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These were like 4 years in the making, from finding appropriate donor gloves to getting the embroidery files digitized and then stitched out, then sent off to CPR. Didn't get around to sharing on this forum. Here's a teardown photo CPR sent me:

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.

+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.

I was an early bird on the first batch of the full R1 skates last year (got the insanely priced early bird price of 50% off). My back ground is primarily roller hockey only. I was using Alkali RPD Shift+ skates previously, so purchasing the R1 skate was an easy choice, in regard to the fitment of the boot is the same (just a lot stiffer) as what i was used to. This meant the only real thing i had to get used to was rocker. The first skate was weird, the rocker is subtle, but can catch you off guard at first. However, as you get used to feeling over having a rocker (remember- ive only played roller), its fantastic, my skating felt incredibly smooth. Transitions from forward to backwards, feel awesome. Its almost hard to put your finger on, but the skating feels enhanced, and buttery smooth. Its hard to put into words. The grip is insane too ( i know a contributing factor is the wheels) but the extra contact through the rocker, really does enhance grip ( i actually want to run some harder wheels and see how they fair). A friend of mine bought a pair too. His experience has been positive. His background is more ice then roller, and he admitted he felt much more at home on the R1s.