Have my 1 DAY old New Figure skates been ruined!!?

This is why I always suggest making an appointment with a reputable fitter, even if it means waiting for an appointment or placing an order.

If you walked in off the street to the pro shop, you probably had a clerk who didn't know squat about figure skates. Many of the kids who work in the pro shops are hockey wannabes that don't care what happens to figure skates.

You should call the pro shop and ask for the owner/manager. Let them know what happened from using the clerk's advice. They can sharpen the rust off, but a dark stain will remain. The skates will be usable, though.

I'd also worry about the sizing of the skates the clerk sold to you. A lazy or greedy clerk will sell whatever's on hand, even if the skates are too long, just to make the sale. Ask the owner to measure your feet, both length and width, to be sure the skates are the right size.

You should clean opt your hard guards really well so that lingering rust doesn't continue to cause a problem. An old toothbrush will suffice - get the blade channel really clean.

You already know this, but for newbies:

. When you buy skates, get them sharpened. Factory sharpenings are a myth.

. Also buy soakers and hard guards. Ask the shop to cut the hard guards to length.

. When you put on your skates, put on the guards to walk to/from the ice.

. After you skate, let the blades warm up a bit, then dry the blades and soles well.

. Put the soakers on the blades and store them where they can air out a bit.

(Don't zip your skate bag all the way - that'll do.)

. Store your hard guards and skate rag in an outside pocket so they don't add moisture to the inside of your bag.

So sorry your new skates got messed up, but it happens to the best of us.

It'll be okay in no time. Good luck!

RE:

Have my 1 DAY old New Figure skates been ruined!!?

I purchased my first pair of New Riedell Womens size 8 figure skates today. Upon suggestion from the Pro-Shop worker at my local Ice Skating rink I was advised that I did NOT need Blade Soakers (terry cloth) only Blade Guards (hard plastic). After skating I dried the blades and place the Guards on...

No no no no no, don't freak out, a little bit of rust isn't going to hurt anything. I've had 6 pairs of skates in 6 years, and pretty much all of them have had a little bit of rust on the blades, even though I use a drying cloth and soakers all the time. Not a big deal, if the rust doesn't go away with a sharpening, nothing bad will happen with such a small amount.

No you have not ruined your blades. I had an old pair of parabolic Kpick gold seal blades and stupid me NEVER wiped them off after I got off of the ice. Sure they are pretty rusted on each side but I can still skate on them perfectly like any other blade. Death drop, butterfly, double axel you name it I can do it on the rusted blade. So, your blade isn't ruined (:

You can take normal nail polish (no fancy stuff just plain) and put some on a q-tip. Use the q-tip with the nail polish on it to wipe away the rust. If that doesn't work then nothing will. Sharpening won't get rid of it unless its only on the bottom of the blade. If its on the sides then its there for good, but don't freak out, because like I said... You're blades are fine and just a little bit of rust won't hinder your skating. Good luck tomorrow! (:

Don't panic. The tiny rust spots are surface discolouration and will not harm the structural integrity of the blade.

Always store your skates in the soakers. This allows any excess moisture to be soaked off. Even when you're airing the boots (to let the sweat air out) leave the soakers on. I would suggest wiping them off when you get home as well because sometimes condensation forms when you go outside into warmer air than in the rink.

No-one here should be harsh on you. You trusted the advice of a worker in a pro shop and to be honest, I am quite surprised that they did not think soakers neccessary. I would put in a formal complaint at the pro shop about this. You didn't ruin your blades, but you could have. A higher level skater would have known but as a beginner you should be able to trust that the guy in the pro shop should give the right advice. :/

Your guards are for walking in, not storage, for future reference. ;)

you have definitely not ruined your skates !

i have been skating for a lot of my life, i'm 13 now,

trust me i have seen a bit of rust on my blades before too,

all you need to do is when you get on the ice wear in your skates a bit by snow plow stopping a few times, also use a towel and wipe your blades where the rust is very well to get some of it off!

Don't worry, they will be fine!

You can easily skate with some spots of rust on the blade, you won't notice them at all. Also, the next time you get them sharpened it will probably get rid of the spots.

As you said, you should put the soakers on when you put them in your bag or when they are in storage.

The hard plastic guards are also important, when you are walking off the ice in your skates you should put them on to protect them (but be careful not to get on the ice with them on!)

It's annoying that they told you the wrong thing at the pro shop, it's not your fault so don't worry about it!

Hope this helps :)

When you wipe your blades nice and dry, DO NOT put the guards back on because of the water that has been transfered inside the guard from the icey blades.

You can get rust remover, but the only way to completely fix the blade and start new is to get your blades sharpened. But since they have already been sharpened, you'll just have to wait until you need a new sharpening. Sorry!

the blade isnt ruined dont worry! wipe of the skate after the practice then put on the guards, soakers and it should b fine, sorry im not to experienced:(