Sparx Skate Sharpener - At home sharpener

[IPv6Freely 2092]

IMO you still need a good pro shop to get you set up to start for sure though even if you had one of these. And most likely a couple visits to fix the odd thing here or there. I can't see someone buying this for doing any more than their own skates at home.

Agree completely. I certainly don't expect or intend this to replace my pro shop completely, but it will let me have a decent edge for every game thanks to weekly maintenance. And I don't think I'd even try using this for an initial sharpen on a new pair of runners, either.

[chippa13 1844]

I always have a radius done on a new set of steel. Definitely not something I'd want to do myself.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

That too.

[benson 8]

I'm looking at it as an easy way to get my weekly sharpening in, and my son's about every three weeks sharpening. Plus, I'll be able to relatively easily change ROH as needed or desired. I currently rotate two sets of runners, since I don't always have the time to take a set in to get it sharpened, this should actually cut that down, and I could just use one and have the other set as an emergency backup.

I'll still use my local shops for other stuff and probably yearly or twice a year sharpenings. I backed it early on as I think it was made for people like me.

[flip12 712]

For me, it would be a sure way to get the edge I want, FBV-style or just a shallower hollow, without having to ship my steel to Sweden or Germany. I'm fairly certain I'd still go to Malmo to get my radius done. Sharpening here is about $6.33 every time, and it's the same 1/2 every time, at that. Over a season or two, it could easily pay for itself. Especially if other people at the club want to try out different cuts and whatnot.

[jimmy 194]

It's nice to see people on this forum all excited about semi-automatic sharpeners, especially if you go back thru a decade of posts on this forum where nearly everyone (except me) were doing nothing but badmouthing them, and those were machines with much more perfomance than the Sparx. The Sparx will find it's niche, just like the Prosharp Skatepal which has been on the market for about 8 yrs or so.

Edited March 14, 2015 by jimmy

[flyers10 57]

If I had a household of kids playing too I'd grab one. For just me it's not worth it yet as my LHS only charges $4 a sharpen.

[bkb555 0]

a few questions..i just happened across the Sparx skate sharpener while researching re-riveting my new holders...anyway, it sounds pretty cool BUT....what if you have a different radius on blades than what you "think" you have....I really don't know my radius and when I ask at the pro shop , they say 1/2" one day, 3'8 another time and 5/5" another time....what if you put you 5/8 on a Spark 1/2" ring?....what if a blade is bent to start????on the Sparx website, the cost is $799 but last march it was $599....what is the cost????......great idea but it was better at $599

[jdfournier 0]

You have at least 3 months to figure out your ROH. I would go to a shop and request what you think you have and then try it out (probably 5/8 or 1/2 if you just get a standard or regular hollow without specifying). As far as price, there was the initial kickstarter price, then a pre-order price, then another increase in price. The current price is what is on their website. I got in on the early pre-order price and hope to see it in about about 3-4 months.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Yea I got the Kickstarter price. Also, I'm not sure I understand your question... At least, I don't understand its relevance to Sparx.

[Vet88 674]

a few questions..i just happened across the Sparx skate sharpener while researching re-riveting my new holders...anyway, it sounds pretty cool BUT....what if you have a different radius on blades than what you "think" you have....I really don't know my radius and when I ask at the pro shop , they say 1/2" one day, 3'8 another time and 5/5" another time....what if you put you 5/8 on a Spark 1/2" ring?....what if a blade is bent to start????on the Sparx website, the cost is $799 but last march it was $599....what is the cost????......great idea but it was better at $599

If you want to work out what radius you have this thread gives you some ideas

http://modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php/topic/68943-tool-for-checking-skate-blade-hollow-radius/

[shoeshine boy 242]

yep, those of us who backed it early got a better price. a reward for helping them get up and running if you will.

[SirJW 207]

Someone needs to get this.

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/spo/5349132479.html

[ZamboniFever 32]

Hey guys,

Russ here from Sparx Hockey. I just saw this thread and wanted to thank you all for the great support and feedback. As a thanks, I'd like to offer a limited $50 off coupon towards a new Sparx sharpener good through this weekend for any mod squad members that use the promo code MSH-SPARX

If you have any other questions or thoughts on the product we'd love to hear from you so feel free to leave a message here and I'll do my best to respond or shoot us an email at help@sparxhockey.com

Thanks again and good luck this season!

[ZamboniFever 32]

Hey guys,

Russ here from Sparx Hockey. I just saw this thread and wanted to thank you all for the great support and feedback. As a thanks, I'd like to offer a limited $50 off coupon towards a new Sparx sharpener good through this weekend for any mod squad members that use the promo code MSH-SPARX

If you have any other questions or thoughts on the product we'd love to hear from you so feel free to leave a message here and I'll do my best to respond or shoot us an email at help@sparxhockey.com

Thanks again and good luck this season!

I forgot to mention - when you pre-order a Sparx Sharpener today your CC is not billed until we ship your product to you.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

That's pretty awesome of you man. Can't wait to get mine!

[colins 246]

 

Received my Sparx sharpener today. Here's an unboxing and first use video. Literally 15 minutes to unbox and begin sharpening, including time to read the instructions. So far - impressed. I havent skated on Sparx sharpened blades yet (not until next Thursday), but I will report back with my experience once I do.

 

 

 

Colin

[Rades 6]

That thing is pretty intense!

[Ten2Four 4]

Got mine last week. I've had a few skates on my player skates and one on my goalie skates. Unbelievably happy :)

[Jason 65]

Thanks for the video. For a machine called Sparx there are surprisingly no sparks.

[OldSlowFat 7]

That is pretty neat! I'll be honest though, I was expecting at some point in the video it was going to start printing a sheet of A4 or receiving a fax.

[shoeshine boy 242]

good unboxing video! I got mine on Thursday too. haven't been home long enough to set it up yet.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I got mine about three months ago. Used it on both my player skates  and my goalie skates. They use different cuts, so I have one ring for each set. 

 

I couldn't be happier. I'm looking for convenience and consistency, and I get both with this machine. 

 

Unfortunately I broke my ankle 8 weeks ago, so I haven't had the chance to use it again since the first couple weeks :(

[Ten2Four 4]

21 hours ago, OptimusReim said:

I got mine about three months ago. Used it on both my player skates  and my goalie skates. They use different cuts, so I have one ring for each set. 

 

I couldn't be happier. I'm looking for convenience and consistency, and I get both with this machine. 

 

Unfortunately I broke my ankle 8 weeks ago, so I haven't had the chance to use it again since the first couple weeks :(

 

Wait, they do have a separate goalie ring? Initially I thought they did, but I don't see it listed anywhere on the site anymore. I went ahead and used the 1/2" I got on both and it worked fine.

 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

4 hours ago, Ten2Four said:

 

Wait, they do have a separate goalie ring? Initially I thought they did, but I don't see it listed anywhere on the site anymore. I went ahead and used the 1/2" I got on both and it worked fine.

 

No, because there's no difference with goalie sharpening (unless you do A-Trap or whatever). There's just the height adapter. 

 

I just use two different hollows. My goalie skates are 1/2" radius and my player skates are a 3/8 FIRE ring (FBV)