Automatic Skate Sharpener

[monoclub 5]

In the summer I attended a coaches certification with the GTHL at a rink in Toronto. Beside the proshop in the rink was the Canadian Distributor of a Swedish Skate Sharpener. It sharpened skates automatically and comes in Shop and Personal models. I am interested in hearing of peoples experiences with this machine and also knowing what it is called and if there is a website link.

Thanks,

Geoff in Taiwan

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

http://www.prosharp.net/

[RadioGaGa 162]

JR...ever seen one in action? Looks pretty easy to use...is it as good as an experienced human sharpener?

Unless I missed it...What is the retail on that Skatepal unit? It says "perfect for families..." So, it can't be too outrageously priced, can it?.

[Havok19 0]

http://icecoolsports.com/catalog/index.php...facturers_id=45

from what i see its almost 2000$ US or so.

[RadioGaGa 162]

http://icecoolsports.com/catalog/index.php...facturers_id=45

from what i see its almost 2000$ US or so.

That's a little more than I expected...replacement parts look reasonable though.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

JR...ever seen one in action? Looks pretty easy to use...is it as good as an experienced human sharpener?

Unless I missed it...What is the retail on that Skatepal unit? It says "perfect for families..." So, it can't be too outrageously priced, can it?.

I did in Toronto and I did what I do to all non-human sharpeners...kept on walking away...

[Havok19 0]

I like the interaction i have with the guy who sharpen my skate.If i need something different i know he will help me out.The machine would only get a kick :P.

[oggy_3 0]

I remeber we had an autmatic skate sharpener at the rink, i think it was there for 5 -6 years and my whole time i saw it used mayb 4 times, dont trust them what happens if the machine screws up and destroys your blade, how would you be compinsated??

[Spreedizzle 1]

Is it merely a tension spring that holds the grinding wheel to the blade? If this is the case then I am guessing that it could handle all radii. So for a different radii and/or skate profiling...will it still work adequately?

[jimmy 194]

The Pro Sharp is NOT an automatic sharpener. Many confuse it with the coin-operated machines which have no human involvement. The only thing that is automatic is the stroke. The set up, dressing, wheel pressure, alignment, number of passes, etc, is still human controlled and operated. Despite what some old school "die hards" will say, the pro model ProSharps do a superior job sharpening skates. In fact better than most manual sharpeners. The Skatepal, which is the home version, however does not. The motor is too weak. For the $2000+ that it costs a home sharpener would be better off with a Wissota or other small portable.

[Jordan 13]

How does the Pro Sharp compare to the CAG One? Does onr have any advantages over the other?

[jimmy 194]

CAG makes two models, one doesn't sharpen skates well it is mainly used for profiling, the other does a good job sharpening skates, just like the Prosharp. CAG and Prosharp are basically the same company, an offshoot of Entronix/Ericson. Both are maintenance nightmares and when they break are very costly to repair. Picture the inside of your computer then couple that with the fan belt type like system on your car, throw in dusty dirty environment and metal shavings, you get the picture. Can't really say ones better than another, the CAG is faster but the Prosharp has more adjustment options. Both do great job sharpening skates. I owned a Dupliskate DSS-E1, one of the earlier versions of their current model and both of the previous mentioned Swede models are IMO better. I've seen the Cags and Prosharps at the trade shows, they do a great job. An experienced sharpener can ensure same quality sharpening on them as they do on a fully manual machine. But also an inexperienced sharpener can F up skates as well.

[lb33knight 0]

These type of machines are NOT to be used on high level figure skates. They can easily wreck a $500+ set of blades.

[RadioGaGa 162]

These type of machines are NOT to be used on high level figure skates. They can easily wreck a $500+ set of blades.

A question that I'm not sure has ever been asked (I won't bother with a new thread)...to all the experienced sharpeners here...how different a skill set is sharpening figure skates...? Do you guys do those as well...or is it a totally different process/machine than hockey skates?

[lb33knight 0]

The concept is the same although you have to be a little more careful. For general blades a Blademaster or similar machine can do a fine job however for your higher quality blades you really need a machine tailored just for the needs of figure skates. The blades can easily run up to over $600.00. If you think hockey players are picky about their $50 steel... There are 3 main areas on a figure skate blade that you have to be caeful with. First the toepick, for obvious reasons. You don't want to grind that away. The heel you want to keep the back of this straight and not round it off like on a hockey blade (hence the main reason why the Prosharp is not ideal for FS blades) and the all important NSZ (Non sharpening zone). This is the area right behind the toepick. Most table top machines like the Blademaster have an 8" wheel which will only get you in so far before you nick the bottom rake of the toe pick leaving about 1" of blade that is not sharpened and has no edge. There are machines that have much smaller wheels (3") so you can get much closer, at least 1/2" away from the pick or maybe even closer depending on the angle of the toe rake.

That's good enough for now. I could keep going....

[Jordan 13]

As a father that has both a hockey playing son and a competitive figure skating daughter I can tell you that the figure skaters are very careful about their blades. Not only do they avoid hockey shops like the plague, but there are like two guys in all of Toronto that the figure skaters trust to touch their skates.

One is a dedicated figure skating store. The other one is a guy that works out of an industrial unit, and all he does is figure skate blade mounting and sharpening...considered to be best around this city. He has figure skating clubs bring him dozens of pairs at a time from considerable distances.

[Chadd 916]

As a father that has both a hockey playing son and a competitive figure skating daughter I can tell you that the figure skaters are very careful about their blades. Not only do they avoid hockey shops like the plague, but there are like two guys in all of Toronto that the figure skaters trust to touch their skates.

One is a dedicated figure skating store. The other one is a guy that works out of an industrial unit, and all he does is figure skate blade mounting and sharpening...considered to be best around this city. He has figure skating clubs bring him dozens of pairs at a time from considerable distances.

To a degree, it's also a cult thing as well. The local figure club wouldn't even consider having us do any of their skate work because we were a hockey shop. One day a girl had an edge problem and was "forced" to bring her skates in to us. Within a month, I was doing 20-25 different girls skates because they said I did a better job than the guy who was a "specialist" and charged them $30 a shot. I was also very honest with them; I'm not a figure skater and I can't tell you what you should be using, but once I know what you have and what changes you want to make, I can do anything you want to them. That honesty hurt at first, but they soon realized that I was right about the rest.

[jimmy 194]

Chadd is spot on. Figure skate sharpening is not something mystical that only FS gurus can do. I as well have converted many FSers who before would only go to the so-called FS skating experts at $30 a pop. Any good sharpener can sharpen figure skates on just about any machine. All you have to do is be careful and patient. The problem is that most hockey shops hire young people to sharpen skates, whereas FS shops are a bit more serious.

I can do FS's on a Prosharp and do them correctly. It is a pain in the butt, wheel height has to be adjusted to avoid the areas lb33knight mentioned, but still it can be done. I wouldn't recommend that machine for high volume FS sharpening though.

[lb33knight 0]

Yes, that is quite true about the "cult" aspect. Also figures skaters are far more picky about their edges and for good reason. First, someone that doesn't know what they are doing, or have the proper machine, can severely damage their blades. And as I said before, they ain't cheap. Also if you fall down on the ice during a game, no big deal. You pads cushion the fall and you get up and keep skating. If a figure skater goes down, it hurts since they don't have much padding, if any, at all. Plus during a competition they get judged on their performance so surely you can understand why falling might not be loads of fun. When they jump, they do so at great speed. When they land they come down on one foot and only one small part of that one edge is what helps them stick their landing. So if their edges are spot on...

[Jordan 13]

The problem is that most hockey shops hire young people to sharpen skates, whereas FS shops are a bit more serious.

Exactly. I have no doubt that some of the guys here could do a good job. I was more pointing out that these girls are extremely picky. I do understand though that they do execute very precise movements that require very consistent edges from one sharpening to another; and to your point above, that is the problem when there are several sharpeners.

Also, I do believe that a botched profile on figure skate blades is trickier to repair due to the toe picks needing to remain at the same relative height from the ice.

[Ivan 1]

JR...ever seen one in action? Looks pretty easy to use...is it as good as an experienced human sharpener?

Unless I missed it...What is the retail on that Skatepal unit? It says "perfect for families..." So, it can't be too outrageously priced, can it?.

I did in Toronto and I did what I do to all non-human sharpeners...kept on walking away...

I just got back from a business trip to Moscow. Did some checking on LHSs down there. The ones I visited use Prosharp AS2001. I had to shop for a skate sharpener some time ago. Being a novice back then, I considered Prosharp too amongst my other choices - Blackstone and Blademaster.

I own a Blackstone turbo spinner now.

Well, this is the first time I saw Prosharp in action and its sharpening results. There is no way to do things on this machine like what you can do on a Blackstone spinner. The finish in both stores I visited left to be desired. I am so glad I didn't buy the Prosharp.

Wish their sales staff lurked to MSH for skates fitting and other things too. They know very little.

[skatedoctor 0]

I Originally had a cagone profiler machine, but was taking far to long to do the volume of skates i had coming in, and had to keep 'grouping' skates together on thier blade thickness, as it had to be keep getting adjusted.

I moved to a blademaster portable in which im still using to this day!

I've been recently looking at a new machine, but is undecided again in what to go for, i need a machine to do custom profiling, been looking at the spinner system with the fbv and also shaper system. Been looking at the prosharp as2001 machine also, and ive been looking at the incredible edger machine for figure skates.

I recently done a pair of figure skates for a coach, and since then ive had a influx of figures coming through the shop, since i'm a small 'hockey' based sharpener, like people have mentioned figure skaters are a bit reluctant to see what gives from a hockey sharpener but since i've done them word is quickly spreading that i do a quality job.

Been based in the uk is always a problem to get hold of parts/accessories for machines so we are kind of restricted to certain machines that can be used!

[dumbpolak9 1]

i got mine done at play it again sports in nj HORRIBLE the edge wore off with in 10 mins on the ice.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

As a father that has both a hockey playing son and a competitive figure skating daughter I can tell you that the figure skaters are very careful about their blades. Not only do they avoid hockey shops like the plague, but there are like two guys in all of Toronto that the figure skaters trust to touch their skates.

One is a dedicated figure skating store. The other one is a guy that works out of an industrial unit, and all he does is figure skate blade mounting and sharpening...considered to be best around this city. He has figure skating clubs bring him dozens of pairs at a time from considerable distances.

I spent an hour with the guy at the "dedicated shop" in toronto and he ran over all of things mentioned. That being said this raises an issue I had forgotten to go over and will be including this in our training. Its very important to make sure the job is done right. That shop does a great business but are also easy to get a long with and are very helpful.