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Howdy, Per Sparx, they now recommend toe right, but say its ok to do it with the toe facing either way. https://www.sparxhockey.com/manual Mark

I have owned a Sparx for almost two full hockey seasons and love the machine for its convenience and consistency of sharpening. I have had no issues with the machine itself but I have had to return 3 discs due to various issues. Would highly recommend the Sprax edge checker, I wore a grove in the Blademaster one quickly as I did not know about the tape trick. As an entry level skate sharpener myself, the biggest issue I have had to deal with thus far was not related to the sharpener but the blade itself. Thought I would I try out some of the Tydan Steel (supposed to be similar to the Step Steel), ordered them with a 10ft radius and not sharpened. The blades (2 sets) arrived and I sharpened them up, took about 18 passes to get a good 1/2 inch fire edge on them. I sharpen with my toe to the right and always edge check with he toe facing me. I got the edges perfectly level in the centre of the blade, and sent my son out to play. He could not make his tight turns, only had one edge (on both sets), this baffled me... Brought them home and tried again, same issue. I was baffled as I never have had an issue with LS 4 Steel ever. Upon further edge checking, I turned the blade around and checked it from the heel and it was out of level by 6 thou. I proceeded to contact both Sparx and Tydan to see what was going on.. Of course Tydan had never heard of that before and that was the end of discussion, couldn't return as they were skated on. Sparx was helpful in stating that they have seen this before with various steel in that the edges aren't always 90degrees to the running edge of the blade therefore the edge checker does not sit properly on the blade giving a false reading. I sharpened the blades again edge checking with the heel facing me and it was night and day difference, everything is ok now.. I sharpen skates for a few friends and they all have converted to the fire ring, they seem to like it as it offers a good combination of glide and grip. When the weather turned real cold and the ice got super hard I had to put my son to a 3/8 fire sharpen as the bite on the 1/2 inch fire was not quit what he liked. I have referred 8 people to purchase a Sparx and all have been happy with the purchase to-date. Bottom line is I don't think you can go wrong with this sharpener for home use, I can't speak for a commercial situation.

First thing that stands out for me is that your not getting full leg extension, this makes your stride short and choppy and impacts on your recovery stride. Have a look at this to see what I mean with a couple of tips to help you out. https://vimeo.com/195247373 After looking at the vid again, I've just realised you have laced up, if you really want to get that stride correct then unlace. You can't cheat on the return stride, you must bring the foot completely back underneath you before you roll across the top of it to start the outward push and then maintain a correct angle onto the blade. Yes, your speed is slow as you learn to stride but for improving your technique unlacing is hard to beat.

UPS had fast transit times from the Sparx shipping point to my house, I just got my machine unpacked and did 2 passes on my skates within 15 min. My main concern with this machine was it looked "plasticy" online but that's not the case, the machine has some heft to it and appears to be really solid and well built. next step is to build my arsenal of grinding rings lol

Finally got the hockey room in the basement complete...