A skater’s worst nightmare is dull skates; they require extra effort to move the blades and mouth pressure on the ankles. Do you know skating on different ponds and rinks can affect the health of your skates blades? The effect of an indoor rink is totally different from that of an outdoor pond. For skaters who would love to skate outside and be in one with nature, the use of pond ice can affect your blades—negatively!
So if you are unsure about the safety of pond rinks on your skates, I can categorically confirm that pond ice dulls your skate.
How does pond ice dull skate?
Comparing an indoor rink to an outdoor pond is similar to comparing Chanel to Zara. Although they are both excellent brands, one has a higher quality, mode of production, and attribute to the other—and you and I know the brand with higher quality.
The production of an indoor rink is not as easy as making ice cubes on a tray; it takes proper measures and techniques to complete. The process includes installed slabs, pipes, salt breeze or antifreeze sprayed evenly, polyethylene materials, and more.
The ice is even, free from dirt and debris, evenly distributed, thus making it safe to the blades. When skating, you do not have to worry about trapped twinges and debris, uneven frozen rink, weeds, and any other disturbance or blade-dulling materials.
On a typical pond rink, these production processes do not take place. A pond rink is the hardening of a stagnant body of water; this means all the entrapped weeds, fish, debris are also trapped in the ice.
When your blade glides across the pond rink, the ice breaks a little due to the manner of freezing. This breaking is accompanied by the debris and dirt that were once stuck, causing your blade to cling onto them.
Moreover, the ponds don’t freeze equally as some sides are icier than the others. Moving on an uneven surface, that is, from an icy side to a particular frozen side filled with dirt, will cause the blade to be dull quickly and cause damage to your ankles.
Are all ice ponds blade-damaging?
From my perspective, I wouldn’t say ALL I’ve ponds are damaging as there are some exceptions. But I would say virtually 90% of public and private ice ponds are detrimental to your blades. The exceptions include outdoor rinks like the Wollmann rink in New York City, Bryant Park, Rock Center, and any place with a Zamboni like Sun Valley.
If you skate at any of these aforementioned outdoor rinks, the surface and environment will not cause any potential damage to your skate blades.
What do I do when I skate on an ice pond?
Peradventure, you are back from an entire skating session on an ice pond, and you just recently know about the damages on the blade. Don’t fret, as a day skating won’t cause any permanent damage to the blades.
Check for debris and dirt that may have gotten into the small folds of the skate. Ensure you remove them all correctly. Check the skate blades for signs of dulling. Examine the degree of damage and sharpen back if necessary.
How do I check for blade bluntness and uneven edges?
Perfect edges and blade shapes are the two most crucial factors in skating, but how do you determine the health of your blade edges as a skater. You may have had even edges and sharpness before going to that pond rink, and you are unsure whether your skates still retain the former features. Here are different ways to check for sharpness and edges.
The coin test
After cleaning off the dirt and debris, use the coin test to determine the state of the edge of your blade. A normal blade is a rigid flat-shaped blade with rounded edges to allow for balance and proper control. The surface of the blades is flat enough to allow a United States quarter coin to balance appropriately.
After sharpening, turn the skates over with the blades facing the roof and place the coin on the blade. Look through the coin on the blades by placing your head at eye level. If one side is steeper or higher than the other, you’re the blade will look uneven and bent.
The edge checker tool
The edge checker tool is designed to check for skate blade edges. The blade is attached to the tool and clasped around the edge to ascertain the smoothness. However, this equipment can mostly be found in professional or registered shops and used after sharpening.
Visual test
This test is also called the observation test and requires skaters to carefully observe the surface and other areas surrounding the shoes. Are their visible Nick’s around the blade? Do they look different than how they used when? If yes, the blades need to be sharpened and evened.
Fingernail test
As its name suggests, it requires using the surface or body of your fingernail and dragging them across the blade surface. A well-sharpened blade will give resistance and show a whitish color on the dragged area and the fingernails. A poor blade will give no effect and is often easy to glide across with nails.
What do I do if I want to skate in a pond rink?
As human taste varies, we seek different forms of entertainment despite the underlying negativities. If you still intend on skating on a pond rink, you can.
I suggest you get two or more pairs of skating shoes, one dedicated to skating on ice pond and the other for more professional skating in indoor rinks.
Ensure the shoes meant for the ice ponds are less expensive and will solely be for the ponds—do not interchange in any way.
After skating, always clean and remove the dirt, if any, before sharpening, never leave the shoes unattended overnight as it may worsen the condition of the blade. However, consistent sharpening can damage the blades and alter them from their original shape.
