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Unlike most Blackstone X-Series owners out there, i must say that i am not a dad in his 40's or his 50's who, with 3 or 4 kids, ended up having no choice but to buy his own machine. I bought the machine for myself. Not for my kids, which i don't have, and not for my friends, which i have and which i generously help, free of cost, when they ask me. I bought my X-02 primarily for myself only. For my own enjoyment. While im still in my 20's, in the peak of my physical prime. I had wanted to own my own skate sharpener since i was about 11 years old when i first started playing organized hockey. Every game i would ask my dad for a fresh sharpening because every time i had a fresh sharpening, i would feel 100% confident. I would control the ice. Dominate the game. Never fearing to lose my edges. I was a monster. Problem was, after one or 2 games...you feel like the perfection is fading away. After 3 games, it gets frustrating. You play with a handicap. And even when the handicap is not really there, you still have a mental handicap. Just the thought of going on the ice with non-perfectly-sharpened skates would kill me. You always need a new, fresh sharpening. Always, every game. i dont buy into 10 hours of ice thingy. For me, even as an 11 year-old 100 lbs kid, its every game. But the problem was, my dad would not always say yes. He'd say yes only about 1 time every 4 times i asked him. And who can blame him? Paying $3.50, as it was in Montreal the 1990's, for a sharpening was getting annoying for my dad who made the huge sacrifice in time and money to let his son play the game he loved. One night, i went to bed dreaming and thinking how amazing it would be to have my own freaking machine in my basement, that i could use whenever i had a game. I thought I would feel like a king. Still, I lived most of my teenage years and my early twenties, running and chasing after proshops and their rare opening hours. Many times i would drive my bike, and later my car, to an arena, and bump into a closed proshop. Many times i would bump into a line of 74 people all wanting a sharpening. Many times i said screw that, im not waiting in line. Many times i'd call a proshop to find out if they were open because i had a game in a few hours, and they told me the guy doing the sharpening was sick or not there, or not scheduled on that day. Many days i raged. Many kilometers i wasted. Many times, i had a guy doing my skates who ended screwing up his sharpening. Many times i raged when i stepped onto the ice. Many times i prayed to God to ensure the guy doing the sharpening knew what he was doing. Call me a freak, thats how i am. Can't change it. One day i got a tax refund to the tune of 2 Grand from the generous government of Canada, and without a millisecond of hesitation i pulled the trigger on an X-02 and its new FBV technology which i had read about online a few months prior. It was like my childhood dream finally come true after a decade. I bought the stuff, received it 3 days later, feared that i lacked the technical know-how to actually operate it efficiently, but still did not waste a second into assembling my new toy thinking that i would eventually figure it all out and become a respected skate sharpener in my own right. My rationale for dropping $2000 hard earned and hard taxed Canadian dollars on this Canadian-made bad boy were; 1- Fulfilling a lifelong dream. 2- Having the joy of having a fresh sharpening every single time i stepped onto the ice. 3- Having the freedom to choose the kind of sharpening i desired every single time i stepped onto the ice by sharpening my own skates MYSELF. 4- The Opportunity Cost of saving time by not having to go to a remote location and especially not waiting in line. 5- The Opportunity Cost of saving money is 2 folds; Saving the actual $5 to sharpen, (and i heard FBV is actually $8 in Quebec, LoL!). And saving the money of transportation (Saving Gas or Saving Bus tickets) 6- Having a personal skate sharpening shop that is open 24/7/365, that never closes and not having to pray that Shop XYZ is open on game day. I read the manual from A to Z but It took me a while to get used to the machine. My very very very first sharpening i completely forgot (or actually did not know) to dress the grinding wheel. Needless to say i looked like a clown (Sean Avery?) when i got on the ice. The when i finally got it right, it felt like magic. Even if it was only on a regular 1/2" hollow, i felt amazing. Somehow, i felt a superior bite and a superior, much superior glide. As if the blackstone factor alone gave me supernatural powers without even needing FBV. i Quickly understood exactly how the machine operates, how to deal with wheels, spinners, grinder knobs etc...and honestly its very very easy to use, even for a guy who is terrible at manual or technical tasks such as myself. The only, only ONLY thing that bugs me, still to this day is the functioning of the bat gage. I have no idea how to use it properly. I emailed blackstone and spoke on the phone with them. They tried to help me but i still have no clue on how to use it. it's still a deep mystery for me. I never ever get the same value twice when i try to read it. I'm 100% sure its not defective at all but i still cant use it to save my life. But i understand the purpose of the batgage. its simply to ensure that the blade is well aligned with the center of the grinding wheel. you dont need to be a genius to figure that out. And so i went by trial and error, and since in my case the sharpening is for myself, it is i believe a superior method to the batgage. As a point of reference i use the trace left by the blade on the grinding wheel; Also, blackstone said not to touch the pitch (bottom wheel) since default is meant for hockey skates. So i had only the left and the right wheels of the skate holder to play with. And visually, i try to ensure that everything is in the center, both the toe and the heel of the skate boot All of this is meant to adjust the skate holder to ensure the ideal fit. i ended with varying positions for my skate holder. For instance, i got; and Now heres when the trial and error comes into play. I would try a specific position for my skate holder and then go the nearest ice to try it, which is 2 minutes away, luckily. If i felt that breaking on the left wasnt biting enough or vice-versa, i would go back home, adjust the holder, and then go back on the ice until i got the optimal value. i ended up with the position below and i think its the optimal for my specific skates (vapors) I think to get the optimal sharpening, two things need to be optimal. 1. The alignment of the blade with the center of the grinding wheel. 2. The right number of passes, and the right pressure applied on every pass. I found that its generally better to apply a good pressure on every pass. We have to be careful because too hard will make the grinding wheel stop cold, so i try to apply a very good pressure while keeping my limits in mind. it also makes more sense than my previous 2 configurations, i think, because as seen from the double half-pipes, both the left and the right wheels have the same value (and therefore the same height). it wouldnt make sense to have the toe or the heel higher than the other. Of course, when you're sharpening for others, you dont have the luxury of doing a trial and error, but for my own skates, i took the time i needed and im a 1000% spot on and i love it. Also; i dont use this little protective glass not because i think goggles are protective enough or because i was not able to install it properly, but because im a gangster. i try to use a vaccum cleaner as often as possible to remove the dirt; Some more accessories, always good to have; 8 Wheels, almost strictly for personal use, is that enough for you or what? Last thing, BUT NOT THE LEAST!, for me is to try the FBV spinner. I still havent tried it because i wanted to finish my last grinding wheel which still had some life to it. Now, in a week or two, i'll go full throttle on FBV with a new wheel baby. Needless to say i cant wait! At the risk of sounding like an infomercial, the X02 is bar none the best purchase i ever made in my life. If in another life Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Carlo Gambino and Vito Rizzuto would come to me and tell me they have an offer for me i can't refuse and tell me look; here's a brand new Bugatti Veyron, its yours for 2 Gees. I'd say no sorry, gotta get my X-02 first. The only negative thing i can find in this whole deal is the horrible French grammar and spelling mistakes found in their user manual. I give them A+ on their report card for physics and engineering but a big and sincere F for their French class.

Tomorrow i'll make an exhaustive post, with pictures, about my complete Blackstone experience over the last 2 years.

No never I ordered my X02 with 100/50 and 90/75 When i assembled it i put in the 1/2 spinner thinking it was the old way to call 100/50 which is the second most biting FBV which was my first choice. It felt amazingly good so i had no reason to try 90/75 then. Then 2 years later i realized 100/50 would translate into 2/1 and not 1/2 so i posted here. But i was 100% convinced i was skating on FBV Anyways , if FBV is even better than that i cant wait to try it!

thats crazy.....ive been thinking i was using FBV for 2 years, when i was just on a regular hollow... i dont know why i felt a superior glide....im sure its not the mental effect...maybe blackstone machines give you a better glide even on regular hollows ... anyways...thats crazy. cant wait to try FBV then....i'll be superman.

This is all photos of my super spinner labeled as 1/2 Keep in mind, its been used though 3 grinding wheels already, so its about at 75% of its lifespan.

Thats some serious British engineering. i didnt know Brits played hockey though!

ok thanks guys...ill send the picture as soon as i take it but its pretty old....ive gone through 3 grinding wheels with it over the last 2 years. i hope its still recognizable.

damn damn.. im pretty sure they were mislabeled... i have been using these spinners for 2 years and they definitely feel like FBV. when i bought my X02, it came with 100/50 and 90/75 according to my order. but the labels i got on my 2 spinners were 1/2 and 90/75. i dont believe ive been playing with a regular 1/2 hollow all along....i mean, i saw a huge difference as soon as i tried it.....it feels so good that ive been promoting the 100/50 radius as a "sick sharpening" on these very forums.

i have a spinner thats written 1/2 on it...............its this the same as 100/50?

try FBV @ 100/50... absolutely sick...at least for me. im 165 lbs....if that matters... absolutely sick....its the only FBV ive tried....but i cant think of trying anything else.

damn, i wanted to see an explosion....

i guess you'll know its time to replace your timing belt when your machine will explode or just stop working. i know its dangerous to have a timing belt fail in a car engine so its better to replace it in advance (every 100,000 kilometers). i hope its not the same with blackstone machines!

Timing belt. Hi,engineering geniuses, mechanics people on this forum, whats up. i just bought a bunch of Blackstone X02 accessories ( not because i needed them right now...but only because i wanted to have my conscience clear and have all the stuff i need in the future closeby) i bought a timing belt amongst other things.....if im only sharpening my own personal skates....and sometimes but rarely those of a few friends, when am i going to have to replace the timing belt? i sent emails to blackstone but for some reason they don't reply. Thanks.

Thanks JR for removing my fears i was under the impression that those Blackedges were made of some super hard material like diamonds that required some fancy grinding wheels and that my poor little X02 would be too weak for it. screw that, lets go! and i understand you personally possess an X02 as well ! Welcome to the club sir! SICK machine, best purchase i ever made....

Blackstone X02 & Blackedge Runners combination? Hey, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, i recently pulled the trigger on a pair of blackedge runners, and i'm wondering if any of you had any experience or feedback on sharpening those runners using blackstone machines, specifically the X02. How does it go? i suppose/hope that the blackstone wheels are made strong enough because apparently blackedge runners are made of really hard materials. when sharpenening, do you guys still do the same process as with any other runner (passing roughly 7 to 10 times) or do you have to make more passes? and assuming that i go to my Local store to do the first cross grinding, like blakedge says we should do, is not doing the cross grinding on future sharpening really ok? like many people have been saying here in this thread. thank you! looking forward to a great winter.