Sparx Skate Sharpener - At home sharpener

[Leif 161]

5 hours ago, Playmakersedge said:

I'm not a fan of automatic sharpeners .there is alot of plastic in the machine.    Skate sharpening is easy to learn.  

I can get you a professional quality sharpener for  $ 1850 with travel case ,edge checker, honing stone,took kit . It weighs 65 pounds in the case . The thing to do is have your close hockey friends go in on it . 8 friends go in on it and it pays for itself fast . And when you sharpen your own it only takes a couple of passes to sharpen them .  I use the machine as a professional  SSM2 

I considered a manual sharpener. But it needs its own heated room, it's messy, it's very heavy so cannot easily be moved about, and it takes time to learn. I have one pair of skates to sharpen, and no-one to teach me, or spot the mistakes I make and reinforce. So a machine makes sense. As to them being made of lots of plastic, there is a rec team in the UK who own both Sparx and Prosharp machines, and they take them all over the UK and even overseas, and they say they are both robust.

[ryanmonty 35]

well, after waiting 45min to get my skates done along with a 40min drive round trip, i think i'm ready to buy one of these.  

[specs78 33]

4 hours ago, ryanmonty said:

well, after waiting 45min to get my skates done along with a 40min drive round trip, i think i'm ready to buy one of these.  

Good point. The rink I play at my games are all on Sunday nights pretty late. There is nobody there to sharpen skates. That means a 30 min drive to the good place (closer places are always a gamble). Time spent there, etc.If I played just a little bit more often, I would probably be thinking about a Sparx myself.

[ryanmonty 35]

3 hours ago, specs78 said:

Good point. The rink I play at my games are all on Sunday nights pretty late. There is nobody there to sharpen skates. That means a 30 min drive to the good place (closer places are always a gamble). Time spent there, etc.If I played just a little bit more often, I would probably be thinking about a Sparx myself.

Bingo. Ya there are closer places but they are not reliable. I play twice a week and have 2 sons that will only be skating more as they get older. 

For me it’s more of a convenience thing than any type of cost savings 

 

 

[Playmakersedge 58]

1 hour ago, ryanmonty said:

Bingo. Ya there are closer places but they are not reliable. I play twice a week and have 2 sons that will only be skating more as they get older. 

For me it’s more of a convenience thing than any type of cost savings 

 

 

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  

[colins 246]

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

 

 

 

[ryanmonty 35]

14 hours 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  

Yes I saw that video too. He also had another one reviewing the machine. In that video and others they have commented on how solid/substantial of a machine it is, how he has travelled with it all over and how well it has held up. I’m not sure  I agree with your point but at the same time I only plan on using it for my family anyway. 

[x-track 8]

got a link to that utube ?  thx

[colins 246]

1 minute ago, x-track said:

got a link to that utube ?  thx

 

I think OP was referring to this one: 

 

 

I recorded the unboxing/setup and first use of my Sparx here:

 

 

colins

[Playmakersedge 58]

4 hours ago, colins said:

 

I think OP was referring to this one: 

 

 

I recorded the unboxing/setup and first use of my Sparx here:

 

 

colins

Yes the top one is what I stumbled on .

[Leif 161]

20 hours 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  

I'm not sure if you were suggesting the Swedish unit is more rugged, however as it is made in Sweden, and the Sparx in China, the higher price of the Swedish unit need not translate to a more rugged unit, the price difference could be due to higher manufacturing costs. 

Anyway, my last three sharpenings were all bad. Two from the good sharpener were both out by 4/1000" which is bad, and one from another recommended place was 3/8" and not 5/8" as requested, leaving me unable to skate. I had to have them redone the next day. It's starting to look like a home sharpener is the only way to ensure good sharpens. 

[x-track 8]

thx ...did as well ....if it was 100& FBV i 'd be kind a sold !?

[IPv6Freely 2092]

7 minutes ago, Playmakersedge said:

Yes the top one is what I stumbled on .

That dude is really good at reading marketing material. 

[x-track 8]

ok ...what do you really want to shell out ??

[Vet88 674]

3 minutes ago, Leif said:

I'm not sure if you were suggesting the Swedish unit is more rugged, however as it is made in Sweden, and the Sparx in China, the higher price of the Swedish unit need not translate to a more rugged unit, the price difference could be due to higher manufacturing costs. 

 

Not necessarily so. Sparx has a different pricing model where the wheels, at this stage, are proprietary to them. Like printers and ink, sell the printer for as cheap as you can and make your money on the consumables.

[x-track 8]

again ...good point ...what I`d like the mostto know ......how does fire compare to real ..., good sharpened FBV !?

[ryanmonty 35]

33 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

That dude is really good at reading marketing material. 

Lol ya. Which is why I’m not basing my decision solely on his review. 

 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

51 minutes ago, x-track said:

again ...good point ...what I`d like the mostto know ......how does fire compare to real ..., good sharpened FBV !?

Really good skaters will notice. Many won't. 

[Swlabr11 69]

1 hour ago, x-track said:

again ...good point ...what I`d like the mostto know ......how does fire compare to real ..., good sharpened FBV !?

I liked Fire better personally. I’m sure many will disagree with me but it’s all a matter of personal taste. 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

11 minutes ago, Swlabr11 said:

I liked Fire better personally. I’m sure many will disagree with me but it’s all a matter of personal taste. 

As are all things in this hockey world!

[Playmakersedge 58]

3 hours ago, x-track said:

again ...good point ...what I`d like the mostto know ......how does fire compare to real ..., good sharpened FBV !?

Is the fbv here to stay or a gimmick?  I never skated on it. When I played I skated on 3/4" hollow  . Now as a gimp 5/8"

[IPv6Freely 2092]

1 hour ago, Playmakersedge said:

About the comparison between the machine I use the SSM2 and the sparx ?  If that was to me I wasn't comparing them as machines.   There is no comparison::  My machines are designed to handle being a pro sharpener , that can be accessorised in the future to even do blade profiling at a relatively affordable price.  I'm a pro sharpener and I couldn't believe the feeling of this machine.  I could take a hockey dad that has zero experience and have him turn out pro quality work.  And it won't fail it' proven . 

With the sparx : what is most attractive to most is the price point.  They are making it up on consumables.  Also it is still in the proving it self stage. Longevity, durability, etc is going to be spoken of in two years or so . Someone compared it to a printer how many times had we all have had paper stuck in there .nothing is lost besides time and a few pieces of paper.   Let' day this jams in a similar way and your going to a game in an hour and there is a blade with a grind deap in one place or the cradle canted side ways and the wheel takes metal off the side . You are missing the game and need new steels or holder and steels.  I'm not saying this will happen. I am saying the likelihood is higher with an automatic device.....

Also another aspect that folks need to think about.  I am hearing a lot of dialogue about the absence of local hockey shops . They are going under or not opening. The reason is the big box stores or online retailers.  You may save  $40 buck going to these rather than existing lhs , but is it worth choking out the lhs ? Is it worth not having access to a real pro ? 

So we got ,discount online retailers, big box stores, people selling home sharpening machines, blades that are disposable etc .  

Every one has to eat . Support the pro ,or become the pro .  

The $$ of skate sharpening:  My equipment I have 3700 dollars in . I charge the going rate here $5.00  my wheels are the best @ 50 each .

I charge $150 to profile blades.  Part of my service is either going over footage of the player skating or going to the rink and evaluate them . Average I invest 2.5 to 3.5 hours in the entire process.   Because I don't just do what they ask and charge  $65 to do it I don't do very many profiling jobs even tho I am giving them a ton for there money .     So with these economics the lhs is sharpening as a secondary service, because they want to sell skates, sticks, pads,tape etc . 

Players need to support the lhs or they are going to go out of business.   If the lhs sucks then I can see seeking other ways to get a decent job. My question is too has the good lhs already gone under from being nickel and dimed ? 

I know I wander off point just a little  . Hehehe .

I just had another thought too: posterity.  Invest in a machine that can be passed on to the next-generation.   Things are going to be harder financially for our children and our grand children.    

No I wasn’t talking to you.

[Kgbeast 195]

9 hours ago, colins said:

 

I think OP was referring to this one: 

 

 

I recorded the unboxing/setup and first use of my Sparx here:

 

 

colins

It looks to me that he fluffs everything that comes across his desk. I kind of dismissed him for a demagogue. I like watching his unboxings, but take everything he says with a grain of salt as they say.

[mickz 107]

6 hours ago, Kgbeast said:

It looks to me that he fluffs everything that comes across his desk. I kind of dismissed him for a demagogue. I like watching his unboxings, but take everything he says with a grain of salt as they say.

Is there a product these "Youtube stars" don't like?  Haven't found one yet.

 

11 hours ago, Leif said:

I'm not sure if you were suggesting the Swedish unit is more rugged, however as it is made in Sweden, and the Sparx in China, the higher price of the Swedish unit need not translate to a more rugged unit, the price difference could be due to higher manufacturing costs. 

Anyway, my last three sharpenings were all bad. Two from the good sharpener were both out by 4/1000" which is bad, and one from another recommended place was 3/8" and not 5/8" as requested, leaving me unable to skate. I had to have them redone the next day. It's starting to look like a home sharpener is the only way to ensure good sharpens. 

Professional grade vs consumer grade unit.

[Leif 161]

3 hours ago, mickz said:

Professional grade vs consumer grade unit.

That's a very cryptic statement. Could you explain?