Can You Use a Knife Sharpener to Sharpen Ice Skates?: Detailed Answer

Winter is just around the corner and you can’t wait to glide on the skating rink. One look at your ice skates and you remember that sharpening them is long overdue. Believe it or not, even the most expensive pair, if blunt, won’t perform the way you want them to.

You look around for help, but alas, the only piece of equipment you find is your good old knife sharpener. Sure, it’s done wonders for all the kitchen knives but can you use a knife sharpener to sharpen skates? Keep reading to get your questions answered.

Can You Use a Knife Sharpener to Sharpen Ice Skates?

The only kind of knife sharpener which can be used to sharpen ice skates is a whetstone. Don’t attempt to use any type of pull-through sharpeners- electric or manual.

Choosing the Right Stone

When figuring out how to sharpen skates with a stone, it is important to find out the material that your ice skates are made of. Different stone types work best for different materials. 

Skates are made of steel of varying hardness. On one side of the spectrum is stainless steel with HRC 57. You may use stones made of aluminium oxide or carbide for sharpening these.

Steels of mediocre hardness are carbon steel HRC 60 and high-speed steel HRC 62. If you own ice skates made from these materials, sharpening them with ceramic stones will give a pretty good result.

Very hard steel aka powder metallurgic steel has an HRC of 66. Not only is it very hard but quite brittle too. The only stone that could work in this case is a diamond-coated sharpening stone. 

How to Sharpen Ice Skates With a Stone

By now you are familiar with the stone type that you require for the sharpening process. Begin by keeping all your equipment handy. Other than the stone, you will be needing a sharpening, a small burr stone, a cloth and a lubricant. Based on the sharpening stone type, the lubricant can either be oil or water.

• Wet the stone: Soak the sharpening stone in the lubricant. Ten minutes will usually suffice. However, you can keep it soaked till you no longer see bubble formation on the stone surface. 

• Position your skates on the sharpening jig: For doing so, read the instruction manual of your particular jig as every jig has its specific skate securing mechanism. Generally, jigs have slots for holding both skates parallel to each other. There will be four clamps on the jigs, two for the heels and two for the toe ends. Position the skates with the blades facing the air and tighten the clamps.

• Remove burrs: Before you begin sharpening, check for any displaced pieces of metal along the sides of the blades. These are known as burrs. If you notice these on the edges, it’s time to bring your burr stone into action. Position the stone such that it is in contact with the surface of the blades. The top of the burr stone should be slightly higher than the blades. With consistent pressure, run the stone along the blades and continue doing so till the burr is removed.

• Begin sharpening: Wondering how to sharpen skates with a knife sharpener? Proceed as follows. Depending upon the bluntness of your skates, choose the grit of your sharpening stone. Very blunt skates should be sharpened with grit ranging from 100-400. Place the coarse side of the stone perpendicular to the blades. It should be in contact with one of the skates, either at its toe or its heel end. Quite frankly, you can start on any side. All you have to do is be consistent about the starting and ending points. 

• Grinding the blade: With constant pressure, move the blade down the whole length of one blade. At the end move left or right (depending on the position of the other blade). Now run the blade along the entire length of the second blade. You’ve made it back to your starting point. One stroke down! Repeat for a total of twenty strokes. 

• Change sides: Twenty strokes later, turn the jig around and repeat the same process. This time move in the opposite direction. If you started by moving downwards and to the left, go down and to the right this time. Continue for a total of twenty strokes. 

• Be attentive: As you grind the blades, the sound emitted will get more and more subtle. Continue with your sets of twenty till you are able to appreciate this change. What started as a loud scraping will now have given way to a quieter sound. 

• Wet the stone: This should be done as per requirement. 

• Burr formation: When the scraping dies down, feel the blades for burr formation. It should be present on either side of the blade and along the full length. 

• Polish up: After completing burr formation, change the sides of the sharpening stone to fine grit. Lubricate it and begin polishing the blades. You will do it in the same manner as you ground the blades. Complete a set of twenty and change sides. Continue with this process till your blades shine bright. 

• Burr removal revisited: Remove your blades from the sharpening jig and use your burr stone one more time while holding the blades in your hand. Run the stone along the entire length of the blades- inner and outer sides both. Keep doing so till no more displaced metal is visible. 

• Clean the blades: Wipe off the metal shavings with a clean cloth and enjoy your time on the rink!

Caring For Your Ice Skates

Now that you know how to sharpen skates at home, it is important to know how to care for them too. Only then will you be able to make the best use of your beloved ice skates. 

It is important to bear in mind that ice skates have slightly curved blades. You use these every time you take a turn. These curves require sharpening too, but you need expensive equipment for doing so. Hence, I recommend that you get it done professionally. 

Usually, you will have to get professional sharpening done once or twice a year. But honestly, the frequency will vary from person to person. If you are a person who practically breathes ice, you will have to get your blades sharpened more often than someone who only goes skating once or twice a year. 

Keeping a skating log will give you a good insight into your sharpening schedule. If the need for professional sharpening arises too frequently, this implies that you are applying too much pressure while sharpening. Take it easy!

If you want to keep your skates in the best condition, remember that they are called “ice” skates for a reason. Don’t try using them elsewhere.

Once you are done skating, dry your skates and store them only after they are completely dry. Furthermore, remove the soles and allow them to air dry too.

Before you begin sharpening, ensure that the blades are rust-free. If you see any rust spots, oil the blades and scrub them with a scouring pad. Once it has softened, remove it with a soft cloth.