Once regular ice skating has become a habit, the next step is to find skates that fit and feel just right. It’s easy to get discouraged when you don’t have your favorite skates or they are not sharp enough for perfect gliding. This article will show how you can quickly and easily sharpen your own skates at home.

Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Aro... Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Around

You will need:

Dull ice skate blade – sharpening stone – a small cup of water to keep wetting the stone during sharpening – side stands for your skates to rest on while working on them.

The first step is removing any loose rust and dirt from the blades and then wiping off with a dry cloth making sure that there’s no dust or dirt left. Then we can start using the sharpening stone. This needs to be done before every ride, especially after it has rained when salt and sand get in between the edges of your blade and make it harder to glide with shorter strokes. It’s best to go slow when doing this, don’t expect an immediate result because this takes some skill and time.

Take your stone and hold it in one hand, dip it in the water for lubrication, take the skate by its heel with your other hand. Start filing on the dull edge working your way to whichever side of the blade you are seeking an even cut on. With time you will get better at this step.

Water is needed here because if you don’t wet the sharpening stone it will heat up from friction and could break. It’s best to go slow when doing this, don’t expect an immediate result because this takes some skill and time. Go slowly but surely to achieve a straight line that matches your size requirements. You can always do another round later or the next day when the blades have had a day off from skating and you can start fresh.

When done, wipe off the blade and side with a dry towel to get rid of any extra water and store it away in your skate bag. Now we need to focus on fixing up our last step which is sharpening the edge of the blade that touches the ice.

To do this we will use a flat metal file that comes with the skates when new or you can pick one up at any hardware store. Take your blank hardwood floor and gently place them onto it without sliding along the edges. It’s best not to stand while doing this because you will be forced to bend your knees and lean back holding yourself up by keeping pressure through your heels. Make sure both skates are facing backward so that no metal gets caught on your drywall floor. Hold the skate blade in one hand and keep it steady at all times while you file down the edges of the skate with the other. You might feel like this is hard work, but it will pay off once you start gliding faster than ever before. Be careful not to apply too much pressure because you can break or dull your blade more easily if you do this step incorrectly.

If your ice skates are new, they most likely come sharpened already so double check that they aren’t damaged or broken before using them then store them away snugly into their protective storage bags after use along with any extra equipment such as a helmet and pads, etc. for safety reasons these should be bought separately from your skates.

If not, you can also get your skates sharpened just like before at the place you got them from.