Axxion89

2008 saw the release of the Reebok Premier II pads, its no different a design than my 1 year old Brians Subzero 3 pads. Hell the P2 were the first set of pads conforming to the 11" width rule, before that the P1 were 12" wide and were still a butterfly pad.

Keep in mind your biggest competition is going to be online retailers so if it were me, I'd focus on services (skate sharpening, repair, etc) vs using stock to drive sales. If you are familiar with the rink, stock what you know would sell easy, sticks, accessories, and to some extent regular gear like skates, pants, helmets, etc. You can also try and get into contact with local youth teams and see if you can provide them with the team gear like helmets, gloves, jerseys, etc. as that can be an easy area for revenue. Good luck & i think being attached to a rink is a huge plus as long as the rent & lease terms make financial sense

Depends on the foam, some only last 1 impact like EPP others like VN will wear down over use & time (sweat). I'm no expert but pretty sure plastic doesn't expire, if its not cracked & no components are compromised, the shell will still be fine.

When I had mine done at SJ they had a lot of burs but the hone they had was able to get rid of them. I can say I am not a fan of the SB steel, will likely get step steel sooner than later

Whatever stays on his leg best is the best knee pad. Its tough I went through 5 or 6 different knee pads until I found the best that worked for me (Reebok Revoke Knee Pads that came with the pads). Most others slide down or are too bulky & I did not have the patience to deal with a garter (I also never had much success with them). I would use whatever his pads came with unless they don't work

Thanks Steve for bringing the machine, it was nice talking to you about Sparx & the future of the machine. I tried the 9/16 ROH since that is pretty much what I do on my personal Blademaster. The finish off the Sparx was perfect, it does leave much more burs on the edges off the machine than off my Blademaster but that's taken care of with the hone. On ice they felt great, it felt like they dug into the ice a little more than my sharpening but that is likely due to the ice. I would need to compare on both sharpenings on the same ice to get a perfect comparison but I would feel 100% confident skating on a Sparx sharpening. I will say for sure that the Sparx sharpening is better than about 60% of the sharpenings I've had done by shops & at least equal to the other 40%. If I didn't have a Blademaster, I'd seriously consider a Sparx unit, for the price & convenience you really can't beat it. The only advantages that the current portable units have on the Sparx currently is longevity of the machine & cost of switching hollows (redress of wheel vs buying rings). However, if the Sparx continues to be a reliable machine, I think the Sparx will be beat any competition for the personal use market

You can use cutting oil on the blade, I have a dauber of it & used it early on to get a smoother finish. I don't use it anymore but that might work. If you have a really large nick in the blade might be better to just cross grind it but thats a better question for one of the experienced guys

Your last point is pretty much what I think will be the biggest barrier. I agree 100% with you that most people won't know their hollow or even tell the difference between a sharpening but if you sharpen one guys skate by hand & another on the machine, I'd bet a lot of people are going to say either; A- Hey whoa I don't wan't that glowing toaster touching my skates, you sharpen them like the other guys or I'll go elsewhere B- Hey if that lunchbox is going to do my skates its gonna be cheaper right? Education really is going to be the crucial aspect of this because customers will need to be educated on the benefits of the machine & stores will need to be educated on the costs / ease of use / revenue potential as a supplement or potential replacement of a freestanding unit

If sharpening toe heel & the first 1/4 of the blade is out of square then you need to adjust the toe side of the holder either up or down. Happens with me all the time sometimes one side is perfect and the other is not, a simple adjustment will fix it. I also sharpen toe to heel, main reason is I saw on a video that doing it that way helps prevent grinding off the profiles of the heel of the skate. I have also seen most sharpeners do it this way as well

Very interesting & good examples. The consignment store is, IMO, the perfect scenario for a Sparx machine as it creates an all new revenue stream for them. For larger use, I am curious to see if there is a negative reception from customers who are having a machine do their sharpening vs a person & if those customers request different hollows (which require changeover, stocking multiple wheels, etc). I understand that many of us see the machine as a good source for skate sharpening but your avg customer paying the same for a sharpening might not. I am by no means trying to be a debbie downer or hoping it doesn't succeed, one of the reasons I bought my own sharpener (A blademaster triple head from ~1980) is because I was tired of getting inconsistent sharpenings & having to spend about 1hr total getting my 2 pairs of skates sharpened. I think a lot of shops would benefit from a Sparx unit due to the consistency of sharpening / ease of use. If i was a rink retailer that derived significant revenue from sharpening, I would for sure try one unit if I had the volume to support it but would still rely on my traditional sharpener as the significant revenue driver. PS - If there was a way to make a free-standing Sparx unit that customers can use without an operator (self use at a rink in booth or something) you would pretty much print money since a lot of ice time is outside of normal business hours and a lot of people would pay to be able to get their skates sharpened for those 10:00PM ice times (if this ends up happening let this be proof that I am owed a royalty!)

I stayed size 6 from Supremes to Super Tacks. The Tacks were just slightly deeper & slightly narrower at least that's how it feels on my feet

There are plenty of reasons why the Sparx unit as it stands isn't ideal for high volume / professional use; - Speed of the machine - Inability to change hollow without a significant changeover compared to current tabletop machines - Longevity & costs of a grinding wheel - Expected maintenance & replacement costs - Inability to perform profiling and other specific tasks As I've said before, Sparx is pretty much Keurig since it operates on the same principle. Its marketed to consumers as an easy at home option. You pay for the machine & the company makes its long term revenue on the wheels / cups. Keurig has some use in low - mid volume applications like car dealers & waiting rooms but you will never see a Keurig in a restaurant or drive thru. I expect that Sparx will likely follow the same market, you may see Sparx machines in a low volume pro shop but I will go out & say you will never see a Sparx machine replace a Blademaster / Blackstone machine at a store or rink that sees volume or pro usage (NHL, AHL, etc.).

Easy make sure your foot is planted perpendicular to the direction you want to do and your leg is pushing the center mass of your body. If you are pushing in front or behind the mass then you spin. It can feel awkward at first but practice will get the muscle memory

Although pushing to the top of the crease would have been the technically correct move, it would require a lot of strength & precision to get the right position. As a beginner playing in a lower league, it is easier & just as effective to slide directly across to get centered to the puck. You will need to move less distance which is easier & faster for you & the chances of the shooter in that level picking a corner from that distance is slim. Hell, the shot that went in went parallel to your pad so had you even slid a little bit in position, you would have likely saved it.

I would get either the Blademaster or Blackstone holder. They don't come up used at all so you will need to pay full price if you want one. I'm sure the Wisotta one would work but others on here have said the other 2 are much better quality. Did you save any money not getting the basic holder, I just got an old version of that & it works fine for me. The dial ones would be much better but the lever ones work fine