Sparx Skate Sharpener - At home sharpener

[IPv6Freely 2092]

5 minutes ago, Santos L Halper said:

Perhaps you can summarize for us.

The only thing that I recall seeing is some vague notion that it clogged up the air filter 'too quickly'...whatever that means.

 

1 minute ago, JR Boucicaut said:

I believe some units caught on fire due to the sparks caused by cross grinding.

Yep, caused by people not changing the filters. In fact they actually sent out free filters right after that happened. 

Quote

Recently, we became aware that one of our high-volume retail users did not follow the Maintenance Instructions in the Operating Manual for the Sparx Sharpener.  They did not replace the Air Filter on their machine when the Air Filter Button was lit.  Because they did not replace their Air Filter, there was a significant buildup of skate steel dust in the Filter.  A spark from a grinding cycle migrated to the Air Filter and, combined with dust in the Filter, caused the Filter to heat up and begin to smoke.   The customer unplugged the unit, and the smoke stopped.  This is the first and only such event at any customer site.

Following this event, our engineers conducted significant testing in our labs to ensure the safe use of your sharpener.  Because of our findings, we are taking the following actions:

1. We have updated the Safety and Maintenance sections of the Sparx Operating Manual Instructions (https://www.sparxhockey.com/manual) to emphasize the potential risk of not changing the Air Filter as required, and to increase the frequency of Emptying the Dust Tray and Changing the Air Filter.

This is important for all customers but especially for those customers that use a Sparx X-Grind Ring.  Depending on the quality of the blade steel sharpened, Sparx X-Grind Rings can generate significantly more dust than other rings.  Please refamiliarize yourself with the Sparx Operating Manual and the changes outlined below.

2. We will send you a replacement Air Filter, free of charge, as a courtesy and reminder of the importance of Removing and Emptying the Dust Tray and Changing the Air Filterin the maintenance of your Sparx Sharpener.

 

[Santos L Halper 90]

18 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

 

Yep, caused by people not changing the filters. In fact they actually sent out free filters right after that happened. 

 

Okay. So.  One genius ignores the safety literature, ignores the flashing light on his machine, and proceeds to fill his sharpening room with smoke.  As a result, the company completely discontinues a hugely functional part of their machine.  Talk about throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water....

My kid's remote control truck's LiPo batteries can explode if charged incorrectly.  The company that manufactures the batteries and chargers didn't stop selling them as a result of some dipshit starting his garage on fire - they included a warning in the literature.  You don't read the instructions, sometimes you get to pay the damn price.  

At some point we, as a society, need to stop protecting people from their own stupidity.  

Edited November 5, 2018 by Santos L Halper
Clarity & grammar...

[IPv6Freely 2092]

It is what it is. 

[Santos L Halper 90]

1 minute ago, IPv6Freely said:

It is what it is. 

Oh, I know.  And, don't get me wrong, all things considered, I love the machine.  This is just one of those issues that prevent the Sparx from being what I would consider the perfect solution for those of us that live in 'sharpening deserts' and have neither the time nor the inclination to master a manual sharpening system.  

[Leif 161]

21 minutes ago, Santos L Halper said:

Okay. So.  One genius ignores the safety literature,

At some point we, as a society, need to stop protecting people from their own stupidity.  

I largely agree, however they might have been scared of law suits and decided not to take the risk. My new VW car has a user manual that is largely useless as most of it consists of warnings along the lines of “do not drink the brake fluid”, no doubt due to fear of litigation. 

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

13 minutes ago, Leif said:

I largely agree, however they might have been scared of law suits and decided not to take the risk. My new VW car has a user manual that is largely useless as most of it consists of warnings along the lines of “do not drink the brake fluid”, no doubt due to fear of litigation. 

Not to mention all they need is one person who does ignore the safety literature to start a PR nightmare.  One person who is careless and causes a fire with their Sparx; that then turns into a video on social media showing a Sparx catching on fire without any context to why.

[Santos L Halper 90]

2 minutes ago, Leif said:

I largely agree, however they might have been scared of law suits and decided not to take the risk. My new VW car has a user manual that is largely useless as most of it consists of warnings along the lines of “do not drink the brake fluid”, no doubt due to fear of litigation. 

Oh god....car manuals.  Ain't that the truth?

My wife's Audi has all of these fancy sensors and automated systems which are detailed in the owner's manual with constant use of the phrase, "within the limitations of the system..." My reaction, of course, is "Ooh, there's yet another effort to avoid a lawsuit!"

3 minutes ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

Not to mention all they need is one person who does ignore the safety literature to start a PR nightmare.  One person who is careless and causes a fire with their Sparx; that then turns into a video on social media showing a Sparx catching on fire without any context to why.

Look, I get that Sparx is a (relatively) new company, and I get how such a company has to weigh the risk of expensive lawsuits and negative media (social and otherwise) exposure against the desire to provide a fully functional product to their customers.  Hell, back when I owned my business, I constantly wrestled with whether or not to even SELL a certain class of products, because I couldn't control how my customers would ultimately market it to THEIR customers.  However, in the end, I did my best to give MY customers what they wanted and sold them the products and documented the shit out of all the inherent caveats.

I just wish Sparx would do the same.

[ryanmonty 35]

i think you just said it yourself. i doubt it was an easy decision for them to discontinue it and they had to wrestle with the idea too. but ultimately the risk outweighed the reward. and the majority of sparx consumers are still happy with the machine without it. 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

17 minutes ago, ryanmonty said:

i think you just said it yourself. i doubt it was an easy decision for them to discontinue it and they had to wrestle with the idea too. but ultimately the risk outweighed the reward. and the majority of sparx consumers are still happy with the machine without it. 

As somebody who probably gets worse nicks than most (thanks to the goal posts) it's not that big of a deal to me. Granted I still have a cross-grind ring, but have only ever used it once when I changed hollows. My weekly sharpen is 2 passes. If I go longer than a week for some reason its 4. If I have a bad nick its 8. I've never needed more than that. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

I am wondering when the next version will be released. They haven't talked about the next generation sharpener but its only a matter of time before they make updates and advancements to the hardware itself. 

[Santos L Halper 90]

On 11/6/2018 at 6:34 PM, Nicholas G said:

I am wondering when the next version will be released. They haven't talked about the next generation sharpener but its only a matter of time before they make updates and advancements to the hardware itself. 

Have become curious about this myself...

With the resounding success (right? I mean...I think so? It's been hugely successful, right?) of the Sparx machine, you'd think that the company would want to capitalize on the goodwill in the marketplace right now and revisit some of the corners they undoubtedly had to cut (be it in design, production, whathaveyou...) to get into production.

Since they're dealing with a (relatively speaking) closed audience of potential buyers, I suspect that eventually they're going to reach something of a saturation point where most people that are willing to purchase a skate sharpener will have done so; and, as a result, sharpener sales will fall off.  Sure, they have the built-in recurring revenue from grinding ring sales, but I can't imagine the per-unit margin on those is all that high. Eventually, they're going to want to convince some of their existing customers to buy another machine...and to do that, they're going to have to give them a reason to do so.  

Wonder what that's gonna be...?

[Leif 161]

I don't think they've even started selling units overseas. I'm one of many Brits who have the money, but cannot yet buy one. I am sure many countries especially those in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe could prove quite lucrative for Sparx. Also don't forget that many machines will be sold to a family with one or more kids who have started playing hockey on a regular basis, so there's a whole set of new customers each year. 

[ViperRy 8]

Damn, I didn't know they stopped selling the cross grinder, just thought they were OOS. I should have bought the ring when I had the chance. Now I need it and have to drive to a lhs.

[218hockey 50]

SPARX doing a $100 off Black Friday code this year?

 

 

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

If only SPARX and Blackstone would have a baby...

[VegasHockey 1280]

51 minutes ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

If only SPARX and Blackstone would have a baby...

It would make more sense for BlackStone to buy Sparx... which could happen. 

Edited November 14, 2018 by Nicholas G

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Blackstone could've gone the automated route. They chose not to.

[VegasHockey 1280]

28 minutes ago, JR Boucicaut said:

Blackstone could've gone the automated route. They chose not to.

Companies change directions though. Also, a lot of times its cheaper to let someone else do all of the work and then buy them after. A good example, but not hockey related, would be how IBM bought Red Hat for 34B a few weeks ago 😉 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

But just imagine the butthurt from the guys who think Sparx is taking away their business! I'd almost want to see it just because it would be amusing. 

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

That’s assuming they feel that way, which they don’t. 

They’re one of the most stand-up guys in this business. 

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

On 11/14/2018 at 5:48 PM, Nicholas G said:

It would make more sense for BlackStone to buy Sparx... which could happen. 

Makes zero sense. No offense.  But Blademaster and Blackstone have been working on things in the background for a while. Buying a company like spark makes no sense because all you get is the followers and email addresses because neither would use the tech.  Both already have similar that just needs to be scaled down. Someone soon will come up with one that will blow it out of the water. 

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

😉

Edited November 16, 2018 by oldtrainerguy28

[bunnyman666 445]

Two things I am wishing for on the consumer machine:

1) cross-grind wheel

2) Asymmetrical hollow wheels for goalies. I miss the HELL out of A-Trap (when done correctly, of course!)

Jeremiah Sparx- I know you read this board, please entertain offering these items!

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Pretty positive A-Trap is patented.

[VegasHockey 1280]

On 11/15/2018 at 8:57 PM, oldtrainerguy28 said:

Makes zero sense. No offense.  But Blademaster and Blackstone have been working on things in the background for a while. Buying a company like spark makes no sense because all you get is the followers and email addresses because neither would use the tech.  Both already have similar that just needs to be scaled down. Someone soon will come up with one that will blow it out of the water. 

You get the customers, mindshare, and the subscription service which is where the actual money is made. I doubt they make much of anything in the manufacturing and distribution of their machines.