To Sharpen or not to Sharpen?

[kiwiskater]

I've never deliberately sharpened my blades before, always been done because of the rust issues I've had. But now I'm wondering if they need doing?

I asked my coach & she said that if you can loose fingernail rubbing over the edge, if you start to slide on certain moves or around about 40 hours. I can say I think I can meet the last 2 criteria but not the first, I can still get the edge to scratch my nails but the edges are also blunt enough to run my fingers down & not get sliced.

Although I've not had the problem as much recently I have found myself skidding on some edge work which is part of what prompted me to wonder...  it doesn't help that I skate on avg 1hr a week, hardly anyone does that little & so they are a bit unsure with their suggestions...

so to sharpen or not to sharpen, that is the question 

[Rachelsk8s]

If you feel as though you are sliding around on certain elements, its probably time to get them sharpened.  I know its time for a sharpening when my spin entrances don't grab the ice as well.  I also keep a log of when I get my skates sharpened in the calendar of my cell phone I typically get mine sharpened once a month, although I've gone a bit closer in intervals in getting them sharpened every 3 weeks or so.  With that being said, I'm on the ice a lot and I prefer them super scary sharp lol   If its been 40 hours of skating time since your last sharpening, its time to get them done.

[AgnesNitt]

I'm of two minds about the 'scrape your nail' method of determining your sharpening.

First off, people I respect, that are more knowledgeable that me, with many more years of experience, use it. These are people who are professional skaters with thousands of hours on the ice.

But a good skater, with good technique can skate on a sharpening that's close to 'dead' because they do have good technique.  To them, the 'scrape your nail' method may be adequate.

I don't have good technique. I like a sharpening when I start to skid on elements I'm good at. The blades can still draw a curl on the nail, and my sharpener rolls his eyes a bit when I ask for a touchup.

I'm an adult. I can do what I want. If I like my blades sharpened sooner than my coach feels is necessary, it's my money. 

I think I've gone as long as 60 hours skating 5 hours a week between sharpenings, so I'm not particularly hard on my blades (no jumping or spins).  I've never had them sharpened when they couldn't draw a curl, it's too hard to schedule. I usually have them sharpened when I skid, or I have a big dent in the edge.

[Skittl1321]

I like my blades sharp.  If I start slipping on my edges at all, I go.
This used to be every 8 weeks, so about 30 hours. With my new blades, they have harder edges so it is every 20 weeks or so...60ish hours.

I never wear guards though, so I could probably go longer, but it is a pain.

[irenar5]

When I feel slipping- I sharpen.  I went to a slighter deeper hollow, though and feel much better!   So, perhaps, it is not the frequency of sharpening you need to adjust, but the hollow?

[jjane45]

Got sharpening today and was amazed that I could not tell the difference even in stops, my nerves probably rival the elephants'... But when it gets very blunt I'd discover it either on edges or spin entrances.

I used to track my skating hours and get sharpening after the 40-50 hours mark. Now I simply note the time and get sharpening after 3 months, which is roughly 60 hours.

[hopskipjump]

It's 20 hours here - maybe 30.  But if we wait for 30 hours and she got them sharpened she would always say she wish she hadn't waited so long.

[fsk8r]

I find it's best to stay skating on relatively sharp blades as you don't get such a large adjustment when you go from blunt to sharp. A lot of people struggle stopping after sharpening. When I was skating once twice a week I would sharpen once a term (about 3-4 months). Now I skate about double that so it's reduced to every half term. I use school holidays as my guide to when I need to sharpen them. I'm not at school anymore, but the change in the rink timetable is a good cue even if the blades haven't started skidding.

[kiwiskater]

I find it's best to stay skating on relatively sharp blades as you don't get such a large adjustment when you go from blunt to sharp. A lot of people struggle stopping after sharpening. When I was skating once twice a week I would sharpen once a term (about 3-4 months). Now I skate about double that so it's reduced to every half term. I use school holidays as my guide to when I need to sharpen them. I'm not at school anymore, but the change in the rink timetable is a good cue even if the blades haven't started skidding.

School holidays are definitely a guide for me, our group lessons stop in favour of school holiday programmes - good suggestion its actually that time right now which was the main reason I was hoping to come to a conclusion. If I was to sharpen, best do so in the break & start the new term off adjusting to the blade changes - as you say last time I had a sharpen I felt like I couldn't stop properly & my coach warned me that I'd feel 'stupid' because the sharpening will affect how I skate but some things will be better too.... inside 3 turns please!!!

[taka]

I get mine sharpened every 35-40hrs or so. I notice they are beginning to getting blunt by ~30hrs so have a week or 2 to arrange a sharpening in. Much past 40hrs and I feel myself slipping on deep edges and find it really unpleasant. I usually skate on very hard ice (and am very overweight) so can't get away with much. I keep a count of my hours on a spreadsheet along with my skating budget.

While my rink is shut one of the rinks I was skating at had much softer ice and I really noticed the difference! Blades @45hrs were still ok and probably could have gone for another few hours ok. My next skate will be on very hard ice again (back at my home rink hopefully!) so I need to get mine done ASAP. Thanks for the reminder!

[fsk8r]

School holidays are definitely a guide for me, our group lessons stop in favour of school holiday programmes - good suggestion its actually that time right now which was the main reason I was hoping to come to a conclusion. If I was to sharpen, best do so in the break & start the new term off adjusting to the blade changes - as you say last time I had a sharpen I felt like I couldn't stop properly & my coach warned me that I'd feel 'stupid' because the sharpening will affect how I skate but some things will be better too.... inside 3 turns please!!!

when I was in group lessons, I'd get them done over the holidays and try to skate once or twice before class started again to get used to them and sort out the stopping.
I've since decided I'd rather skate on sharp blades all the time so I never need to readjust much.

[Bunny Hop]

I was always told to get blades sharpened at about 30 hours, and I tend to stick to that (although I can usually go to 35 before they start to feed 'off'). I keep a spreadsheet that logs the number of hours I've skated in one column and the number of hours since the last sharpening in another column.

[sarahspins]

I've been having my paramounts done about every 3-4 months which works out to about 60-80 hours... and they DO tend to hold a good edge longer over that time, which is still better than my old blades, but far from the 120 hours claimed by paramount... I'm not sure I'd even be willing to hold out that long to find out what shape they'd be in by the end.

[kiwiskater]

I did it, sharpened & now to test them out in the lesson Sunday (not got time before)... did find it odd that the inside edges don't seem much sharper than when I sent them in (its an overnight service)...

[Gabby on Ice]

I'm still in Basic Skills, and I sharpen mine probably every 2 months. But I also use the "scrape your nail" method to see if they're still sharp enough. But if your wear guards, you can probably longer without sharpening them.

[AgnesNitt]

I felt really 'off' at freestyle. I thought it was because my legs were stiff (it may have been), but when  I tested my blades, the right one couldn't raise a curl. The left was okay. I asked my coach to check and she agreed.

Amazingly, even though I don't wear guards, and tramp around in my boots with a negligent devil may care attitude, no nicks.

I think it's about 60-70 hours. I really should be like bunny hop and track my hours. Apparently there's an app for that some place.

[chowskates]

If you feel like you're skidding, get them sharpened! I do it very infrequently because there was nobody in this country I would trust to sharpen my blades (now there is, and I'm waiting for him to get in stone for the hollow I want). So one fine day, I skidded and fell on a spiral *in competition*... boy was that embarrassing!