All about Sharpening

This page is written in an FAQ style so that you can jump to the specific area you want to know about.

There are countless videos on the internet, with all manner of instructions. For the skate technician the "thumbnail" technique can only be used a limited amount - each time we test a blade some thumbnail is taken away - and there's only so much of it.

One method if you are a regular skater is by how well you can hold a circle on a single edge. The sharper the blade, the tighter the circle you'll be able to hold without sliding out (but note: your skates hollow depth and the ice hardness will also impact this, so try this exercise just after they've been sharpened, learn the feel and radius of the circle you can hold, then use this as your reference point). You'll need to try this on all four edges. The benefit of this method is that you'll also get much better at holding your edges!

If you aren't advanced enough to hold an edge, and don't want to sacrifice your thumbnail for a scrape test, you could use the thumbnail test with anything that'll "shave" nicely:

• A piece of softwood dowel - you may have some left over from the last Ikea purchase...
• A crayon - note that this is extremely soft, so you should not apply much, if any, pressure, and test at a much shallower angle

Again, test after the skates have been freshly sharpened so that you can understand what 'sharp' looks like'.

As a further alternative - ask staff at your ice rink.

Skate blades have two edges with a hollow in the middle. Level edges, simply, are where the line across the two edges are exactly perpendicular to the blade - the blade also needs to be perpendicular to the sole of the boot... and the sole of the boot isn't a flat surface! The term level edges relates to both edges being in contact with the ice when the skater is gliding on one foot in a straight line.

Usually skate "Edge Checkers" will only ensure that the edges are level relative to the blade. It might be that a minor variation in the blade makes this inaccurate. Excellent skate technicians will check all aspects of the skate and blade geometry.

We've written an extensive guide here.

Let's be clear on one point here: Even skate technicians sometimes use Sparx machines (or other automated machines). However, a skate technician will not only use such machines and will draw on training and experience which the machine cannot provide.

Automated machines have opened up sharpening to the skaters, with companies actively targeting skaters themselves. However, we believe that the investment is, quite simply, not worth it when you consider the added benefit of someone who deals with a lot of skate issues as part of their normal job. You'll be paying out a lot of money at the outset, and the return on investment is not great unless you start charging others to use the machine. At that point you really should consider learning more about skate sharpening to avoid your friends blaming you on their failed spin, ruined profile, or hockey match fail...

So, what's the difference between the machines?

Automated machines have been kept simple by design, but in keeping it simple they've had to necessarily remove features from the grinding process that skate technicians use, on occasion, to guarantee a great finish. This include:

• Basic calibration controls that will not necessarily account for all blade types - and there are a lot, such as parabolic, tapered and side-honed
• Basic clamping that will not necessarily account for blade defects such as a kink, misalignment or curve. These should themselves be fixed, but often are overlooked when slight
• Basic pass-control. With an automated tool you select the number of passes on a keypad and have to hope that you've sharpened them to the edge, and are not over-sharpening them shortening the life of the blade

Conversely, a skate technician will:

• Have a lot more control over the calibration, taking into account all blade types
• Have a better clamp (or usually more than one for different types of blade) that can somewhat mitigate blade defects
• Can sharpen the blade to the edges and no more