Follow the tips in this guide to extend your ice skates’ lifespan for many years to enjoy.
Both figure skates and ice hockey skates need maintenance to take advantage of them over a long time. Always ensure that they are kept after use.
- Wear skates-when you leave the ice use hard skate guards.
- Use bag with soakers -transport your ice skates by soakers (soft guards and blade coverings) to prevent blades from bumping or tearing into each other’s bag.
- Remove the blade after use-clean the blade from rusting with a dry cloth or an old t-shirt.
- Dry the sole separately and let it dry from the ice skate separately. Ice skates must dry at room temperature. Do not use a radiator or other radiator because this can affect shape and fitness of a single liner mostly made of low melting synthetic materials. See https://hockeypoint.ee/ee_en/ for maintain skates.
- Keep your ice skates free of charge or use Terrycloth soakers to trap excess moisture and keep rusting away from your blades. Do not store your ice skates in blade rusting hard guards.
- To prevent rust formation, use acid-free oil-lubricate blades with a thin layer of acid-free oil for long-term storage.
- Sharpen your ice skates, which must be sharpened periodically to get a stronger ice touch and thus improve power for a smooth trip.
Importance of maintenance of skates
To maximize the functionality of your skates, to maintain comfort and to prevent injury, it is important to maintain your skates correctly. Good skates are a very costly investment and they will deteriorate over a very short period if they are not carefully maintained. Care for your skates is one of the most important things that a skater can do.
Blades caring…
The blades of your skates must be kept sharp. Note that your blades are your only ice contact and a sharp blade grips the ice more than a dull one. If when you land uncomfortably, your blades are not sharp enough. So plan to keep a log to figure out how many hours you can span between sharpening of the blades. You want to find the optimum number of hours on a blade that keeps your skating consistent but limits sharpening in order not to wear the blades. Most skaters will go between sharpening their blades for several weeks.
Do not walk on hard surfaces while you wear ice skates or you can ruin the ice skate blades quickly. Make yourself accustomed to always wear blade guards on your ice skates off the ice. The blade protects the blade against unnecessary wear and tear.
Rust is the largest blade killer off the ice, so make sure your skate blades are dry when you are done skating. Remove “snow” from the blade once you get out of the ice and put the guards on it. Once done, they should be wiped with a towel. Make sure both the blade area and the mounting surfaces are dried because they can also rust. Regularly check the blade screws, and they can work loose.
Let your boots warm up when you change your clothes and wipe them out before you put them in your bag. Never store it with the guards, because moisture is kept and rust is guaranteed. It is advisable to place them in terrycloth blade guards when stored in your bag, so that remaining moisture is absorbed and the edges protected.