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colins

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Posts posted by colins

  2. Posted · Report reply

    On 12/9/2017 at 1:11 PM, IPv6Freely said:

    I just wanted to mention real quick - there is no such thing as ‘Kickstarter escrow’. When you back something on Kickstarter you aren’t buying a product, you are investing in an idea. Sometimes the product never happens and your money is gone. If they offer refunds, that’s their choice. They certainly aren’t required to.

    I just wanted to mention that because I often see comments on delayed projects that day things like “it’s been 6 months, I want my money back” from people who clearly don’t understand Kickstarter and it drives me bananas.

     

    That's a good point - and correct. Once Sparx hit their funding goal, there was no getting money back. Either they shipped product or flamed out. If they hadn't hit their funding goal, then nobody would have been charged the pledge amounts. I had forgotten that aspect of the Kickstarter model -so far Sparx is the only Kickstarter I've been part of.

     

    Thx,

    colins

    • Like 1

  3. Posted · Report reply

    On 12/7/2017 at 10:54 PM, marka said:

    In terms of volume of sharpening, Sparx seems to think 1600 sharpenings per year is fine for their home unit, so I think your assumptions on durability might be a little pessimistic.  They've also been out since what, 2015 I think?  So there are units out there with a lot of use on them and at least so far I havne't heard of wear / durability issues.  Again, I think you might be a bit pessimistic.


     

     

    Sparx first shipped units to Kickstart backers around April 2016.

    The Sparx guys are no dummies. They have done extensive testing of the product - to the point they even took the sharpener, put it in their Pelican carrying case, and dropped it like 200 times to see how durable the case was (https://youtu.be/j4eARLGSu3A).  They tested freezing the unit to see if it still operated fine (https://youtu.be/DJ6qq86mALA).

    I invested in the Kickstarter early because I wanted my own sharpener and I had some extra cash on hand. They stumbled on execution - they shipped months later than they had planned. There were constant excuses as to why the product was going to be later than they thought. For a while I was wondering if I was going to need to get my money back from Kickstarter escrow. But they did ship. And they obviously worked really hard to build a product they were very satisfied and proud of before they shipped. And for me, its been everything I hoped it would be. Four hockey players in my house (my wife recently started playing too!) and our two kids and myself haven't skated on a non-perfect set of edges since I got it. We're totally spoiled. The worse it gets now is when the boys have a 4 or 5 game road tournament out of province, and for that I sharpen their skates and their spare blades and they can swap them out if necessary.

    Anyone that wants to criticize the Sparx should consider whether they are talking from facts and hands on experience with the unit, or whether they are just using conjecture to throw out reasons why they think some other solution is better for certain scenarios. For anyone who sharpens 1600 pairs or less a year, so far I've seen zero evidence that the Sparx is anything but a really solid solution.

     

    colins

     

     

    • Like 2

  4. Posted · Report reply

    45 minutes ago, Playmakersedge said:

     

    As far as automatic sharpening machines, I don't get the appeal  . You can do a better job with a manual machine, lower operation costs.  And if you are mechanically inclined enough to change a toilet seat you have the capacity to learn how to do a decent job playing around with a pair of cheapo skates a few evenings.   

     

    I run my Sparx in my rec room. I don't so much as need to put my coat on to sharpen my boys skates as they are packing up their bags to go to practice. No manual machine I'm aware of can match that convenience.

    I don't have an unfinished area in my basement to deal with the mess that a manual machine creates. If I bought one it would have to be out in my garage. That's a major part of the appeal for me - I did consider an SPB850 like my buddy has, and I'd have no concerns about learning to operate it.

     

    colins

  6. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, Playmakersedge said:

    I stumbled on a video of the British guy who does hockey tutorial I think it was called.  He did a comparison between the sparx sharpener and the expensive automatic home sharpening machine.  My impression was both did equally good jobs.  The sparks sharpener had a short wheel life and the wheels are more money . I can't remember the average amount of sharpening per wheel exactly I think it was 40 for the sparx and 200 for the more expensive brand.   I think the sparx machine is going to have failures when it gets used beyond what it's designed to do is be a family sharpener.  That's no fault of the company. It may create warranty repair or replacement because the machine was used for a team or commercial use. They may have to make the machine more rugged and increase pricing to survive  

     

    Sparx has a commercial offering now with a beefed up motor for additional volume (>1600 sharpenings a year). Less than that and the consumer model is deemed sufficient. They also offer an extended warranty for repairs if you need that type of assurance. https://www.sparxhockey.com/pages/commercial-homepage

    Although the Sparx is skinned in plastic to make it visually look like a consumer product, it's shipping weight is just about 50 pounds. There's nothing flimsy or cheap feeling about it.

    A grinding ring lasts 320 cycles, which if you average 4 cycles per skate, equates to 40 pairs.

    colins

     

     

     

    • Like 1

  7. Posted · Edited by colins · Report reply

    7 hours ago, psulion22 said:

    Ya, I know I can.  But the seller had it and said they would send it, so why spend $40 on a ring?  That was on 11/16.

    I do have the tool.  So if you could give me the measurement I actually have a spare grinding ring I can use this time in a pinch.  Hopefully it will come tomorrow and it won't matter as I don't need to skate until Sunday.  The seller said they sent it last Wednesday (6 days after they said they would) and the unit took 8 days to get to me because the seller used the awful UPS Mail Innovations service which doubles the time because of the handoff.  So with Thanksgiving, and BF/CM volume, it could take longer to get to me this time.

     

    Ok, I sized up the alignment ring and a 1/2 sharpening ring. One flaw in this idea is that the offset of where the alignment ring hits the mating surface on the threaded holder is different than the offset of the grinding ring. They are not molded from the same form - the alignment ring is all metal. It appears to be the same height as a grinding ring, but the inner hub on it is shallower than on a grinding ring.

    So - I don't have any tools to accurately measure the difference. But by closely eyeballing it, I can say that the alignment groove on the alignment ring is going to correspond very very closely with the very end of the stone material on the grinding ring. So if you eyeball it in the magnifying tool, you need to be aligned to the boundary of the edge of the stone material and the black plastic on the grinding ring. If that's what you are seeing now, you are probably good. If not, I'd wait for the alignment ring to show up before sharpening your skates.

    colins

     

     

  8. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, psulion22 said:

    Is there any way to test the alignment of these machines without the alignment ring/tool?  (or without an edge checker for that matter)

    I bought one of these used for a great price, but the seller forgot to include the alignment ring.  It's supposed to be on its way, but it's been 8 days and still no show.  Plus they didn't install the travel brace when they shipped it.  I ran it on old steel and the edges seemed even and level.  I lost an edge in my last game, and it's really going to suck to have to pay $10 to have a sharpening when I have this machine sitting there.

     

    You can buy a replacement alignment ring here: https://www.sparxhockey.com/collections/sharpener-accessories/products/alignment-ring

    Do you have the tool - the magnifier piece? If so, maybe you could make a small mark on your grinding ring with a sharpie at the same offset of the alignment ring mark. That would get you close in a pinch. Still, there's no substitute for an edge checker, to really dial it in. You should really get one.

    I can measure my alignment ring when I get home tonight to tell you where to make the mark if you want.

     

    colins

  9. Posted · Report reply

    28 minutes ago, Skate Guru said:

     

    My post was a fair an honest review. This reply seems more like an attack against me personally or anyone with a differing opinion, filled with inaccuracies, and heavy duty on the sales pitch. I am a professional sharpener and an engineer. Buy one, don't buy one, it makes no difference to me. What I can tell you is that for MY pro shop the quality of the sharpening delivered by the sparx commercial unit I tested was poor.

     

     

     

    Unfortunately, you have created a credibility problem for yourself which is why there's this back and forth on your review. Readers know (or can find out) who Russ Layton is and what his credentials are. They are public here: https://www.sparxhockey.com/pages/team.

    But your identity is not clear. It seems you hadn't ever posted here before but showed up a few days ago to share an opinion for the first time. You say you're an engineer and a professional skate sharpener. But you also in the same breath you said the sparx edge checker is crap because the lines are too far apart. I needed to confirm you were speaking about the same edge checker I own because the one I have has lines close enough together to get a very accurate reading. So I couldn't make any sense of your comment. I have to question your credentials once you put out a nonsense statement like that. 

    FqR1UW3.jpg

     

    I hope you understand, its not personal. But when you make comments about a product and you don't have an existing reputation in the forum to be judged upon, you should expect to be challenged on the points that people can't make any sense of. 

    Sparx's business model is an obvious threat to some guys with >$10K investments in traditional Blademaster and Blackstone stations. That's fine, there's a time and place for both setups. But play fair - if you want to point out any shortcomings in the Sparx product, base it on facts instead of opinions that don't hold up under scrutiny. 

     

    colins (Hockey dad to two boys, rec hockey player and Sparx owner. I'm not an engineer. I do have a B.Sc in Computer Science. I'm not a professional skate sharpener. My edges are perfect, and I would put them up against anyone's).

    • Like 1

  11. Posted · Report reply

    6 hours ago, Skate Guru said:

    I did not take any pictures of the unit. Sorry. They show it on their website.

    By no means am I bashing sparx. This was an honest review. I sharpen over 3000 pairs a year and know my stuff. I have heard some good stuff about the home units.

    The clamp system is the same as the home unit. The skate stays stationary and the disk moves. I agree with you that once centered blade thickness should not matter. But since this one could not be perfectly centered diffeent blades come out better or worse. This is why I think the motor rail is not straight not the clamp. If the adjustment was free you could perfectly center it.

    The advantage to a traditional sharpener is that the blade is always 100% square and you adjust the skate to align with blade. Adjustments on skate holders are very fine. The sparx adjustment is not very fine.

    I think 2 to 3 clicks on the Alignment Adjustment is .001", as per Sparx documentation here: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0932/7770/files/Sparx_EdgeChecker_Instruction.pdf?8101190776335265406. That means 1 click is in the range of .0004"-.0005". How fine then is very fine? I've got the home unit, not the commercial one, but I used my edge checker to dial in my alignment so it's dead center consistently on the Step and Bauer steel I'm sharpening. I did find that polished CCM steel throws the edge checker off - my alignment was still fine, but the sidewall inconsistency of the polished CCM steel throws the checker off.

    As far as I know, Sparx has only one edge checker, and it's one of the nicer edge checkers on the market that I've seen. If there's a knock on it, maybe it's that it's over-built and more expensive than it needs to be. You described it as "The edge checker is crap. The lines are very far apart, and the general construction is not good." - are we talking about the same checker?

    IMG_7164.jpg?t=1508690516969&width=600&h

     

    colins

    • Like 1

  12. Posted · Edited by colins · Report reply

     

    If you don't need the adjustability of the Super Tacks girdle, the 7092 girdle is every bit as good, at $40 less. 

    There are two features I like better on the 7092, and 2 from the Super Tacks:

    Better on the Super Tacks:

    1. Padding on the back of the thigh is segmented, and thicker than on the 7092. Not a huge deal, but a chop or a puck to the back of the leg would be better on the Super Tacks.
    2. Adjustable thigh and hip pads, and spine protector. If you like to play around with the positioning of these pads, or if you're growing and want the girdle to grow with you - nice feature.

    Better on the 7092:

    1. The velcro across the front doesn't extend up over your belly like it does on the Super Tacks. Personal preference here, but I had to modify the Super Tacks to be like the 7092 because my son didn't like that extra padding in the front.
    2. No crotch/leg section. It's a pure wrap, the way the Super Tacks probably should be too. Find that a lot more comfortable. I had to cut the crotch/leg section out of the Super Tacks girdle as my son found it too restrictive.

     

    Both girdle's sizing runs small - if you are a medium in a pair of Nexus pants, I'd try on the Large CCM girdle.

     

    colins

    • Like 3

  13. Posted · Report reply

     

    My son's had some time in the Super Tacks girdle. And I've been comparing it to the NXG and Dynasty girdles which we also have.

    My summary after a month or so is... mixed. 

    Good:

    Kidney protection, fit around the kidneys, Lower back/spine protection, hip protection, light weight.

    Bad:

    The groin piece that makes it more of a 'pull on' instead of a wrap girdle, the thigh protection which seems to want to twist towards the outside leaving the inner thigh exposed, the high belly pad which sits a bit uncomfortable above the waist. Tailbone protection is also somewhat questionable.

    I've already taken the scissors to the girdle, trimming the belly pad above the velcro so that it's level with the velcro (and re-stitching the trim), and cutting out the groin leg/butt piece. So now it's a wrap girdle, and other than maybe some concern the tailbone pad could shifting upwards, it feels a lot less constricting and more mobile with that cut out.

    Overall it's at least as good as the Dynasty, but they are very different and have their own appealing features and drawbacks. The NXG is comfortable but I would still rate it less protective than either of the other two.

    One thing I would say about the Super Tacks girdle is that the sizing runs towards the small side. If you comfortably wear medium mens in a typical pant like the Nexus, the medium Super Tacks girdle might be too small for you. Part of my problem with the groin area of the girdle and the thigh pads shifting might be related to the sizing. My son is 5'10 175lbs, 32 waist, which depending on the height or the waist is at the top or bottom of the sizing guide (he's at max height, but minimum waist size). Really recommend trying these on in-store before purchase to confirm you get the best fit.

     

    colins

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

  14. Posted · Report reply

     

    Is it also a certified neckguard? All levels of minor hockey in Canada require the use of a neck guard - I would think trying to wear both is going to be a problem. I figured this would be the first question under the FAQ but it's not. According to the 'How to wear' section, laceration guards are supposed to be worn over top. Neck guards are uncomfortable at the best of times, let along being worn over top of something like this.

    I don't think there's a chance in hell this product sells unless it's proven to be a definitive concussion prevention device. What was Bauer thinking?

  15. Posted · Report reply

    39 minutes ago, JR Boucicaut said:

    Sharpened my wife's skates on the Sparx yesterday and found the result to be extremely odd. 

    She has SB Stainless steel on her skates (only sharpened one time and only skated on twice); the burr left on the skates was rough and didn't hone easily; the 240 grit honing stone and leather strop provided by Sparx (my spare honing stones are somewhere in this basement) wasn't removing it one bit.  Had to oil the stone and strop it several times to get rid of it.

    The other sets of steel (Bauer) that I've sharpened on it wasn't causing this.

    Anyone notice this on CCM steel?

     

    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

  16. Posted · Report reply

    30 minutes ago, MCornell said:

    Bauer HP girdle


    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

    • Like 1

  17. Posted · Report reply

    13 hours ago, Dman692420 said:

    I've had mine almost 1yr now & sharpen about 10 dif peoples skates, 1 of them being kid that was just skating last month at a ushl camp in Chicago. It's reliable, and an awesome sharpening! My only problem is the aligning ring can be tough to dial in with bad eye sight..

     

    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.

     

    C_-9zy2XoAA_xXz.jpg:large

     

     

    • Like 4

  19. Posted · Report reply

    19 hours ago, Snowman22 said:

    My LS3 is nearly brand new and I was using setting 4 in the beginning, and seems to work well with the new wheel.

    The whole goalie riser concept seems to be an unnecessary step after trying it.  If you put the risers on and then have to adjust to 7 or 8, you end up with the same contact point, which gets you the same deflection/pressure for the pass. 

    Just my $.02 after trying it. 

     

     

    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.

  22. Posted · Report reply

    3 hours ago, Snowman22 said:

    I didn't get any clear answers from Sparx, but I assume some kind of manufacture defect. 

    It's only seen Bauer LS3, Step Steel, and a few passes on some crappy CCM stuff. 

    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

  23. Posted · Report reply

    11 hours ago, Snowman22 said:

    I wish I was here to write a different review, but I'm not…

    For all of you who don't want to be bothered with the details…The machine seems like it has the potential to be everything it's advertised to be, but might not be worth the risk due to its cost. It leaves a great finish on the blade, it's square, and skates well.

    The customer service is subpar at best. They are responsive, but will not do anything beyond the black and white warranty process. So buyer beware, unless you can stomach throwing away the machine a day after the warranty expires in a year.

    Long story short, the wheel I received with the machine was defective and was completely wasted after using roughly 30% of its useful life in approximately 2weeks. Instead of just sending a new wheel out, I received a credit for $37.67.

    ~~~~~

    Now for some of the details on how I ended up where I am and why I'm so disappointed with the whole situation.

    I originally purchased the machine and the day I received it ended up on their website to look at accessories and found there was a new $100 off deal running. Considering I just purchased and received the machine, I thought they might honor the deal to a new purchase, no such luck. At the end of the day, I get it, it's a business, and I purchased it at the price I did, so water under the bridge at this point.

    Within the first few uses I felt the machine was making contact with too much pressure and causing a very slight chatter. Not visibly noticeable, but sounded a little strange. After contacting Sparx they offered to have the wheel sent back and a exchanged. I didn't feel the issue was truly a problem because visually it looked ok and skated fine. They instructed me to move the contact point down on the blade to lower the pressure which seemed to alleviate some pressure and make a smoother pass. In hindsight, I should have sent the wheel back day one. I just didn't want  to waste time and money shipping a good wheel, and didn't want to be without the brand new sharpener I just spent almost a thousand dollars on.

    Over the next two weeks I sharpened all 5 sets of my own steel, along with a few sets for people I skate with. I didn't count passes used but three lights were out when the wheel finally gave up completely. The vibration came back 5 times as bad as it was in the beginning and I knew something was not right. I ended up using a sharpie to mark an entire blade and the recommended passes, the results are one of the pictures attached, but as you can see it didn't cut the blade at all.

    Before I realized the wheel was not working out as intended I purchased two additional wheels, one backup to the original hollow and a new hollow to test. So at this point I'm well over a grand invested into this thing.

    After reaching out to Sparx I used the original return label to ship in the defective wheel for inspection, and to no surprise it was "Defective" This is when I was offered the pro-rated amount in an online credit. Does this approach meet the minimum documented warranty on the website, yes, but does it make me feel great about a company I just spent so much money with on a new product in the market, not at all.

    After receiving the additional wheels I purchased after the initial purchase it became obvious the original wheel was defective from the start. The new wheels leave an absolute perfect finish and the machine runs as smooth as you could imagine. It's frustrating because all the time before was wasted because I didn't have a baseline to compare to. Manufacturing/Mechanical defects are a part of life and are unavoidable.

    In the end, the issue at hand for me in this whole ordeal is the principle of it all. If I had had this machine for a long time, used a significant portion of the life of the wheel, the defect was marginal or questionable, had I ever had the machine actually ever working properly, I may understand the pro-rated return. I however never had the machine working properly in the beginning and ended up re sharpening 5 sets of steel because I don't know when it started to leave a bad edge.

    I digress….

    Picture Links, I couldn't get them to link properly with the insert function. 

    http://imgur.com/a/z52J3

    http://imgur.com/a/ieorg

    http://imgur.com/a/sQV6C

     

    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

  24. Posted · Report reply

    44 minutes ago, gogovs said:

    Today I received my Sparx edge checker and was shocked how my edges were uneven. I always thought I was getting a good sharpening. Is this that bad as it looks?20170522_194714_resized.jpg

     

    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

     

  25. Posted · Report reply

    46 minutes ago, Indo16 said:

    When I first switched to FBV I was skating on 5/8" ROH so I went with a 90/1. I've done well with it for the past year, but I think I want to try something with a little more bite. What is the difference in feel between a 95/75 and a 100/50? Chadd, I think you said you put most of your guys on 95/75. What is their range in size? I'm 5'10" and fluctuate between 170 and 176 lbs.  Nowhere near me does FBV, so I can't do a test run, and Blackstone's shipping cost or $150 minimum makes it pricey to try something I may not even like. And $68 is pretty pricey to begin with.

    Also, when switching between hollows (going from ROH to FBV or FBV to different FBV) how many total passes should I do to make sure I've completely changed it? I have an X-01.

     

    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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