Trials in skate sharpening

Tags

blades, skate sharpening

Skate sharpening is one of those things that stresses me out more than it should. Or maybe it’s something that stresses out all figure skaters (at least the adults — I imagine the kids don’t really think much about it and their parents do all the worrying), since we tend to be perfectionists, attentive to details, and picky about all aspects of our skating lives.

Before I moved, I went to two skate sharpeners, depending on their schedules and my needs. One was a very good sharpener but was only around on weekend mornings, but I liked going to her because she would do them right then and it would take 10 minutes (on top of the half hour drive there, and half hour drive back). But she was occasionally unavailable, so I would go to the second sharpener, who was not as good but serviceable. I didn’t like that sometimes I had to leave my skates overnight with him, though, which could affect my practice plans.

When I moved to a new city and rink, I asked around for recommendations and was glad to find a convenient option — the sharpener worked out of the rink I skated at, and was often around when I was there to skate. All I had to do was call in advance to confirm he’d be in the shop at a specific time, and I could usually skate right afterward, so it didn’t take much time out of my day.

But the last time I needed a sharpening, I had the devil of a time actually getting it done. I texted him in advance as usual, made an appointment, and went in. He was a no-show. He let me know later that he was running late, but I’d already gone home so we rescheduled. I had to wait till the following week till he could be in, my blades were getting very dull and I was starting to slide around a lot, but I didn’t have much choice so I agreed. The problem was, the morning of that appointment (a Monday), he texted me as I was on my way to the rink and said he had to reschedule for Thursday. Again I agreed, figuring better late than never.

But then he was a no-show again! This time, there was no apology or text or explanation, and I was getting incredibly annoyed. I also really needed a sharpening — I was two weeks overdue at this point, which doesn’t seem like much except that every practice was getting worse than the last, the duller my blades got. I started to lose my spins and was skidding my jump landings. On top of that, I was testing soon (this was before my silver moves) and I really couldn’t test on (1) dull blades, or (2) a super fresh sharpening that I hadn’t gotten used to.

So I asked around and found another sharpener, a 45-minute drive away. It’s not an ideal setup because the skating sessions are in the morning and the shop is open in the evenings, which means I couldn’t go to get a sharpening AND skate. Still, at that point I was past nitpicking, and so I called in the morning to confirm the sharpener’s hours, and was told to come by in the late afternoon. I made the drive over, and of course when I got there, I was told he’d called in sick. Urg!

I tried the same thing a few days later, and got lucky that time — the sharpener was in, and I was out the door with freshly sharpened blades in 15 minutes. Victory!

At least, I thought so… until I tried out my skates the next morning and couldn’t do a single thing! Turns out, he’d defaulted to the half-inch sharpening instead of the 7/16 inch I usually use, which was probably my fault because I must not have specified. My old sharpener used to check the setting before each sharpening and redo the same grind, and I must’ve thought the new guy would do the same. Alas, not the case.

I couldn’t return to that sharpener till the weekend, which means I skated a week on those wonky blades, trying to do skills I’d taken for granted, like regular forward 3-turns, or edge pulls, and failing miserably. It’s such a demoralizer when you can’t do a single thing right! I was ready to tear out my hair by the end of the week, because my practices felt useless and everything felt alien to my feet. When I got back to the sharpener, he confirmed that they’d been done at a half-inch radius, but on the upside he actually redid them for free, when I’d been prepared to repay since it was my mistake.

When I got back to the rink the next Monday, I held my breath as I stepped onto the ice, worried that maybe all the trouble I’d been having the past few weeks was really just me being a worse skater than I’d thought I was. Because even if my blades were sharpened wrong, shouldn’t I still be able to hold a simple edge, or know the basic mechanics of a spin without falling out before even making a single revolution?

The blades felt good, though, and I was thrilled to hear that beautiful edge rip on simple cross strokes and edge pulls, which I hadn’t heard in weeks. I tentatively tried a spin, willing myself not to skid out of the entry… and pulled off the most beautiful, centered forward scratch I’d performed in months. Success!

Also, apparently a good sharpening really IS everything.

I love new skates

Tags

blades, skates

Or rather, should I say I love my new blades. The boots are still a work in progress.

So in addition to working on my first program, the other big development in my skating is that I got new skates. Yay! Although the old ones are only 9 months old at this point, I’ve been thinking I’d need new ones soon, especially after reading Janie talk about her upgrade. They aren’t really broken down yet, but they have been feeling more and more wobbly on landings. Plus, the Jackson Artistes were never as stiff as they probably ought to have been once I started jumping. I noticed the beginnings of creases in the flex notch area, and my right heel started slipping a bit. So in addition to being unsupportive, they were getting roomy, and altogether I wasn’t feeling very secure.

Furthermore, I had the inkling that perhaps the stock Mark IV blades were starting to hold me back from improving. It’s not a bad blade and they have a lot more life left to them, but I was getting a bit frustrated. I didn’t want to blame blades if it was really just my lack of skill, but all in all I think it was a good time to move on up.

So, what did I decide? First, I headed to a different fitter, an experienced pro who came recommended by my coach. She suggested the Jackson Freestyle, which was about what I was thinking, so that was easy. I was measured for the same size as the Artistes, and she suggested I stick with the Mirage blades that come with the boot. Since I was hoping I’d be ready for a more advanced blade I was a little disappointed, but she cautioned that the Coronation Ace might trip me up at my level. She did encourage to get coach’s opinion, which was good because Coach A said I was totally fine with the Coronation Aces. I’m thinking the skate tech was taking a conservative estimate of my skill level since I told her I started skating this year.

I skated on the new pair this week, and there are still a few spots that need punching out before the boots are comfortable. They were heat molded, but what felt fine in the shop turned into pressure, and then pain, while skating. I didn’t want to skate too long in pain, but I did get in enough practice to fall completely in love with Coronation Aces. Oh man, are these blades awesome.

I am not a great spinner, and have always found spinning trickier than jumping. Less painful, but more difficult to get the knack of. The hook entry, hitting the sweet spot, staying centered — all of it was rough, and done with lots of toepick scraping. On the CoroAces, my first spin was magically centered and fast and easy. The hook feels more secure now, and I am so much less afraid about falling over on the camel entry. Jumps are good too, although I didn’t do many of them (due to the whole pain factor). The first time I tried a waltz jump I just about fell straight down on my butt because I didn’t step up far enough on the rocker, due to the fact that the Mark IV has such a flat one. When I managed to take off properly off the pick, I was amazed at how much higher it was — I didn’t jump any harder, but the pick and rocker angle were enough to propel me higher.

The difference between the Mark IV and the CoroAce is like night and day, like coach and first class, like driving an old beater with no power steering and a luxury SUV with tons of power. The new blades don’t conjure up new skills magically out of thin air, but they do drastically enhance my ability to perform the ones I’ve already learned. Did I mention I’m in love? I am in love.

Now to get the boots as comfortable and skate-ready.

Sharpening blues

Tags

blades, skates

…as in black and blue. As in my body. Since I haven’t been skating for very long, I have yet to come upon the ideal timetable for sharpening my blades. But at least now I know what not to do, because I definitely went too long this last go-round, and my body is hurting from it.

Reading around, it seems like a good rule of thumb is to sharpen blades every 30 to 40 hours on the ice, depending on how sharp you like your blades, how hard you are on them, etc. Alternately, some people count by number of weeks, assuming their skating schedule is regular. The first couple times, I opted for the 40 hour rule of thumb and had no trouble adjusting to the ice on the sharpened blades. So I thought perhaps I was jumping the gun, especially when my coach checked my blades this time (she thought she saw rust, but it was dirty snow) at around the 30 hour mark and deemed them pretty sharp. I heard that if you run your fingernail along the blade and the steel takes off a bit of it, you’re fine, and I checked dutifully after every session and found they were still shaving off little bits of nail so I let them go for a while. Finally, though, I skidded sideways on a turn and figured it was time for a sharpen, even though the fingernail test was still good. It was at about 60 hours.

Took to the ice, and whoaaaa was it uncomfortably fast. I did like the speed and flow I got off the edges, but I had gotten too used to the dulled blades and wasn’t ready to make the transition so suddenly. Little movements caught me off guard and I fell all over the place, and I’ve got lovely matching bruises on both elbows and both hips.

So now I know two important things: It’s true that you really shouldn’t let your blades go too long, and that my timetable is somewhere between 40 and 60 hours. Oh, make that three things: The fingernail test is bunk.