How do you know when your figure skates need to be sharpened?

Answer 1

The usual test for sharpness of the blade is dragging a fingernail lightly over the edge - if it planes off a little sliver, they're sharp, if it just slides, then they're dull. It is not unusual for blades to wear unevenly. For example, the inside edges may wear more quickly than the outside edges or the fronts more quickly than the tails.

Answer 2

When you hold a curve on the ice if the skate feels as if it is wobbling or sliding from underneath you then they need sharpening.
The noise the skates make should be crisp and not grate or grind on the ice.
An ice hockey player once gave me a tip thats been really useful to me; if you put the skate between your knees, blade up and press your thumb nail along its edge, if the skate is sharp it will basically cut your nail.....this is only useful if you have your own nails by the way!!

Answer 3

put your finger on the blade and it will feel like a U you'll understnad what I mean when you do it and if the egdes dont feel very sharp and you dont have to press your finder a lot to feel the center then you should get them sharpened it also depends how advanced of a skater you are if you are a beginner i would say get your skates sharpened every 5 to 7 months 7 months would be if you skate like once a week

Answer 4

feel the blade. if you think you cant cut your finger on it, it's dull!
Also, if you start slipping on the edge on the ice, that's one way to know.
Regularly, you should sharpen your blades once a month, depending on how often you skate.
I just wanna warn you, it'll feel pretty different with sharp skates, you could topple a bit more than usual... (I did :D)

Answer 5

The old fingernail or thumbnail test (works for skis too).

Scrape your thumbnail up and down along the edge of the blade. If the blade shaves the nail, they should be sharp enough.