Sparx Skate Sharpener - At home sharpener

[gogovs 10]

On ‎6‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 10:56 AM, stevebalchunas said:

I've only heard good things about them, must have caught them on a bad day. Either way, I'm sure it will be amazing to now control the whole process yourself :). Please report back with any questions or shoot me a note at steve@sparxhockey.com if you need anything at all.  

That is exactly why I didn't mind paying the premium for their services, but as you said, possibly caught them on a bad day. I pulled the trigger last night and impatiently waiting for the sharpener.

[gogovs 10]

Got my Sparx sharpener on Tuesday. I was testing today on my old pair of skates. Looks good to me! Great product Sparx!

[vinprun71 61]

Perfect cut! Looks nice.

[stevebalchunas 32]

On 6/30/2017 at 8:22 PM, gogovs said:

Got my Sparx sharpener on Tuesday. I was testing today on my old pair of skates. Looks good to me! Great product Sparx!

You're a skate sharpening master! In only a weeks time. Nicely done. 

The naysayers out there might try and tell you there's a lot more to skate sharpening than a smooth surface finish and sharp/level edges... but I think you're well on your way :)

[gogovs 10]

I should have waited few days as they are running a promo code for this week for $100 off (OneYear100).

 

[gogovs 10]

On ‎7‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 8:30 PM, stevebalchunas said:

You're a skate sharpening master! In only a weeks time. Nicely done. 

The naysayers out there might try and tell you there's a lot more to skate sharpening than a smooth surface finish and sharp/level edges... but I think you're well on your way :)

As a complete rookie in sharpening I realized that good deburring is very important aspect of the whole process.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

47 minutes ago, gogovs said:

I should have waited few days as they are running a promo code for this week for $100 off (OneYear100).

 

Contact them!

[dabeechman 0]

I have had my Sparx for 7 months now and do the skates for my entire silver level team. Every one of them said it's the best cut they have ever had.

[vinprun71 61]

Hope they're chipping in for the wheels. I'm sure you're blowing through them.

[gogovs 10]

On ‎7‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 9:29 PM, IPv6Freely said:

Contact them!

I contacted them 2 days ago but they are not replying to my message. I also purchased 2 gift cards 6 days ago and still didn't receive them. It shows in my past orders they were paid but unfulfilled. Not sure if this is a system glitch or they took the whole 4th of July week off.

[gogovs 10]

On ‎7‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 9:29 PM, IPv6Freely said:

Contact them!

No Bueno. They are not able to honor promotions on orders that have previously shipped.

 

[DarkStar50 679]

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

On 7/3/2017 at 9:30 PM, stevebalchunas said:

You're a skate sharpening master! In only a weeks time. Nicely done. 

The naysayers out there might try and tell you there's a lot more to skate sharpening than a smooth surface finish and sharp/level edges... but I think you're well on your way :)

Steve -

Please don't insult the techs who have busted their asses to hone their skillset over time yet have the stamina to do it on a consistent basis.  While over the past year, it's been established that is a place for your machine in this industry - from what I've heard from people, it does a good job - I suspect you wouldn't toss this quote up if you were still working on the other side.

[stevebalchunas 32]

12 hours ago, JR Boucicaut said:

Steve -

Please don't insult the techs who have busted their asses to hone their skillset over time yet have the stamina to do it on a consistent basis.  While over the past year, it's been established that is a place for your machine in this industry - from what I've heard from people, it does a good job - I suspect you wouldn't toss this quote up if you were still working on the other side.

Sorry, JR. No harm meant, just heading off those chirpers. I, in no way, meant to insult every skate sharpener who does honest work.

I know if I were on the other side I'd inevitably have to/want to give Sparx a fair trial. That's all. 

[stevebalchunas 32]

On 7/6/2017 at 10:32 AM, gogovs said:

I contacted them 2 days ago but they are not replying to my message. I also purchased 2 gift cards 6 days ago and still didn't receive them. It shows in my past orders they were paid but unfulfilled. Not sure if this is a system glitch or they took the whole 4th of July week off.

I did take most of the week off and customer service was off Sat-Tuesday, sorry about that. We do run a pretty lean operation. 

Gift cards are digital, sorry if we (I) do not make that clear enough, I even made the picture look like a real card. Looking back, that actually makes zero sense. I just changed all of their names to add the word digital in there. Check your email confirmation, you should have links to the cards online where you can grab the codes. Let me know if you still can't find them. Physical cards have been in the works for a while now, I just need to follow through and get them made. Seems like I don't do much, but I swear I do :). 

As for the discount, we are doing a blanket no on all the requests for $100 on older purchases. Shoot me a note at steve@sparxhockey.com and we'll figure something out. 

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

11 hours ago, stevebalchunas said:

Sorry, JR. No harm meant, just heading off those chirpers. I, in no way, meant to insult every skate sharpener who does honest work.

I know if I were on the other side I'd inevitably have to/want to give Sparx a fair trial. That's all. 

Thanks.

I'm not sure if the 2nd sentence is an indication that I'm close-minded about it - actually, I'm not.  I've always wanted to see everything that's out there.  I just haven't seen it.

[weasel 3]

Is Sparx selling a different model sharpener to rinks that plan on using the machine more than the average guy? 

I was told they do but can't find it on the website.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

6 hours ago, weasel said:

Is Sparx selling a different model sharpener to rinks that plan on using the machine more than the average guy? 

I was told they do but can't find it on the website.

Nope. Not that I’ve ever heard of at least.

[mickz 107]

6 hours ago, weasel said:

Is Sparx selling a different model sharpener to rinks that plan on using the machine more than the average guy? 

I was told they do but can't find it on the website.

I don't see the practicality for larger volume shops unless they can improve on the lifespan of the grinding wheels.  During the busy season I'd do about 100 pairs of skates in an 8 hour shift.  Multiply that by 2-3 sharpeners running at the same time.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

It’s be fine for shops around here that do maybe 10 pairs a day, but yea not useful at all at that kind of volume unless they got SIGNIFICANT discounts on rings.

[flip12 714]

Then maybe a ProSharp would make more sense.

[mojo122 535]

10 hours ago, weasel said:

Is Sparx selling a different model sharpener to rinks that plan on using the machine more than the average guy? 

I was told they do but can't find it on the website.

Would make sense that they consider the feasibility of a commercial grade machine.  Once you have saturated the home sharpener market the sales of your units will drop.  Of course they may be satisfied with just marketing their consumables, but a commercial grade machine might be a good sell to rinks.  Especially complexes that have multiple sheets and attract tournaments.

I know for a fact that a rink pro shop near me has several machines just to handle situations when 12 teams are playing at the same time.

 

[mickz 107]

7 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

It’s be fine for shops around here that do maybe 10 pairs a day, but yea not useful at all at that kind of volume unless they got SIGNIFICANT discounts on rings.

Hard to imagine a shop that sharpens 10 pairs a day can stay in business for long.

5 hours ago, flip12 said:

Then maybe a ProSharp would make more sense.

It's still quicker to get a pair of skates done on a full sized machine than clamping a skate into a Pro Sharp and fidgeting with the buttons.  The Pro Sharp is better for the more redundant actions like profiling.  Some pro teams that own both a full sized table top machine and a Pro Sharp don't even use it.  They just ship steel out to a third party shop to take care of it.

3 hours ago, mojo122 said:

Would make sense that they consider the feasibility of a commercial grade machine.  Once you have saturated the home sharpener market the sales of your units will drop.  Of course they may be satisfied with just marketing their consumables, but a commercial grade machine might be a good sell to rinks.  Especially complexes that have multiple sheets and attract tournaments.

I know for a fact that a rink pro shop near me has several machines just to handle situations when 12 teams are playing at the same time.

 

It would work only if there was a local dealer to stock parts and service equipment.  Rinks and shops don't have time to wait around for a part to come in if there was a problem.  I can call up my local Blademaster rep and they will deliver any parts I need within a couple of hours.  This is coming from someone who has previously worked in a city owned rink, privately owned rink and LHS.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

1 hour ago, mickz said:

Hard to imagine a shop that sharpens 10 pairs a day can stay in business for long.

It's still quicker to get a pair of skates done on a full sized machine than clamping a skate into a Pro Sharp and fidgeting with the buttons.  The Pro Sharp is better for the more redundant actions like profiling.  Some pro teams that own both a full sized table top machine and a Pro Sharp don't even use it.  They just ship steel out to a third party shop to take care of it.

It would work only if there was a local dealer to stock parts and service equipment.  Rinks and shops don't have time to wait around for a part to come in if there was a problem.  I can call up my local Blademaster rep and they will deliver any parts I need within a couple of hours.  This is coming from someone who has previously worked in a city owned rink, privately owned rink and LHS.

It’s in the rink and it’s crap. 

[DarkStar50 679]

^^ Surfer dude isn't into sharpening eh.