Sparx Skate Sharpener - At home sharpener

[Dman692420 10]

My lhs has messed up my 1/2fbv too many times for me to count & the purchase of my Sparx was worth the $. I skated on the 1/2" fire and was a little to choppy during stops but had great edge on cut & turns. I went to 5/8" fire and the chop is gone and the cut & turns are still just as good! I have the 3/4" fire but have yet to try as my legs are still weak from ACL surgery but can't wait to try! I sharpen friends skates with everything from 3/8 to 5/8 roh & they all love it. I will never skate anything else! Awesome machine

[Stewie 721]

Thanks Steve for coming to the event, and going over all the questions and curiosities we had.

The machine performed well, even if I am not much of a fan of the Fire cut over a traditional FBV, it seemed to do a better job of sharpening than many random sharpenings ive gotten from places without FBV capabilities. Personally with access to free FBVs within reasonable distance from me, it might not be a machine for me, but I can definitely see its use and utility on the market.

 

[Snowman22 0]

I wish I was here to write a different review, but I'm not…

For all of you who don't want to be bothered with the details…The machine seems like it has the potential to be everything it's advertised to be, but might not be worth the risk due to its cost. It leaves a great finish on the blade, it's square, and skates well.

The customer service is subpar at best. They are responsive, but will not do anything beyond the black and white warranty process. So buyer beware, unless you can stomach throwing away the machine a day after the warranty expires in a year.

Long story short, the wheel I received with the machine was defective and was completely wasted after using roughly 30% of its useful life in approximately 2weeks. Instead of just sending a new wheel out, I received a credit for $37.67.

~~~~~

Now for some of the details on how I ended up where I am and why I'm so disappointed with the whole situation.

I originally purchased the machine and the day I received it ended up on their website to look at accessories and found there was a new $100 off deal running. Considering I just purchased and received the machine, I thought they might honor the deal to a new purchase, no such luck. At the end of the day, I get it, it's a business, and I purchased it at the price I did, so water under the bridge at this point.

Within the first few uses I felt the machine was making contact with too much pressure and causing a very slight chatter. Not visibly noticeable, but sounded a little strange. After contacting Sparx they offered to have the wheel sent back and a exchanged. I didn't feel the issue was truly a problem because visually it looked ok and skated fine. They instructed me to move the contact point down on the blade to lower the pressure which seemed to alleviate some pressure and make a smoother pass. In hindsight, I should have sent the wheel back day one. I just didn't want  to waste time and money shipping a good wheel, and didn't want to be without the brand new sharpener I just spent almost a thousand dollars on.

Over the next two weeks I sharpened all 5 sets of my own steel, along with a few sets for people I skate with. I didn't count passes used but three lights were out when the wheel finally gave up completely. The vibration came back 5 times as bad as it was in the beginning and I knew something was not right. I ended up using a sharpie to mark an entire blade and the recommended passes, the results are one of the pictures attached, but as you can see it didn't cut the blade at all.

Before I realized the wheel was not working out as intended I purchased two additional wheels, one backup to the original hollow and a new hollow to test. So at this point I'm well over a grand invested into this thing.

After reaching out to Sparx I used the original return label to ship in the defective wheel for inspection, and to no surprise it was "Defective" This is when I was offered the pro-rated amount in an online credit. Does this approach meet the minimum documented warranty on the website, yes, but does it make me feel great about a company I just spent so much money with on a new product in the market, not at all.

After receiving the additional wheels I purchased after the initial purchase it became obvious the original wheel was defective from the start. The new wheels leave an absolute perfect finish and the machine runs as smooth as you could imagine. It's frustrating because all the time before was wasted because I didn't have a baseline to compare to. Manufacturing/Mechanical defects are a part of life and are unavoidable.

In the end, the issue at hand for me in this whole ordeal is the principle of it all. If I had had this machine for a long time, used a significant portion of the life of the wheel, the defect was marginal or questionable, had I ever had the machine actually ever working properly, I may understand the pro-rated return. I however never had the machine working properly in the beginning and ended up re sharpening 5 sets of steel because I don't know when it started to leave a bad edge.

I digress….

Picture Links, I couldn't get them to link properly with the insert function. 

http://imgur.com/a/z52J3

http://imgur.com/a/ieorg

http://imgur.com/a/sQV6C

[colins 246]

11 hours ago, Snowman22 said:

I wish I was here to write a different review, but I'm not…

For all of you who don't want to be bothered with the details…The machine seems like it has the potential to be everything it's advertised to be, but might not be worth the risk due to its cost. It leaves a great finish on the blade, it's square, and skates well.

The customer service is subpar at best. They are responsive, but will not do anything beyond the black and white warranty process. So buyer beware, unless you can stomach throwing away the machine a day after the warranty expires in a year.

Long story short, the wheel I received with the machine was defective and was completely wasted after using roughly 30% of its useful life in approximately 2weeks. Instead of just sending a new wheel out, I received a credit for $37.67.

~~~~~

Now for some of the details on how I ended up where I am and why I'm so disappointed with the whole situation.

I originally purchased the machine and the day I received it ended up on their website to look at accessories and found there was a new $100 off deal running. Considering I just purchased and received the machine, I thought they might honor the deal to a new purchase, no such luck. At the end of the day, I get it, it's a business, and I purchased it at the price I did, so water under the bridge at this point.

Within the first few uses I felt the machine was making contact with too much pressure and causing a very slight chatter. Not visibly noticeable, but sounded a little strange. After contacting Sparx they offered to have the wheel sent back and a exchanged. I didn't feel the issue was truly a problem because visually it looked ok and skated fine. They instructed me to move the contact point down on the blade to lower the pressure which seemed to alleviate some pressure and make a smoother pass. In hindsight, I should have sent the wheel back day one. I just didn't want  to waste time and money shipping a good wheel, and didn't want to be without the brand new sharpener I just spent almost a thousand dollars on.

Over the next two weeks I sharpened all 5 sets of my own steel, along with a few sets for people I skate with. I didn't count passes used but three lights were out when the wheel finally gave up completely. The vibration came back 5 times as bad as it was in the beginning and I knew something was not right. I ended up using a sharpie to mark an entire blade and the recommended passes, the results are one of the pictures attached, but as you can see it didn't cut the blade at all.

Before I realized the wheel was not working out as intended I purchased two additional wheels, one backup to the original hollow and a new hollow to test. So at this point I'm well over a grand invested into this thing.

After reaching out to Sparx I used the original return label to ship in the defective wheel for inspection, and to no surprise it was "Defective" This is when I was offered the pro-rated amount in an online credit. Does this approach meet the minimum documented warranty on the website, yes, but does it make me feel great about a company I just spent so much money with on a new product in the market, not at all.

After receiving the additional wheels I purchased after the initial purchase it became obvious the original wheel was defective from the start. The new wheels leave an absolute perfect finish and the machine runs as smooth as you could imagine. It's frustrating because all the time before was wasted because I didn't have a baseline to compare to. Manufacturing/Mechanical defects are a part of life and are unavoidable.

In the end, the issue at hand for me in this whole ordeal is the principle of it all. If I had had this machine for a long time, used a significant portion of the life of the wheel, the defect was marginal or questionable, had I ever had the machine actually ever working properly, I may understand the pro-rated return. I however never had the machine working properly in the beginning and ended up re sharpening 5 sets of steel because I don't know when it started to leave a bad edge.

I digress….

Picture Links, I couldn't get them to link properly with the insert function. 

http://imgur.com/a/z52J3

http://imgur.com/a/ieorg

http://imgur.com/a/sQV6C

 

Any theory on what caused the abrasive coating to strip off the wheel so quick? Was it a manufacturing defect I wonder, or did the wheel come in contact with a set of steel it didn't like?

Sounds like you got off to a rough start which always sucks with a new product. I'm on my 4th wheel now, and so far so good - haven't run into anything like that yet.

colins

[Snowman22 0]

2 hours ago, colins said:

 

Any theory on what caused the abrasive coating to strip off the wheel so quick? Was it a manufacturing defect I wonder, or did the wheel come in contact with a set of steel it didn't like?

Sounds like you got off to a rough start which always sucks with a new product. I'm on my 4th wheel now, and so far so good - haven't run into anything like that yet.

colins

I didn't get any clear answers from Sparx, but I assume some kind of manufacture defect. 

It's only seen Bauer LS3, Step Steel, and a few passes on some crappy CCM stuff. 

Edited August 11, 2017 by Snowman22
Grammatical

[colins 246]

3 hours ago, Snowman22 said:

I didn't get any clear answers from Sparx, but I assume some kind of manufacture defect. 

It's only seen Bauer LS3, Step Steel, and a few passes on some crappy CCM stuff. 

I always use the goalie risers (the orange plastic pieces) when sharpening new LS3/4 and Step Steel on my Sparx. Since those blades are taller than most steel, I find the ring has a bit too much pressure on the blade unless you use the risers, or raise the skates up higher in the clamp (taking the weight off the holders - this is tricky because it's harder to level then). I still put the height adjuster at 6 or 7 to hit high up on the radius - the risers work great for tall steel in general not just goalie steel.

 

colins

[IPv6Freely 2092]

6 minutes ago, colins said:

I always use the goalie risers (the orange plastic pieces) when sharpening new LS3/4 and Step Steel on my Sparx. Since those blades are taller than most steel, I find the ring has a bit too much pressure on the blade unless you use the risers, or raise the skates up higher in the clamp (taking the weight off the holders - this is tricky because it's harder to level then). I still put the height adjuster at 6 or 7 to hit high up on the radius - the risers work great for tall steel in general not just goalie steel.

 

colins

Interesting, but makes sense!

[Snowman22 0]

37 minutes ago, colins said:

I always use the goalie risers (the orange plastic pieces) when sharpening new LS3/4 and Step Steel on my Sparx. Since those blades are taller than most steel, I find the ring has a bit too much pressure on the blade unless you use the risers, or raise the skates up higher in the clamp (taking the weight off the holders - this is tricky because it's harder to level then). I still put the height adjuster at 6 or 7 to hit high up on the radius - the risers work great for tall steel in general not just goalie steel.

 

colins

I'll have to give it a try. Theoretically makes sense, but hopefully you still get up the heel and toe enough. I'm currently running it on 4 with the LS3 and Step. 

[JR Boucicaut 3795]

I never took an official stance on this product because I never had the opportunity to operate it; I had talked to a few members about how it performed and it all seemed positive, but then again, those members didn't have my background - they either didn't have manual sharpening experience, or if they did have sharpening experience, it wasn't at a commercial scale.

All being said, Steve reached out to me to let me demo the machine, so they sent me a demo unit.  Sparx offers a concierge service of sorts for their NHL teams in which they fly out to your location to set up the machine for them.  Instead of doing that, I asked them if we could do it at SummerJam in Toronto, so that way he can then also show it off at the event.

Steve came in Friday with the machine and I was able to get one of the ballrooms at the hotel and so we set it up in there.

It wasn't what I was expecting.  The machine is well-thought out, with a simple interface for the end user.  

As far as the sharpenings are concerned, once again, was pleasantly surprised.  The machine was a bit loud - he attributed it to grinding over an existing hollow - but we ended up with sharp, square edges, a smooth finish, no disruption of the profile and minimal heat, which is all you can ask for in a sharpening.  If one of those tenets I just listed is not achieved, you simply don't have a good sharpening.  

We went with 3/4 Fire (I'm typically a 90/50 FBV so I wanted the shallowest they had) and did them on a backup set of steel.  I ended up sticking with the sharpening for my entire session at SummerJam.

I set up the machine today and will sharpen for some of my staff to see what they think.

As stated previously, I think they've proven that their machine has a place in this market - people seem to be satisfied with the end result; they're getting a consistent result.

I'd like to thank Steve and Russ for setting this up.  I'm willing to answer questions as far as sharpening is concerned, but I think there are more experienced members on the operations side.  I've only used it twice!

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Thanks @JR Boucicaut it’s great to get somebody who really knows their stuff giving it a shot. Until now all we had were people like me who don’t truly know what a good sharpening is like (but definitely know what a bad one feels like!)

[shoeshine boy 242]

On 8/11/2017 at 7:36 PM, colins said:

I always use the goalie risers (the orange plastic pieces) when sharpening new LS3/4 and Step Steel on my Sparx. Since those blades are taller than most steel, I find the ring has a bit too much pressure on the blade unless you use the risers, or raise the skates up higher in the clamp (taking the weight off the holders - this is tricky because it's harder to level then). I still put the height adjuster at 6 or 7 to hit high up on the radius - the risers work great for tall steel in general not just goalie steel.

 

colins

goalie risers? was that a post-Kickstarter addition to the box? I don't think I got any of those......

[colins 246]

40 minutes ago, shoeshine boy said:

goalie risers? was that a post-Kickstarter addition to the box? I don't think I got any of those......

 

Mine was Kickstarter and had them. Check your accessories - they look like this:

 

[vinprun71 61]

Mine came with them as well. Yours should've. If not, reach out to Sparx. I'm sure they can help out.

[aintitthelife98 28]

I've sharpened a set of LS3 steel from brand new on my Sparx and never had to anything special with risers to avoid any problems. 

[colins 246]

55 minutes ago, aintitthelife98 said:

I've sharpened a set of LS3 steel from brand new on my Sparx and never had to anything special with risers to avoid any problems. 

 

What was your height setting on the orange height adjustment dial?

[aintitthelife98 28]

1 hour ago, colins said:

 

What was your height setting on the orange height adjustment dial?

My first sharpening on that steel I used a height setting of 5. I actually have a pic of it as I had asked for advice on their forum on if I should use a 4 or 5. 

[Snowman22 0]

47 minutes ago, aintitthelife98 said:

My first sharpening on that steel I used a height setting of 5. I actually have a pic of it as I had asked for advice on their forum on if I should use a 4 or 5. 

 

My LS3 is nearly brand new and I was using setting 4 in the beginning, and seems to work well with the new wheel.

The whole goalie riser concept seems to be an unnecessary step after trying it.  If you put the risers on and then have to adjust to 7 or 8, you end up with the same contact point, which gets you the same deflection/pressure for the pass. 

Just my $.02 after trying it. 

 

[shoeshine boy 242]

13 hours ago, colins said:

 

Mine was Kickstarter and had them. Check your accessories - they look like this:

 

I've got them. I think I didn't even know what they were and from this picture I actually thought they were much bigger. my gf just got VH skates with Step Steel so I may give these a try next time I sharpen her skates.

[colins 246]

19 hours ago, Snowman22 said:

My LS3 is nearly brand new and I was using setting 4 in the beginning, and seems to work well with the new wheel.

The whole goalie riser concept seems to be an unnecessary step after trying it.  If you put the risers on and then have to adjust to 7 or 8, you end up with the same contact point, which gets you the same deflection/pressure for the pass. 

Just my $.02 after trying it. 

 

 

It's certainly not necessary, I just use them to reduce the pressure so I don't get stalling and still hit as high up as possible on the heel and toe. At the moment I prefer keeping my height adjustment fixed at 7 instead of playing with it for each pair I'm sharpening. I typically only sharpen 3 pairs in my house, and this approach with the risers is more convenient to me for taking care of my Step and LS3 steel.

[Swlabr11 69]

After getting to see the Sparx sharpener first hand at Summerfest I finally decided to pull the trigger and get one. It should be here tomorrow. 

[JR Boucicaut 3795]

*Jam

[Swlabr11 69]

13 hours ago, JR Boucicaut said:

*Jam

I should have caught that.  😬

[Swlabr11 69]

I got it today. I had it setup up, aligned, and sharpening skates 30 minutes after taking it out of the box. It's wonderfully simple to use. The machine itself seems really well made.

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

Sweet. I'd like to pull the trigger some time this year. Durability is still my concern (somewhat).

[IPv6Freely 2092]

1 hour ago, 215BroadStBullies610 said:

Sweet. I'd like to pull the trigger some time this year. Durability is still my concern (somewhat).

I’ve had mine for quite some time now, with no issues so far. Not sure if that’s long enough for you!