DarkStar50

$4 for a Victoriaville Pro stick or $3.50 for a Northland Custom Pro stick, Lie 6, Curve Left.

^^^ CCM ProLite blades.....yes, I sharpened those back in the day.....

^^ It's not about how long you've been doing it, it's about how long you've been doing it well !! A dedicated mentor and you are on your way to learning. Practice, practice, practice.

I'm not going to say skate sharpening is easy but I don't agree with this idea that it takes years to master. It is a skill that takes practice to get started, confidence in your ability, and a work ethic to do the job right every time. Like any job, it is a matter of caring about what you do. It's not rocket appliances.

I believe a shop's reputation stands on it's sharpeners. For the sharpeners it should be a pride thing. For the customers that translates to a confidence thing. The quality of work from other rinks can be horrendous. I see it every weekend with out of town travel hockey players skates. This is one aspect that Sparx can take advantage of.

There are definitely more players over 6' 5" in the league now than in 98, and that is not counting goalies, only skaters.

Your local guy may not in fact actually be dressing the wheel at 5/8". That is a possibility. Is he honing/deburring the finished blade after it comes off the skate holder? How he does that step can make a difference, too. Finally, I wouldn't be surprised if your buddy an hour up the road is using a better quality finishing wheel than your local guy. That could be a factor in the difference you are feeling on ice. Too many unknown variables from one shop to the next at play here. "The 3/4" feels sharper than the 5/8", with the benefit of increased glide. I've gotten a 5/8" from my buddy, and I had trouble stopping/felt like I was skating in sand. Way too much bite for me. " This makes sense from the difference when your buddy changes your hollow. Deeper hollow = more bite, blade sinks into ice more, less glide. Something doesn't add up from your local guy's set up though. JMHO.

?????? A good sharpening cannot make things feel wrong.......

With regard to all those older 90s brands listed with gear, as shop buyer there was a tremendous amount of saturation of the same product at the same price point. The herd has thinned out obviously although now it is down to two breeders almost !! As for the last ten years, you know things are screwed up when the top end OPS or skate ten years ago sold for the retail price of the top end OPS or skate at wholesale now. It is the top end price points that have hurt the business end of your retail product selections. We don't need to name names for who pushed outside the envelope on that, do we ?

Great, thanks for the info. I wish I was 40 again !! You don't stop skating because you get old. You get old because you stop skating.

Ozzie, just curious, what is your level of play? How long have you been playing hockey? Just trying to get a frame of reference for your upcoming impressions. Thanks in advance.

Get a No Sweat sweatband to stick inside the helmet and the sweat wet problem is solved. I use it inside my Re-Akt and they work great.

This Cooper glove.....nothing else.

The recipe for the secret sauce ? Mickey D's will never tell you.....

Fuck it 1967 vs 1967. Put it to bed.

Skates 101 colorways on the final exam : Vapor = Jetspeed, Supreme = Tacks, Nexus = RibCor. Ok, got it.

Bobby Orr rookie season with Winnwell 627 gloves.

I've been sharpening since 1980 on the hockey side. My partner in the shop has been sharpening since 1978. He works exclusively with elite and Olympic figure skaters in sharpening and fitting. In 2002 our rink sent 11 figure skaters to Salt Lake City for the Olympics, including freestyle Gold Medalist Sarah Hughes, pairs Gold Medalists Elena Berezhnaya/ Anton Sikharulidze. We were responsible for all competitors skates at those Olympics as well as future competitions in Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010, and Sochi 2014 that trained at the Ice House in Hackensack, NJ.

I have seen bent blades in the middle of the blade. The bow is not necessarily always at the toe or heel of the blade. Just curious, how long have you been sharpening skates? For the record, no malice intended in this question. I am asking as a frame of reference. Thanks.

the hahaha was for the hate comment. No hate here. That is just wasted emotion and energy.

^^^ hahaha.......I've been here a long time and seen the input that other vendors have shared. However, those vendors were not selling their products directly to you, were they? I understand what is going on. Long before there was Sparx, there were plenty of other in home automatic sharpeners. I'm not going to rehash old news on that front. I just see a different dynamic here that's all. Now that I've got your attention, I don't expect anything to change. No worries on my part. Guys like jimmy, oldtrainer, and myself confidently stand behind our work and knowledge in sharpening. Carry on.

Isn't this basically what this entire thread for Sparx is ?? Free promotion of a hockey product? Why is this particular thread allowed on MSH? If the thread was on Sparx website, that makes all the sense in the world. Here, not so much.

How does Sparx dad work around a bent blade?

If you listen to the video, this theft took place at 10 pm. One of the employees watching the video says that across the street there are people in restaurants. I have to believe the alarm was completely deactivated. The video shows him walking through the store, not running to get the job done. Also, when he takes the sticks out the back door, there are 8 bundles of sticks. There must be 24-30 sticks in each bundle. Watch the timeline on the security video. He is inside the store for over an hour. There is no way the alarms were still active during this robbery.

Yes, the motion sensors and back door alarm being disabled is a big clue as to the perps in this deal. The next problem is fencing the sticks. Ebay is not a smart idea. I doubt these guys want to go through the hassle of shipping !!! So once they start hitting the local rinks to dump the sticks, sooner or later they are going to run out of customers and players keeping quiet. Everybody loves to brag about the deal they got on gear and you know who else plays hockey? Cops play hockey. "What, there is no 30 day warranty on this stick? F that."