I constantly see teammates destroying their hockey skates, whether it be bending the tendon guard back to yank them off their foot, or leaving in their soaking wet insoles causing the bottoms to rust out. In this video, I will cover some tips on how to ensure your skates last for as long as possible.

Watch this video where I go IN DEPTH on how to maintain your skates & steel and ensure your investment lasts as long as possible!

How to put your skates on properly:

1. Loosen your laces to allow your tongue to pull forward. Don’t be afraid to pull your laces out of the top couple of eyelets to make it easier to slide your foot in.
2. Never grab or push on your tendon guard, ensure you are pushing it our with your heel and foot when sliding your foot into the skate.
3. Pull the tongue forward and grab the side of the skate if you need a stabilizer.

How to take off your skates without damaging them:

1. Loosen your laces deep into the skate and don’t be afraid to pull your laces out of the top couple of eyelets to make it much easier to remove your foot from the skate.
2. Pull the tongue forward, ensure the laces are loose enough so you can pull the tongue away from the boot and open the gap for your foot.
3. Push down on the sides of the skate, ensure you don’t use the tendon guard for leverage and use the area next to the eyelets if you need assistance in pulling your foot out.

How to maintain your hockey skates & steel

1. Always take out your insoles of your skates to ensure the trapped moisture and water can dry out and wont get stuck between the foot bed and the insole. You can often leave them still in the boot but sticking out with the tongue. This will help prevent rusting of the rivets.
2. Dry your steel and holder with a towel. Ensure there is no build up of snow and water on your skate. Blow out the snow from the holes in the holder.
3. Use skate guards to protect the blades once the holder and skate is dry. Even if you are using the “soaker” style of guard, you want the steel and holder to be dry to prevent rusting.
4. Ensure your skates aren’t jammed in your hockey bag to protect the tendon guard. Bags like Conway & Banks (use code HRCA for 5% off!) have dedicated skate compartments that help with this!
5. Air out your equipment and specifically your skates so they can thoroughly dry. Don’t be afraid to take off the skate guard or soaker if there is moisture buildup to help prevent rusting.

How to maintain your steel & edges

One of the common issues people have is losing an edge or getting a knick in their skate steel. While the best solution is getting the skates sharpened, when you are already in the dressing room or don’t have the time available you can mitigate the issue by using a honing stone. A honing stone is used by running it across the side face of the blade and trying to flatten out the steel edge. With coated black steel or DLC (diamond like coating) it is often recommended not using a normal honing stone. I personally use a ceramic stone for my steel with a coating on them, the ceramic stone helps maintain the coating while still allowing you to attempt to fix the lost edge.

I often see people using a “Sweet Stick” or “Re-edger” and I will never recommend using those tools over a honing stone. While those devices do add a sharp edge to the steel, they actually push the steel inwards. See this excellent thread (albeit snarky) on ModSquadHockey where JR Boucicaut (who is one of the best sharpeners I’ve ever met) explains the problems and how you must then sharpen away the damage you create with the tools to get the same hollow as you had previously. So while I understand these tools can give you a sharp edge, I always recommend a normal stone and getting your skates to a sharpener sooner rather than later.

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