Check the skates for sharpness by lightly drawing the back of a fingernail down, perpendicular to the edge at a shallow angle. If the edge is sharp, you'll see a tiny amount of fingernail shavings on the edge. If you don't, the edge is dull. If your edge is sharp, your nails will shave easily with a very light force applied. Note that certain areas may be still quite sharp while others are dull. Your left edge typically wears most but dulling other areas will provide you with valuable feedback in potential flaws in your skating technique.

Place the skates in the jig. Make sure the blades are as vertical and parallel as possible. Push the ends of the blades the long way against the stop in the jig if it has one, or use a hard object such as a burr stone to even them against the end of the jig clamp. Tighten the jig's clamps securely. If your blades are matched in height, it is best to let them sit down on a solid shelf of the jig rather that raise them to a set height. Doing so will eliminate the possibility of one blade slipping down in the jig clamp.

 You are ready to start sharpening.

For More Information on sharpening