Leif

Can the Sparx deal with a curved blade/holder? I will explain why I ask. Apologies for the length of this post! A few weeks ago I had my skates sharpened on a ProSharp automatic sharpener, the large pro one with a normal grinding wheel that is dressed with a diamond, but the only adjustment on the skate holder is sideways as it automatically does the alignment. Anyway, one skate was perfect, the other was perfect except at the back which was out by 2-4 thousandths of an inch. I asked her to do a few more passes, but there was no change, so it wasn’t due to not taking a deep enough cut. Anyway, yesterday I had them done on a BladeMaster machine, and both blades were almost perfect. But the sharpener mentioned that one blade had a slight variation that he could not remove. We checked that blade and it was slightly but noticeably curved. The blades were almost new, and he reckoned the holder was bent, due to incorrect attachment to the skate. I found this interesting as it suggests that the large ProSharp machine cannot cope with a curved blade, whereas a manual sharpen can cope better. However, it might be that the correct solution to this problem is to have the holder rivets redone, as suggested by the sharpener. It’s annoying, these are Bauer S160 skates, so not cheapies. But the more I think about it, the more I think it is a good idea. Sadly it will cost. As an aside, I discovered that my ProSharp BAT gauge is out by 2/1000” when compared to my cheap Canadian eBay gauge, and the BladeMaster gauge used by the sharpener. The sharpener is buying a Sparx gauge, when they get stock in, as the BladeMaster needs regular taping to prevent wear. It will be interesting to see how the Sparx gauge is made, although I am less than impressed with my ProSharp one.

Blimey, you are not far off drawing your pension. BTW I'm impressed with your progress. I started learning to play hockey one year ago when I was 53. One lad I sometimes play with is in his early seventies and has been learning for a couple of years. Sure he doesn't have the speed and agility of youth, but he does well. I doubt someone of our age could ever be a top rank player, but I'm hoping I can turn myself iinto a solid player in a rec team.

That’s my home rink, I’ll keep an eye open for your skates. I’m one of the rink rats, albeit with very grey hair, and wrinkles.

It was at Gosport during a weekend public session, I'm pretty sure he was a hockey skater.

Do these skates provide any benefit over a pair of standard skates that fit well? A friend has a pair on order, as he was unable to find skates that fitted his large and wide feet. He was in pain, so custom skates are worth the money for him. In my case my Bauer Supremes are very comfortable. I've seen a pair of VH skates at a local UK rink, worn by a young lad, and a good skater. But they are fairly rare in the UK, no doubt in part because to get them fitted you have to go to Sheffield, which for some of us is a 5+ hour car journey each way.

http://www.sports2k.com/forum/index.php?/topic/31793-sold-pro-stock-vh-skates/ Maybe it’s the old style.

I find them a bit ugly due to the over the top white whoosh graphic on the sides. That said, I've seen some in the UK, once on the feet of a young lad (good skater), and they look fine. In fact checking recent images they look quite good, and the large whoosh graphic has gone. For me the fit and performance come first, the aesthetics are secondary, unless they are pink, or covered in long fake fur ....

Can’t you put some marker pen ink on the hollow, and make sure it is all removed by the grind?

The ProSharp has the better warranty for the home user, three years or 5,000 cycles compared to one year or 10,000 cycles. Few home users will exceed 5,000 cycles in three years. The Sparx warranty is potentially better for a team. I suspect both are easy to clean. The ProSharp is quite a bit smaller so easier to carry, but the Sparx is significantly cheaper, and I've seen no evidence that it is less well made. That lower cost is a big advantage.

Hello Russ, I was indicating that ProSharp's claims are misleading. I can see that my post could be read as suggesting that they lie, that was not the intention. I too like sharp skates, and a few passes each week would be ideal. But you still haven't answered my question about European sales. I know you read it! Patience is an overrated virtue ...

I have pointed Prosharp to your post to see if they think it is fair, though you make some very interesting points. However, the EU has very strong consumer law and making a false or misleading claim opens them to prosecution, and hence false claims are rare. I have asked ProSharp about their 500 pairs of skates sharpened per wheel claim, and how many passes they assume. Lastly, you said somewhere that you will soon release the Sparx to the European market. Can you indicate whether this will be in a month, 3 months, six months, a year, or several years time? And have you finalised who will be the distributor?

When you sharpen your skates on the Skatepal, how many passes do you need, assuming you're not changing the radius of hollow?

Thanks all. Some very helpful posts. The point about the bulk of the pads is a good one, I can do a good ACW crossover without pads, but with pads it's tough. So more practice then. I don't know why but I found on Saturday and this morning that my skating felt far more stable and confident. I still can't turn to the right well with the puck, hi ho, practice makes perfect. What you say is so true. I tell friends this when they tell me I am a really good skater during public sessions. As you know it's not false modesty. I think the athletic skill of hockey players is often overlooked. I already do as you say, and study You Tube. Today I did forwards inside and outside edges, and backwards inside edges. I am struggling with backwards outside edges, and fell several times today, and backwards crossrolls are but a dream. I'ver conquered the forwards one foot outside edge hockey stop, left and right, and backwards inside edge one foot hockey stops. I can do a 3 turn on my right foot. I was doing backwards figures of 8 today and the precision is improving. I will search YouTube for Advanced edge control drills. I do wonder if one on one lessons would help. We only have figure skating coaches, but one teaches hockey skating youngsters. I already do the drills she teaches, which is why I hesitate.

I'm a decent skater, and I can do hockey stops forward and backwards for example, but I still have a lot to learn (backwards to forwards transitions are poor for example). Anyway, I find my skating during a game is not up to the standard when in a public skating session. I assume this is due to the weight of the padding and helmet, and the stick. Could it in part be due to restriction of movement by the kit, in which case would higher end and hence more felexible knee pads help? Or looser socks? How do people improve their skating during a game? Is it just a case of practive, practice, practice with full kit and stick? Obviously ice time in kit is limited, though it is possible to go on public sessions in kit, albeit a bit odd!!!

Thank. The Skatepal is a much more expensive machine, I'm not sure how it differs from the Home. Nice to hear you like it though.

Does anyone here have the above, and how do you find it? I've decided to buy a machine, but reviews of the above are scarce, a few on YouTube of course. The alternative is the Sparx, maybe half the price although no European dealer yet, but wheels last nowhere near as long.

I bet it records the number of passes and the value can be queried by Sparx to assess whether or not it has exceeded the warranty conditions. Technically that's easy to do since it has relatively sophisticated electronics inside. It could even be running Linux!!! So most of your concerns will not be an issue for Sparx.

To answer the last point, I was going to buy a Wissota, but it can't be kept in my unheated garage. So it'd have to be indoors, and given that it is big, and messy, that is out of the question. So an automated machine is the only solution for me. And I like the fact that it can give a blade a few passes without me having to think in a minute or two. Regarding Chris Kibui, I think you are unfair on him. I've watched Jeremy at Bauer behaving like a kid in a sweet shop asking no critical questions. Chris is I think no worse. His review of the Sparx and ProSharp Home machines is informative. And yes I do like Jeremy and Ken's videos, excellent stuff. But Chris is okay too, a bit wordy at times, but it's free tuition for some of us. Regarding sincerity, well it might be a case of patriotism perhaps, we tend to favour someone with our own accent/dialect. Just a thought.

That's a very cryptic statement. Could you explain?

I'm not sure if you were suggesting the Swedish unit is more rugged, however as it is made in Sweden, and the Sparx in China, the higher price of the Swedish unit need not translate to a more rugged unit, the price difference could be due to higher manufacturing costs. Anyway, my last three sharpenings were all bad. Two from the good sharpener were both out by 4/1000" which is bad, and one from another recommended place was 3/8" and not 5/8" as requested, leaving me unable to skate. I had to have them redone the next day. It's starting to look like a home sharpener is the only way to ensure good sharpens.

Not necessarily. I have some padded shorts that I use for public skating and they have a D30 insert. It's thinner than the foams typically used in impact shorts, presumably because it is more effective at absorbing shock. The foam in my Bauer helmet - the old 4500 that scores poorly - is quite thick, and much thicker than the D30 pad in my shorts. D30 is quite expensive, so that would add significantly to the cost of the helmet. What strikes me (no pun intended) is that although the padding would spread the shock, it surely would have an insignificant impact (no pun intended) on the deceleration forces experienced by the brain. In other words, an unprotected head would on hitting ice suffer a shock wave and a deceleration. A good helmet would reduce the shock wave, but have little effect on the deceleration. I'd like to be proven wrong. I must admit I do wonder about helmets. I play non contact hockey, but a week back when going slowly I had someone skate into me at full pelt, and I recall the sound of my helmet hitting his, followed by me falling backwards. I had a headache the following day. These bangs do concern me, and I'd happily pay more if I knew the helmet provided more protection from head injury.

I bought some inserts and I used them for a few months. They did improve the psychological feel of the skates. But I stopped using them and I don't miss them. Maybe my balance has improved, maybe I'm used to the void above my toes, who knows. I know others who have them, so they are not uncommon in the UK among rec players.

I considered a manual sharpener. But it needs its own heated room, it's messy, it's very heavy so cannot easily be moved about, and it takes time to learn. I have one pair of skates to sharpen, and no-one to teach me, or spot the mistakes I make and reinforce. So a machine makes sense. As to them being made of lots of plastic, there is a rec team in the UK who own both Sparx and Prosharp machines, and they take them all over the UK and even overseas, and they say they are both robust.

Any update on when the Sparx will go on sale in Europe? I'm assuming no sooner than mid 2018, maybe even 2019.

Thank you.