Cleaning your ice skate blades is the surest way of maximizing their longevity. It’s one thing to buy the best ice skate in the market, and it’s another to maintain it. The best ice skate doesn’t guarantee the best durability. Moreover, spending hundreds of dollars on an ice skate and getting just a few months of use isn’t cost-effective. You would want to make sure that it lasts as long as possible, and that can only be done if it’s well maintained. So, the ball is in your court.
There are few things you can do to keep your skates clean and protect the blades from rusts, nicks, and being dull after skating sessions. To keep your skates’ blades clean all the time, you must have these three things – hard guard, towels, and soft guards/ soakers. These are what I use to ensure that my skates last long enough. You will need these three pieces of equipment before and after skating to maximize the lifespan of your blades. Let’s get started with how to take proper care of those blades to preserve their life for as long as possible.
1. Put on Your Hard Guards
First, when you take your ice skates out of your bag and put them on, ensure that you cover the blades with a pair of hard guards. Walking on a surface that isn’t ice can make your blades blunt and give them nicks. Plus, walking on uncovered blades can damage the rink, especially if such a rink isn’t rubber. So, in essence, a hard guard protects your blade and the rink. You can find several cute designs of guards in the market to suit your style.
You can’t wear the guard into the ice. The guard is only meant to protect the blade when on the rinks to prevent it from nicks. It would help if you took them off, and when you are done skating, put them right back on. It’s pretty easy wearing them and taking them off. To wear it, start with the short end and put it over the big toe; pull back the guard and slip the long end over your heel. To take it off, do the reverse by starting with the long end.
2. Take the Skate to a Pro Shop If the Blades Have Nicks
If your blades have nicks, take them to a pro shop to get them sharpened. Remember, sharpening the blades frequently can reduce their lifespan. It can only take so much sharpening, so you need to try as much as possible to avoid machining them all the time.
3. Dry the Moisture Content
Now, when you step out of the ice, the chances are that the blades will have ice deposits and moisture content. If you leave the ice and moisture on the blades and have them stored at home, they will definitely rust. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want to get disappointed when you get all excited to skate, only to find out that the blades are rusty. You can easily prevent this from happening by getting yourself a towel.
Once you step out of the ice, take the towel; go to the bottom of your skates, and dry the water on the blades. Dry around the screws, the sole, and even the leather properly. Ensure that you carry this towel around whenever you go ice skating.
4. Use Soakers During Storage
After drying the skates, you need soft guards or soakers. Soakers are towel-like, elastic cloths that protect the blades. These soakers can also soak off the remaining moisture on the blades. When you don’t want the skates to mess up with anything inside your bag, use soakers to protect them. So, the soakers do two things – to keep the blades dry, and the second is to protect the things in your bag.
If you don’t store your skates with the soft guards on, you will end up with a terrible rusty blade. The key to keeping your skates rust-free is by drying them properly. Take care of your blades well so that they last for as long as possible.
How to Remove Rust from Blades without Sharpening
As we stated earlier, sharpening your blades whenever they get rusty can reduce the lifespan of the blades. Skaters indeed require their blades to remain sharp for better maneuverability on the ice, but when sharpened at all times, you are taking their lives away. It means that you can only use them a few times.
On the other hand, rust can affect your skating performance and reduce the lifespan of the blades. If you are scared of sharpening them whenever they are rusty, you can use a few drops of oil to remove them. The catch here is the few drops of oil can only remove a small amount of rust. It means that you might still have to sharpen the blades after all, but not as much as you would do when you didn’t apply the oil.
Below are the steps to take to remove a small amount of rust from your blades.
- Add a few drops of sewing machine oil or any other light oil onto a ball of cotton wool or scouring pad.
- Using the wool, rub the part of the blade with the rust gently until the rusts come off.
- Apply the oil on the entire blade and wipe it off using a towel or rag.
- Once you have succeeded in reducing the rust on the blade, you should take it to a pro skate shop to sharpen it. This will remove the remaining rust and keep the edges sharpened.
Easy Steps to Maintain Your Ice Skates
The steps below are what I follow to maintain my ice skates and ensure that I use them for a long time.
- Always wear suitable skate hard guards when walking on any surface that isn’t ice.
- Transport your ice skates in the soakers if they are in a bag. Soakers prevent the blades from crashing into each other and ripping the bag apart.
- Clean the blade from rust and other contaminants after use. Follow the tips discussed earlier to get them cleaned.
- Dry the skate’s sole separate from the leather. It means that you should take the sole out of the skate and let it dry at room temperature. Avoid using a heater or other heating mechanisms to dry the skates and sole, as they can alter the shape and the lining.
- Store your ice skates in its soakers to absorb moisture, but not in hard skate guards. The skate guards could result in the rusting of the blade.
- When planning to store your skates long-term, lubricate the blades with an acid-free oil first to prevent rust from developing.
- Sharpen the blades occasionally to ensure a better performance on the ice.
Conclusion
When you fail to clean and take care of your ice skates, you will get a maximum of a few months of use, especially if you are a regular skater. Therefore, cleaning your ice skate after use is paramount. These easy tips as discussed in this post are what I employ in keeping my ice skates properly cleaned and rust-free. You can use these tips to keep your skates clean and shiny like brand new.
Don’t get it wrong; even a properly cared blade can develop rust over time. When this happens, use the oil cleaning technique and take it for sharpening. Lastly, store your skates in a dry place with the blades covered in soakers.
