Leaderboard

You can't just have any old schmuck work an automated machine. If you're honing steel post sharpening you need to have some experience and a decent set of hands. I own a Sparx and love it, but it's not as simple as it's made out to be. It's not for the kitchen and it's not as simple as press a button and go.

Isn't part of the sharpening experience, experience ? I completely respect Blackstone for their new product and passion. My thoughts now kick back to the operator, not the machine. If your part time employee that is just loading skates in and out of the Fireball has no experience on a manual sharpener, how will he know what he is looking for and looking at when he uses FB ? There is an understanding of the process of skate sharpening that a manual operator learns to be successful. Take that experience away and expecting the part time shop teen-ager to know exactly what to look for in finished product is a bit of a risk, IMHO.

Anyone with any sense is picky about sharpening as there are so many poor sharpeners out there. That’s why I splurged out on a Sparx, worth every penny. I have top end skates, helmet and pads, but only because they provide more comfort and protection, and at my age that’s worth paying for. I have mid range inline skates, and after an hour my feet are hurting and I have to take a break. I’ve worn my top end ice skates for four hours with no discomfort.

+1 for JRZ. I use their bags and they last forever. They're also affordable and made in Canada. Don't spend double on all those bags hyped up by Youtube and social media.

Making me nervous man haha. Just bought the +2 and I weigh around 215 lbs. The OG Pures were fantastic but maybe success doesn't repeat itself in this case?

Howdy, I ordered the Grit bag. I'll try and do a review of it here when I get it. Mark

Same as @Miller55, I like the comfort and flex of the Ribcore, but the heel and shallow boot are drawbacks for me. A 100K in the mid-fit sounds like something I would try.