I think this is getting O.T., but I think most of the mail order sharpening customers send boots with skates on them. It's just more expensive to ship that way than to ship blades, and some customers who are far from their sharpening pros interchange multiple pairs of blades before they bring or ship them for sharpening.
Of course, many of these people have multiple pairs of boots and/or blades, so they can keep skating while other pair are sharpened. For a seriously competitive or professional skater, it's just one of the costs of skating, and other costs can be much greater.
Many "seriously" competitive figure skaters skate 15-20 hours / week. A pro told me he advices sharpening every 40 hours, but some prefer sharper blades. There have been times when I sharpened my own every skating day or two, but eventually decided I was using very sharp blades to compensate for incorrect body alignment.
And yes, some skaters have to skate on artificial "ice".
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Back to the original topic - boots and blades are usable as weapons. People do get injured by blades on the ice. Maybe you've seen it, or seen someone come pretty close. Before the nut cases ruined our world, who would have thought a little box cutter knife was all that dangerous? Even without blades, boots are dangerously heavy objects.
I think we need to completely appreciate why some security person might be worried about carry-on skates. The last thing you need to do is make a scene about it in the airport.
I wonder what archers, fencers and skeet and trap people do, let alone the people who re-enact ancient battles.