Little update here. Got a chance to skate last night after my first Sparx sharpening. I'm not going to comment on the whole 30+ years of experience sharpening vs. the Sparx, as it seems like we've concluded that debate somewhat. What I can say is compared to the cuts I've received for the last two and half years from my LHS, the Sparx was right on par with my previous sharpenings. Edges seemed consistent and felt very reliable. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the machine.