Leaderboard

Because he's sharpening super damaged and very uneven edges on every single pair he does, and he can't relate to anyone who isn't. Nor can he see 10 yards down the road, where if his 'customers' are happy they'll come back with even edges that are just normally worn and he won't have to do more than 4 passes the second time he sharpens the same pair of skates. I dunno... the guy has come into this thread and crapped on Sparx from the get-go. It's getting a bit tiring to be honest. We all appreciate new info and rational debate about the product, but that hasn't been the case here. colins

I sharpen a lot peoples skates on my Sparx, from 12U kids down to 6U and a bunch of guys that play in my beer league. I think my first ring, I got about 30 pairs of skates sharpened and that was with 2 pairs that I had to do 10 cycles on and 8 cycles, respectively. If someone is bringing me a brand new pair of skates, I politely ask them to have the first sharpening done at the LHS or at a minimum have them cross grind them and then I'll sharpen them after that. Mos of the people who I tell this to are ok with that response because they understand that I can't get a cross grind ring, but they know from others that I'm putting out a good product for them. I constantly get great feedback on the edges they have after I sharpen them. I agree with most here that you know how many passes you're going to get out of the ring and it's your job as the sharpener to figure out how many passes you need to do. Also, if someone brings me steel that has a ton of larger nicks/gouges, I charge them extra as I have to do extra passes on them to get them back to normal. Even with my extra charge, it's still about the same as going to the LHS but they're getting a more consistent cut every time.

This is like trying to compare apples and oranges, a sparx unit versus a traditional sharpening unit both have strengths and weaknesses. Your running costs with a traditional unit will always be cheaper but it requires a lot more skill to get a good sharpening. A sparx is plug and push, no skill needed as long as the alignment is correct. You got 25 sharpenings, let's say you charged 10 euro a sharpening, if I was running a shop I would not be comfortable with that return. However as a home user at 3.2 euro per sharpening versus a LHS charge??? What is there to not like about that cost other than we always want it cheaper? If you are unhappy then maybe charge a per pass cost? Then if they turn up with massively damaged blades you get a higher return for your sharpening (if a financial return is a key driver of what you are trying to do).

Howdy, A couple things: 1st, generally speaking when I do other folk's skates I do 4 passes unless there are problems. Usually those 4 passes are enough. You cannot make a categorical statement like you are above. When I'm doing my own, I usually do 2 or 3 passes. 2nd, if you're doing other folks skates, presumably you're not doing them for free. Charge enough to cover your consumable cost or don't sharpen them. Mark

Pulling from my past refereeing experience, here's my scenarios: From the hit in the video, 2 mins for interference or checking. Doesn't look like an intent to injure, but definitely intent to use the body on you in a no check game. Since the puck was in the same vicinity to the play; interference or checking. If this happened completely away from the puck (say you were just driving to the net for position), I would give the opposing player 2 mins for checking and maybe a 10 min misconduct if he was previously running around, using the body, getting penalties, generally being reckless. 1st infraction, just 2 mins and a warning to ease up on physical contact. Assuming he used his butt end and speared you like you said.... 5 min major and a game misconduct and a recommendation to the league for an additional game suspension; more games if player has a history. With that said, spearing is really hard to catch from a refs viewpoint though, especially sneaky butt end spears. If this was a full contact game, I would honestly have to say, the play looks fine and I would have allowed it, assuming I didn't see him spear you. But then again, you probably would have prepared for contact if this was a contact game.

Howdy, Yeah, agreed on 2 minutes most likely... Its still hard to see much on the video and there's no way to know if the guy was otherwise being an ass prior to this, which could influence me, but I would imagine that I'd have given him a minor for checking. Mark

In most leagues that's a 2 minute penalty. Some non-contact men's leagues either make body contact an automatic 4 minute penalty or allow refs to make any call a 4 minute penalty depending on the degree of force. I could see that as a 2 or 4, but it definitely doesn't look like a major or match based on either video and unless you're playing in a league that allows for a double minor for body contact (or roughing or interference; however you want to classify it); it's going to be a 2 minute penalty. If there was an intentional butt end then it could've been more, but you can't see that from the video and it would be very hard for the refs to catch that.

Hi, If the leaf spring is broken I can send a new one, no problem. There should be no movement at the front. Feel free to send me an e-mail at per@marsblade.com and I'll set you up with a new spring. //Per

Jet -Flo tech.

My new setup is almost complete with the jersey!

So two years ago I was coming off an almost 10 tear spell where I didn’t play much, just coached. So once I started up again I found I needed to replace some gear. These were replacing an old pair of Vapor elbows that really wouldn’t stop sliding down. I am 6’3”, 180 lbs so on the thin side, was looking for an elbow that would be fairly low profile and would stay in place. I play mainly regular invite-only games so while the games have a good pace, you don’t have to worry about getting hacked or slashed. Protection is mainly for stray shots or getting tangled up with someone and going down here and there. Fit I have these in medium. They have the inner sleeve and a forearm and biceps strap. The elastic sleeve is nice, I wear short sleeves so, it is right against my skin. Because I am thin the biceps area isn't tight but the sleve does seem to help keep it in place and is snug in the forearm and right at the elbow. The 360 strap on the forearm lets you get the tension right where you need it. The three piece design means your elbow goes right into that pocket and keeps it there. 8/10 Protection Again, I don’t play in a contact or chippy league, but because of the fit, I never have to adjust them like I used to. Being in the proper spot contributes to protection. I have gone down here and there and this is a case where if you don’t notice, it is a good thing so I am assuming it is doing its job. It provides full coverage around the forearm and the elbow cap is substantial without being bulky. 9/10 Weight The Vapors I had were pretty light, these are on par. I don’t notice them so I have no complaints here. 10/10 Durability So far they are holding up well. I average about two games a week and have had them about a year and a half. The only thing is as you would expect the elastic on the 360 degree strap is getting a bit relaxed but not enough that it affects the tension. This is an area I will be paying attention to as there is nothing to hold it in place except friction. I keep expecting it to slide off the front edge but so far it hasn’t. The rest of the elbow shows no sign of wear. 7/10 Intangibles I was looking for comfort and something that stayed in place, and these provide that. As an intangible I think the STX Surgeon equipment looks great with the gray, black and white. Doesn't matter much for protective stuff but just my opinion. 9/10 Conclusion I am really happy with this purchase. I think STX is bringing great equipment at very reasonable price points. Once my son gets a bit bigger I will be buying STX for him and will be getting shins for myself next. 8/10

$20 Play it Again score.

I really don't care colins. I love my Sparx machine and I can clearly see the benefit for a home-user!!! I just don't love the costs and the fact that they are taking away features yet charging more and more for the sharpening rings!!! All i wanted to do is to find a way to bring costs down for international users by taking a look at the different consumer/ commercial rings and by pointing out to other customers that sharpenings come around 3,2$ in europe given the quality of sharpenings locally and the amount of cycles you have to do to work things out. (80$ rings!!!!) The results so far are 25 sharpenings of poorly maintained skates and that's a fact. Basically every skate, except my own pair of new skates, caused an unbearable noise while sharpening. To get rid of that, it took 5-8 cycles per skate=10-16 cyles per pair!!!! All I wanted to point out above was that Sparx promises a grinding ring mileage that works nicely under isolated conditions. That's all. If you are using the machine for yourself, it's the greatest thing ever, but as soon as there are any variables introduced it's economically unsustainable for international buyers. that's all from my side

Neal Peart uggg.