I'm just wondering if there are any tips and tricks that the average non-skating person wouldn't know about. Not necessarily about skating itself, but about equipment or music or things like that. One thing I was wondering in particular... How do you know when your blades need sharpening. The lady at the rink I go to said "When you can't skate well anymore." I suppose that would be helpful if I was already a good skater, but as a beginner, I *always* can't skate well.

Anyway.. Yeah.. any handy tricks?

Stand on the ice with your feet comfortably apart - what is natural for you. Now roll your feet over so that you are on an outside edge on both blades, and then roll them back, so that you are on an inside edge. If they "bite" into the ice and don't slip, you're fine; if they slip, they want sharpened.

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Mrs Redboots
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Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

You'll still be able to tell the different feel of sharp or dull blades.

After sharpening, I have to be very careful when I first get on the ice as the edges grip better than I had been used to. You can hurt yourself if you're not careful. A simple snowplow stop with dull blades can become "fatal" if done the same way with freshly sharpened blades.

Skaters prefer different "feels" when they skate. I know a pairs skater that used to get his blades sharpened 2 months before a competition. He'd skated 8 hours a day six days a week in practice to get his edges to their most comfortable for the competition. I looked at his blades and they were duller than any of the rentals at the rink. That's the way he skates best.

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Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau

A really good sharpener can do your blades so you won't kill yourself trying to stop after they're sharpened. My regular sharpener used to do a beautiful job, and would wipe down the edges after, and I could always feel the increased grip but yet I could stop with virtually no adjustment. Of course, I also like my edges sharp and have my skates sharpened every 25-30 hours or so of skating. I'm seriously bummed that I have to find a new sharpener now, given that my favorite sharpener will no longer be in my area.

Before I paid as much attention to the time between sharpenings, I used to notice that my foot would slip when I pushed into back crossovers or backward stroking, and it was the same spot I used to use to stop all the time. So, if you feel your blade slipping in a new way, that is also a signal that it's time to have them sharpened.