I just got my first new pair of ice figure skates the other day and I was wondering what tips do you have for taking care of Ice skates as far as maintenance? What things should I do or buy to keep my ice skates looking like new.

Depends whether you want them looking like new or not I preferred mine a bit battered so that it looked like I actually did some work

Anyway ....

Make sure that you dry the blades after every time you use them. I also like to put 'soakers' on to transport them rather than hard blade guards as I always found that no matter how particular I was hard guards would always cause them to rust. I only used hard guards for walking off ice in.

Make sure that you wear hard guards for when you're walking around off ice. Even small particles of grit can damage your blade.

If you feel up to it (I only felt up to it for tests and comps) then you can polish, clean and repigment them. You can buy a special pigment from the manufacturer or a good skate shop, it's much better than normal shoe whitener or dye.

Wax the soles of your boots every now and then.

Make sure that you let the boots dry out naturally, don't ever put them near a fire or on a radiator.

Check the laces!!! Nothing worse than a broken lace at an inopportune moment. Well there is which brings me to the next point ...

Check the blade screws periodically, they can work loose!

Get your blades 'sharpened' regularly (depends on your skating, I used to do it every 4-6 weeks when I was skating regularly) by a GOOD skate guy. I don't know what it's like in the US and other countries but I wouldn't let a rink sharpener within a million miles of my blades

You can always wear OTB (over the boot) tights or boot covers to help keep your boots less scuffed.

Coloured duct tape can work wonders on 'lunge' scrapes and other boot ouchies.

Can't think of anything else just yet ....

__________________

The best whisper is a click

Put the skate guards on the blades only when you're wearing your skates. When you're not wearing your skates, never have the skate guards on. The steel will rust, even if you think the guards are dry.

Dry your blades with a good water absorbing cloth, or a bunch of tissues at the end of the session. Basically, keep your blades as dry as possible to prevent the blade from rusting. If rusting starts and you leave it too long, it won't be too good for your blades.

I absolutely agree; on the other hand, if you are flying with them and need to pack them in your suitcase, the hard guards will protect the blades better than soakers. Make sure you haven't worn them for 24 hours, though, to ensure that both the hard guards and the blades are bone dry. And take them off as soon as you unpack your suitcase, and revert to the towelling soakers.

No, indeed, although a tiny spot usually disappears next time you have your blade sharpened. All the same, you don't want even a tiny spot!

Ideally, store each skate separately in its own fabric or towelling bag (you can make matching fabric bags and soakers, and even wipes! I have a set I bought from a woman at our rink who makes that sort of thing) to prevent knocks in your skate bag. Polish them regularly with something to nourish the leather - I use Renapur leather balsam which smells wonderful, too!

Some people suggest taking the skates out of their bag when you have them at home, but I don't do that - I do sometimes unzip the bag, though.

__________________
Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

If your skates will be set aside for a while, take some long term precautions.

Put a thin coat of oil or something like vaseline in the blades.

Try to store them in a low humidity environment.

Don't store them with the blades down on the floor in your closet. Hang them blade up with good air circulation.

Jon

Keep them as dry as possible. I skate 4 days a week, and when I get home I literally open my skating bag and let everything air out. This not only helps keep the boots from rotting, but also helps prevent smelly boots.

I don't worry too much about little nicks & scratches on the boots themselves. If you get some little nicks that you want to cover up, they have "sk8 tape" that you can stick on to make your boots look like new. Many skaters use this tape to cover up blemishes when they compete which is why they always look like they have new boots (even when the boots are totally scratched up!).

Kristin

Cool! I made my first "sticky!" Since we've had so many newbies join the board over the last month, I thought all those people who asked "what skates should I buy?" would like to know how to take care of them.


Here are links to the tips on various skate makers' sites:

Klingbeil
SP-Teri
Harlick
John Wilson / Mitchell & King (Same info)
Riedell Skates
Jackson Skates
Ultima Blades

__________________

If you forget your hard guards, you can walk around on the toepicks if you don't mind looking a bit funny.

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

In general, you should sharpen your blades after every 30-40 hours of skating. As you start doing spins and other freestyle elements, it will become more and more important to have a real expert sharpen your blades so that the rocker (the round part that you spin on) doesn't get flattened out. So if you end up buying some good blades a little later on, ask some of the best skaters at your rink who sharpens their blades.

If your tutu's on straight, it's okay.

__________________

Well lucky for me I'll never have to worry about that

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

How to take care of your skates is an excellent question for a beginning skater, and one that will bring on all different tips and tricks as everyone takes care of their skates in a slightly different way. How well you take care of your skates generally depends how serious your are as a skater and how often you can afford to buy new skates/feel liking breaking new skates in. Skates can last quite a while in very good shape if you are willing to put in the effort required for good skate care. A lot of the other posts have already given great tips on how to take care of your skates, so make sure to check those out. I am obsessively protective of my skates so I tend to go the extra mile, but my skates have always held up very well over the years . So if you would like some hard-core tips that I have collected along the way from coaches and skaters alike, here are a few from me....

- the moment you get in the door from skating practice, you need to get your skates out of their bags and into the air to dry - leather will break down with the acidity of your sweat and will also begin to rot from being moist in a dark place. Lay your skates out on their sides, not touching one another, with the tongues slightly pulled forward, laces loose, on top of a towel. I just picked an out-of-the-way spot in my bedroom for this, but make sure it is not next to any heat source and that your skates will be exposed to light. It is a good idea to lay your skates on one side one night, and the the other side the next so that the leather doesn't warp from the floor. Also, many skaters use "Skate Dryers" which are reusable cloth packets filled with an absorbent material to help draw the moisture out of the inside of the skate - these are extremely useful if you skate everyday or more than once a day and can be purchased at most skate stores.

- never, ever hang your skates up by their blades. a lot of skaters do this, but it warps the leather sole and pulls your blades away from the boot, which is bad not only for your skates, but also for your skating.

- waterproofing your skates was suggested above and it is an excellent idea.

- blade care is of the utmost importance.

- A skater should always own two pairs of guards "hard-guards" or "walking guards" should be used for just that - only when you are walking from the change room to the ice, and back again, or when you are walking around at a competition or show. It is really important to periodically check and wash your hard-guards, because the inside surface where you blade contacts needs to be clean.

- "soft guards" or "fuzzy covers" are those scrunchie, material guards that can be found at any skating equipment retailer. Two important things to look for are a.) padding b.) absorbent lining. Padding is important to cushion your skates while they are in your bag. An absorbent lining is important to wick moisture away from your skate blades. Even though you dry your blades thoroughly before putting your fuzzy covers on, because you blade changes temperature in your bag, moisture often finds it way back onto your blade.

All in all, the key points to skate care are protecting your blades from grit, scratches, etc, and keeping everything aired-out and dry when you're not on the ice. Compared to other sports, a figure skater doesn't really have that much equipment so it doesn't take a lot of effort or energy to give your skates the excellent care they deserve. A skater without skates is dancer, so make sure you take care of them! The rewards are worth it.

p.s. Welcome to the sport of figure skating!! Congratulations on your new skates and I wish you all the best in all of your training.

I'm curious about this point-- this caution that I keep hearing not to trust various establishments that offer sharpening. The rink I go to offers a 10 dollar custom sharpening along with the regular kind and has a sign up that reads something to do with "expert sharpening". Is that just an inflated ego or is it possible they might know what they're doing?

I can't imagine where else, in Austin, Texas, one might get blades sharpened besides the rink. It's not like skate shops are just around every corner. I suppose I should ask the other skaters.

Do people sometimes have to send their skates away to be sharpened? That seems like it would be highly inconvenient.

__________________
"Anything worth doing is worth overdoing." (Kathy Butler)

If your skates feel a bit tight, here's some suggestions courtesy of many posts from many "been there ..." skaters/parents on our board:

If the skates are heat-moldable, have the molding redone to fit your feet.
(Also good if you've just acquired second-hand skates.)

ETA: A good pro shop or shoe repair store can stretch skates overnight, which can buy a few extra weeks' use for growing children.

Put on the hard guards, dampen some thick socks and put the skates on your feet. Walk around in them for an hour or so, then let the skates air-dry. (Take the hard guards off while they dry.) The leather inside will remold to your foot slightly larger.

If you have bunions or corns or whatever, fix a pad in place to push out those spots before you try either of those two suggestions.

ETA: There was a tip about using hot water inside the skates. Klingbeil recommends AGAINST that method because the cushioning and foam protection inside the skate can absorb the water and never really dry. It was very good for old-fashioned skates that were made from leather only.

To treat dried-out skates, Klingbeil recommends wiping out the insides of the boot with a damp cloth (cool water), leaving the cloth inside, then putting the skate in a plastic bag for an hour. Be sure to dry the blade before putting on the cloth soakers.

__________________

Hi

I am also a new skater with new skates. Can I clarify something with the advice.

My skates are currently in my skating bag in their hard guards, should I not store them this way? Should I store them and travel with them with the softer soakers?

Sorry If this has allready been answered, i get a little bit confused sometimes, blame it on the bump on the head

Andrea

you should always store your skates with soakers on, travel with them on aswell.
with hard gaurds no matter how dry you think your blades are they well eventually get rust on them, and you don't want this on your nice new skates

OK, thankyou for the advice. I will put the soakers on right away and remove the hard guards xx

Andrea

Andrea, the only time you should leave them in their hard guards, other than when walking around the rink, is if you are flying - the guards protect the blades if you have to check them into the hold. We pack ours in the middle of our case, guards on, and stuffed with underwear, and so far they've travelled very comfortably!

But even then, I wouldn't put the hard guards on within several hours of skating, since I need both the blades and guards to be totally dry before putting them on.

__________________
Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I made a rack from some scrap wood to hold my skates in "the ideal" position for them to dry at home. It also holds the soakers and guards so everything dries quickly.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6.../SkateRack.jpg

I also clean my blades and give them a coat of automotive paste wax every couple months. It keeps them looking shiny and new without any rust.

__________________
Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

first off after you buy a new pair of skates dont forget to get them sharpend. Buy getting your skates sharpend it will allow you to move better on the ice and it will make some things eaisier. second dot forget to dry your skates after you finish useing them and never walk off the ice without your blade protectors on your skates. Also somtimes people dont dry their blade protectors befoer putting them on so it is better if when you are transporting your skates take off the protector and put on some sokies. that will keep them dry and prevent moister from comming in, stopping rust. Anyways thats all i have to say good luck with your new skates

Someone mentioned in another thread that this sticky didn't contain information on sealing / waterproofing boots.

Here is an earlier thread about waterproofing:
http://www.skatingforums.com/showthr...=waterproofing

Here's a link to a thread specifically about SnoSeal waterproofing:
http://www.skatingforums.com/showthr...ofing+sno+seal

__________________

This is true, because common plastic stuff absorbs water from the air and things like that. That's called 'hygroscopic'. And so even if your skate guards are straight out new from the packet, and you put them on your skate blades (with dry skate blades), then chances are that the skate blade will begin to rust after some long enough period of time.....rust in the places that are in contact with the plastic.

I haven't read through all of the other posts, but here are my suggestions on taking care of ice skates.

1. Whenever you are walking in them, wear hard guards.

2. Dry the blades really well with a cloth after you skate.

3. Put soft guards on your skates when transporting them in your skating bag.

4. When at home, air out your skates. (This means take off the soft guards and open your skate bag so your skates can get air) Even with soft guards on, your skates may rust (mine have).

5. If you skates stink, use stink-eez (which is something that you put inside them, kinda like popouri) or dryer cloths.

6. If you want to prevent scratches on them, tape them using skate tape, and redo the tape every month.

7. Get your blades sharpened regularly (one sharpening for approximately every 48 hours of skating on them)

8. Make sure your skate sharpener knows what they are doing, and doesn't usually sharpen hockey skates.

Those are the best suggestions that I have.

If they really stink, remove the footbed and hand wash it...use dishwashing soap or shampoo and a scrub brush. Rinse well. Air dry overnight. You would be surprised how well this works!!!!

You can make a foot spray to spritz inside:
1/8 c. 100-150% grain alcohol (warning: do NOT drink this stuff!!!! it is evil )
about 20 drops of lavender (you can also use citrus, but lavender is a natural deodorant and antibacterial, you can also put in about 5-10 drops of tea tree oil, if desired).
1/8 c. water

Mix all together into a small spritzer bottle (I get mine for 50 cents at walmart). Spray the inside of your skates 2-3 times, allow to air out. Spray your skates AFTER you've finished skating.

__________________
Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

If you skate aggressively and accept that you'll fall down a lot when learning difficult jumps, spins and MITF then you're going to get scratches all over at least one of the boots. So don't worry too much about your skates not looking new after a month or two.

You can tape your skates so that will at least protect it from the superficial scratches (although I think taping kind of look hideous on the white skates). If the heels are scratched then you can buy heel paint to cover them up. Make sure the blades are wiped dry as soon as you come off the ice and store them with boot covers on. Pull the tongues forward when storing you skates and let it air dry away from the heat.