If the cold front wants to continue a little, then perhaps the skating from the fat can be done during the weekend or Monday. A nice old expression, removing the skates from the fat. But are skating still being done in the fat nowadays? Under skating enthusiasts or self -proclaimed skating experts, this appears to lead to discussions.
If you store the skates for a longer period of time, do you have to grease them? With that question we are the first to go to Hoogevener Jan Bols. The Drenthe skating legend and skating grinder is certainly before greasing: “A little bit of fat on it, a little oil, that can’t hurt at all. Just see what you choose, because it can sometimes be a pagous place.”
But Bols emphasizes that you are not there with just greasing. “The most important thing is that you first clean it well before storing the skates. Then place them in a dry place and then without the covers. What often happens is that people dry the skates well, but forget the covers. Then they do it Wet covers and then you are the bobbin a year later. According to Jan Bols, it is difficult for a skating grinder to restore such rust spots. “You get pits in it. If you then visit the sharp side of the skate with your nail, you will continue to feel that it is blocking here and there. That is really a shame.”
In Bols we find at least an advocate of greasing the irons. “As a grinder you are sometimes amazed by how people have stored their skates. Then they come along with irons that are completely red with rust.”
Another former skater has a slightly different care policy for his skates. Frank Vreugdenhil from Eldersloo rode his last marathon competitions in 2020, but his skates certainly did not go into the fat. “No, not in the fat. You have to put them away nicely. The houses used to be more moist, I can imagine that fat is important. They were in an attic, probably not insulated and then you are more likely Moisture, they are always in a dry room with me, so then the fat is not necessary. “
Even though he stopped, Vreugdenhil remains skating enthusiast and is happy to get on the ice next weekend. “I am looking forward to natural ice, but I think of a beautifully flooded pasture with the children. A marathon is not there yet, I think.” Frank Vreugdenhil is still active in marathon skating, but then as an assistant trainer. His tips to come to the ice: “Take good care of the skates, check well in advance, not at the last minute. And I always made sure that I had enough reserve skating, if there is something wrong, you can still skate. “
From two former skaters we go to a Drentse who is currently in full crowds. Maaike Verweij from Veenhuizen is preparing for the NK distances this weekend and a series of competitions next week in Sweden. But she likes to tell us about her skating care routine. “Gosh, I don’t actually put them in the fat. Although, I am sharpening the skates with oil, so they grab some greasiness. I do as much as possible myself, preferably after every skating session. I think that if you Skates that you must also be able to grind yourself. “
But sharpening and taking care of the skating also leaves them to the material man of her team. “For example, he picks it up in a super busy weekend, such as the NK distances in the coming days.” But really do the skating in fat? No, Verweij has never actually done that. “Not even when I store the skates for a longer period of time. It is important that they are dry. So don’t put the skates in a shed, but in a warm place. And I don’t put them in a plastic cover, there is often there Moisture I often use a towel. “
In short, skating in or out of the fat? We will not end that discussion here, but the skating connoisseurs from above certainly agree on one thing: after a nice trip on the ice, the skates mainly store dry!