218hockey

No, it turned red and kept on sharpening. Sharpening seemed fine so I guess it's a moot point. Sooo, my 1/2" Fire is done. I'm going to buy another as soon as I can sell my 5/8" Fire. I wish I could return it. To me, trying different Sparx hollows seems like an expensive experiment.

So, I got one skate sharpened today and the red light indicating a depleted ring came on as the first pass on the second skate started. How long do you use your rings? Is the red circle light a warning or is the ring finished when it first appears? I ran 3 passes with the light on, is this a good sharpening?

Interesting. We had used 1/2" Fire for the last 6 months. We just wanted to try the 5/8 and unfortunately that's a downfall with this automated machine. It cost me $60 and one skate to find out we like the 1/2". Oh well, I suppose I can put it on eBay.

I tried the 5/8" Fire and got the thumbs down from my son. So we used it once, he didn't like it. But I still own it!

For some people. Especially NHL guys. Not for a junior player who's on the ice 5 times a week with the same $200 stick his parents bought. I don't want it to get all chipped up. We tape often.

No. I had a buddies Sparx at my house for two months this past summer but he picked up and moved to Scottsdale. Now I have a another friend that owns a Sparx that I can use anytime I want. I've been going out there every week since September but I think I'm wearing out my welcome. Ha! Good excuse to buy my own I figured!?

Yes. 1/2" Fire. But for sure would be doing a few other families skates so thought that's where the Starter Pack would be good.

Both! 😁 I thought if they have the rings that are in the starter pack, why not sell me those for that price? Hell, I don't even know how much of a savings that is, maybe it's 5 bucks. When you click on the Starter Pack you get a 404. It's not a big deal I just thought they'd say, "yes, we're out of all of this product but here's what we can do." I could still buy the machine and a ring and be alright. I have some sharpening supplies now including the Sparx blade holder.

Almost bought a Sparx yesterday. No starter ring pack, no edge checker, no blade holder available for purchase. No customer service phone number to call. I emailed and they did get back to me today but said it could be "several weeks" before they had these products. Huh? Why don't they just let you pick some rings of your choice and give a discount with machine purchase?

Can't. They're out of stock.

Yes the three rings you can buy at a discount with a new machine. I don’t that listed anywhere on the sight. When u buy the machine you should be able to choose three rings of your choice for $100. Or something like that. Also, does anyone remember if Sparx does the $100 off again around New Years? Or was that just Black Friday?

So, no more Starter Kits with new machine purchases? 👎

Blanket statement.

It kind of is the machine. Can't it sense the combination of horizontal and vertical movement to account for this? I don't want a huge point or multiple bumps and valleys on the ends of my expensive steel. Now if it's my sharpener and I'm the only one using it for a single pair of skates then no problem. I think this would be an issue in a commercial setting for sure. No smart person would ever get their skates sharpened at our arena. It's a city building with random city employees different nights of the week that certainly aren't hockey people and certainly don't know how to sharpen skates, yet we still give these employees the crash course on the Wissota sharpener. So I hear people talk about getting an automated machine and all of our problems will be solved. You can teach someone how to sharpen skates perfectly in five minutes, right? I think this issue with the wheel height would be real. It would probably take longer to set that up than to actually sharpen, if anyone would care to even check the height and steel. Probably not at all, they'd just put them in and push the button.

Doesn't look too high to me, it's on the steel. I guess that is an issue with the machine that I've found.

If you're in the states, this is your link. It's more than $80. http://blademaster.com/web/usa/en/blademaster/249-br100.html

Right, I said that. Thanks.

If you don't want to ever be misinformed I suggest you stay away from the internet.

Read that multiple times over the years in this thread. Does it matter? I read it here I take it as gospel! Maybe it was the Fire vs FBV chart? Idk.

I dont know where you got that from. I said where I got that from. ???

Good information, but it's been said here many times that other things being equal, the Sparx wheels are just a bit shallower than advertised. So just trying to add that bit of info to my thought process anyway.

Sure, I don't actually have a SPARX now and I haven't even looked at the way it's designed. But I do know that preload will not change a springs rate, only a stiffer spring will. I wish there was a way to do the toe evenly on a new, tall, blade. Some of these runners have quite an angle at the ends. Not a deal breaker though, and after using one for a couple of months I will probably purchase soon. Just waiting for the next $75 or $100 code! 💰

I've used the machine, I know how it works. If it's a single rate spring it doesn't matter where the spring is in it's travel, the rate (and pressure) will be constant. What you're experiencing at the beginning of the cycle is higher pressure caused by the angle of the wheel. If you start too high you can drive the wheel directly into the toe and that's when you get the chatter and even possibly a brief stop to the wheels rotation. Do you agree?

I didn't know you could adjust pressure. I thought there was only a height adjustment and that wouldn't change the actual pressure.

I have really good luck with Massive.