How to Sharpen Speed Skates: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Maintaining peak speed and cornering confidence on the ice starts with crisp, perfectly square 90-degree edges. Unlike hockey and figure skates—which are ground with a concave hollow—short track and long track speed skate runners are hand-honed completely flat across a sharpening jig. This step-by-step manual from the technicians at Salty Gold Supply Co. inside the Utah Olympic Oval walks through every stage of professional speed skate sharpening.

I. Essential Speed Skate Sharpening Terminology

• 90-Degree Square Edges: Speed skate runners have a flat bottom surface meeting vertical side walls at an exact 90-degree angle. Every sharpening stroke aims to keep both runners level and square without beveling.
• Burr: The microscopic curl of steel raised along all four edges when your sharpening stone cuts cleanly across the bottom of the runner. Raising an even, continuous burr from toe to heel confirms full contact.
• Nick (Gouge) vs. Strip (Shiner): A nick is a deeper indentation from grit or off-ice contact requiring coarse diamond work (140–400 grit); a shiner is a light dulling mark from ice debris easily cleared during routine honing.
• Rocker (Radius): The longitudinal curve of the runner (typically 8m–11m on short track blades and 21m–25m on long track clap blades) that governs turn entry and glide contact length.
• Bend: The deliberate inward arc set into short track (and select marathon/pack) blades so the runner tracks cleanly around tight left-hand turns without skidding.
• Over-Burr: A burr folded back over the running face caused by angling your deburring stone instead of keeping it flush against the side wall.

II. Essential Equipment Checklist

A. The Speed Skate Sharpening Jig

Your jig holds both blades vertical, parallel, and at identical height. Always protect your jig in a padded case during race travel so the frame or clamp arms never bend.

• Top-Mount vs. Bottom-Mount Jigs: Top-mount jigs reference the runner tube up against precision top locators before clamping; bottom-mount jigs drop the tube onto lower stops and pull back against a rear reference pin.
• Flat Clamps vs. Pivoting / Pinch Clamps: Flat clamps work well on straight long track clap tubes, whereas bent short track runners require pivoting or pinch clamps—such as the EHS StayBent Short Track Jig, Bont Speedskating Sharpening Jig, or CBC Sharpening Jig—so tightening the knobs never flattens your blade bend.

B. Bench Sharpening Stones (Cast MIC-6 Aluminum Diamond vs. Natural Stones)

Modern powder-metallurgy (PM) and bi-metal speed skate steel (62–66 HRC) wears down traditional oil stones unevenly, dishing out low spots that round off your edges. Diamond bench plates stay cleaner and cut hard PM steel effortlessly—provided the backing plate itself never flexes:

• Cast MIC-6 Aluminum Diamond Stones: Our Salty Gold Double-Sided MIC-6 Diamond Stones are machined from stress-relieved cast aluminum tooling plate in 140/400 grit (nick repair & edge establishment) and 600/1200 grit (routine sharpening & race finishing) for permanent zero-bow flatness.
• Two-Sided Resin/Diamond Plates: Nagano Two-Sided Diamond Plates offer lightweight travel versatility (use dry or with soapy water—never apply honing oil to diamond stones).

C. Precision Deburring Stones & The Two-Rag Rule

Pair your bench stones with a dedicated flat deburring plate like the Salty Gold Speed Pro Burr Diamond Plate, plus two strictly separate towels: one clean microfiber blade towel used only for drying ice moisture, and one dedicated “dirty” rag for wiping steel swarf during sharpening.

III. Step-by-Step Speed Skate Sharpening Workflow

1. Mount & Verify Parallelism: Seat both runners firmly against your jig's reference stops with toes pointing the same direction. Confirm both blades sit vertical and parallel before touching stone to steel.
2. Establish the Burr (Coarse / Medium Grit): Lay your 400- or 600-grit diamond stone flat across both runners. Push and pull in straight, longitudinal strokes—avoid wide diagonal cross-strokes, which wear stones unevenly and alter rocker shape. Follow the curve of your rocker smoothly without pressing down on the extreme tips and tails.
3. Flip the Jig 180 Degrees (“Rule of Doubles”): After 20–25 strokes, rotate the entire jig 180 degrees and repeat 20–25 strokes to cancel out any natural hand bias. Check all four edges from toe to heel with your fingernail until a light, uniform burr catches everywhere.
4. Progress to Fine Finishing Grits (1200 Grit & Polish): Wipe swarf away with your sharpening rag, switch to your 1200-grit finishing stone (doubling your stroke count so every coarse scratch disappears), and let the weight of the plate glide quietly to a mirror sheen.
5. Deburr Dead-Flat (Zero Angle!): Hold your Pro Burr Diamond Plate completely flush against the side wall of the runner—never tilt or angle the burr stone toward the edge, which bevels and ruins your 90-degree corner. On bent short track blades, use the narrow edge or compact footprint of your burr plate so it follows both the concave and convex faces cleanly.
6. Inspect for Over-Burr & Race Readiness: Test gently with your fingernail along all four corners. If a trace over-burr folded onto the running surface, take 2–3 feather-light finishing passes in the jig and one final flat side pass.