Im just learning how to sharpen skates

[mattzilla 0]

anyone know of any sites out there that are helpful? id rather not suck at it, and if im gonna do it, i want to do it well.

or any tips?

anthing?

the machine we have at work is a blackstone, if that makes any difference.

[mattzilla 0]

oh, and also i realize practice is the only way im gonna get good, but id also prefer not to be practicing badly.

and at work we got buttloads of used skates that never sell to practice on

[mackallica 0]

Perfect. Every chance you get practice on a used pair. That is how I learned.

I don't know how much you already know maybe you can tell us what you already know, but here are some basics. **Note this is how I use my sharpener, not sure the differences between mine and yours.**

Make sure your hollow is on. Make sure you don't press to hard on the crossgrinder or just the normal stone. Make sure you finish the sharpening. Make sure your sharpening on the right stone, and that it's honed to a correct grind. Example: the goalie/figure stone would be at 1" as the hockey skate one would be 5/8ths , 1/2, 3/8ths depends on the place. You don't want to take a sharpening test to your boss and have it be done at a whole. Go the same speed while doing a pass. Don't take your test until your confident all your sharpenings are spot on.

Do you have any questions I might be able to answer?

P.S. Keep in mind that the crossgrinder and sharpen stone will take off more blade at the front of the and back of the blade, so I try to go a tiny bit faster at those points.

[DEATHTRON 19]

When you think youre good with your practice skates, start doing your own. Instant feedback on how good or bad you do.

Zach

[CTHockey 2]

Always make sure you have a clean stone set to the proper hollow. Secondly dont apply too much pressure at the heel and toe. I laugh when customers come in with skates that have burn marks on both ends. Your last pass should always be slow and smooth to give it a nice finish. Like everyone else has said, practice practice practice and always be sure to test your sharpenings on your own skates. If you test um out and dont like how it feels then more then likely your customers wont either.

[dix0r 0]

even speed and pressure - which basically means slow and light.

don't do the back and forth real quick thing.

tell newbie customers about radius/hollow. if you take the time to explain and try to help, you get a lot more tips. although still not enough :[

go to the toe every 4th or 5th pass.

give a couple seconds between passes...make sure not to burn the blade.

make sure the jig isn't touching the outsole of the skate.

make sure loose laces aren't under the sled.

don't dress the wheel too smoothly. at least i like when it cuts a bit more agressively.

just try to sharpen every pair better than the last. take your time.

put a coin or something on the blade to check if it's level (assuming the shop doesn't have a quick-square).

get a miracle stone.

clean the table.

wear a mask!

i usually make a couple witness marks just to ensure that the skate is VERY roughly centered. then i make a quick pass and then adjust. rather than trying to center it just from witness marks. this also gives you a glimpse at how straight the blade may (or may not) be. although you can check that before as well.

it's easier when you're learning to cut skates at shallow hollows.

[sn1per 0]

Practice makes perfect, but try and have as smooth and steady hands as possible. Takes a while to develop them with practice but you'll get them. Whatever you do, do not stop. On the last machine I was using, our shop guy didn't really maintain our machine so it had a bit of vibration. I sometimes turned off the vacuum for the last pass so the vibration was reduced and left a smoother finish. Any of you guys turn off the vacuum for the last pass?

[21Forsberg 0]

One of the tricks I use is try to watch he fire from the wheel, make sure it doesn't jump up and down when you are grinding the skate. If the fire stays level you know you've got a good start, after that just make sure the edges are level. Try not to apply too much pressure and keep a steady pace, If you push too hard and go to slow you burn the steel and if you go to fast and don't have enough pressure then you leave chatter marks. Just work on your tempo and try to look for a solid fire line on the wheel for your last pass. The important thing here is to practice and experiement with different methods and see what works for you, find your nitch. Good luck, hope this helps!

What holder do you guys use? Tri-lie, scissor clamp? We have a 3 station Blademaster (2 wheels and 1 crossgrind) at my work and we use the Blackstone Tri-lie, I've found that holder is the easiest one to use. Anybody else feel that way too? Also anybody tryout the Blackstone "Air-vent" wheels (dark grey wheels with little holes throughout), those ones are my absolute favorites.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Sorry, I know nothing about sharpening skates, so I'll refrain from adding anything.

No, actually, understand what you are trying to achieve - two well-defined square edges, with a smooth, shiny finish, while maintaining the profile of the blade, and all done with minimal heat. Anything else is unacceptable, but unfortunately, the norm in this business.

Just experiment, you will develop your own style. As long as you get to what I stated above, you're in business.

[DarkStar50 679]

Get a Pro-Square from Blademaster to check your edges for level. It is worth every penny. You will also never lose an argument with a customer if he says the blades are not level if you use the Pro-Square.

[mackallica 0]

Get a Pro-Square from Blademaster to check your edges for level. It is worth every penny. You will also never lose an argument with a customer if he says the blades are not level if you use the Pro-Square.

This is true. You can always proove to your customer that your hollow was on and the sharpening was well done with one of these. A lot of people loose edges from walking on a drain or something and come back to the store yelling about how they had a bad sharpening, this will stop them in they're tracks.

[Gongshow11 1]

i am also just learning, can someone explain how to properly dress a wheel? like how do you know when you've gridned that diamond just enough

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Smooth, clean wheel, no soot.

[Ivan 1]

Get a Pro-Square from Blademaster to check your edges for level. It is worth every penny. You will also never lose an argument with a customer if he says the blades are not level if you use the Pro-Square.

How about Blackstone's BatGage? Has anyone used it?

http://www.blackstonesport.com/index.php?t=equipment

[hockeyfreak 0]

That is a good point about keeping heat minimal. Does that damage the integrity of the blade? I had my skates sharpened by a non-regular shop and the blades were almost too hot to touch

[jeffw 1]

Here's another informative thread on sharpening with links to other sharpening threads and videos.

HERE

[jimmy 194]

You can have "square edges" but a terrible consistency in the hollow. The edge checker is not the final say, you must have a good radius gauge set to test the hollow, and you must test it at several points along the blade. Square edges, consistent hollow, and smooth finish, that's the goal. It does not matter what machine or holder you use, it can be obtained with all of them. As someone said above, watching the flames, good advice. The more you sharpen you wil see how the visual cues are so important.