ricepow

Agree with the edge checker and rubber stone if you're doing DLC coated runners. I'd also get the blade holder.

Yeah, I understand that. I don't necessarily think its intentional. However, I was very clear prior to my purchase by asking those questions prior to purchasing. If the product that arrived isn't what the seller portrayed to be, I believe that is the seller's fault, not the buyer's.

So if the listing shows as Pro Stock CCM FT4 Pro sticks and you specifically ask the seller if these are "Chinese knock offs or different sticks dressed as FT4 Pro", then these show up, what would you think about that? I specifically asked that question prior to purchasing and the listing says nothing of them being something other than Pro Stock CCM FT4 Pro sticks. He has other listings where he states the sticks are dressed as something other than what they are. So he obviously has some knowledge of how to tell that.

What is the Team badging you're referring to? He sells several sticks, some that he indicates are sticks that are dressed as something other than what they are, so he seems to know how to tell if the sticks he is selling are what they are dressed at or not.

Well, the guy has a 98.7% rating with 425 feedbacks and has been selling on SLS since 2018. He also had quite a few sticks for sale, with several that were listed as sticks that were dressed as something other than what they appeared to be (these were not listed as that). I felt it looked like he was being transparent when he was selling a stick that was something other than what it appeared and figured if he had been doing people dirty he wouldn't have been able to maintain an account with them that long. So with all of that, he appeared to be a reputable seller. I also asked prior to the purchase if these were legit FT4 Pro sticks and not China knock offs or sticks dressed different than what they truly were. He still insists these are legit sticks that he acquires from pro teams.

Does this help solve the puzzle any better? This sticker was on both of mine. https://ibb.co/hB13YPX

The seller I purchased from is PSHGMT.

Well that sucks. What, if anything, are you planning to do?

Picked up a couple of these same sticks on SS also, likely from the same seller, as my codes are the same.

Can you guys recommend a reputable place in the US to send runners in for ProSharp profiling? Thanks.

I think the info inside the package is just a bit misleading. It warns that the steel has a sharp edge. Easily confusing as sharpened, it got me for a minute too on the set I just picked up last week.

Ended up grabbing what looks to be his last set of 280. Thanks for sharing the info.

Pretty fond of my Gladiator. It's one of the mail order custom ones. Fit and comfort are excellent.

Sounds like this is a good opportunity for Warrior. Pretty sure the pro stocks I have say they are made in Mexico. Lol.

Lol. Yeah, this kinda went off the tracks. At any rate, even with all the back and forth banter, as a relatively new Sparx owner I was able to take some information from this post that was helpful. The multiple people which have vouched for 1-2 passes being sufficient every few hours of ice time will surely save me money over time, so it was worth sifting through everything else for that. Several years back I purchased a Blackstone X01 and roughly learned on my own how to sharpen skates. Even once I did I found myself spending much more on spinners and grinding wheels as it required more work for me to get an even finish and even edges and I imagine my pressure application wasnt the most even, changing the shape of the steel over time. For the common person willing to drop the coin the Sparx machine is great. The simplicity, consistency, and convenience for me makes it worth every penny.

I have a set and liked how light they were initially. I'm 5'11" and floating around 200-205. I felt the need to pull the front down frequently. Maybe because I dont have a beach body. Lol. I disliked the neoprene bicept cuff. I prefer a traditional velcro one. I just picked up a set of CCM Tacks 9060 shoulder pads and found them to be a better fit for me personally. If you're interested I'm looking to sell the STX shoulders.

Just received an email with a coupon code for $100 off. That just pushed me over the edge. Machine ordered. "SPARXSUMMER100" for anyone else interested.

Interesting read. I never would have thought there was such a difference.

I did the same thing. I just waited til I needed more wheels and a new spinner. Then I ordered a whole bunch of stuff. Haha.

Garage. Nothing special on mine. I zip tied a small plastic bag to the exhaust tube that catches most the junk that comes out.

Interesting. I'll have to give that a try.

I have it and have used it. Honestly, if you are going to pick up a couple other items from them and want to give it a try, go for it, but I wouldnt't make a special order for it (and pay that shipping) and would suggest getting only one bottle to try. In my experience it does make the surface slightly slicker, more important is keeping the surface clean from dust from the sharpening and keeping the felt on the bottom of your holder clean of that debris as well. I think I have applied it once in the last year.

Today I also took a little tension off that wavy washer. I just left it on the screw and pressed it slightly in a vise, worked out fine and definately helped in getting a cleaner finish. Less lines and smoother finish for sure. Thanks for the idea to those who suggested it.

lol Just called them. Initially I was told they have never heard of this issue and the person I spoke with would talk to some of the other guys there and call me back. Shortly after that I received a call back and was told this was normal and it happens on all of their machines, even the larger ones. I'm not sure this should be normal, but ok. I guess if I was having issues sharpening the skates I would worry more but Im not. No regrets on this machine at all.

Ill try giving them a call. Ive tried to reposition the wheel but there is pretty much no play to work with. Like you said, maybe if enough of us complain about it something will get done. Ill do my part. Thanks for the suggestion.