BELLEVILLE, Ill. — Inside a small business in Belleville, workers are keeping up the tradition of skate sharpening. It’s somewhat of a risky art form.
“You have to understand how steel works, it’s all feel,” explained Chad O’Neil.
He started doing it this way at the age of 15, mastering that feel for the blade and the wheel all on his own.
“It was kind of self-taught, but a lot of trial and error,” said O’Neil.
He taught himself well enough to go from the local ice rink in the Metro East to taking care of blades in the NHL. He was with the St. Louis Blues for six seasons. Now, he’s helping out the everyday skater with his business, Skatetech, which he opened in 2017.
“Basically bring the NHL experience to retail,” O’Neil said.
He believes the right sharpness can make all the difference to the on-ice experience.
“Just like a car, different performance tires can give you different grip. More or less blade contact can increase your agility, your speed, your stability or your overall skating performance,” he described.
Believe it or not, a lot of skaters are looking for a better edge for their game. O'Neil said there is a huge demand for skates, sometimes more than 100 pairs in a day.
He could do his business in a more modern fashion, he does have the machine. But, O'Neil said there’s a lot of things with automation that you still can’t control, so he continues to do it the old-fashioned way.
“By hand is the best way to do it," he said.