Sparx Skate Sharpener - At home sharpener

[stick9 901]

I won't argue the point, just saying thats not what I have been told.

I had to guess, the change in sound and finish could be due to the wheel removing more material when making contact higher up. The sound and texture could be that excess material being stuck to the wheel early on in the pass. To me an increase in pressure or force to the blade would cuase you to experience those things for the entire length of the first pass.

Again, don't want to argue the point as I am only the middle man. 

[Grimstarr 1]

Is an edge checker necessary when purchasing this machine?

[IPv6Freely 2100]

  On 12/14/2018 at 10:44 PM, Grimstarr said:

Is an edge checker necessary when purchasing this machine?

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I definitely would. The alignment tool is good but I wouldn’t depend on just that.

[stick9 901]

  On 12/14/2018 at 10:44 PM, Grimstarr said:

Is an edge checker necessary when purchasing this machine?

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I would say yes it is.

[marka 526]

Howdy,

I would say that you can use the alignment tool to get within say 6 clicks or so of actually centered and _maybe_ you wouldn't notice that, but I certainly am happier having one so that I can verify that my edges are even.

Mark

[VegasHockey 1284]

  On 12/14/2018 at 10:44 PM, Grimstarr said:

Is an edge checker necessary when purchasing this machine?

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Edge checkers can be found for very little money online and for the small investment its worth it. 

[Grimstarr 1]

Appreciate the responses, went ahead and bought the edge checker from Flare as I have their steel (impressive product btw)

[VegasHockey 1284]

  On 12/16/2018 at 8:14 PM, Grimstarr said:

Appreciate the responses, went ahead and bought the edge checker from Flare as I have their steel (impressive product btw)

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Yep, LOVE their steel. Any players who come into our store looking for replacement steel I always recommend to try Flare. Its amazing to me how many prefer to stick with Step/Tydan/Byonic/Massive and such. All of those other steels are nice and very good quality but once you skate on Flare it hard to change back to anything else. 

[colins 246]

  On 12/14/2018 at 10:44 PM, Grimstarr said:

Is an edge checker necessary when purchasing this machine?

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Yes. And edge checker is necessary for anyone sharpening skates on any machine. Otherwise you simply never know if you are aligned properly and creating level edges.

 

colins

[Leif 161]

  On 12/17/2018 at 2:42 AM, colins said:

Yes. And edge checker is necessary for anyone sharpening skates on any machine. Otherwise you simply never know if you are aligned properly and creating level edges.

 

colins

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It’s also essential for anyone having skates sharpened, a lot of sharpeners are unable to get level edges, and you want to know who  can be trusted. 

[Paddy 11]

  On 12/17/2018 at 8:23 AM, Leif said:

It’s also essential for anyone having skates sharpened, a lot of sharpeners are unable to get level edges, and you want to know who  can be trusted. 

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Without a doubt, that's been my number one issue having skates sharpened.

 

Second to that has been large burrs. It almost seems like no one wants to "damage" the black coating on the runner to deburr it well.

[Healthyscratch 11]

Has anyone had any issues receiving a grinding ring that may be faulty. 

Have had the machine for 6 months now, purchased various rings and used without issue. 

Just got a new 5/8 in the mail, hooked it up now after using it - 3 different pairs of skates edges are off. All 3 pairs were already on 5/8 and were (obviously) sharpened with a sparx 5/8 ring. 

 Checked alignment, it’s perfect. Machine never moves actually. 

Tl;dr Anyone ever run into trouble with a grinding ring from sparx?

 

Edited January 22, 2019 by Healthyscratch

[IPv6Freely 2100]

  On 1/22/2019 at 10:03 PM, Healthyscratch said:

Has anyone had any issues receiving a grinding ring that may be faulty. 

Have had the machine for 6 months now, purchased various rings and used without issue. 

Just got a new 5/8 in the mail, hooked it up now after using it - 3 different pairs of skates edges are off. All 3 pairs were already on 5/8 and were (obviously) sharpened with a sparx 5/8 ring. 

 Checked alignment, it’s perfect. Machine never moves actually. 

Tl;dr Anyone ever run into trouble with a grinding ring from sparx?

 

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Nope not me. But its possible you may need to adjust your alignment if the ring isn't perfect. Or contact them to get it exchanged. 

[stick9 901]

Never experienced that. I would make sure the ring is fully seated and seated evenlly. A side by side with a known good ring give you a clue as to what might be wrong.

[Healthyscratch 11]

The alignment is spot on, I actually check this pretty frequently. It’s definitely odd, the 5/8 ring I had prior (and the ones before it) were spitting out perfectly even edges. 

Everything is seated as it should be. 

This new ring has everything off. I’ll try a side by side comparison with old and new ring but not really sure what to look for. 

Kind of infuriating given the price of these rings. Thanks for the replies. 

Edited January 22, 2019 by Healthyscratch

[IPv6Freely 2100]

  On 1/22/2019 at 11:33 PM, Healthyscratch said:

The alignment is spot on, I actually check this pretty frequently. It’s definitely odd, the 5/8 ring I had prior (and the ones before it) were spitting out perfectly even edges. 

Everything is seated as it should be. 

This new ring has everything off. I’ll try a side by side comparison with old and new ring but not really sure what to look for. 

Kind of infuriating given the price of these rings. Thanks for the replies. 

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Like I said, it could require a minor adjustment. Not a big deal. 

[Sticktape 8]

  On 1/22/2019 at 11:33 PM, Healthyscratch said:

The alignment is spot on, I actually check this pretty frequently. It’s definitely odd, the 5/8 ring I had prior (and the ones before it) were spitting out perfectly even edges. 

Everything is seated as it should be. 

This new ring has everything off. I’ll try a side by side comparison with old and new ring but not really sure what to look for. 

Kind of infuriating given the price of these rings. Thanks for the replies. 

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I have had issues with alignment between discs of the same profile and with different profiles. For example when I switch from a 3/8 fire ring to a 3/8 traditional I have to adjust the alignment 10clicks. I have also had to adjust the alignment when I use up a disc and switch to a new one of the same profile. 

[ZamboniFever 32]

Hi @Healthyscratch

Please send an email to help@sparxhockey.com and our customer support team will help you diagnose and resolve whatever issue you're having.  I'll let them know you'll be reaching out so we get you squared away quickly.

Regards,
Russ
Sparx Hockey

[chippa13 1844]

  On 12/17/2018 at 8:23 AM, Leif said:

It’s also essential for anyone having skates sharpened, a lot of sharpeners are unable to get level edges, and you want to know who  can be trusted. 

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A quarter will do the trick for customers to check level edges.

[cor 0]

Has anyone very recently ordered a Sparx machine. Their website is showing shipments go out within 1-2 weeks. I'm wondering what the true lead time is.

[IPv6Freely 2100]

That's probably about right. 

[Leif 161]

Does the consumer grade machine come with the optical alignment tool, or do you need to buy that as well? 

Aha, just checked the manual, and it does.

Edited February 15, 2019 by Leif

[marka 526]

Howdy,

  On 2/15/2019 at 6:32 PM, Leif said:

Does the consumer grade machine come with the optical alignment tool, or do you need to buy that as well? 

Aha, just checked the manual, and it does.

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FWIW, I think an edge checker is perhaps not _required_ but for sure an "If you're serious, you'll want one" purchase for one of these.

If I had to pick between the two, I wouldn't spend money on the optical alignment tool, I'd just get it somewhere near and then dial in with the edge checker (since, in my experience, you have to do that anyway).

Mark

[IPv6Freely 2100]

  On 2/15/2019 at 6:54 PM, marka said:

Howdy,

FWIW, I think an edge checker is perhaps not _required_ but for sure an "If you're serious, you'll want one" purchase for one of these.

If I had to pick between the two, I wouldn't spend money on the optical alignment tool, I'd just get it somewhere near and then dial in with the edge checker (since, in my experience, you have to do that anyway).

Mark

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The alignment tool comes with it. The edge checker doesn't. 

[Leif 161]

Thanks both. I already have an edge checker, one of the cheap Canadian eBay ones, it works well. I had a ProSharp one but it was out by two thou.