Skate Sharpening

    A lot of you are probably wondering what we do when we sharpen a pair of skates.  Well, in this article we hope to answer some of those questions for you.  It's not rocket science, but it is an art form that takes MANY hours to master.  Hey, everyone has a pair of scissors and are they hairstylists?  I think not.  Well, sharpening skates is no different.  It takes a lot of time and knowledge to sharpen a pair of skates so they are sharpened the proper way.  Did you know that there are different types of sharpening?  We categorize them in this way. 

1) Shallow or Flat     2) Medium    3) Deep   These are the types of "hollows" that we use to sharpen your skates.  Now you are wondering what a hollow is aren't you?  A "hollow" or "groove" is how a skate feels when it digs into the ice.  How many times have you tried to stop and your skates either a) Dug in to fast and you fell on your face  b) They chattered as you came to a stop ?  If either of these two scenarios happened to you then chances are you had too deep a hollow in your skates.  The "hollow" determines how much blade digs into the ice.  We normally use a Medium Hollow when sharpening skates unless you request otherwise.  Oh, you didn't know you could do that?  Well yes you can.  That is just one of the ways we can customize a sharpening to fit your style of skating.

    Now did you know that the "hollow" will also affect your speed?  And now you're probably wondering how does it do that.  Well here is what happens.  The hollow determines how much blade digs into the ice.  The deeper the hollow, the more blade digs in.  Therefore, creates more friction between the ice and blade, thus slower speed.  The shallow or flatter hollow has less blade digging in the ice, therefore creating less friction and faster speed.  So, if you want a little more speed, maybe all you need is a Shallow or Flat hollow.

    This is just one of the many professional services we offer at Ice Level Source for Sports.  We also have a complete In-House Repair Depot.  Come on in and see how we can elevate your game, to the next Level!!