Sparx Skate Sharpener - At home sharpener

[marka 526]

Howdy,

24 minutes ago, bootsmagee said:

I'm not discounting the desire to fine-tune, though.  It's fun; rewarding.  It kind of relates back to the passion for manual sharpening that's been seen in this thread, and the debates that arise from it.  Set it and forget it, or play and tweak.  I enjoy feeling confident that the sparx is aligned after using the alignment ring and sight.  I check alignment every time I travel with the machine, and I make a 1 or 2 click adjustment maybe 1 out of every 10 trips when I bring it to the rink or a friend's house.

 

Do you use the travel piece for the clamp and the locking screw for those trips?

Mark

[bootsmagee 15]

Yes I always install the travel guard when I'm done using the machine.  I made my own case out of a Jr Goalie wheeled hockey bag and polyethylene foam, and the sparx goes back into the case when I'm done.  I posted pics a while back, but photobucket sucks and the links are broken.

[OldCY 94]

Greene or Columbia county?

6 hours ago, bootsmagee said:

The sparx remains centered regardless of blade width.  You should really track one down to check it out.  I'm about 45 minutes south of Albany if you're ever interested.

 

[bootsmagee 15]

Ulster

[psulion22 402]

1 hour ago, bootsmagee said:

I understand.  Yes, for those who want to fine tune for dead even edges, the alignment tool can be seen as your starting point followed by fine tuning to an edge checker.  Honestly, my opinion is that in most cases no one would feel the difference if blind tested with perfect fine tuned edges vs. alignment tool-only edges. 

In my personal experience with the sparx and my hockey team, the alignment tool does it's job and the edge checker was an unnecessary splurge.  We still don't know what's expected to break down first on these machines and when; maybe at some point the edge checker will help show that the machine is past it's alignment accuracy lifespan.  Hopefully in the distant future :)

I'm not discounting the desire to fine-tune, though.  It's fun; rewarding.  It kind of relates back to the passion for manual sharpening that's been seen in this thread, and the debates that arise from it.  Set it and forget it, or play and tweak.  I enjoy feeling confident that the sparx is aligned after using the alignment ring and sight.  I check alignment every time I travel with the machine, and I make a 1 or 2 click adjustment maybe 1 out of every 10 trips when I bring it to the rink or a friend's house.

I assume that if I had received the ring with the unit that I would have just centered it with that and not known any difference.  So the only reason I know it's not perfect is because I had to reverse engineer a solution.  The nice thing is that I can fine tune the machine, like a manual sharpener.  But then leave it right there and it should be perfect as long as the machine isn't moved, unlike a manual sharpener.  Either way, I'm sure that the near perfect alignment from the tool is still better than what many would receive with a sharpening from their LHS.

[IPv6Freely 2095]

32 minutes ago, psulion22 said:

Either way, I'm sure that the near perfect alignment from the tool is still better than what many would receive with a sharpening from their LHS.

This. 

[Playmakersedge 58]

12 hours ago, bootsmagee said:

The sparx remains centered regardless of blade width.  You should really track one down to check it out.  I'm about 45 minutes south of Albany if you're ever interested.

Sweet.  Yes I gotta check it out.   So the grinding troly runs on a fit path ?  The adjustment is done by moving the skate fixture?   

[Playmakersedge 58]

Mark 

I don't think this machine would be that complicated being the target market is anyone.  They had to design it around or for the not so mechanically inclined customer.   I'm going off speculation not first hand.

[Playmakersedge 58]

8 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

For sure, I agree. You still need an edge checker for fine adjustments, for sure. I would think of the alignment ring as more of a starting point. 

What's two clicks as far as thousandth of an inch ? Paper  is 2-3 thousandths .    The edge checkers:  where is there point of failure when the checker isn't giving a valid reading?  I have never used them. Always used a coin comparing the vertical of the side of the blade to the horizontal of the coin.   I also have a square called a tool makers square it's very small . Another tip for sharpening:  I don't use a stone to take off the burr after sharpening.  I use a piece of carbulou*   .. thinking the burr may not be all the way off throwing off the edge checker  

[marka 526]

Howdy,

What's carbulou?

Mark

[x-track 8]

kinda leather ......the better u sharpen the less u need a honing stone at the end .....till a shop rag is enough to wipe off the shavings

 

[IPv6Freely 2095]

3 hours ago, x-track said:

kinda leather ......the better u sharpen the less u need a honing stone at the end .....till a shop rag is enough to wipe off the shavings

 

Nice thing about the Sparx plus step blacksteel... no burrs at all. I use a piece of leather but really don’t need it. Shop cloth would be plenty.

[Playmakersedge 58]

On 1/6/2018 at 2:42 PM, x-track said:

kinda leather ......the better u sharpen the less u need a honing stone at the end .....till a shop rag is enough to wipe off the shavings

 

Quality of the Steele too . The less expensive softer metals tend to bur . What I'm seeing is mostly mid grade stock steels . The ccm polished steel I have them and I have done a few sets . You can feel and hear the difference and no burr at all  .    I gotta see this Sparx machine in use . Going to have to Google the process  (?) Chris is saying.        Fyi I was never con the machine.  I was saying;  Don't be so afraid of a manual machine it's easy .just a matter of caring .  Does the Sparx sense different blade hardness?

[bootsmagee 15]

On 1/5/2018 at 8:49 PM, Playmakersedge said:

Sweet.  Yes I gotta check it out.   So the grinding troly runs on a fit path ?  The adjustment is done by moving the skate fixture?   

Sorry, I didn't see this reply until just now.  The grinding ring head (Trolley) runs on a fixed path, yes.  If we say the grinding ring moves back and forth on the X-axis to sharpen the skate blade, the grinding ring itself is adjustable in the Y-axis by turning a knob, which has incremental "clicks."  A separate height adjustment lever also allows Z-axis adjustment, so you can set the max height of the grinding ring.  The grinding ring can then move downward from this setting with a consistent torsional spring pressure pushing the ring back up toward this max height setting.  This puts consistent pressure on the grinding surface, taking off consistent amount of material along the entire blade's profile. 

2 to 3 clicks of Y-axis adjustment is advertised to change edge height by approximately .001" when using a 1/2" radius ring.  So in other words, they're telling us if your edges are off by .001", 2-3 clicks toward the taller edge should set them perfectly even.  I work with Autocad and a quick sketch shows me that in order to get .001" height difference bewteen the edges on a 1/8" wide blade, the 1/2" grinding ring would need be approximately .004" off-center, in the Y-axis.  So .004/2.5 clicks = .0016"; let's call it .0015" per click in the Y-axis.  I also calculate approximately .0004" of edge height (Z-axis) adjustment per click (.001/2.5 clicks=.0004 per click).

[Playmakersedge 58]

15 hours ago, bootsmagee said:

Sorry, I didn't see this reply until just now.  The grinding ring head (Trolley) runs on a fixed path, yes.  If we say the grinding ring moves back and forth on the X-axis to sharpen the skate blade, the grinding ring itself is adjustable in the Y-axis by turning a knob, which has incremental "clicks."  A separate height adjustment lever also allows Z-axis adjustment, so you can set the max height of the grinding ring.  The grinding ring can then move downward from this setting with a consistent torsional spring pressure pushing the ring back up toward this max height setting.  This puts consistent pressure on the grinding surface, taking off consistent amount of material along the entire blade's profile. 

2 to 3 clicks of Y-axis adjustment is advertised to change edge height by approximately .001" when using a 1/2" radius ring.  So in other words, they're telling us if your edges are off by .001", 2-3 clicks toward the taller edge should set them perfectly even.  I work with Autocad and a quick sketch shows me that in order to get .001" height difference bewteen the edges on a 1/8" wide blade, the 1/2" grinding ring would need be approximately .004" off-center, in the Y-axis.  So .004/2.5 clicks = .0016"; let's call it .0015" per click in the Y-axis.  I also calculate approximately .0004" of edge height (Z-axis) adjustment per click (.001/2.5 clicks=.0004 per click).

No problem,, nice  .    It sounds like it would be relatively simple to have a self alignment mechanism on the front of grinder head two guides that self center  .  Either spring actuated or adjustable guides  . User would just have to put the skate in and  hit a head center button then hit start button all automatic

Edited January 11, 2018 by Playmakersedge
Added thought

[bootsmagee 15]

The alignment procedure takes literally 1 minute or less, it's very simple.  

[marka 526]

Howdy,

On 1/11/2018 at 7:28 AM, Playmakersedge said:

No problem,, nice  .    It sounds like it would be relatively simple to have a self alignment mechanism on the front of grinder head two guides that self center  .  Either spring actuated or adjustable guides  . User would just have to put the skate in and  hit a head center button then hit start button all automatic

Since the machine aligns the center of the clamp (and thus the center of the blade) to the center of the grinding ring, there's no need to align it for every pair of skates.  Different blade thicknesses still end up with the center of the blade in the same plane, since the clamping center point doesn't move w/reference to the grinding ring.

Mark

[IPv6Freely 2095]

Also no point in making the machine more complex. 

[Playmakersedge 58]

I'm confused,  then . I thought the clicks were adjusting the centering?    I think  I'm getting what I have wrong  . The trolly isn't being  adjusted on slides it is on a tilt adjuster .   I believe I get it .   

Edited January 16, 2018 by Playmakersedge
Added thought

[IPv6Freely 2095]

Got my two free grinding rings thanks to my referral code, and they sent me a couple extras!

1/2” is my normal goalie skate, 3/8” is just to give it a try. 

[ryanmonty 35]

13 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

Got my two free grinding rings thanks to my referral code, and they sent me a couple extras!

1/2” is my normal goalie skate, 3/8” is just to give it a try. 

You’re welcome! 

 

Ps just un-boxed mine last night and was pleasantly surprised to get the beer koozie! Can’t wait to set it up and get on the ice. 

[Bbddll 2]

This is a little weird. First off, we use of the 5/8 ring.So This is a little weird. First off, we use of the 5/8 ring. 

 I skate on high-end skates with step steel. 

 My son skates on mid range skates. 

Being we have the sparkx machine, we do a 1 to 2 pass tuneup before we skate. 

We noticed this morning, with the edge checker, that my skates were absolutely perfect. My sons skates however, were off  by almost 2 lines when using the Sparx edge checker.

Kinda weird, any ideas?

[Chris Gent 7]

4 hours ago, Bbddll said:

This is a little weird. First off, we use of the 5/8 ring.So This is a little weird. First off, we use of the 5/8 ring. 

 I skate on high-end skates with step steel. 

 My son skates on mid range skates. 

Being we have the sparkx machine, we do a 1 to 2 pass tuneup before we skate. 

We noticed this morning, with the edge checker, that my skates were absolutely perfect. My sons skates however, were off  by almost 2 lines when using the Sparx edge checker.

Kinda weird, any ideas?

I see the same thing on my sons' skates with our Sparx.  One has Vapor 1Xs (10.5D) with LS3 steel and the other has Supreme MX3s with LS3 steel (7.0D).  Both sets of steel are about the same height (within 1/16") and both are skating on the 1/2" Fire grind.  I always take the blades out and use the steel holder and the included orange clips to ensure the steel is locked in tightly.  Both sets of steel went through a 10 pass "clean" cut when coming from 7/16" radius because I found when I did my own skates that anything less was a sort of uncomfortable radius / fire compromise.  The alignment is regularly checked and I have not had to adjust it in 2-3 months.  Even still, the LS3 steel on the Vapors occasionally shows to be 1 line off level.  Other times it's about a half line.  The Supreme's steel is always dead even.  The tl:dr version of this is that the longer steel seems prone to being bent or twisted, but at a level that is finer than I can see when laying it flat on my workbench to check it.  Either way, depending on blocked shots, stepped on sticks, posts slammed into trying to keep a goal out (both are defensemen), etc., the longer steel doesn't seem to stay as straight.  I think this is probably what you're seeing, especially with regard to the step steel (very hard) versus mid-range (softer / more prone to bending) steel.

[Bbddll 2]

1 hour ago, Chris Gent said:

I see the same thing on my sons' skates with our Sparx.  One has Vapor 1Xs (10.5D) with LS3 steel and the other has Supreme MX3s with LS3 steel (7.0D).  Both sets of steel are about the same height (within 1/16") and both are skating on the 1/2" Fire grind.  I always take the blades out and use the steel holder and the included orange clips to ensure the steel is locked in tightly.  Both sets of steel went through a 10 pass "clean" cut when coming from 7/16" radius because I found when I did my own skates that anything less was a sort of uncomfortable radius / fire compromise.  The alignment is regularly checked and I have not had to adjust it in 2-3 months.  Even still, the LS3 steel on the Vapors occasionally shows to be 1 line off level.  Other times it's about a half line.  The Supreme's steel is always dead even.  The tl:dr version of this is that the longer steel seems prone to being bent or twisted, but at a level that is finer than I can see when laying it flat on my workbench to check it.  Either way, depending on blocked shots, stepped on sticks, posts slammed into trying to keep a goal out (both are defensemen), etc., the longer steel doesn't seem to stay as straight.  I think this is probably what you're seeing, especially with regard to the step steel (very hard) versus mid-range (softer / more prone to bending) steel.

That makes a lot of sense. But, I am going to upgrade his steel. At age 14, we haven’t noticed a difference in his on ice performance. 

[Chris Gent 7]

33 minutes ago, Bbddll said:

That makes a lot of sense. But, I am going to upgrade his steel. At age 14, we haven’t noticed a difference in his on ice performance. 

The one thing I notice about Step Steel (had it in the 6.5 Supreme MX3s my son just outgrew) is that it is MUCH more resilient and needs fewer sharpenings...once you get it sharp anyway.  It does seem to take a few more passes to achieve good clean edges if they're torn up because the steel seems to be harder.  In the end, that all balances out.  If I didn't have 2 sets of LS3 steel with this current pair, I'd have switched him out.

Overall, I'm sure I'm well in the hole with the purchase of the sharpener and quite a few different rings until we found what all 4 of us like (my wife and I both play hockey too), but I wouldn't go back to a LHS here in Dallas unless my son ended up playing at a the one rink where we have a trustworthy sharpener.  The fact that I can throw the skates on the sharpener and trust the machine implicitly to get them right while I tape a stick or pack a bag is the ultimate in hockey parent convenience.  I guess if I included gas and time spent, I might get close to break even in another year or 2 in a pure dollars sense, but this is a luxury well worth the capital costs in my opinion.