Blade Sharpening in So. California

[Jeanmarie]

I need a good sharpener to fix a crappy job done by a hockey guy ... Anyone know where to go in Southern or Central California?
Also I'm thinking of having the bottom toe pick shaved down so I don't catch on spins. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks.

[stardust skies]

If you are "catching" your toepick in spins it's because of bad technique, not bad picks. You shouldn't try to fix a blade to accomodate errors in technique, you should try to fix the technique itself. If you have a figure skating blade of decent quality, then you should be able to spin on it, so if you have issues with the toepick, you just have to fix the spin. Also keep in mind that if you shave off parts of the toepick, it may help you not "catch" the toepick on spins, but that means you won't be able to catch it on jumps when you WANT it to be there, as well. Mistake all around.

[figure_skater]

for the sharpening go to usa skates in anaheim. i love those guys and its perfect every time. they also do skates for people like danielle kahle.

[Jeanmarie]

I do catch on spins because of bad technique ... but I've only been skating for 6 weeks. I'm not looking for a cure-all. I was mostly wondering about it because the shady hockey player who sharpened my blades last time took off half of one of my toepicks (just the bottom 'pick' on my right skate). I did a little reading and it seemed a viable option for evening them out. Still a bad idea?

[EastonSkater]

I need a good sharpener to fix a crappy job done by a hockey guy ... Anyone know where to go in Southern or Central California?
Also I'm thinking of having the bottom toe pick shaved down so I don't catch on spins. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks.

Maybe you can buy two pairs of skates. One with the toe pick cut off, and one with the toe pick on. Using the one with no toe pick to practise spins until you're comfortable, then swap over to the toe pick pair.

Some people may say 'ooohHHHH...don't do that...why destroy a perfectly nice set of blades?'....or ...'you can if you have lots of money, but I wouldn't do that'....and other things to make you change your mind, as well as other things to mind 'your' business. And some will even get upset for minding 'your' business if you just want to cut the toe picks off.

[phoenix]

If you take the toe picks off now, you will most likely need them later, because they are there for a reason! They actually assist slightly in spins & turns, & play a huge role in jumps.

If a sharpener took off a toe pick without you requesting it, he owes you a new set of blades. Period.

btw...I'm "minding her business" because she asked for opinions.

[Anita18]

Well, the more advanced you get, the bigger the toepicks will be anyway, so I think you might as well get used to it. ;)

If you've only been skating for 6 weeks, then it's a perfect time to try to change your technique instead of trying to change your equipment. Heck, I've been working on spins for years and I'm still trying to work out kinks. If you're already working on spins after 6 weeks, you've progressed quite quickly! :)

I also agree that the hockey guy owes you new blades. Hopefully they weren't a good-quality pair (like, costing more than $100). You would hear my scream across high heaven if anyone messed up my MKPros!

Anyhow, I skate around Pasadena and people there go to Jerry in San Gabriel. I don't have his phone number right now but if you're in the area, give me a PM and I'll try to dig it out.

[stardust skies]

I do catch on spins because of bad technique ... but I've only been skating for 6 weeks. I'm not looking for a cure-all. I was mostly wondering about it because the shady hockey player who sharpened my blades last time took off half of one of my toepicks (just the bottom 'pick' on my right skate). I did a little reading and it seemed a viable option for evening them out. Still a bad idea?

It's completely normal to have toepick issues for skating for such a short period of time, I was definitely not "blaming" you for having toepick issues, just pointing out that you just need to fix the technique. It may take a long time, and until then you'll struggle but a) the fact that you're spinning at all after only 6 weeks on the ice is AMAZING, and also b) if you shave off the "problem" then you will never be able to work on fixing it for yourself, and you cannot go through skating with shaven toepicks forever.

Yes, I do still think it's a bad idea even if it's already been mistakenly half done, in fact, I'd go back to that pro shop, talk to the manager and show him what his luminary of a hockey sharpener did, and then ask them to replace your blades with new ones. It's the least they can do. If they refuse, I would try to call your blade's manufacturer directly and request they have a little talk with the manager of the pro shop on your behalf and hopefully it will convince him to replace your blades. It's their responsibility not to screw it up, and to fix it if they do. As you might have guessed, you can't "fix" shaven toepick. The whole blade must be replaced. Please don't let these people get away with this, or God knows how many more pairs they'll ruin before they realize that their carelessness has repercussions.

[stardust skies]

If you take the toe picks off now, you will most likely need them later, because they are there for a reason! They actually assist slightly in spins & turns, & play a huge role in jumps.

If a sharpener took off a toe pick without you requesting it, he owes you a new set of blades. Period.

btw...I'm "minding her business" because she asked for opinions.

Ditto. I don't really understand how anyone could hook any spins without a full toepick. I mean you might get a couple of revolutions but what's the point? To do real spins you'll need the toepick and you'll have to COMPLETELY change whatever technique you might have acquired without the toepicks, so no matter how you slice it, learning spins with shaven toepicks is a waste of time cause you'll just have to relearn everything the right way with the right equipment later if you ever hope to progress. As everyone says, they're there for a reason.

PS: what kind of blades DO you have? Perhaps you got a model too advanced for you. That's usually how it goes with pick problems.

[EastonSkater]

If that guy took your toe picks off, then yep..... he owes you a new set of blades. You never mentioned that the guy took off half the toe pick in the original post. So yeah.... it's his responsibility to get you new blades.

[Jeanmarie]

I have Jackson "Novice" skates with MK mark IV blades. I *think* my blade size is 8 2/3.
I skated in them for about 2 months in 1999 when I bought them new. They sat in storage until 6 weeks ago. Like an idiot, I stored them with the rubber guards on, and they got rusty. When I decided to start skating this January I brought them to the pro-shop at my rink for sharpening. I gave them a quick once over after they had been sharpened ... since I had no idea what to look for and they weren't rusty anymore, I thought all was good. I've since spent every spare moment at the rink skating for atleast 2.5 hours 4-5 times a week. For the first few weeks everything felt OK, I'm guessing because that's all I knew ... last week, I started slipping out of my edge warm-ups and thought I just needed to re-sharpen. My coach checked out my blades and said they were still sharp but maybe I needed a deeper hollow, because I skate with deep edges.
I had no idea what that meant, so I started to read about it ... reading made me inspect my blades closer and that's when I saw the uneven toe picks. It's not like I was spinning one day and thought "If only I didn't have the bottom of this toe pick". I'm seeing that the general consensus is don't even them out.
My new question is:
Is Toe Pick size as subjective and personal as the hollow of your blade, like a no "right" way kind of thing??

[stardust skies]

I have Jackson "Novice" skates with MK mark IV blades. I *think* my blade size is 8 2/3.
I skated in them for about 2 months in 1999 when I bought them new. They sat in storage until 6 weeks ago. Like an idiot, I stored them with the rubber guards on, and they got rusty. When I decided to start skating this January I brought them to the pro-shop at my rink for sharpening. I gave them a quick once over after they had been sharpened ... since I had no idea what to look for and they weren't rusty anymore, I thought all was good. I've since spent every spare moment at the rink skating for atleast 2.5 hours 4-5 times a week. For the first few weeks everything felt OK, I'm guessing because that's all I knew ... last week, I started slipping out of my edge warm-ups and thought I just needed to re-sharpen. My coach checked out my blades and said they were still sharp but maybe I needed a deeper hollow, because I skate with deep edges.
I had no idea what that meant, so I started to read about it ... reading made me inspect my blades closer and that's when I saw the uneven toe picks. It's not like I was spinning one day and thought "If only I didn't have the bottom of this toe pick". I'm seeing that the general consensus is don't even them out.
My new question is:
Is Toe Pick size as subjective and personal as the hollow of your blade, like a no "right" way kind of thing??

I would say toe pick size depends on your level. Toe pick SHAPE depends on your preference. For example, two of the most popular advanced skating blades are the Gold Seal and Pattern 99. If you go over to Riedellskates.com and click on "advanced freestyle blades", you will see that they have drastically different toepick shapes. One is straight, the other is curved. That is basically based on preference. Sasha Cohen skates on Gold Seals. Michelle Kwan skates on (the equivalent of Pattern 99 in another brand) Phantoms, which you can also look up on that website. It's a matter of preference.

It is useful to say, though, that while the guy DOES owe you a pair of blades because he screwed up...the blades you have are true beginner blades. If you are spinning already you would greatly benefit from getting into a pair of higher-end skates. The toe picks are not too large, but larger than yours. With this though I will say: sometimes, a slightly larger toepick HELPS with toepick issues!! Especially in spins. Mark IV are not known to be good spinning blades...they're more learn to skate blades. I would suggest looking into MK Professionals or John Wilson Coronation Aces (both also viewable on the above website under "freestyle blades", and both comparable blades level and quality-wise). I'm not sure if instead of replacing your blades, the pro-shop could give you a credit towards a better pair..but if not, it might be a blessing in disguise to have an excuse for new skates, as these blades really won't take you very far.

[PattyP]

Marcel at the Lakewood Glacial Garden does a great job. He's been doing my skates for years.