How often do you need to sharpen ice skate blades?

It really depends on the skater but typically most figure skaters get their blades sharpened around every 20 hours of skating. This can depend on a number of things including the type skating you do, how often you skate, how hard the ice is, the duration of your skating session, the quality of the ice when you skate. A recreational skater can get away with much more than 20 hours but it depends on how you like your blade to feel. If it starts to feel as though its slipping and not holding an edge well, its time to get them sharpened:) Your skates cannot be heat molded not because the heel is made of plastic and not wood but because it is not manufactured to be heat molded by Jackson. It should not take you too long to break them in but again, this really depends on what type of skating you do and how often. I'd say if you are skating twice a week for a couple of hours a week they should be broken in about 2 - 4 weeks but this is a guesstimate LOL:) I hope you enjoy your new skates!! Jacksons are great:) I just bought a pair of the Elite boots not too long ago and I really love them. Good luck and have fun!!