How to Sharpen Ice Hockey Skates

Caring for your ice hockey skates properly will extend the life of them. You may even get a few years of use. Sharp skates allow you to use less energy to accelerate and you can change directions and stop quicker. Follow these steps to sharpen ice hockey skates.

Instructions

    • 1

      Find a professional shop to sharpen your skates. Ask them questions about their methods and how frequently they sharpen skates.

    • 2

      Know that automatic sharpeners can ruin your skates. Skates should be sharpened from the front of the rocker to the rear. Automatic sharpeners go further and ruin the contour by making it smaller.

    • 3

      Make sure the shop offers professional techs. If the shop can rebuild boots, custom-fit skates and mount carriers, they should be good at sharpening your hockey skates.

    • 4

      Cut a curved groove longitudinally into the blade. Follow the hockey skate manufacturer's recommendation about the depth and shape of the cut.

    • 5

      Remove the burrs on the outside edges of the blade. Do this by placing a flat grinding stone parallel to the blade. Be careful that you don't compromise the sharpness of the blade.

    • 6

      Buy a hand sharpening kit designed for your specific skate brand. The kit includes two stones. One grinding stone is for the initial groove. The other is for removing the burrs. Follow the guides that are on the stones.