Blade care vs rust

[AgnesNitt]

So there's a thread from 2013 about rust, I thought I'd do a poll.

If you answer the poll, put some details in your post.Type and brand of blade is of interest, and the number of the poll is of interest.

[tstop4me]

"Dry, store in soakers, get NO rust".


More specifically:  At rink, dry with first set of wipers and put on first set of soakers.  At home, remove first set of soakers, dry again with second set of wipers, and put on second set of soakers.  I've done this with

Carbon Steel:
MK Single Star
MK Pro
Wilson Coronation Ace

440C Stainless Steel:
Eclipse Aurora

Never had any rust issues.  Never needed WD-40, oil, grease, silicone, or other water repellents or lubricants.  The only time the skates are in the car is during transport.  Never stored them there.  I don't live or skate near salt water.

Don't know what "the number of the poll" refers to.

[AgnesNitt]

I store in the car, in the soakers, and I dry them off. BUT I put a bag of dehumidifier in each boot. I leave them in the car trunk for years. Never have any problem with boots or blades.

Blades: MK pros.

[skategeek]

I dry mine pretty well right after I skate and put the soakers on immediately as I do each one to avoid further condensation.  (I don't wait until the blade fully warms up to finish drying, so condensation is a potential issue.)  Skates live in their soakers in my Transpack, which is ventilated.  The bag sometimes stays in the car during the day while I'm at work, but doesn't get left there overnight.  No rust problems so far.  (Jackson Elle with stock Ultima Mirage blade.)

[tothepointe]

I don't really dry mine so much as put the soakers on and leave them in my car. California weather plays a part in my no rust situation.

[Bill_S]

Currently: Coronation Aces, carbon steel, no soakers when stored. Hung on a vertical wall rack to air-dry both blade and boot interior between skating sessions. No rust problem.



Soakers are used while transporting them back from skating, but are removed before hanging.


Before making the rack, I had rust develop when they were stored upright in soakers over the summer season.

[FigureSpins]

MK Revolution Gold Seals

I dry once and set aside to warm up, use the restroom, pack up, then dry again before putting on soakers.  Stored in open skate bag in trunk of car, but car is usually garaged.  I have two sets of ordinary soakers, so I alternate each time. No unpacking or airing out involved. 

Never had to be this fussy with the original Gold Seals but these carbon-composite blades need more TLC.  I started seeing rust signs along the edges and where the two pieces are joined.

[Sibelius]

Daughter's skates, Blades are Ultima Mirage.  I dry, try to leave them outside in the California sun for awhile, then store in soakers.  Noticed a couple of sessions ago the screws are rusting.  Blade seems fine, but 2 screws on one blade have some rust.

We're changing to Eclipse Mist's (MK Pro copy, great price on closed out blade, I bought 3: 8 1/4, 8 1/2, and 8 3/4 to get her through size 4 boots) this weekend so there will be new screws installed.  Guess it's looking like soakers are for temp duty only and finding a place to keep them in the open air is best.

[Query]

Dry, no soakers, no rust - but I am using 440 Ultima Matrix I stainless steel blade runners mounted in aluminum Chassis with aluminum bolts. With reasonable treatment, stainless steel has solved all such problems for me. If I don't dry carefully enough, the steel screws that mount the chassis onto the boots have sometimes rusted. So I am careful, and I switched to higher quality stainless steel screws. It simply hasn't been a problem since I started being careful.

But when I used MK and Wilson high carbon steel blades, and stored them in soakers, they did get a little rust - until I started oiling those blades. But it didn't occur to me at the time that they should have been re-dried after they came to room temperature, or that the soakers could themselves get wet from condensation. If I used high carbon blades again, I might use grease instead of oil, because it stays on the blade for much longer.

[Loops]

Dry, store in rink locker with soakers, no rust.  They were MK Vision Synchros, now Ultima something or other (the gold seal mimic).  Never had problems with my Professionals or Silver tests rusting (the ST's have been in storage for [unintelligble] years, in their soakers....still clean).  FWIW, Lived in DC as a kid, nice humid summers, and now in a part of France that has climate like Seattle.

[tstop4me]

Daughter's skates, Blades are Ultima Mirage.  I dry, try to leave them outside in the California sun for awhile, then store in soakers.  Noticed a couple of sessions ago the screws are rusting.  Blade seems fine, but 2 screws on one blade have some rust.

We're changing to Eclipse Mist's (MK Pro copy, great price on closed out blade, I bought 3: 8 1/4, 8 1/2, and 8 3/4 to get her through size 4 boots) this weekend so there will be new screws installed.  Guess it's looking like soakers are for temp duty only and finding a place to keep them in the open air is best.

Use stainless steel screws instead of the screws supplied with the blades; rusty screws will no longer be a problem.  The screws supplied with many blades these days (even high-end blades) seem to be fairly junky.  The skate techs I know don't use stainless steel screws, so you might have to buy your own to give to your skate tech, if your skate tech does the mounting.

[icepixie]

Dry, put soakers on, leave them on until the next time I skate.  Skates go into my Transpack, which has ventilation, and I bring the bag into work with me rather than leaving it in the car.  Skates stay there till I'm at the rink again.  I've never seen rust on them.

Currently, Jackson Premieres with Coro Ace blades.  When I get them back next week(?) after having SP Teri remake them (they were the wrong size), I'll switch to those and a new pair of Coro Aces.

[amy1984]

I'm terrible at taking care of my blades.  I'll admit it.  I sort of knock the snow off, give them a half hearted swipe with a towel, and put soakers on.  They're... mostly dry??  Somehow, I don't have issues with rust.  I don't store them in the car ever.  Even if I take them to work I take them inside.  The temperature varies greatly where I live.  I think it'd mess with the heat molding to leave them in the car.

[Ethereal Ice]

Dry, store without soakers, get NO rust**

**-more to it than this

So, I take care of two sets of blades, mine and DH's. Both are Coronation Dance. Procedure is, after skating we dry our blades and boots carefully and put on a big, thick soaker that covers the whole bottom of the boot/sole. When we get home I remove the big soakers, check the blades for nicks, and apply a dry, plain, blade-only soaker. I flip our big soakers inside-out to dry. I store our skates open to air all the time (this does have it's drawbacks, my hubby found a small spider in his boot yesterday-oops!!). Additionally, if I know we are not going to skate for a few days, I put a light coating of mineral oil on the blades before I apply the dry soakers. Our dry soakers are the type that has stiff nylon that is actually along the blade bottom, and I think they allow more air to reach the blade rather than having the terrycloth there, just a guess on my part.

My system works nicely, not only to keep the blades in good shape but also the soles stay nice and dry. I cannot stand to see skates with rotted soles...recently when I took my old skates in to have my blades switched to my new boots, the tech said, "Those soles are beautiful! You must take great care of them." I beamed with pride and my husband was cracking up. I enjoy caring for our skates and do actually take some pride in the fact that they are in great shape, smell good, etc. I know that people joke about neglecting their skates, but the reality is that it is not just aesthetic,  it is a safety issue to have boots and/or blades in bad shape.

[tstop4me]

I'd like to point out that there's another advantage to storing blades in *dry* soakers:  mechanical protection.  Soakers prevent the blades from getting nicked should they bang against each other or bang against a hard surface (such as ceramic tile).  They also prevent damage to soft surfaces (such as wood furniture or floors) should the blades bang against the surfaces; they further protect boots, kit bags, and other items in kit bags from being cut up (especially by picks).

[Bill_S]

That's a good point, and the reason why my skates go home with soakers on.

Once mine are home and on the storage rack, the soakers come off. After all, there's no chance of stubbing my toe on the picks when they are stored off the ground! (Yeah, that used to happen.  )

[Ethereal Ice]

I just realized my post should say stored *with* soakers. Not sure how that happened,  but apparently it is too late to edit. 

[Sibelius]

Use stainless steel screws instead of the screws supplied with the blades; rusty screws will no longer be a problem.  The screws supplied with many blades these days (even high-end blades) seem to be fairly junky.  The skate techs I know don't use stainless steel screws, so you might have to buy your own to give to your skate tech, if your skate tech does the mounting.

New blades are being mounted.  Skate tech tossed me the screws that came with them and said she uses stainless steel.  So hopefully no more rusting screws.  Temp mounted today for fit and on ice evaluation, we'll pick them up tomorrow.

[tstop4me]

New blades are being mounted.  Skate tech tossed me the screws that came with them and said she uses stainless steel.  So hopefully no more rusting screws.  Temp mounted today for fit and on ice evaluation, we'll pick them up tomorrow.

Hooray for your skate tech; all skate techs should do that.  It's a pity blade manufacturers don't supply stainless steel screws by default; they're fairly inexpensive, especially when purchased in bulk.