Help...Rusty Blades

Hi everybody! I just wanted to get some advice on my JW Coro Aces. I had them for about a year and a half but because of studying abroad I haven’t been using them regularly. I’ve been a skater for 10 years and I used to go skate for 2/3 hours a week. Maybe about 30-40 hours in total. I last skated a month ago and my blades were fine but when I skated yesterday it felt really scratchy and the edges felt weird. As I was wiping down the blades after skating I saw that the entire hollow as well as some other parts of the blade (mostly the area between the sweet spot and the toe picks) were covered in spots of rust. I wipe my blades down every single time and use soakers, yet this happened? Ive never come across having rusty blades so I’m a bit anxious about this. Is it fairly simple to salvage rusty blades through sharpening? In addition, I will not have access to a sharpener for at least 2 months and I’m worried that the rusting will get worse.
Thanks for your help in advance!

(1) Unless there is extreme rusting (which doesn't appear to be the case in your instance), a sharpening will restore the blade to normal. Since you have a prolonged (~2 mo) wait until the next sharpening, though, you want to remove the bulk of the rust now and take steps to prevent further rusting (otherwise, it will likely get worse).

(2) I see that you're in Albania. I'll give references to products on Amazon US, and you can substitute local equivalents. To remove most of the existing rust, without damaging the edges, use a Scotch-Brite pad (https://www.amazon.com/3M-pad01-Hea...354&s=hpc&sprefix=scotch-brite,hpc,170&sr=1-4) and Liquid Wrench (https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Wrenc...8226448&sprefix=liquid+wrench,hpc,176&sr=8-10). If you don't have access to Liquid Wrench or similar product, just use oil (such as general-purpose household oil, mineral oil, or motor oil; I would avoid cooking oil). Scrub off all the flaky rust. There will be likely minor residual staining left. That's OK.

(3) I use a two-soaker technique for keeping my blades dry. After I get off the ice, I wipe down my blades with a first towel and put on a first pair of soakers. When I get home, I take off the first pair of soakers, dry off the blades again with a second towel (to remove additional condensation), and put on a second pair of soakers. Since you are having problems with rust, put a light coat of oil (such as general-purpose household oil, mineral oil, or motor oil; I would avoid cooking oil) along the edges before you put on the second pair of soakers. Wipe off excess oil before you go on the ice.

(4) How are you storing your skates? They should not be left in a car, skate bag, or any other enclosure. The skates should be left indoors in an open area to be allowed to dry thoroughly. Do you live in a very humid area?

I'll bet that you had them stored upright the floor - right?

The same thing happened to me years ago. My skates had soakers on and were stored upright on the blades. They were on carpet, in an air conditioned room, but I still got rust on the bottom

I made a skate drying rack that I've attached to my filing cabinet in my study. http://www.afterness.com/skating/images/skate_rack_done-29edt.jpg Maybe you can find a woodworker to make something similar. It doesn't have to be round like mine.

If I'm off-ice for a few months, I wipe with a light oil before hanging. I've never had any rust after that.

Use tstop's method for now to keep them from rusting further, and a new sharpening will take care of the hollow.

I won't go into other reasons why, but I don't trust soakers that have synthetic materials in them to be in long-term contact with a blade.

Bill S said:

I won't go into other reasons why, but I don't trust soakers that have synthetic materials in them to be in long-term contact with a blade.

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Oh, couldn't agree more! And that's why I make all my soakers from cotton and cotton terry towelling. I see really snazzy ones in fluffy and fleecy fabrics and some of them aren't even lined with pure cotton terry... nope! I'm sticking with the natural stuff.

Thank you everyone for your helpful suggestions! I don’t actually live in Albania (I just don’t know how to change my country) but live in a boarding school in the US far from “civilisation” that the closest sharpening is 2 hours away by car, which I don’t have access to. I store my skates upright and only use one pair of soakers so I’ll have to change that in the future. Will definitely try tstop’s suggested methods to remove the bulk of the rust and using oil to store them in the future! Is essential oil going to work?

sk8r4ever said:

Is essential oil going to work?

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I'd stick with oils known compatible with steel. How far away from civilization in the US are you? The other oils I've previously mentioned are generally available in a variety of stores [supermarkets, pharmacies (for mineral oil), hardware stores, discount stores, automotive supply stores, ...].

If you don't have ready access to such stores, and if what you need is not available at a campus store, ask the maintenance guys at your school. You don't need much; they'll probably give you a little bottle (they might even have Liquid Wrench or similar product). They probably use Scotch-Brite in the kitchen. Doesn't hurt to ask for a piece.

Thank you so much! I realised that my school actually offered sharpening (although hockey specialized) Should I try my luck there?

It would depend entirely on the operator. Is there someone there who does figure skates even though it's hockey-oriented? If there is, then check their reputation among other figure skaters.

If the reputation doesn't exist or if negative reviews abound, don't take the chance.

The situation sounds a lot like my university rink. They even have signs posted stating that they won't sharpen figure skates, but one skating director (a grad student) will sneak in a good sharpening for people she knows.

In every case, it all depends on the people running the machine.

sk8r4ever said:

Thank you so much! I realised that my school actually offered sharpening (although hockey specialized) Should I try my luck there?

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Not unless you have the word of several figure skaters and coaches that there's someone there who can do it right. Otherwise, you'll have a lot worse of a problem than rust: if they're sharpened like hockey or recreational skates, they'll probably be completely ruined.

sk8r4ever said:

Thank you so much! I realised that my school actually offered sharpening (although hockey specialized) Should I try my luck there?

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Agree with the others. It takes only one bad sharpening to ruin a pair of blades for good. Before handing your skates over to any tech, always check with several coaches and advanced figure skaters. Get referrals by name to specific techs, not just the shops. It's often the case that a shop will have several techs, but only one (if any) who can handle figure skates properly.