Ivan

It may be well for hockey, I agree. Yet, it's kinda hard for me to agree that European players use shallower hollows. At least the majority of players request 1/2 ROH from me or 100/50 FBV. 100/75 FBV appears to be having too much edge for most here. Initially I did think that Prosharp uses a spinner of their own. My bad.

Witness protection program?

I assume you do witness marks, don't you?

I wouldn't get Prosharp's Skatepal if I were you. You'll be much happier with an X0 series machine. Learning how to shrpen is not that difficult.

You got that right. NONE of my customer went back to traditional hollow (ROH). Been doing it for over 1.5 years now. All seem to like the combination Step Steel/FBV even better

It also may be due to your passes. ESpecially the final pass. Dress the wheel before the final pass and do it slowly with minimal pressure using either one of polishers (Lube Tube or Fine Shine).

Below is an e-mail message from Blackstone that I got: ______________________________________________ To all of you who purchased an upgraded X-12 or X-12-Youth skate holder for your X-series machines....we now have a calibration block available for sale! This calibration block will allow you to easily re-calibrate your holder. At any time, you can dial in the holder to its original setting! Simply insert the block between the lower and upper base plates at the three adjustment points. Dial up or down accordingly, until the two plates come in contact with the calibration block! The calibration block will be available for sale by the end of March at a price of $15.00 Thanks, Gerard Hebert Black Stone Sports 800.405.3433 ghebert@blackstonesport.com

Prolly. Yeah, try the 90/50

Absolutely. I was lucky enough to get the Turbo version of same. I'm glad I didn't go for a professional Prosharp

This is what Jaromir Jagr bought http://blackstonesport.com/product_details.cfm?product_id=40

We ain't gonna trash them if they're bettter, are we? The rreason I posted is that I smell somethign that ain't right IMO

Ivan me w/ your e-mail by PM and I will forward you the spam I got from Prossharp. I am a little biased here. Like I said in my previous post - time will show. The way I see it, nobody but Blackstone came up with a new concept that does wok. The rest of the folks have no choice but to try to fit in. It's all about the market share. The truth is that nobody ever thought about this until Blackstone came up with the FBV. I am not saying that FBV is gonna be the best. There's no limit to perfection. Again, time willl show. Yet ya'lll get the point.

I'd disagee. The trend has been set by Blackstone. Time will show.

Here we go: first Blademaster (those guys seem to have shut up some). Now these folks - Prosharp http://www.prosharp.ca/editor_upload/111_P...harp%20News.jpg http://www.prosharp.ca/Know_how.html I'm sure this is something Blackstone Sports have taken into consideration before bringing the FBV to the market. Too bad the end users (IMO) are the ones who are going to suffer as all this will require fighting patent infringements. The price the inventor has to pay for the innovation that does work...

You can't use shaper bars on the X0 series sharpeners. They can be used only on machines that have Accepts Blackstone Shaping System in product description on Blackstone's site

Only in North America and Kiev, Ukraine to the best of my knowledge

http://blackstonesport.com/fbv_where.cfm

Should have stock CCM radius

Nah, not a bunch of Blackstone employees here. First of all, Blackstone Sports is not a big company with lots of employees. But you sure will find a lot of believers in Blackstone's Spinner, and especially FBV, here. That's different. When I was buying my professional machine, they wouldn't blackmouth the competition making it clear it's not their style. I also was told they take pride in customer service. It's been almost 2 yrs. now since I bought my Black sharpener. No problems with after sale customer service at all. Just had to ask a general question to be on the safe side (needed to tighten the belt on my professional Spinner). The Blackstone person was very quick to respond and he also followed up to make sure everything was OK). I'm an ex Dell employee. Dell trains ALL their employees 2-3 times per month to make sure you know the new products and give the best possible customer service. Of course, the human factor is involved here (work ethics and stuff). Trust me, Blackstone folks do fulfill your expectations and stay up to par w/ customer service. Before or after sale. And that's when I'm sure they're EXTREMELY busy with lots of things going on like their competition trying to infringe, promo campaigning, etc. PS: MInnesota is a great state

My fav FBV is 90/75. Tastes differ thoguh. Too many variables involved. Just got a couple of Step steel Velocity for custom One95s. Both long and short version. WIll post when done testing. Just FBV sharpened them.90/75. Both look great. Will see..

I found BFD had a lot more grip than FBV. There were times with FBV where I wasn't sure if my edges were going to grip or not. Here http://blackstonesport.com/technology.cfm they say When trying the FBV, a skater should understand that the feel on the first use will be different, but then after a few minutes of warm-up, the transition will be effortless and the advantages and speed of the FBV will be apparent quickly. My personal experience - this is very true.

Some interesting posts here reg. the FBV, Blademaster (they just got a new redisigned site), etc. According to one post even Wissota is shooting for their stand alone FBV type dressing system that is using Blackstone spinners

I asked my diamond company(diamonds is all they do). After examining a used one I sent them, they said they couldn't do it. if you find a place, please let us know. I am overseas in Ukraine now. The difference here would be that here they will say yes, we can do it, then take your money and do something that won't work. So my $ will be going to Blackstone for replacement spinners.

Does any one have any idea if diamond spinners could be refurbished after they're done?

When I was buying my Blackstone sharpener - I was a total novice. Knowing nothing or very little about skate sharpening makes buying decision very tough. Blackstone sure was not the only brand/company I was considering at the time. Per my experience with Blackstone folks - they're very professional, ethical , and patient (I'm embarrassed now how many e-mail exchanges I've had with them. Now I know how silly some of my questions were). Anyway, aside for patience and high professionalism, the Blackstone person didn't try to steer me towards spending more money and buying something I wouldn't need (i.e.they told me not to get the most expensive Scissors clamp)(I was getting a professional Spinner before teh FBV came out). The bottom line is: if they recommend it, get it. You won't regret the extra $100 by no means.