Unleveled Edges: When you look at your blades from the back, they should form a U shape where both the outside edge and inside edge are the same height. If you notice that one edge is significantly higher than the other, then your edges are unleveled. You can also feel this while skating if one edge is harder to perform than the other.

ROH: The radius of hollow (ROH) determines how much “slip” and “grip” you will have on the ice. The ideal ROH depends on your body weight, the hardness of the ice, and your skating style. Most freestyle skaters skate on 0.5 and 7/16. If you can’t skate properly or feel that your edges are too slippery or grippy, then it’s likely your ROH has been changed.

Shaved-off Tail: Shaving off the tail of the blades is a common problem for many technicians. Some blades come with a slightly shaved-off tail from the factory, so we often leave the tail unsharpened during our initial sharpens until the tail is leveled with the rest of the blades. A shaved-off tail can cause issues when landing jumps and doing some turns.

Spin Rocker: The spin rocker flattens over the lifetime of a blade. However, if you find that spinning and turning become more difficult after a particular sharpening, it’s likely that the spin rocker was shaved off.

Inconsistent Sharpening: Sometimes, after a sharpening, you may find that some parts of the blades are sharp, while other parts are not. To check for this, run your fingers along the edges and see if they feel equally “grippy” on all areas and both edges.

Smooth Skating Experience right after sharpening: Some skaters find that their blades require a “break-in” period after a fresh sharpen. At SkatersEdge NZ, we ensure that your sharpening finish will require minimal break-in time and be smooth from day one!