Sparx Skate Sharpener - At home sharpener

[Leif 161]

1 hour ago, ExplodingSidewalk said:

I need your help gentlemen and ladies.

I am at a crossroads trying to determine whether to purchase the ProSharp Home or the Sparx Hockey ES200 for home skate sharpening.

The ProSharp Home with Starter Kit, Twin Blade Holder, and 1/2 inch wheel would total $1,776.00 (No Tax and Free Shipping)

The Sparx Elite Bundle would total $1,551.65 (Tax - $101.75 and Shipping - $74.99)

Yes the ProSharp Home's grinding wheels last a long time at $99.00 each but, the Sparx ES200 grinding wheels last 40 cycles (?) at $59.99 each.

Did Sparx fix the issue concerning the grinding wheel not sharpening further up the heel and toe of the runner?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

The Sparx wheels last 320 passes, if I recall correctly. Assuming four passes per sharpen, and two skates per user as typical (!), that works out at 40 pairs of skates sharpened. That was the original Sparx estimate. Sparx now assume less than four passes are needed for a sharpen, and give a value of 60 pairs of skates sharpened by one wheel.

I find that I do one pass per skate per sharpen as that is enough to get the edge back, some people do two passes. Of course you need more if there is significant damage to the edges. There is a post by the owner of Sparx on this forum where he states that they tested the ProSharp Home, and found that it takes less metal off per pass and the per sharpen cost is similar for both machines. Obviously that's not an independent test, so maybe a good amount of salt is needed.

I have no issue with the toe and heel, but I'm no elite level skater.

You really do need an edge gauge even if you buy the ProSharp Home, so factor than in to the cost. I had a Prosharp BAT and sent it back to the head of ProSharp USA in disgust as it was out. Never got a refund, and they claimed it was fine even though it disagreed with Sparx, BladeMaster and no name gauges. I assume mine was untypical.

Edited February 1, 2021 by Leif

[ExplodingSidewalk 0]

I thank you for your comments.

The ProSharp Home Starter Kit ($189.99) comes with the X-3 Diamond & Ceramic Hone, Polishing Hone, Leather Hone, Blade Angle Tester, Wheel Adjustment Tool, and Blade Bag Personal . I factored that into my purchase price of $1,776.00.

I'm leaning towards the Sparx even though the ProSharp Home looks like a well built skate sharpener.

Thanks again.

[Leif 161]

I bought the previous version of the Sparx for £1200, back then the ProSharp Home was £2,000. I found very few owner reviews of the ProSharp but they were all positive. Hockey Tutorial reviews both on YouTube. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

2 hours ago, ExplodingSidewalk said:

I need your help gentlemen and ladies.

I am at a crossroads trying to determine whether to purchase the ProSharp Home or the Sparx Hockey ES200 for home skate sharpening.

The ProSharp Home with Starter Kit, Twin Blade Holder, and 1/2 inch wheel would total $1,776.00 (No Tax and Free Shipping)

The Sparx Elite Bundle would total $1,551.65 (Tax - $101.75 and Shipping - $74.99)

Yes the ProSharp Home's grinding wheels last a long time at $99.00 each but, the Sparx ES200 grinding wheels last 40 cycles (?) at $59.99 each.

Did Sparx fix the issue concerning the grinding wheel not sharpening further up the heel and toe of the runner?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

I've had both and honestly, they are both very good. 

The ProSharp is ideal if you only use a few different hollow options since the cost of the wheel is higher but the cost per sharpening is lower. 

Sparx is ideal if you need access to a larger amount of hollow options. 

For example:

If you are using the sharpener for a household and everyone in the household uses hollow 1/2 and 5/8 then I would get the ProSharp. 

If it was for a team, and you have players needing access to 7/16, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8, and some players also want to use a Fire hollow, you are better off with the Sparx. 

[Leif 161]

Something I forgot to mention, they have different warranties which might be a deciding factor for you. 

[mtn 20]

General question: Can any of the at-home machines do profiles? Or do you have to get the $10k version for that?

[VegasHockey 1280]

5 minutes ago, mtn said:

General question: Can any of the at-home machines do profiles? Or do you have to get the $10k version for that?

Only the ProSharp AS machines can profile. 

If you want a decently affordable machine that can sharpen and also profile check out SSM:

http://www.ssmofnorthamerica.com/product/ssm-2-standard-package-w-h-10-holder-v-2-carrying-case/

You'll need to purchase the profiling attachments; SSM-2/SM-6 : 

Catalog: http://ssmofnorthamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ssm_catalogue.pdf

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by PBH

[mtn 20]

1 hour ago, PBH said:

Only the ProSharp AS machines can profile. 

If you want a decently affordable machine that can sharpen and also profile check out SSM:

http://www.ssmofnorthamerica.com/product/ssm-2-standard-package-w-h-10-holder-v-2-carrying-case/

You'll need to purchase the profiling attachments; SSM-2/SM-6 : 

Catalog: http://ssmofnorthamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ssm_catalogue.pdf

 

Nah, not for me. I've sort of considered the Sparx and Prosharp, and if Dad builds a rink like he's been threatening to do, I'll pressure him to get the Sparx. But you really only need your blades profiled once in their lifetime, assuming nothing goes wrong. And with the Sparx and Prosharp, nothing should go wrong. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

2 hours ago, mtn said:

Nah, not for me. I've sort of considered the Sparx and Prosharp, and if Dad builds a rink like he's been threatening to do, I'll pressure him to get the Sparx. But you really only need your blades profiled once in their lifetime, assuming nothing goes wrong. And with the Sparx and Prosharp, nothing should go wrong. 

Even when using a ProSharp or Sparx its still recommended to get your profile tuned up at least every season. 

[218hockey 50]

3 hours ago, PBH said:

Even when using a ProSharp or Sparx its still recommended to get your profile tuned up at least every season. 

So with a ProSharp profile and machine how do they do that? Would I just ask for the profile to be touched up, or is it a specific item on their price list? Reprofile? I'm just trying to understand that process.

[bootsmagee 15]

3 hours ago, PBH said:

Even when using a ProSharp or Sparx its still recommended to get your profile tuned up at least every season. 

Why's that?  A huge selling point of the Sparx is it's ability to maintain profile throughout the life of the steel.

[clarkiestooth 235]

5 hours ago, bootsmagee said:

Why's that?  A huge selling point of the Sparx is it's ability to maintain profile throughout the life of the steel.

The ProSharp profile really lasts about 6 to 8 sharpenings. It all depends on if you use a really light touch when sharpening. To understand it, the ProSharp system basically uses a grinding wheel that follows a template that makes multiple very tiny  radii on the blade (think of it as tiny peaks and valleys). Every time you sharpen, you take off a bit of steel, each time dulling those peaks and valleys. ProSharp profiling is fantastic, but the profile doesn't last forever. I have a Wissota 911 in my garage, and have my profile put on by a pro 🙂

[Leif 161]

1 hour ago, clarkiestooth said:

The ProSharp profile really lasts about 6 to 8 sharpenings. It all depends on if you use a really light touch when sharpening. To understand it, the ProSharp system basically uses a grinding wheel that follows a template that makes multiple very tiny  radii on the blade (think of it as tiny peaks and valleys). Every time you sharpen, you take off a bit of steel, each time dulling those peaks and valleys. ProSharp profiling is fantastic, but the profile doesn't last forever. I have a Wissota 911 in my garage, and have my profile put on by a pro 🙂

The ProSharp Home and Sparx claim to maintain a constant pressure, unlike a manual sharpen, which should preserve the profile. I checked an old LS5 blade against a fairly new blade, and the profile over most of the blade feels the same. The toe and heel are very different as expected as they are very different heights. 

 

I have old manually sharpened runners and they are nearly flat. When I swapped them out my skating improved markedly. 

[mtn 20]

12 hours ago, PBH said:

Even when using a ProSharp or Sparx its still recommended to get your profile tuned up at least every season. 

I should have said, "I" and "my" rather than "you" "your". I referee, and can last for far too long on a sharpening. Like, over 100 hours was not uncommon and people wonder how I'm skating on what seems to be no edge. This habit was formed when I was a broke college student reffing all of my free time, when there were only 2 people in the town who could sharpen a pair of skates halfway decently - one of whom was a garage warrior, and your schedules had to sync up; the other was... well, lets just say I wasn't a fan of giving him my business that often. 

The Sparx and Prosharp do not make sense for me whatsoever right now, it only would if my dad got it and had multiple people over (extended family). 

 

I am curious how the profile would change significantly using one of the home machines. If they're working as designed, I can't imagine the profiling would be anything more than a mild tuneup. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

1 hour ago, mtn said:

I should have said, "I" and "my" rather than "you" "your". I referee, and can last for far too long on a sharpening. Like, over 100 hours was not uncommon and people wonder how I'm skating on what seems to be no edge. This habit was formed when I was a broke college student reffing all of my free time, when there were only 2 people in the town who could sharpen a pair of skates halfway decently - one of whom was a garage warrior, and your schedules had to sync up; the other was... well, lets just say I wasn't a fan of giving him my business that often. 

The Sparx and Prosharp do not make sense for me whatsoever right now, it only would if my dad got it and had multiple people over (extended family). 

 

I am curious how the profile would change significantly using one of the home machines. If they're working as designed, I can't imagine the profiling would be anything more than a mild tuneup. 

Per ProSharp

"Many professionals feel that skate profiles should be re-profiled every 15 sharpenings. There is no universal answer to how long a skate profile will last. The results will vary based on usage, method of sharpening, quality of the blades, and other wear and tear. We recommend you re-profile your blades approximately every year. We currently offer a Prosharp Custom Profile Refresh at a discounted rate in our store for existing customers.  The refresh includes a complimentary blade leveling and matching service. Your skate blades will drift from each other in size and shape over time from sharpening and usage.  Leveling and matching blades are the first step in ensuring the profile is set correctly.  Think of this process as being similar to putting primer on your walls before painting."

Per Sparx "NHL equipment managers interviewed by Sparx stated they reprofile approximately every 15 sharpenings." 

That being said, assuming you use a Sparx or ProSharp every single time there would not be significant changes to the profile over time but it would slightly change over a long period of time. For some, this isn't a big deal as they will adjust as the profile adjusts slowly. For others changing between many sets of steel, like professionals, this could be an issue. 

 

[mtn 20]

2 hours ago, PBH said:

 

That being said, assuming you use a Sparx or ProSharp every single time there would not be significant changes to the profile over time but it would slightly change over a long period of time. For some, this isn't a big deal as they will adjust as the profile adjusts slowly. For others changing between many sets of steel, like professionals, this could be an issue. 

 

I suppose if I was playing at a high level I'd care. But I've never noticed an issue.

[Miller55 333]

It's very difficult to notice this issue because the changes are all very minute over a long time period. The difference between one skate and the next is negligible, so you adjust almost automatically. The fact that over the course of a few months or longer there is an appreciable difference is irrelevant usually, because it happened in small increments.

If, for example, you would use one set of runners for a while and the profile would change over the course of a few months and then you would switch to a new set of steel that had the same original profile as the used pair, you would feel the difference. But in small increments it's pretty negligible to adjust

[marka 526]

Howdy,

Never seen this before...

Sparx 1/2 - 5/8 grinding ring...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/363308089038?ul_noapp=true

Anyone know what this is?

Mark

edit:  Ah... Cross grinding ring?

Edited March 1, 2021 by marka

[helmet91 15]

I guess it's for the PS100 only.

[rh71el2 3]

On 3/2/2021 at 2:23 AM, helmet91 said:

I guess it's for the PS100 only.

Yes the 2nd pic on the listing says that on the bottom.

[jdfournier 0]

I noticed recently my fan no longer runs when I start a sharpening. Has anyone replaced their fan? I haven't check yet how easy it is to access it.

[VegasHockey 1280]

5 hours ago, jdfournier said:

I noticed recently my fan no longer runs when I start a sharpening. Has anyone replaced their fan? I haven't check yet how easy it is to access it.

I've replaced it. Basically, the same fan as you can get at a computer supply store. Not sure it's really necessary though unless you are doing a lot of skate sharpenings.

[rh71el2 3]

Question regarding acceptable sharpening.  LS1 steel on my kids' skate is easily chipped.  Have dealt with this numerous times and I'm upgrading their next pair for sure.  But I can never tell when something like this is actually going to affect their skating.  If I brought it to a pro shop, they would just keep sharpening it down until it was completely gone, but with the Sparx, even after 3 passes it remains and I'm not about to go nuts on something that may not affect his skating all that much.  How do you ever tell when it will, because it doesn't always?  Yes I've used the honing stone on it already...

 

https://i.imgur.com/HruwXt5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/eOenq9c.jpg

And to the contrary, I've done 1 pass to perfectly smooth edges (by fingertip feel & visual check) and it actually performed worse as far as holding a turn.  So it seems there's no way to tell other than to skate on it or just sharpen a whole bunch of times to be sure.  Fire 1/2 ring in case you're wondering.

Edited April 18, 2021 by rh71el2

[Buzz_LightBeer 969]

Int the middle half of the blade like that, I’d consider giving a few extra passes, and even running the honing stone along the edges before and after. 
 

if it had been towards the ends, I’d be less concerned. 

[218hockey 50]

1 hour ago, rh71el2 said:

Question regarding acceptable sharpening.  LS1 steel on my kids' skate is easily chipped.  Have dealt with this numerous times and I'm upgrading their next pair for sure.  But I can never tell when something like this is actually going to affect their skating.  If I brought it to a pro shop, they would just keep sharpening it down until it was completely gone,

I sharpen skates for one other family and both pairs of their skates are the cheapest, non removable steel. They're always gouged up pretty bad, especially of they've been outside. To get rid of these imperfections completely you'd be cross grinding a mm off every time.

Also, not sure if this is my imagination but I think the Fire edge is more prone to contact damage. ???