How often do you sharpen your skates?

[Storm 0]

I personally feel a difference after one skate and if I had my own sharpener would sharpen them every time. I'm hoping somebody will come out with an affordable home machine one day. In the mean time I sharpen them after every 4hrs.

I've used the sweet stick to bring back the edge but try to avoid that since the feel is a little different.

Skip the gimmicks. Clean off the blade, get a flat stone, wet it with a little water, and lay it flat on the side of the blade and clean up the edge. You can do wonders with a stone, and you are not losing blade height, so the blade lasts longer.

I got the miracle stone. I am not using it as well as I could....I guess.

By the way is back and forth good. Some guy once told me from back to front. Is there any merit to that? And will honing oil make a difference?

[pantherfan 0]

I sharpen my skates about 1 in 4 outings depending on ice and blade conditions and the amount of ice time I get (I normally play oldtimers twice a week), I use a 7/8", 1" double hollow and I weigh about 210 with bum knees. I find the sweet stick to be too aggressive in the 'edge' it gives.

Whats a double hollow?

[Rookie 0]

i sharpen mine about every two or 3 weeks so probably 12-18 ice times.

[yvan12 0]

I sharpen my skates about 1 in 4 outings depending on ice and blade conditions and the amount of ice time I get (I normally play oldtimers twice a week), I use a 7/8", 1" double hollow and I weigh about 210 with bum knees. I find the sweet stick to be too aggressive in the 'edge' it gives.

Whats a double hollow?

I sharpen my whole blade to a 7/8" hollow, then re-sharpen the 'glide zone' to 1". This gives me a good enough edge to bite when starting and turning, but very little resistence when gliding, but with enough of an edge to track without washing out. On incidental contact (I play oldtimers) my skate will slide laterally and not catch a rut in the ice and twist my knees. I also find I am less fatigued at the end of the gamebecause I am not digging into the ice as much. I have about a dozen 'old' guys on it, and 6 or 7 kids on it (with modified hollows). Works for us anyway.

[yvan12 0]

I personally feel a difference after one skate and if I had my own sharpener would sharpen them every time. I'm hoping somebody will come out with an affordable home machine one day. In the mean time I sharpen them after every 4hrs.

I've used the sweet stick to bring back the edge but try to avoid that since the feel is a little different.

Skip the gimmicks. Clean off the blade, get a flat stone, wet it with a little water, and lay it flat on the side of the blade and clean up the edge. You can do wonders with a stone, and you are not losing blade height, so the blade lasts longer.

I got the miracle stone. I am not using it as well as I could....I guess.

By the way is back and forth good. Some guy once told me from back to front. Is there any merit to that? And will honing oil make a difference?

Metro, oil will add no benefit to the stone. It will just make a mess of your hockey bag and blade guards. Also, because steel does not have a directional grain (like wood does), it does not matter if you go front to back or back to front. However, rubbing both ways will decrease control and may lead to angling the stone which will take the edge off, and will also increase the likelihood of slipping and cutting yourself.

[shute 4]

i sharpen mine maybe around twice a year. i know that seems crazy long but i don't have any problems holding the edge and i find i get a lot more glide that way.

[Storm 0]

I sharpen my skates about 1 in 4 outings depending on ice and blade conditions and the amount of ice time I get (I normally play oldtimers twice a week), I use a 7/8", 1" double hollow and I weigh about 210 with bum knees. I find the sweet stick to be too aggressive in the 'edge' it gives.

Whats a double hollow?

I sharpen my whole blade to a 7/8" hollow, then re-sharpen the 'glide zone' to 1". This gives me a good enough edge to bite when starting and turning, but very little resistence when gliding, but with enough of an edge to track without washing out. On incidental contact (I play oldtimers) my skate will slide laterally and not catch a rut in the ice and twist my knees. I also find I am less fatigued at the end of the gamebecause I am not digging into the ice as much. I have about a dozen 'old' guys on it, and 6 or 7 kids on it (with modified hollows). Works for us anyway.

That sounds amazing. I wish you lived in my area.

Edit: thanks for the feedback on how to use the stone.

[KYHockey3 0]

i sharpen mine whenever i feel like they need to be sharpened so usually like every 2-3 weeks

[pantherfan 0]

I sharpen my skates about 1 in 4 outings depending on ice and blade conditions and the amount of ice time I get (I normally play oldtimers twice a week), I use a 7/8", 1" double hollow and I weigh about 210 with bum knees. I find the sweet stick to be too aggressive in the 'edge' it gives.

Whats a double hollow?

I sharpen my whole blade to a 7/8" hollow, then re-sharpen the 'glide zone' to 1". This gives me a good enough edge to bite when starting and turning, but very little resistence when gliding, but with enough of an edge to track without washing out. On incidental contact (I play oldtimers) my skate will slide laterally and not catch a rut in the ice and twist my knees. I also find I am less fatigued at the end of the gamebecause I am not digging into the ice as much. I have about a dozen 'old' guys on it, and 6 or 7 kids on it (with modified hollows). Works for us anyway.

So let me get this right, would the hollow look like this then?

As you can see I earned my U in I.T/ Computor skills. :lol:

[yvan12 0]

I sharpen my skates about 1 in 4 outings depending on ice and blade conditions and the amount of ice time I get (I normally play oldtimers twice a week), I use a 7/8", 1" double hollow and I weigh about 210 with bum knees. I find the sweet stick to be too aggressive in the 'edge' it gives.

Whats a double hollow?

I sharpen my whole blade to a 7/8" hollow, then re-sharpen the 'glide zone' to 1". This gives me a good enough edge to bite when starting and turning, but very little resistence when gliding, but with enough of an edge to track without washing out. On incidental contact (I play oldtimers) my skate will slide laterally and not catch a rut in the ice and twist my knees. I also find I am less fatigued at the end of the gamebecause I am not digging into the ice as much. I have about a dozen 'old' guys on it, and 6 or 7 kids on it (with modified hollows). Works for us anyway.

So let me get this right, would the hollow look like this then?

As you can see I earned my U in I.T/ Computor skills. :lol:

I don't have the computer skills you have, so I can't draw a pic, but I will try to explain. If you were to look at the toe and heel of my blade, they would be a deeper hollow than the middle. I do 3 passes (more if necessary) along the entire length of the blade with a 7/8" hollow. Then I do 1 pass in the middle of the blade (glide zone) with a 1" hollow to lessen the depth of the 7/8". With me? The only draw back is that because I am sharpening the middle of the blade more than the ends, I have to 'tweak' my profile (11' Forward) a little more frequently to prevent putting a negative radius in the middle. I hope it makes a little more sense now.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

Now if we had to teach that to all the staff we would really be in trouble......although I do like the idea.....Hey B whats the time fram on a pair doing it like that?

It would take to long on a portable for the team wouldnt it?

[JR Boucicaut 3786]

I've done that with goal skates but not with player skates.

[hitz14 0]

i get mine like every 5-7 skates

with a 11\16 hollow, trying to get to 3\4

[hitz14 0]

i stone after every skate too, it helps with nicks on the edges

[ktang 34]

I sharpen my skates about 1 in 4 outings depending on ice and blade conditions and the amount of ice time I get (I normally play oldtimers twice a week), I use a 7/8", 1" double hollow and I weigh about 210 with bum knees. I find the sweet stick to be too aggressive in the 'edge' it gives.

Whats a double hollow?

I sharpen my whole blade to a 7/8" hollow, then re-sharpen the 'glide zone' to 1". This gives me a good enough edge to bite when starting and turning, but very little resistence when gliding, but with enough of an edge to track without washing out. On incidental contact (I play oldtimers) my skate will slide laterally and not catch a rut in the ice and twist my knees. I also find I am less fatigued at the end of the gamebecause I am not digging into the ice as much. I have about a dozen 'old' guys on it, and 6 or 7 kids on it (with modified hollows). Works for us anyway.

So let me get this right, would the hollow look like this then?

As you can see I earned my U in I.T/ Computor skills. :lol:

I don't have the computer skills you have, so I can't draw a pic, but I will try to explain. If you were to look at the toe and heel of my blade, they would be a deeper hollow than the middle. I do 3 passes (more if necessary) along the entire length of the blade with a 7/8" hollow. Then I do 1 pass in the middle of the blade (glide zone) with a 1" hollow to lessen the depth of the 7/8". With me? The only draw back is that because I am sharpening the middle of the blade more than the ends, I have to 'tweak' my profile (11' Forward) a little more frequently to prevent putting a negative radius in the middle. I hope it makes a little more sense now.

Could you also start with the 1", and then feather in the 7/8" in the toe and heel afterwards?

[chk hrd 164]

I just get mine done whenever they feel like they need it. no special rules or time frame. My skates and my body will let me know.

[yvan12 0]

Now if we had to teach that to all the staff we would really be in trouble......although I do like the idea.....Hey B whats the time fram on a pair doing it like that?

It would take to long on a portable for the team wouldnt it?

It takes a little bit longer to sharpen this way because you need to re-dress the stone to the different hollows. but it is a good system especially for players who are very strong skaters, or have knee and hip injuries, or are physically big (i fall into the last 2 catagories myself). I base the hollows (differential is always 1/8") on the strength, weight, and joint needs of my customer, For example, I have kids on it with a hollows of 1/2"& 5/8" or 5/8"& 3/4". It can be a very personal approach. To do it for everyone with a team portable it would take quite a bit of time because not all of the players would use the same combination, although you could possibly co-ordinate all of the 1/2" at once, etc. Too much pressure on the 'glide zone' hollow can screw it up, so I would recommend it be done by experienced sharpeners.

[yvan12 0]

I sharpen my skates about 1 in 4 outings depending on ice and blade conditions and the amount of ice time I get (I normally play oldtimers twice a week), I use a 7/8", 1" double hollow and I weigh about 210 with bum knees. I find the sweet stick to be too aggressive in the 'edge' it gives.

Whats a double hollow?

I sharpen my whole blade to a 7/8" hollow, then re-sharpen the 'glide zone' to 1". This gives me a good enough edge to bite when starting and turning, but very little resistence when gliding, but with enough of an edge to track without washing out. On incidental contact (I play oldtimers) my skate will slide laterally and not catch a rut in the ice and twist my knees. I also find I am less fatigued at the end of the gamebecause I am not digging into the ice as much. I have about a dozen 'old' guys on it, and 6 or 7 kids on it (with modified hollows). Works for us anyway.

So let me get this right, would the hollow look like this then?

As you can see I earned my U in I.T/ Computor skills. :lol:

I don't have the computer skills you have, so I can't draw a pic, but I will try to explain. If you were to look at the toe and heel of my blade, they would be a deeper hollow than the middle. I do 3 passes (more if necessary) along the entire length of the blade with a 7/8" hollow. Then I do 1 pass in the middle of the blade (glide zone) with a 1" hollow to lessen the depth of the 7/8". With me? The only draw back is that because I am sharpening the middle of the blade more than the ends, I have to 'tweak' my profile (11' Forward) a little more frequently to prevent putting a negative radius in the middle. I hope it makes a little more sense now.

Could you also start with the 1", and then feather in the 7/8" in the toe and heel afterwards?

It is easier to sharpen the whole blade and then do the glide zone after because you are going in the same direction (you are just sharpening a shorter blade). I think it would be much more difficult to be consistent with the pressure if you feather the toe and heel into the middle, thus causing a too much of a 'round over' and messing up the profile. The key to the glide zone pass is that you only get one pass at it or you run the risk of doing a negative radius so it is very important that your machine be set up properly and the glide pads are clean.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

Now if we had to teach that to all the staff we would really be in trouble......although I do like the idea.....Hey B whats the time fram on a pair doing it like that?

It would take to long on a portable for the team wouldnt it?

It takes a little bit longer to sharpen this way because you need to re-dress the stone to the different hollows. but it is a good system especially for players who are very strong skaters, or have knee and hip injuries, or are physically big (i fall into the last 2 catagories myself). I base the hollows (differential is always 1/8") on the strength, weight, and joint needs of my customer, For example, I have kids on it with a hollows of 1/2"& 5/8" or 5/8"& 3/4". It can be a very personal approach. To do it for everyone with a team portable it would take quite a bit of time because not all of the players would use the same combination, although you could possibly co-ordinate all of the 1/2" at once, etc. Too much pressure on the 'glide zone' hollow can screw it up, so I would recommend it be done by experienced sharpeners.

What are tou trying to say I am nopt expierenced..... :lol:

[yvan12 0]

Now if we had to teach that to all the staff we would really be in trouble......although I do like the idea.....Hey B whats the time fram on a pair doing it like that?

It would take to long on a portable for the team wouldnt it?

It takes a little bit longer to sharpen this way because you need to re-dress the stone to the different hollows. but it is a good system especially for players who are very strong skaters, or have knee and hip injuries, or are physically big (i fall into the last 2 catagories myself). I base the hollows (differential is always 1/8") on the strength, weight, and joint needs of my customer, For example, I have kids on it with a hollows of 1/2"& 5/8" or 5/8"& 3/4". It can be a very personal approach. To do it for everyone with a team portable it would take quite a bit of time because not all of the players would use the same combination, although you could possibly co-ordinate all of the 1/2" at once, etc. Too much pressure on the 'glide zone' hollow can screw it up, so I would recommend it be done by experienced sharpeners.

What are tou trying to say I am nopt expierenced..... :lol:

You are the one guy I would have no problem with, but I would still do my own ;)

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

I had to do all the Jr Teams Skates and over half the Sr ones tonight.....If I had a triple Head i might be able to do it....but no way with a portable.....its bad enough I have to do Combo Goal cuts.