Hi! I've been lurking around the forums, avidly reading, but this is my very first post. I started skating in January (group lessons), and have been really conscious of trying not to bore my friends to death with endless skating talk, so it's so great to have a community that understands the obsession!
I just got my very first skates the other day. They are so amazing after having only used horrible dull, plastic, ill-fitting rentals. Just a few questions...

I see a lot of people talking about breaking in new skates. When would you consider your skates to be broken in? I assume there's no specific point at which you say, "Today my skates are broken in". Is it just when they don't have that "new" feeling anymore?

Also, I've read the posts about skate care, and I understand about drying them, and only storing them in the soakers, but using the hard guards for walking around in, etc. Do you put the hard guards on straight away when you come off the ice? Obviously your blades will be wet (and covered with ice) at that point. Or do you put the soakers on, and walk on them to get to your towel? Are you blades protected enough with just the soakers on?

generally, put your hard blade guards on when putting them on (you should put them on with the whole blade on the ground - not just the base.. if that makes sense)... then you walk to the gate to the rink, take your hard blade guards off, store them somewhere along the rink edge (you'll find somewhere ), and when you get off, I generally swipe my blade clean before putting on the hard blade covers...

Then wander back to take boots off... THEN I take off the hard covers, and dry my blades... that is when the soft covers/soakers go on.

I store my blades in the soakers, but I leave my hard blade covers out to dry them out.

The reason you wear the hard ones are so youre blades dont get divets in them from hard surfaces.... if you leave them on, the water collects in the holder, and against the blade, they will get rusty... rusty blades arent good.

does that help?

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-Erinna-
aka cassarilda

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Yes, thanks - so you put them on your wet blades... I kinda figured that must be it, since I really can't imagine a bunch of skaters standing at the edge of the ice trying to dry their blades before putting the guards on How do you dry out the hard guards, though? Is it enough to just let them air dry?

Air-drying is fine. You'll always want to open up your bag when you get home so your skates air out a bit (trust me, they'll really start to stink if you don't) and your guards will dry out ok. After awhile guards start to get dirt on the inside, especially in the winter when people are tracking sand into the rink on their shoes. That can start to dull your blades, so when you notice that, just pop them in the dishwasher. Seriously.

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Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

Hi,

As for breaking skates in, when I got mine about 2 months ago I was told in the shop that it will probably take about 10 skating sessions to break them in fully. They were right, it took a while of skating through pain but it was worth it, once broken in I could skate in my boots for hours without a problem.

Hope this helps,
Evelina

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The hardest thing about ice skating is the ice.

Some people do wipe their blades before putting on their hard guards.

When you're done skating, take off your skates, dry your blades (an old rag, hand towel, or a chamois cloth will do) and then put on the soakers.

The hard guards can just air-dry. Once in a while, rinse them out or run them through the diswasher to get out any grit that's worked its way inside the grooves.

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They are now making soakers with a reinforced bottom strip that I think must be so you can walk around in them without cutting them to shreds. I don't like the idea anyway, as they are sure to get wet, and the whole point of soakers is to keep your blades dry.

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as soon as you get off the ice you put your hard guards on, i try to do it right as I get off to avoid having the blades coming in contact with anything other than ice or hard guards.

After you get your skates off, remove the hard guards and wipe down your boots and the blade. Then just put on the soft covers and you're good to go.


You'll know your boots are broken in, when you can actually bend your knees and ankles and feel confortable skating for a long time.

Hard to put a finger on it - my skates were comfortable within a week or so, but they feel different every month that I skate - sometimes in better ways, sometimes worse. Skates are like shoes (really durable shoes, anyways - like hiking boots) - they will feel different as they break down over time. When they're fresh and new your feet won't be accustomed to them so they might be uncomfortable and this may put you off - just bear with it and all will get better.

Sooner or later you won't really notice your skates at all, and then they'll stop having the support you need to perform whatever you're working on, so then it's time for a new set!

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
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Having only used rentals before, my new skates are *incredibly* comfortable. So I suppose they're going to get even more comfortable... Can't wait!

I was told to run boiling water through the hard guards to clean the out. Boy, was that a mistake. I couldn't figure out why my little one couldn't get her own guards on when she got off the ice - I'd melted the plastic a bit and they not longer fit! I'll have to try the dishwasher next time.

...or just use steamy, but not boiling, water instead

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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

Hi, i'm also a new skater, is it usual to only be able to wear new skates for about 5 minutes before having to crawl off the ice and remove them! If I don't tie them tight enough then I'm all over the ice (and not in a graceful manner!) but if I tie them correctly then the pain all over my foot is crippling. Any advice
(also, they are not expensive leather boots i'm afraid )

You poor thing. Sounds like the boots are too tight/small. If your toes are feeling a bit banged up, the size is definitely wrong. If your feet are cramped, the boots might be too narrow. Try wearing thinner footwear or ask the pro shop to give them a stretch.

I will also say that my feet kill me when I switch from street shoes (heels or loose flats) to my skates without stretching my feet a bit. No problem when I switch from sneakers to skates.

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I've been storing my skates with the hard guards on for over 2 years now and absolutely no rust in sight. I put the skates on with the guards attached, walk on them to the rink then take them off at the gate and keep them on the side. When I get off the ice I swipe the ice off the blades with my gloves and walk to the bench with guards in hand not on blades. There I dry my blades thoroughly with a soft cloth and then put the hard guards (which are perfectly dry) on and then store my skates in my skate bag. I like keeping the hard guards on for protection from getting banged up in the trunk etc. I don't even own a pair of soakers.

The hard guards are not intended to be used for storage: they're to protect your blades while walking off-ice. (Keeps blades from getting dull/damaged.) Since you're putting dry guards on almost-dry blades, it's not doing any major damage. Assuming you still live in Las Vegas, the thorough drying and desert climate are your saviors. If you skate frequently, the guards aren't staying on the blades for days at a time. Your method is NOT recommended by the majority of skaters/blade manufacturers.

I've seen blades with the "dark marks" along the edges - one dark spot for every "bump" where the hard guard touched the blade in storage. The dark spots are the beginning of rust. This from skates stored with the guards on for less than a day or two.

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I also had a very similar experience to this i had very cheap very low level boots and when i put them on they were so painful i had to stop skating every 10 minutes to loosen them up and sometimes take them off and i had to tie them really loose if i tied them tight that was unbearable. I also had this sharp pain under the ball of my foot sometimes and i thought something was sticking me and there wasnt anything there. This went on for about a month when i finally decided to get new skates i went to a good skate shop not a pro shop (i was fitted for my first pair in a pro shop) and the good skate shop told me that my skates were too long and toooo narrow i got new skates that actually were a proper fit and all the problems and pain i had initially went away even though my new boots were extremely stiff i didnt have to get off every 10 minutes even on the first day becuase they werent hurting me like the old skates were. I would probably check your fit and see if that is your problem too.

Thanks, I really need to look into a different pair of boots! I'm only skating for the exercise rather than competing so thought a cheap pair would do..... obviously not! Does anyone know somewhere in the UK (Devon in particular) that I could purchase a decent pair, or be fitted for a pair? My rink seems to have Risport boots advertised but none of the staff seem to know anything about them, only prices and how soon they'll arrive.

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Rainbow

Risport are okay, unless you want to travel to be fitted!

But yes, it's fairly normal for your boots to be uncomfortable the first few times you wear them.

Try tying them a little looser over the foot (don't pull them tight, just so there's no slack in the laces), then tightening them at the ankle (do a single knot there to help you pull), then loosening them very slightly as you get to the top. Wind the laces over the hooks from the top of the hook to the underside, rather than just flicking them round, you can control the amount of pressure more easily that way. And wear pop socks or silk socks rather than anything thicker. That sounds counter-intuitive, but it works!

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Mrs Redboots
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Well, that may be but I do remember a time when they didn't even have soakers redaily available on the market.
Regardless, it works for me and I use them for a reason... like with most matters there's not just one right that fits all.

It's not doing any damage at all.

No, I dont live in Vegas anymore, far from it clear across the country in NY and thus not in esert climate any more. But the climate here doesn't make a difference since I dry my blades thoroughly as I mentioned and keep my guards dry.
On average I skate twice a week, Tu & Thu and the guards are on 24/7 the rest of the week, as well as about 22 hours on skating days... so I'd say they're definitely more on than off.

That may be, but as it doesn't harm my blades it really makes no difference to me and if asked I'm not ashamed to say how I take care f my skates.

Oh, I believe you that you've seen that... just as I've seen blades with plenty of dings in them from getting banged around without proper protection... which is why I do what I do.
My blades have absolutely no "dark marks" or any sign of rust on them and my coach periodically checked his students' skates... his comment to me was always how great my blades look and that I must be taking good care of them.

Look, I'm not tying to start anything here... just simply writing down my experience with my skates/blades... nowhere did I write that it was better in general or recommended by the pros... all I said was what works for me and why.

I was speaking from the "don't make the same mistakes I made" soapbox, trying to be helpful. I guess I hit a nerve. Sorry Vegas.

BTW, your coach inspects your skates?

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Yeah, every once in a while to see if they need sharpening, especially with beginning skaters or when asked... as well as to see if new skates are breaking in properly.

And no, you didn't really hit a nerve...

Um, not to be snarky here, but doesn't that defeat the purpose? I mean, if you're going to walk on a bare blade one direction, why even bother to walk with the guards the other direction?

Hard guards are meant to protect your blade from nicks caused by stepping on grit that's left on the mats from people's street shoes (and protect the stray finger or toe that you might wind up stepping on, too). If you want to use them in your bag, that's up to you. But if you're that concerned about your blades, I can't figure out why you wouldn't want to protect them while walking on them. If you insist on not using soakers, why don't you get two pairs of hard guards--one for walking both ways (this pair might get wet), and one pair that stays dry for your bag?

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Just to throw my experience into the pot- I was never told not to store my blades in hard guards and I have rust lines across the middle of my blades. (They were dried before they were put in hard guards for about 10 years). They were cheap blades to begin with, so no big deal, but they look really ugly.

After I had the blades sharpened the skates were perfectly useable just really ugly. They don't have dark rust lines, just light ones. If I paid a lot of money for them, I wouldn't risk it.

As for using hard guards, because i'm not in expensive blades I find them to be a pain in the butt walking to and from the benches. So I have to sharpen my blades a bit more often than i should since I don't use them.

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-Jessi
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I learned from one of the better skaters at the rink to walk around on my toepicks. No need for hard guards from the bench to the ice, and no dulled blades. It works, although I do look a bit of a galoot...but since since I started doing it, I've noticed many others doing the same (they were doing it long before me - I just didn't know what they were doing). So we're all galoots together.