I recently asked for advice about rust and sharpening. This is somewhat a continuation of that, but is a different issue altogether, so I decided to make a new thread.
As a background, my skates got rust in them. Most of the rust was removed, but there is still some rust on the hollow. I have decided to forgo sharpening for as long as possible, following the advice of the skaters here, since I am going to be off the ice indefinitely.
My new question is this: even if there were still some rust on the hollow, is it still safe to skate in them? Do I have to wait for the skates to get sharpened before I skate in them?
Here are some pictures of the blade in its current condition.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc437/skatinganalysis/Rusty%20skate%20blades/blade2.jpg
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc437/skatinganalysis/Rusty%20skate%20blades/blade1.jpg
Thank you very much!
That rust is barely noticeable.
I think you will be fine. If it feels off, just stop.
OT: Are you "off ice indefinitely" because of injury?
If so, that's awful.
Are your blades developing the rust patches because of old age, and because of many previous sharpening sessions have removed most of the case-hardening of the outer coating of the blade, so that the only metal in the blade that is left is the soft metal ? I had blades that looked like yours do, and was still able to skate on them. However, the blades needed even more sharpening because the soft metal would not hold a sharp edge for very long. You can have the blades tested with a measuring device to see if the case-hardening has all been removed, and to see if the blades are near or have reached the end of their useful life.
Thanks for the replies everyone!
Thanks for the concern, Query. :) Am off-ice indefinitely because of a back problem. Still consulting doctors as of now, but I hope I'll get clearance to skate soon.
@PrettySk8Dress: The blades are about a year old, and got rust because I was off-ice for more than a month and forgot all about humidity.
They are fine to skate on - my dd's stock blades had rust and it didn't effect her skating at all. She got rust after her first day in them. Her dad thought he would be helpful and store them in their hard guards instead of her soakers (his thought the hard guards would protect the new blades better even though she NEVER uses the hard guards for anything but walking off ice and told him to use the soakers). 12 hours later she went to skate and they had rust.
The rust went go away after another sharpening but it was darker where it had been and would start to rust again even with vigilant care. These skates were not resold - I don't feel right even if I tell another parent about the rust. I think part of the problem is that they were the stock blades, a cheaper metal in the blades.
Hope you get better soon!
BTW, I doubt tiny rust spots are a safety issue. But rust spots grow if you don't coat them.
Your blades look waaay better than mine right now. This little bit of rust won't affect your skating, don't worry.
Hope your back gets better soon!
Glad to hear about that! Thanks a lot!