Advice on a home portable sharpener

[ejj 0]

I've never sharpened a pair of skates in my life. However, I have a real desire to pick up a sharpener for home use for my skates and my skates only. I skate often enough that I would sharpen at least twice a week, and would easily recover the investment of the machine in a few years. I have a great attention to detail, and a few pairs of old skates that I can practice on. In the past week I've been researching home sharpeners and am debating between the Wissota 911 and the Blackstone X01.

Never having used a sharpener, I'm not sure what a better machine for me would be. Here's what I consider to be the pro's and con's of each:

Blackstone X01

Pro's:

- Spinner would allow easy, almost idiot-proof dressing.

- Ability to have a FBV sharpening

Con's:

- Spinners are costly for 1 person, so I wouldn't have a large variety of hollows at my disposial like with a classic diamond dresser.

- The 4" wheel seems like you'd go through wheels quickly

- No wheel options (not sure if that matters). Only one listed as availabe from Blackstone.

Wissota 911

Pro's:

- Any radial hollow between 1/4" and 1-1/4". Because I only ref, going from rink to rink, I could easily adjust for ice type.

Con's:

- No FBV option

- More of a learning curve with the classic dresser.

Currently, I'm skating on new blades with a 90/50 FBV sharpening. I like it, but don't notice the dramatic difference that others have observed. I believe this is because I skate on a shallow hollow (3/4" - 1") normally, and usually have plenty of glide and bite as is.

So, right now the decision in my mind is the question of do I want FBV ability, or complete radial hollow capability. That issue aside, is there a argument to be made for one machine over the other based on quality, components, ease of use, etc?

The Blackstone looks like it has a basic dust collection system and vaccum hookup on it...does it work well enough to not need addition dust/spark collection? Right now, I'm assuming I'd have to buy (Wissota) or build some type of duct-work/shop-vac system.

Thanks!

[Chadd 916]

Having owned a Wissota and an X02, it isn't even close.

Even if you go with a non-FBV spinner, and I wouldn't, the X series is much easier to dress and the holder is infinitely better than the Wissota. The spinner wastes much less wheel when dressing, it will likely last longer than the Wissota and put on a better finish to boot. I usually skate on anything from 5/8 to 1" depending on the ice conditions and I do find it odd that you aren't feeling a difference with the FBV. I'm guessing it has a lot to do with the different type of skating done by refs, you can't skate an entire game the same way a player does. Before you jump on me for saying that, I've been a ref for the last ten years.

[ejj 0]

Having owned a Wissota and an X02, it isn't even close.

Even if you go with a non-FBV spinner, and I wouldn't, the X series is much easier to dress and the holder is infinitely better than the Wissota. The spinner wastes much less wheel when dressing, it will likely last longer than the Wissota and put on a better finish to boot. I usually skate on anything from 5/8 to 1" depending on the ice conditions and I do find it odd that you aren't feeling a difference with the FBV. I'm guessing it has a lot to do with the different type of skating done by refs, you can't skate an entire game the same way a player does. Before you jump on me for saying that, I've been a ref for the last ten years.

Thanks, that's the kind of feedback I'm looking for. Do you think the X01 would compare as well as the X02? I think the X02 is overkill for just a single pair of skates once or twice a week.

Can you elaborate on why the Blackstone holder is better? Never having used one, I wouldn't know.

I'm going to have a traditional sharpening done next, so maybe the difference will be more apparent after that. Ref's clearly skate differently than players, so that may very well be the reason I haven't noticed a difference. I don't do a lot of hard cuts...just turns that are aimed at maintaining speed/energy, and stops. I get plenty of bite for stopping with traditional sharpenings.

[Hockeyman11385 1]

Disclaimer: I have never reffed seriously.

However, I would think that refs would love the FBV because you can glide with so much less energy expended. From observing refs for the past 15 years or so, there seems to be a lot of gliding when you ref. ejj, having read your post from the Blackstone/FBV thread, I am not terribly surprised that you don't feel a huge difference with the FBV because you already skate on a pretty shallow hollow. The people who seem to notice it the most are those who skate on a deeper hollow (3/8 - 1/2).

Based on the ability to do the FBV, I would definitely vote for the Blackstone.

[Ivan 1]

Benefits of Blackstone's spinner outweigh Wissota's capabilities big time. Look in the long run even if extra cost for optional spinner dressers seems to be an issue.

[Chadd 916]

Having owned a Wissota and an X02, it isn't even close.

Even if you go with a non-FBV spinner, and I wouldn't, the X series is much easier to dress and the holder is infinitely better than the Wissota. The spinner wastes much less wheel when dressing, it will likely last longer than the Wissota and put on a better finish to boot. I usually skate on anything from 5/8 to 1" depending on the ice conditions and I do find it odd that you aren't feeling a difference with the FBV. I'm guessing it has a lot to do with the different type of skating done by refs, you can't skate an entire game the same way a player does. Before you jump on me for saying that, I've been a ref for the last ten years.

Thanks, that's the kind of feedback I'm looking for. Do you think the X01 would compare as well as the X02? I think the X02 is overkill for just a single pair of skates once or twice a week.

Can you elaborate on why the Blackstone holder is better? Never having used one, I wouldn't know.

I'm going to have a traditional sharpening done next, so maybe the difference will be more apparent after that. Ref's clearly skate differently than players, so that may very well be the reason I haven't noticed a difference. I don't do a lot of hard cuts...just turns that are aimed at maintaining speed/energy, and stops. I get plenty of bite for stopping with traditional sharpenings.

X02 would be overkill, not that overkill is a bad thing around here... ;)

Warning, slightly off topic rambling:

There are three major facets to sharpening skates as I see it.

1. Dressing the wheel - The Spinner system makes this painfully easy

2. Aligning the steel to the wheel - The more adjustment options you have, the easier it is

3. The pass itself - As dependent on talent as equipment

The Blackstone holder is much more adjustable and is much easier to align with the wheel than the Wissota holder. You can get good sharpenings with a wissota but it takes a lot more practice and effort. Personally I want the machine that is going to make it as easy as possible to produce the best results. The fact that it is significantly easier makes it a clear choice for me, even if you ignore the FBV.

I would also suggest you try the 90/75 hollow with the FBV. There you will feel the added bite on stops and turns but keep the glide that you are used to. As the overall sharpening equivalent gets more shallow you will see less difference between bite and glide with the FBV as opposed to a "normal" sharpening.

[TBLfan 25]

I'd personally go with the Blackstone simply because FBV is the future of sharpening. After switching to FBV, I won't go back to a regular hollow. It seems that we're comparing a VHS player to a DVD player.

[ejj 0]

Having owned a Wissota and an X02, it isn't even close.

Even if you go with a non-FBV spinner, and I wouldn't, the X series is much easier to dress and the holder is infinitely better than the Wissota. The spinner wastes much less wheel when dressing, it will likely last longer than the Wissota and put on a better finish to boot. I usually skate on anything from 5/8 to 1" depending on the ice conditions and I do find it odd that you aren't feeling a difference with the FBV. I'm guessing it has a lot to do with the different type of skating done by refs, you can't skate an entire game the same way a player does. Before you jump on me for saying that, I've been a ref for the last ten years.

Thanks, that's the kind of feedback I'm looking for. Do you think the X01 would compare as well as the X02? I think the X02 is overkill for just a single pair of skates once or twice a week.

Can you elaborate on why the Blackstone holder is better? Never having used one, I wouldn't know.

I'm going to have a traditional sharpening done next, so maybe the difference will be more apparent after that. Ref's clearly skate differently than players, so that may very well be the reason I haven't noticed a difference. I don't do a lot of hard cuts...just turns that are aimed at maintaining speed/energy, and stops. I get plenty of bite for stopping with traditional sharpenings.

X02 would be overkill, not that overkill is a bad thing around here... ;)

Warning, slightly off topic rambling:

There are three major facets to sharpening skates as I see it.

1. Dressing the wheel - The Spinner system makes this painfully easy

2. Aligning the steel to the wheel - The more adjustment options you have, the easier it is

3. The pass itself - As dependent on talent as equipment

The Blackstone holder is much more adjustable and is much easier to align with the wheel than the Wissota holder. You can get good sharpenings with a wissota but it takes a lot more practice and effort. Personally I want the machine that is going to make it as easy as possible to produce the best results. The fact that it is significantly easier makes it a clear choice for me, even if you ignore the FBV.

Thanks, that's what I was wondering. I had though at this price point that a holder is a holder, etc. That makes sense.

I would also suggest you try the 90/75 hollow with the FBV. There you will feel the added bite on stops and turns but keep the glide that you are used to. As the overall sharpening equivalent gets more shallow you will see less difference between bite and glide with the FBV as opposed to a "normal" sharpening.

I'm not a fan of bite. :) I'm happy with the way the 90/50 skates, I just haven't noticed a dramatic difference to-date.

Again, thanks.

[jimmy 194]

As one who had a Wissota and who had used it regularly for personal use, it is the perfect machine for the home sharpener. There is nothing wrong with the holder, it is fully adjustable to align the skate for a perfect sharpening. I can get same results on a $800 Wissota, or a $10,000 professional. The big difference is the Wissota is a home, very small volume sharpener. If you use it for that only, it will serve you well. If you want to do teammates, goalies, run a side business, then look for something else. A Wissota with a high quality stone, good diamond, and good technique by the sharpener can produce excellent results.

I haven't seen the new Blackstone X series portables, but feature wise they are a definite improvement over a Wissota. They are also twice the cost. Worth it, yes. The Spinner is a big dressing breakthrough and the FBV is awesome if you need that option. I'm sure the X portable produces excellent results, just like the Wissota. So, for the OP, you'll need to decide what you want to do with the machine (just sharpen your skates for reffing) and pick the machine you feel meets your needs. IMO, whatever of those machines you select, you'll have made a good choice.

[Hoser 0]

Have you considered an Ez-sharp? I know a few owners of Ez sharps and they have nothing but positive comments about them.

[Chadd 916]

As one who had a Wissota and who had used it regularly for personal use, it is the perfect machine for the home sharpener. There is nothing wrong with the holder, it is fully adjustable to align the skate for a perfect sharpening.

The holder is not as easily adjustable as the blackstone holder. I have owned both over the last few years. Can you put a good edge on with a Wissota? Absolutley, but it is easier with the blackstone.

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

The Blackstone X01 is $100 more than the Wissota.

[ejj 0]

I'm pretty well set on going the X01 route at this point.

What do you guys recommend for a edge checker? The "Bat Gauge" that Blackstone sells, or the Blademaster pro-square type? (Or, something completely different). Can any of these be used with the skate in the Blackstone holder? In the Blackstone training video, they always show the checking of edge level being done outside of the holder, which I suppose is OK if you're sure that the skate end up in the holder in the same position. Is that a reasonable assumption?

[Chadd 916]

Batgauge can be used in the holder