Edges that slip and stops that skid mean it's time to sharpen. Nicks, rust spots or loose screws mean a trip to a sharpener or skate shop, and soft, deeply creased ankles or pain that padding and lacing can't fix mean your boots may be done. Here are nine signs to watch for, in that order.
Key takeaways
- How your blades feel on the ice is a better guide to sharpening than the calendar.
- Check your edges with a fingernail across the blade, never a finger along it.
- Boots usually wear out before blades, and soft or deeply creased ankles mean the support is going.
- Every sharpening takes a little steel off, so ask your sharpener how much life your blades have left.
Sharp blades are easy to take for granted until they're gone. One week your edges hold, and a few weeks later you're sliding off your crossovers and wondering what happened to your skating. Often it isn't you, it's the blades, and sometimes it's the boots.
The nine signs below are grouped by what they usually mean, from a sharpening to a repair to a new pair. If you're still on rental skates, the rink takes care of sharpening, so come back to this once you have your own pair. Your sharpener and your fitter see your skates up close, so if their advice differs from this page, go with theirs.
Time to sharpen
1. Your edges slip on curves
The clearest sign is edges that won't hold. You lean into a curve or a crossover and the blade slides out sideways instead of carving. If you've been skating well and suddenly everything feels slippery, check your blades before you blame yourself.
2. Stops and turns feel skiddy
Stops take more effort and more distance, turns feel skiddy, and spins drift or scrape more than usual. A dull blade can also feel as if it's skating on top of the ice instead of in it, or it can chatter on a curve. There's no official schedule, so keep a rough count of your hours between sharpenings and you'll learn how your own blades wear. Our printable Skate Care Log has pages for exactly that.
3. Your fingernail slides off the edge
You can check your edges with your fingernail. Hold the skate upside down and gently drag your nail across the edge, from side to side, not along it. A sharp edge catches and bites into the nail a little, while a dull one lets the nail slide straight off. Blades are sharp enough to cut skin, so never test them by running a finger along the edge.
Time for a repair
4. Nicks, burrs or rust spots
A nick from the boards or another blade, or a rust spot, can catch or slip in one place only. When you check your edges, feel for nicks, burrs and rust, which often feel like a rough patch. Light surface rust can sometimes be cleaned off, so ask your sharpener how they'd like you to do it. Riedell says to wipe your blades and mounting surfaces dry after every session, because moisture rusts screws and rots boot leather.
5. Loose screws or a loose sole
Check the mounting screws now and then, and don't let your blades rattle around loose in your bag. On older boots, look along the join between the sole and the upper for gaps, and check the sole for cracks around the screw holes. A boot that's starting to come apart needs a skate shop's opinion. Edea says a technician can even change the blade on a mounted boot, filling the old holes and making new ones.
6. One edge grabs after a sharpening
Freshly sharpened blades often feel grabbier for a while, because they've got their bite back. If they still feel wrong after a session, or one edge grabs while the other slips, take them back. It's fair to ask a sharpener to check that your edges are level, because uneven edges can make one edge feel grabby. Look for someone who sharpens figure skates regularly, since figure blades aren't set up the same way as hockey skates.
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7. Soft or deeply creased ankles
Boots usually wear out before blades do, so check them first. Some creasing is normal, but deep creases, or an ankle that folds over easily when you push it, mean the boot has lost a lot of its support. Squeeze the back of the heel too, because it should feel firm, not squashy. Skaters who jump a lot wear boots out faster.
8. Pain that won't settle
Some discomfort is normal in the first weeks of a new pair. Sharp pain, numbness that doesn't stop when you loosen your laces, or a blister in the same place every session means the fit needs a look. If your heel lifts when you bend your knees, check your lacing first, then ask a fitter whether the boot is too big. A skate tech can often punch or heat-shape one spot, so a new pair isn't always the answer.
9. A blade with little steel left
Every sharpening takes off a little steel. Over years of sharpening, a blade gets lower and can lose some of its rocker, the curve along the bottom that helps you turn and spin. That's hard to judge by eye, so ask your sharpener how much life your blades have left. A chipped or badly rusted edge is worth showing them too.
Making a sharpening last
A lot of edge damage happens off the ice, so wear hard guards whenever you walk anywhere other than the rink's rubber flooring. After skating, dry your blades with a towel and put them in soft soakers, not hard guards, which trap moisture against the steel. Riedell also says to wipe the blades again after a couple of minutes, because condensation forms as they warm up. Our guides to when to sharpen and guards versus soakers cover the rest.
Sources
- Adults Skate Too, When to Sharpen Your Figure Skates: signs of dull blades, the fingernail check, nicks and rust, grabby edges and blade care, which Erika wrote and checked.
- Adults Skate Too, New vs Used Figure Skates: worn boots, soles and blades.
- Adults Skate Too, Why Figure Skates Hurt: pain, heel lift and what a skate tech can fix.
- Riedell, Skate Care page: drying blades and mounting surfaces and wiping off condensation.
- Edea, Frequent questions: changing the blade on a mounted boot.
