Sharpening Ice Skates

Ice skate blades gradually become dull with use, so it's advisable to sharpen them periodically.

Hockey Skates

Contemporary ice hockey skates are designed to have a radius ground into the blade, ensuring consistent ice contact across various angles while skating at the centre half of the blade. This ensures that 1.25-1.75" of the blade always remains in contact with the ice.

A sharper blade offers better grip, enabling shorter stops and turns. However, increased sharpness requires more skill to manage stops and turns effectively. On the other hand, a semi-sharp blade allows for sliding while braking or turning, resulting in smoother and more controllable stops.

Figure Skates

Figure skates have blades that are both longer and straighter, crafted from a higher-grade steel compared to hockey skate blades. Thus, they require sharpening less frequently. Nevertheless, the sharpness and precise hollow grinding are crucial for optimal speed and manoeuvrability.

Sharpening Services

Many arenas with skate rentals, as well as skate shops, offer skate sharpening services ranging from 4 to 8 Canadian dollars. Given the cost and the potential to damage the blades by doing it yourself, it's generally not advisable. However, we provide a grinding service at SkatePro.