08/08/2021
Sharpening skates is not just about making them sharp. The worst sharpening you’ve ever had might have left your skates razor sharp! Have you ever had to rub your skates along the boards just to “dull them” or “cut down their bite?” Have you ever felt like you only have an edge when turning one way but not the other? These are signs that your skates are not sharpened well.
Each skate blade actually has two edges. A proper sharpening leaves both razor sharp. But being sharp isn’t enough. Both edges have to be the same height, and the sharpening depth has to leave you with the correct ratio of bite to glide.
A skate is sharpened by grinding a U-shaped groove into the bottom of the blade. This leaves two edges contacting the ice, represented by the vertical lines on each side of the U. If one of those edges is taller than the other, your skates contact the ice at an angle, forcing you to lean harder to find the edge. When one edge is higher than the other (or what we call being “off-level” or “not level”) this can feel as if it is easy to turn one way, but your skates are sliding out turning the opposite direction. A proper sharpening leaves your skates with two edges that are identical in height. Thus, your skate edges contact the ice squarely, and you can turn as easily in one direction as the other. Now, you are a more confident and efficient skater!
But that is the easy part of sharpening. Trained skate sharpeners can control how deeply the U is ground into the blade. A deeper groove means your skate edges dig deeper into the ice, causing you to feel like you have more grab or bite. But this comes at a price: deeper edges means more friction and the more energy you need to pick your skates off the ice. It also means there is more drag on the skate when you are gliding. Too much bite causes you to skate inefficiently. Ever come to a hockey stop and have the blades chatter? That’s too much bite, usually caused by too deep a grind. That’s when you go rub them on the plastic boards to reduce the bite, right?
Similarly, too shallow will leave you feeling like you don’t have an edge. Your skates will be slipping out from under you, and you will lose edges trying to turn.
The depth of the grind is referred to as the radius of hollow (RoH). This number is usually expressed in fractions of an inch. The smaller the number, the deeper the grind and the more bite you have. (If you are wondering why this is, go find a dime and a quarter. The dime, which has a shorter radius because it is smaller, has a significantly greater arc. This greater arc translates to a deeper groove).
If this is the first you are hearing of this, come visit me at Ge**er Ice Ops. You’ll get level skates. Just ask and I’ll show you. I’ll work with you on the RoH to meet your needs and give you every chance to excel as a skater. I’ve cut skates at everything from 1/4" to 1 1/4" RoH. And I’ll give you the smooth finish I’ve spent years perfecting.
