Skate Sharpening Drama

[HawksFan6 0]

Hard to believe, but the rink I skate at has the worst skate sharpening guy ever. I had a game last night and two more tonight, so I can't go to my reputable LHS to get my skates done. I have some edge damage from last night's game (i.e. jagged edges, etc.) that I want fixed for tonight. I'm worried about this, because I notice when this guy sharpens, he basically just rocks the skate back and forth rapidly and finishes them in about 10 seconds. What do I tell him to do in order to give me clean edges? Ask for a cross-grind before he does the 7/16th? I know I should pay more attention to this stuff, but a good cross grind is the only way my edges are going to be clean again right? Do you have any tips I can give him so I can be as specific as possible? Thanks guys.

[sickwilly 37]

I'd invest in a sweet stick and miraclestone and use those in between sharpenings from the LHS... They tide me over pretty well in between "legit" sharpenings. I'd rather do that then put my skates in the hands of someone who's going to make them worse. I doubt this guy will learn how to do it right in one night, even if you give him great suggestions. Plus, he'd be learning on your skates.

If it were me, I'd steer clear of this sharpener until he either gets more experience, or starts acting like he cares about how he does 'em. You can't do a good job in 10 seconds.

[HawksFan6 0]

Thanks for the response. I know this guy probably knows what he is doing, but it's obvious he doesn't give a crap about his customers. Will the sweet stick / miraclestone be able to fix up those edges or am I better off pressuring him (or giving him a hard time)?

[Ahriman 1]

if his "technique" is as horrifying as you describe, a cross grind is only going to mean more steel lost when you visit him.

[sickwilly 37]

Thanks for the response. I know this guy probably knows what he is doing, but it's obvious he doesn't give a crap about his customers. Will the sweet stick / miraclestone be able to fix up those edges or am I better off pressuring him (or giving him a hard time)?

I wouldn't piss anyone off, then hand them my skates!

Neither will give you the same effect of a good sharpening. They're better for holding you over and keeping skates "playable" longer. They can take down burrs and (in my opinion) replace some of a lost edge. I doubt that they'd completely fix the problem if you have a lot of damage. Take 'em to the LHS when you can for that.

That being said, I've had my skates in pretty rough shape and the Sweet Stick has gotten me through.

[tony1233 0]

Thanks for the response. I know this guy probably knows what he is doing, but it's obvious he doesn't give a crap about his customers. Will the sweet stick / miraclestone be able to fix up those edges or am I better off pressuring him (or giving him a hard time)?

the sweet stick is used to take care of buurs and knicks in your edge

[VakarLajos 5]

What do I tell him to do in order to give me clean edges?

learn how to sharpen?

it's sarcasm. Unless you have very specific tips coming from experience, there really isn't much you're going to tell that will help him.

You could tell him to go slower and then he burns up your blades leaving you with dead spots all over. Best to go somewhere else.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

Yeah, I wouldn't insult him. He probably thinks he's doing a good job. Go elsewhere.

[Gummer12 134]

Or tell him to come on here, and get edumicated....and to have a look at JR's One Handed Final Pass on youtube lol

[AHF 1]

I'd avoid him at all costs. I don't advocate the use of sweet sticks, but in this instance, give'r. It won't screw up your skates as much as the goof behind the wheel would...

I mean, if the customer has to give the sharpener instructions on how to do the job, the sharpener in question should not be sharpening skates.

[interpathway 9]

Or tell him to come on here, and get edumicated....and to have a look at JR's One Handed Final Pass on youtube lol

The Cock Walk Standing Still?

[Hockeydog 8]

Didn't want to start a new thread so I'm adding my bad sharpening to this.

Bought a new pair of One75 skates and had my LHS sharpen them. Left skate okay but the right skate was pretty off. Outside edge would not hold at all, it just slid across the ice. Counter- clockwise turns/stops are my stronger side so I know it wasn't me. Even gliding straight I could hear the blade make a abnormal scraping noise and could feel the back part of the right blade scarping the ice rather than gliding. The LHS guy didn't take very long to put an edge on the blades, and was talking with another customer while he did it. I am going elsewhere to get it fixed but want to know what he did or didn't do. I thought new blades needed a cross grind which would have taken longer than the few minutes he spent on my skates?

[cptjeff 0]

Didn't want to start a new thread so I'm adding my bad sharpening to this.

Bought a new pair of One75 skates and had my LHS sharpen them. Left skate okay but the right skate was pretty off. Outside edge would not hold at all, it just slid across the ice. Counter- clockwise turns/stops are my stronger side so I know it wasn't me. Even gliding straight I could hear the blade make a abnormal scraping noise and could feel the back part of the right blade scarping the ice rather than gliding. The LHS guy didn't take very long to put an edge on the blades, and was talking with another customer while he did it. I am going elsewhere to get it fixed but want to know what he did or didn't do. I thought new blades needed a cross grind which would have taken longer than the few minutes he spent on my skates?

New blades are already flat when you get them, there's no point to a cross grind if you're just keeping the factory profile. You do need to do a bunch of extra passes on them though because you're not re carving a hollow, you're putting the first one in, which means you're grinding through more steel.

He either didn't go deep enough or was off center. Either way, a decent sharpener should be able to fix it for you.

[DarkStar50 679]

You don't have to cross grind new, out-of-the box skates but cross grinding them will get the first sharpening done faster and with no question that the sharpener has hit both edges heel to toe. If you choose not to cross grind on new skates, you should feel and look closely to be sure the sharpener has hit both edges. I prefer to cross grind all first time sharpenings. It eliminates all doubt that both edges are cleanly done.

[chk hrd 164]

I always ask for new steel to be cross ground. Better to know there was a square, flat surface to start with then assume there was one.

[Machinehead2k5 32]

In two of the skates shops I go to, I don't have to pay for sharpenings and my friends do a great job for my 5/8th hollow.

[jimmy 194]

Waste of steel to crossgrind new skates. It doesn't do anything to ensure edges are level. That is done by the sharpener who should be measuring and checking for level edges when they are done. In the old days when runners were "rough" cut off the sheet, a crossgrind could help smooth out the steel before you began to cut in the hollow. Not really required with the newer precision laser cut steel.

[AHF 1]

Waste of steel to crossgrind new skates.

A few crossgrind strokes is not the end of the world...

Personal preference really, but I always cross-grind a new skate.

[SolarWind 23]

curious if the miraclestone works with FBV?

[Hockeydog 8]

Thanks for the responses. I took the skates to another LHS that is farther away but is trustworthy. They looked at the skate and said the holder was mismounted at the factory, and that they have seen One55/75... skates with bad mounts before. Lightspeed holder was angled too far to the outside at the heel. They said I can get Bauer to replace or they can re-mount the holder. Is this a common flaw in Bauer?

[CTK30 0]

Waste of steel to crossgrind new skates. It doesn't do anything to ensure edges are level. That is done by the sharpener who should be measuring and checking for level edges when they are done. In the old days when runners were "rough" cut off the sheet, a crossgrind could help smooth out the steel before you began to cut in the hollow. Not really required with the newer precision laser cut steel.

The laser cutting also changes the properties of the metal near the cut, I'm not sure how this affects sharpening