skates to a little place in my hometown of Weymouth, MA and the guy worked with me to find the right hollow. He'd sharpen them, let me take them home and skate and come back with some feedback. We did this twice, until he put me on a 9/16" hollow, and it's perfect from the first skate to the last... I try and sharpen them every 4 to 5 skates

[Jordan 13]

I find it common among young hockey players whose parents never skated. One of my customers told me a story of sitting in the stands watching his son play and casually talking to a teammates father about how his boy was falling often and asked him when his skates were last sharpened. The guy replied, "sharpened????"

Haha...then I had sort of the opposite experience this fall with my little guy. I bought him a new pair of skates a few weeks before try out s started. I took him skating to get used to them, and he was skating worse than when he was three. When we got off of the ice I took a look at the skates and apparently the LHS where I bought them had sharpened one of the skates twice and had left one unsharpened. I guess the guy got distracted and somehow mixed up which one he had done. :(

PS I don't shop there anymore.