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Howdy, Original machine here vs. the current one, but I would assume this all still applies... Absolutely make sure to get an edge checker. I do skates for friends, some of which have been sharpened by a Sparx prior to me and its very common to have them have uneven edges. The alignment tool gets to somewhere near, but without an edge checker you can't actually know for sure if your edges are level. So my main tip is to actually check the level after you run a pair of skates and adjust based on what you see. For me, the adjustment will stay true for the same grinding wheel and most others. I've definitely had a wheel where I needed to make 3 to 4 clicks of adjustment when I used it however. I assume the center of that wheel was slightly off the center of the other wheels. As to the Sparx edge checker vs. others... I have both a cheapo ebay one as well as the Sparx. I would say that both do a reasonable job, but the Sparx one "feels nicer" and is easier to use. The spring loaded clamp is easier than a thumbscrew and the crossbar is a little longer, which highlights height differences slightly better. But it also costs $100 or whatever more than the ebay one so... I have the cover and like it. Its nothing magical but it fits well and I didn't have to break out the sewing machine. Again, on a budget a pillow case laying on the machine will do the same job, just a little more finicky to put on and won't look as good. One non-Sparx accessory I really like is the Speed Skate that Wissota sells. https://wissota.com/product/speed-skate/ This helps get a more mirror finish and while I've not scientifically tested, does indeed seem to help glide. You can't do a "finish pass" on a Sparx like a good sharpener can with a manual machine and I feel like this gets you closer to that type of finish. Mark

Howdy, One other tip... I actually ran a pair of older cheapo skates the other day that apparently had the sides of the runner not perpendicular to the edge / parallel to each other. I didn't think to use machinist tools to actually measure the difference, but the edge checker read way out with the skate facing one way and pretty good with the skate facing the other (and no, this doesn't happen with other skates). So my general tip is that when you see something wonky, question your assumptions a bit and do things like (in my case above) measure with the skate in the other direction / using the other side of the blade as the reference point. Stuff like that often SHOULDN'T matter, but QC is a thing that can vary. Similarly, it took me way too long to figure out that the center of one grinding wheel I had was slightly off the others and that's why I was having to adjust the machine to get level edges... I initially thought the skates I was using that wheel on were different in some way, which didn't make any sense. Mark

The finish looks so much better now, from the 1st gen True skates.

Sorry all I have is instagram I broke my arm so I can’t play hockey yet with them but I’m going to public skate this weekend. They fit like a glove I. The store. They just slipped on so nice with the shoe horn and for the bake. They used the Saran Wrap too so I’m confident in the fit. Real excited.

@Giltis Take my comments with a grain of salt, I haven't used a Sparx. However, I do use a ProSharp Home on a regular basis (not mine, but a family member has one, so my only investment in this so far is a single grind wheel that my son and I share). Based on the recent comments (expensive wheels, needing to adjust after wheel swaps in some cases), you might want to explore the ProSharp option. Now, their wheels are expensive as well, but you get way more sharpenings out of them (I did the math a few years ago and if memory serves the Sparx was more expensive to own and maintain after 3 or 4 wheel changes than the ProSharp was thanks to more sharpenings per wheel) and if Sparx just raised their prices, the value likely leans even more towards ProSharp. I've also never had any issues swapping between wheels and needing to re-align as long as I make sure the newly installed wheel is all the way on the spindle. And we share the machine, so I am swapping my wheel in every time I need to sharpen and putting their wheel back on after I finish. No complains of bad edges on our end or theirs that I am aware of. I usually do 2 passes and then hone with a course stone, fine stone and strop on high end standard finish stainless runners (Step). Now I can't comment on the quality of the sharpening by both, but will say I have been impressed with the ProSharp machine. Honestly, the honing takes more time and effort than the sharpening.

The distance the stick is measured over for the flex rating doesn't change for an extended stick. Stock height or extended, they all go on the flex machine with the same distance between the arms.

I've been told in the past that retail Bauer sticks like the 2X Pro that are longer have the flex measured at 60", so if cut to 60" the flex stays the same. Can't speak for other manufacturers or pro stock sticks.

I totally agree with this. I have profiled many people’s skates with the Quad 0.5 since it is not too far pitched and everyone loves the 0.5. (No surprise) My 8 year old going into AAA also skates with a Quad 0.5 Actually, to be honest I’ve been profiling with Blackstone’s OMNI Quad 0.5 which is a major upgrade to prosharp’s. The OMNI turns the 8-10-12-14’. Into a continuously blended or continuously increasing radius 8’ at the toe and slowly increasing to 14’ at the heal. So no transition points. This is the smoothest profile you can skate on! Blackstone make OMNI Quad 0, 0.5, 1, 2 . I have profiled many people’s skates with the Quad 0.5 since it is not too far pitched and everyone loves the 0.5. (No surprise) My 8 year old going into AAA also has been skating on the Quad 0.5 for a couple years now.