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You don't have to be a professional figure skater to skate with well-sharpened blades. Any sports equipment needs to be properly looked after and updated in time. If your skates are dull and have lost their sharpness, but you do not plan to go to a specialized service, we suggest that you study a few simple ways do-it-yourself skate sharpening at home without a machine.

Why you need skate sharpening

The blade loses its original shape quite quickly, especially if the skates are used often enough. What gives timely and correct sharpening:

  • Increasing sustainability and improving balance;
  • Control of setting the blade on the ice;
  • The ability to perform complex tricks and fast spins;
  • Acceleration of movement on the rink;
  • Glide improvement;
  • Comfortable acceleration and braking at any time.

So, what signals indicate the need for a procedure:


A groove or groove is a small notch or concave sharpening of the lower surface of the contour, located at the end of the blade, which helps to regulate the area of ​​\u200b\u200bcontact with the ice. At the same time, at the point of contact during movement, the temperature rises due to the friction force, and the pressure of the blade on the surface also increases. Thus, a special water film is formed under the edge of the blade, which is responsible for comfortable sliding. In other words, the groove is responsible for increasing slip.

The greater the weight of a person, the denser the contour of the blade of the boot should be in contact with the ice. This will evenly distribute the weight of the athlete and maintain balance when riding.

How and with what you can sharpen skates at home

You can sharpen blades only with those that are much harder than the metal contour itself.

What you will need to purchase:


A novice master should remember one important thing - you can not make the blade too sharp, this can lead to loss of stability on ice and injury.

If you learn how to properly sharpen skates with your own hands at home, you can not only save time and money, but also acquire useful skills. The video below shows the process of sharpening the edge of the blade without special equipment using a needle file.

Preparation for self-sharpening

To begin with, the blades, like the skates themselves, should be thoroughly rinsed and all dirt removed from the metal surface.

Before starting work, you should familiarize yourself with the basic rules for self-grinding a skate blade:

  1. After sharpening, the blade configuration should be as similar as possible to the factory one, which was originally planned;
  2. Before starting work, you must not forget to purchase all the necessary tools;
  3. The thickness of the metal contour must be uniform. It is also important to ensure that no burrs remain on its surface;
  4. The optimal depth of the groove is approximately 5-6 mm. If you have hockey skates, this parameter should be 20 mm, but for speed skating there are special conditions - the groove here is the deepest and can reach 45 mm.

Sharpening methods

There are several ways to restore the original dimensions of the groove of the blade:


The subtleties of skate care

If sports equipment is not properly cared for, it will quickly lose its aesthetic value. appearance and will fail. Moreover, attention should be paid not only to the condition of the boots, but also to the metal blades. After all, it is thanks to them that we can smoothly slide on the ice, maintaining balance when cornering and when braking.

How to care for your skates:


If you have little experience or you are a beginner, it is still better to take your skates to a special service and show them to a specialist, because safety on ice is above all! In no case should the importance of timely sharpening of skates be underestimated, the following shows do-it-yourself work at home without a machine with step by step instructions in the video.

Skating is the most popular sport in which not only skill is important, but also equipment. That is, skates should not only sit comfortably and firmly on the leg. Their blades must be sharp enough. In the article you will learn at home.

Why is this procedure necessary?

In order for you to skate freely on the ice, you need to pay special attention to the blades. A lot depends on the correctness of the sharpening procedure: how you will gain acceleration, whether you can slow down in time, how well the complex elements of the program will be performed.

Proper sharpening of the blades allows you to maintain maximum stability on ice. You need to perform the procedure when the speed of riding is lost, you cannot brake quickly, or you feel slippage while riding. Also, before sharpening skates at home, take a closer look at the surface of the blades: are there any scratches, burrs or other damage on them. Besides, important point is a groove. Thanks to him, stability, maneuverability, tilt of the skates during the turn are controlled. New blades may not have a groove, so sharpening is a mandatory procedure that must be repeated periodically.

What tools are needed for the job?

To get started, be sure to collect all necessary equipment. Before sharpening skates at home, prepare the following tools:

Round file.

During the selection of tools, attention should be paid to the fact that the hardness of the metal from which the file or bar is made must be much higher than the hardness of the alloy from which the blades are made.

Features of sharpening skates without a groove

In principle, this method does not require special efforts, as it is the simplest.

The basic principle of this method is to sharpen the sole of the blade at a right angle relative to its side walls. To work in this case, either sandpaper or a file is used. Moreover, the second tool is preferable, because it must be harder than the alloy from which the blades are made. However, with a file, you will have to take longer to carry.

How to properly process skates if they have a groove?

Here you will have to work a little. Moreover, the sharpening accuracy must be very high, otherwise you can simply damage the blades. You will also need a file to work. round section. Before you sharpen your skates at home with these tools, inspect them. If you need to deepen or make a groove, use sandpaper.

Next, a file enters the work, the diameter of which should be no more than 10 mm. With this tool, try to draw the shape of the gutter as correctly as possible. At the same time, you will process the edges. Note that the groove depth must not exceed 0.6 mm. As for sharpening the edges of the blade, the correctness of the procedure should be checked periodically. To do this, you need to put the skates on very flat surface. If the work is done accurately, then the blades will stand strictly perpendicular.

Lastly, the metal should be walked with a fine-grained bar, which should finally eliminate all burrs and other defects from the surface. So you know how to sharpen skates with simple tools. Now you should understand how to perform this procedure using special equipment.

How to make the right one with a machine?

In order for the process to be as simple and fast as possible, you should use special equipment. Before you sharpen skates at home, buy a special machine in which you have to remove the horizontal stop, because it will only interfere. It is best if the unit is equipped with a vertical guide, which should be fixed at a distance of 2 cm from the edge of the disc.

Naturally, you can immediately buy a machine that is ideal for sharpening skates. Otherwise, you will have to redo your device a bit. Now let's start, actually, sharpening. To do this, the heel end of the skate must be placed down to the guide. Now the blade should be pressed a little against the rotating disk at the right angle. Next, you need to slowly drive the skate down. Try not to press the skate too hard against the abrasive wheel, as you can easily burn it.

Try to perform all actions carefully: put on goggles and overalls, work with gloves. Hold the horse firmly so that it does not fly out of your hands. Note that the circle must rotate away from itself, otherwise the sparks will fly straight into your eyes! After using the machine, you will have to do a little manual work: go over the blade with an abrasive stone to remove burrs or scratches from the metal surface. Now you know how to properly sharpen skates. Good luck!

You can sharpen your skates in specialized skate repair and sharpening workshops, but if there are none nearby, do not despair. You can also sharpen blades at home using simple tools that you probably have in your garage. You should definitely know that sharpening can be done in two ways: with a groove and without a groove, as shown in the photo below:


A grooved skate blade allows for correct and high-quality skating due to a reduction in the area of ​​contact between the blade and ice. Flat sharpening is suitable for beginner athletes.


Flat skate sharpening

This is the easiest way to sharpen skates at home. To properly process the blade, you will need the following tools:


  • Vice (workbench)

  • Emery (large and small)

  • File or abrasive stone

  • Soft fabric

  • Fine-grained bar

  • Building corner 90%

Step-by-step instruction:

Attach the vise to a stable surface.

Wrap the top of the skate (boot) soft cloth which will protect against scratches and damage. Place the boot between the "cheeks" in the vise and tighten them. Be sure to make sure that the skate is tightly clamped, and when sharpening it will not move anywhere.


Make sure the emery or file is harder than the alloy of the blade.

Sharpen should be at a right angle relative to the sides, checking the degree of the angle using a building corner. Treat the resulting burrs with fine sandpaper or a fine-grained bar. Wipe the sharpened blade with a soft cloth.


Place your skates on a flat surface, and if you've sharpened them properly, they'll stand upright.

Put on protective covers that will protect the blades and prolong the life of the skates.


Sharpening grooved blades at home

If you are the owner of skates, the blades of which have a groove, then the process of sharpening them at home will require more precise work and close attention from you. For this method, you will need the following tools:


  • Vise

  • Round file set

  • Fine-grained bar

  • Emery

  • Soft fabric

  • Wooden block 100x50x50 mm

Step-by-step instruction:

Prepare a block in which your round file will fit. In this case, the thickness of the file should be the same as the thickness of the blade. The depth of the recess in the bar should be about 1 cm, and the width should be such that the bar does not dangle, but sits almost tightly on the blade. This will allow you to sharpen the gutter and edges with high quality. The photo shows a sample bar.


Secure the first skate firmly in a vise. Make sure that it will not move during processing.