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Everything posted by colins
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I was sharpening SB Stainless on my son's Jetspeeds when I first got my Sparx. I didn't have the burr issue, but I was annoyed that the SB Stainless measured very different front to back and back to front on the edge checker. Sidewall thickness consistency seems poor on these blades, or at least the two pairs I had (I had a backup set as well). I've since switched to StepSteel and haven't seen any issues since. colins
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I've been girdle shopping recently (I've got two sons both in girdles - one wearing a Bauer TotalOne NXG and the other a Warrior Dynasty that need to be replaced) and wasn't impressed with Bauer's S190 girdle. It looks a lot like the HP Pro on TotalHockey's site. Not enough protection for my liking - compared to the NXG girdle my son was wearing previously it seems like a downgrade particularly in the kidney protection area. Based on Internet info I thought I was going to be leaning towards CCM's 7092, but I had a closer look at the Super Tacks girdle in the store and it's lighter and less bulky than I was assuming it might be. It seems to offer more protection than the others. They didn't have my son's size in stock so I'm waiting on a medium to ship in and will be comparing it in detail with the NXG and Dynasty once I get it. colins
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Yeah - I thought I had mine dialed in pretty good with the alignment ring, but when testing with the Edge Checker I was still off by about 1 tick mark. I'd recommend anyone with a Sparx to get a good Edge Checker, and use the instructions Sparx provides with theirs to really dial in your alignment so that you know you are getting perfect edges every time.
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Just as another data point - I've been using mine since July 2016 and have not encountered any durability issues. I'm on my 4th grinding ring.
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It's certainly not necessary, I just use them to reduce the pressure so I don't get stalling and still hit as high up as possible on the heel and toe. At the moment I prefer keeping my height adjustment fixed at 7 instead of playing with it for each pair I'm sharpening. I typically only sharpen 3 pairs in my house, and this approach with the risers is more convenient to me for taking care of my Step and LS3 steel.
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What was your height setting on the orange height adjustment dial?
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Mine was Kickstarter and had them. Check your accessories - they look like this:
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I always use the goalie risers (the orange plastic pieces) when sharpening new LS3/4 and Step Steel on my Sparx. Since those blades are taller than most steel, I find the ring has a bit too much pressure on the blade unless you use the risers, or raise the skates up higher in the clamp (taking the weight off the holders - this is tricky because it's harder to level then). I still put the height adjuster at 6 or 7 to hit high up on the radius - the risers work great for tall steel in general not just goalie steel. colins
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Any theory on what caused the abrasive coating to strip off the wheel so quick? Was it a manufacturing defect I wonder, or did the wheel come in contact with a set of steel it didn't like? Sounds like you got off to a rough start which always sucks with a new product. I'm on my 4th wheel now, and so far so good - haven't run into anything like that yet. colins
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Well, I've seen much worse. One line off is probably not noticeable, you're at about a line and a half. A few clicks should get you dialed right in - just follow the instructions that came with the edge checker. colins
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Have you tried the Sharpie test? You can use a Sharpie to blacken the hollow, and then do as many passes necessary to completely remove the marker from the blade.
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I received the email on Jan. 29th. It was only for X-Grind ring customers: Replacement Filter Offer for Existing X-Grind Ring Customers For those customers who had previously purchased a X-grind ring, we extended to them an offer for a free filter as a courtesy and reminder of the importance of Removing and Emptying the Dust Tray and Changing the Air Filter. (If you had not previously purchased a X-grind ring, you were not on this list… we love all of our customers but this offer is limited to this select group). colins
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I think Sparx has shipped over 3000 units now. If you look at the volume of questions/issues on their online forum, as a percentage of users it has to be some very low number. Imagine 3000 Blademasters or Blackstones going out, the majority to folks who've never sharpened a pair of skates before...
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You are well covered with that result kadayo. colins
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I don't have a xgrind ring, but after about 7 or 8 passes it was pretty respectable: These were inexpensive skates just being used for some outdoor casual family skating. Still though, I don't know if you could trust turning or changing direction at all on those edges as they came out of the Canadian Tire sharpening. colins
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Sharpened these blades last night. Worst I've seen so far. These were apparently done on a DupliSkate machine at a local Canadian Tire store. I don't blame the machine, obviously there must be some adjustments on it the kids who operate it aren't familiar with or just don't care about. Here's what they looked like when I got them. I also learned that the Sparx is compatible with Disney skates. Ground breaking... colins
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Yes, and some higher quality steel like polished CCM Hyperglide and Speedblade Black will exhibit the same issue - sidewall inconsistencies in the steel/coating will throw off the Sparx edge checker (and any edge checker that relies on a good flat sidewall in order to establish a 90 degree angle between the sidewall and edges to measure against). I know they point this out in the manual/instructions for the edge checker, but who reads those?? :-) Great feeling though when you get those edges dialed in to measure bang-on the line heel to toe and toe to heel isn't it? Everyone who has a machine should have an edge checker of some type that they trust so you're not just relying on the calibration tool that comes with the Sparx to get it 'close enough'. colins
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From an older post in another thread: Interesting that back in 2009/2010, 13 players (leaving out goalies) were on 1/2 or deeper. Fast forward to this year, and only 4 remain with that much bite or more. It's seems like the EQM default shifted from 1/2 to 5/8ths for the players that 'don't care'. What's the 'SS' mean on the current year chart after 'LS3' on Kunitz and Coles blades? Step Steel maybe? Or do they have a Stainless Steel coating on their LS3? colins
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lol! I'll try the next best thing - let's see if the Oilers twitter account will reply if I ask them. I can't find any of their EQM's on twitter - Jeff Lang, Brad Harrison and Shane Olmstead. colins
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At the retail level (I don't work retail, but I speak to a lot of hockey parents who take their kids skates to get sharpened ) I would suspect it's the opposite - lots of consumers have no idea there's even a choice, and they just want "sharp edges" which usually gets them 1/2" or 5/8" depending on the shop. I think McDavid would be an elite player on any ROH, with any flex stick and any curve. But I don't think any of the top of the top of the elite players in the league fit into the category you describe w.r.t not knowing what hollow they are staking on. Maybe 3rd & 4th line players in the AHL, but you don't become elite by not having attention to detail. McDavid likely has a preference for hollow, and the question is (and remains), what is it? colins
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Yes, I agree with everything you said here. We're speaking crossover to stride ratio w.r.t speed in the context of the offensive side of the game of hockey - which as you point it is all about seeking/attacking open ice and pressuring defenders to change direction. Skaters that rely on deep knee bend wide extension (like Taylor Hall for example) have incredible straight away speed which works really well when they have clear open lanes. But that is rarely the situation for forwards in a 60 min game of pro level hockey. In the Robby Glantz breakdown video I think Eichel runs out of room once the defender Sekera closes the gap on him. If he takes another stride his skates are going to hit Sekera's skates and his rush will be over - so he spins to keep the play alive. McDavid usually can keep striding at very high speed even as the gap closes because his stride (especially during crossovers) is realtively short and he'll crossover in tight space to increase the gap without any hesitation (head, hands or feet). Grabner as you mention is another interesting case - I haven't watched him nearly enough to have a full understanding, but it seems to me his secret sauce is his stride frequency. He just seems to return his extended leg under his body quicker than most skaters can. McDavid's technique (and I think Bure was similar) allows them to maintain top speed while continually seeking/creating new space. For the game as it's played today, I would suggest this is the most useful type of speed/techique to have in your toolkit. Few can do it like McDavid can. Kids today should be learning this from an early age - a lot of traditional 'power skating' I've seen while my kids have grown up in the game don't have nearly enough emphasis in this area. Great discussion - all the best, colins colins
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McDavid and Eichel are very different skaters at a technical level. They are both elite, but the manner in which they achieve their elite status is very different. There are many shades of gray in between. Coffey was a treat to watch and I still like looking at video of the way he skated. Robby Glantz does an excellent breakdown of Eichel and McDavid here: colins
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Do I think Connor McDavid could skate the way he does on both a 1/2" OR a 1" ROH if we had two pairs of his skates and asked the EQM to swap them between shifts? Yes, I do. Do I think Connor McDavid cares what specific hollow he has on his skates when it's game day? Yes, I do. It is a big factor in that every player only has ultimate trust and confidence when they have things set the particular way they want them. That's true at the beer league level, and even more so at the pro level. So back to the original question - what's McDavid's preference w.r.t. skate hollow? We're still waiting for that answer. If you read stories on Coffey and what he used to ask Barry Stafford for, it's evident some of the greatest skaters in the history of the game were constantly looking for improvements to what we'd assume was an already perfect situation. Coffey, Bure, McDavid - they all share something in common with the way they moved their feet - they rarely took more than a couple strides before utilizing a crossover. Today's best skaters are the ones with a high crossover to stride ratio. Coffey did it on a 1" ROH http://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/the-nhls-best-players-pushed-stafford-the-hardest-the-oilers-way-pt-4 colins
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Pros skate a hundred different ways. I still find this analysis interesting. ROH is a factor - but just like stick flex and stick length, there's no single answer to the question of what's "best".
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I don't know, and can't find it published anywhere, but I'm guessing he's on 1/2" or deeper. Reason being is that his speed is all driven by crossovers. I'm assuming to get the force he does on both inside and outside edges when crossing over he's more interested in bite than glide. colins