rust on blades?

jourdanwantstoskate · April 28, 2013, 05:05:13 PM

Hey everyone, so my new skates just came in last Monday and I noticed after the first time that I skated on them that there were small rust spots on the bottom of the blade near the toe pick and near the back. I'm confused as to what I did wrong because I thought that I had done my post-skate routine correctly? I used hard guard to walk to and from the ice to the bench, then after that I used a towel to dry off the blades and underside of the boot thoroughly. I put the soakers on the skates and then put them in my bag. They stayed in the soakers for probably a little under an hour? is this too long? also, how do I store them between skates? Currently I've been taking off the soakers and and storing them on a shelf in my closet with the blades up. thanks for any help!

amy1984 · April 28, 2013, 05:45:13 PM

This will probably make some people gasp, but my skates live in their soakers. However, I've had next to no problems from this. I do dry them really well beofre I put the soakers on.

I sometimes have VERY TINY rust spots at the bottom if I haven't sharpened in awhile. Usually a sharpening will get rid of them and I never really worry about it all that much.

I'd say make sure they're dry as can be before you store them and make sure to not leave them in an environment that isn't climate controlled or wet (basement, garage, or even the trunk of your car). And although I am a terrible skater (leaving soakers on blades and such

) I do make sure that I leave my skate bag open when I store them so that things dry out a bit.

How big are the rust marks? Tiny (slightly larger than a pin head) or worrying? If it's nothing major, I really wouldn't worry to much. You can do all you can to take care of the blades, but in the end, you're still mixing water and metal.

FigureSpins · April 28, 2013, 06:20:18 PM

I also keep my soakers on my blades between sessions without any rust problem. Did you inspect the skates whe you bought them? Maybe the rust was already there.

Sometimes, it's the blade's metal composition - low-end recreational blades tend to rust more easily.
Some of our members in really humid areas have said they have problems keeping rust away, too.

Try rubbing the blade with a little machine oil or wd-40 after you dry the skates well, before you put on the soakers. It'll make the inside of the soakers a little oily, but it will make a proactive layer against air and rust.

If it's just a little spot or two, don't worry about it too much. If it's a lot of rust, a sharpening will take it off.

AgnesNitt · April 28, 2013, 07:11:02 PM

If you want to fix it rather than get a sharpening you can try a hard 'gummi' stone to abrade it off. This will not hurt your sharpening. It's a polishing stone.

http://icedoesntcare.blogspot.com/2012/08/rusty-blades-and-gummi-stones.html

Mergen Tatara · April 28, 2013, 10:48:24 PM

Quote from: amy1984 on April 28, 2013, 05:45:13 PM
This will probably make some people gasp, but my skates live in their soakers. However, I've had next to no problems from this. I do dry them really well beofre I put the soakers on.

Same here. But when I get home, I wipe the blades a second time and put the soakers back on. Then leave the skates to air for 2 hours before putting them back in the bag.

treesprite · May 02, 2013, 08:04:01 PM

I leave my soakers on. I open the skate bag to keep things aired out at home, but the soakers I don;t remove. I have never had a problem with rust spots, not even on my old-old skates (MK Pro blades) which sat for 4 years unused with soakers on them.

blue111moon · May 03, 2013, 07:33:37 AM

Not only do my blades live in the soakers whenever they're not on the ice, but they also live inside my closed, zipped skate bag bag that is frequently left in my car for days at a time. I've never had a rust problem. I suspect it has more to do with climate than care, since I don't do much more than wipe the blades off with a towel after skating.

A former coach once told me, if I was going to store the skates for a long time in a basement or garage that might be damp, to wipe the blades with a rag dampened with WD40 to protect from rust. I never did it so I don't know if it works or not. I do know that rubbing the blades with waxed paper makes them a tiny bit more slippery; I used this trick on my patch blades back when I used to do figures and had trouble getting around back change threes.

Those blades are more than 20 years old and have no rust, but I don't know if that's just a coincidence.

AgnesNitt · May 03, 2013, 03:19:44 PM

I only have trouble with rust when I'm in Lake Placid. The rest of the year I get no rust.

RosiePosie.iskates · May 06, 2013, 05:09:33 PM

I am a total perfectionist when it comes to this sort of thing! When I notice tiny rust spots on my blades around the edges or the bottom, I remove it with toothpaste and baking soda. I just use a paper towel, and "scrub" the mixture on, then rinse and it's good as new. Just take a bit of toothpaste, (about as much as you'd use to brush your teeth) and mix it in with a bit of baking soda, and then use it. Use enough baking soda to thoroughly mix in with the amount of toothpaste you used.

treesprite · May 07, 2013, 02:35:00 AM

I'd like to know what kinds of blades people are seeing rust on.

jourdanwantstoskate · May 13, 2013, 04:00:07 AM

thanks for your help everyone! To answer treesprite's question, they're the upgraded stock block on the riedell 121's, which I'm gathering is not a very high quality blade - which i'm hearing is probably the reason that i'm seeing the rust. Hoping it will disappear when I get them sharpened. speaking of - i've been hearing different amounts of time. How often do you guys get your skates sharpened? I'm starting to feel my right inside edge slip a little so i'm wondering if it might be time? thanks so much for all the help!

sampaguita · May 13, 2013, 04:34:14 AM

I live in a humid country, and the best thing that I can do for my blades is to dry them well before placing them in soakers and to air dry them as soon as I get home. I also air dry the soakers so they don't stay wet.

How bad is the rust? If it's just tiny spots, they usually disappear the next time you go skate. The ice will do that for you.

If the rust is really bad (i.e., thick), you can rub petroleum jelly on it and use a scrubbing pad to scrub the rust (with petroleum jelly) off. It has worked for me.

As for sharpening: it depends on the ice, really. When I was skating on hard ice in a really cold rink, my blades would wear down really fast, and I had them sharpened after around 30 hours of use. Now that I skate on soft ice, I can go months without sharpening.

treesprite · May 14, 2013, 07:01:06 PM

Depends on how sharp they are sharpened, how much time skated on, softness of ice, and type of skating you are doing. The skates I use for guarding now, are dull only on the left inside edge, because I have to stop a lot and do it by doing 1-foot snowplows on that foot. Before that, they dulled evenly.

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rust on blades?