Sparx Skate Sharpener - At home sharpener

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I especially loved that in addition to the manual, there were videos for each step. 

 

Can't wait to get my hands on the sparx gauge. 

[shoeshine boy 242]

me too! I'm fanatical about even edges. it's a big reason why friends have me sharpen their skates rather than the shop at the rink.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

I'm still interested in seeing the machine and/or a sharpened set. Looks like customers seem to be happy with the final product. 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

3 hours ago, JR Boucicaut said:

I'm still interested in seeing the machine and/or a sharpened set. Looks like customers seem to be happy with the final product. 

Shame SJ didn't work out for me. I would have had about 3 months worth of sharpening on the blades that you did for me initially. So it would have been a really good comparison. 

[Bane 1]

I have the Sparx. I was part of the Kickstarter, so I was able to purchase for $300 less than the current price. I can honestly say the machine is amazing and is worth the price so far. They have grinding wheels for pretty much every hollow and in both traditional and flat bottom V (they called it Fire). My skates look as good and skate as well as the best sharpenings I have ever had, and are better than most sharpenings I have had on my skates. 

The only negative is that it is a machine for sharpening only, there is no way that I can see that you would be able to use the Sparx to re-profile/re-rocker your blades. You are pretty much set with whatever profile is there from the factory. So if you are concerned about changing the rocker, etc. you are better off with spending the money on a Wissota or having your skates profiled professionally and then just using the Sparx for sharpening. 

[jimmy 194]

2 hours ago, Bane said:

I have the Sparx. I was part of the Kickstarter, so I was able to purchase for $300 less than the current price. I can honestly say the machine is amazing and is worth the price so far. They have grinding wheels for pretty much every hollow and in both traditional and flat bottom V (they called it Fire). My skates look as good and skate as well as the best sharpenings I have ever had, and are better than most sharpenings I have had on my skates. 

The only negative is that it is a machine for sharpening only, there is no way that I can see that you would be able to use the Sparx to re-profile/re-rocker your blades. You are pretty much set with whatever profile is there from the factory. So if you are concerned about changing the rocker, etc. you are better off with spending the money on a Wissota or having your skates profiled professionally and then just using the Sparx for sharpening. 

Sparx does not do Flat bottom V. It's more like the BFD.

[Bane 1]

3 minutes ago, jimmy said:

Sparx does not do Flat bottom V. It's more like the BFD.

They say it's FBV, so just going off of their literature and labeling of their Fire rings. I'm not sure what BFD is, but I would be interested in hearing what the difference is and why Sparx isn't Flat Bottom V.  

[jimmy 194]

3 minutes ago, Bane said:

They say it's FBV, so just going off of their literature and labeling of their Fire rings. I'm not sure what BFD is, but I would be interested in hearing what the difference is and why Sparx isn't Flat Bottom V.  

FBV is patented, Sparx is using the old BFD which is a hollow with a flat spot in the middle.  BFD patent ran out so anyone can use it, FBV is still protected and is exclusive to Blackstone Machines. A lot of places that do BFD will lie and say it's FBV, but it's not.

Edited August 1, 2016 by jimmy

[psulion22 402]

5 minutes ago, jimmy said:

FBV is patented, Sparx is using the old BFD which is a hollow with a flat spot in the middle.  BFD patent ran out so anyone can use it, FBV is still protected and is exclusive to Blackstone Machines. A lot of places that do BFD will lie and say it's FBV, but it's not.

So the top is flat like FBV, but the sides are still curved like a ROH?  What are the differences in results?

Edited August 1, 2016 by psulion22

[Bane 1]

10 minutes ago, jimmy said:

FBV is patented, Sparx is using the old BFD which is a hollow with a flat spot in the middle.  BFD patent ran out so anyone can use it, FBV is still protected and is exclusive to Blackstone Machines. A lot of places that do BFD will lie and say it's FBV, but it's not.

I just looked again, you are correct. They list the Fire ring as being like the BFD Blademaster.  I tried the 5/8" Fire ring on my skates yesterday and I can honestly say that I had more glide compared to my normal 5/8" non flat sharpening and what felt like the same grip. So far I am very happy with my investment in Sparx. 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I didn't know that was the actual difference. Makes sense. Either way, I was really happy with the Fire ring and the Sparx. Maybe someday I'll get to try it again... ugh.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

8 hours ago, psulion22 said:

So the top is flat like FBV, but the sides are still curved like a ROH?  What are the differences in results?

There's quite a few threads about this. 

[Stewie 721]

if it's just BFD then probably no reason to invest in the machine for me with access to close FBV. Still looks an interesting machine to me.

[mc88 160]

Here ya go folks... BFD, ROH, FBV:

[IPv6Freely 2092]

40 minutes ago, mc88 said:

Here ya go folks... BFD, ROH, FBV:

Thanks, that's very helpful. 

[jimmy 194]

I really dislike that illustration because the FBV really only looks like that magnified many times.  In reality, the flat spot is almost the entire width of the blade with only  about .005" or so of edge on the sides, ... that's about the thickness of a piece of paper. And the distance from the point of the edge to the flat area is way less than the illustration shows.  From reports from my customers those who've tried the BFD almost unanimously like the FBV better, even those who were lied to and told they were getting the real FBV.  They just knew something wasn't the same.  Crisper edges and more glide is the common comparison.  As JR said, there's prob some threads on this for more info.

[cmflynn 16]

I'm actually the opposite, I prefer the BFD over FBV, I found that for me it performs better, and holds an edge much longer (i went 3 months playing 2-3 times a week on my last sharpening). I really gave FBV a try, and tried multiple hollows, and while I found the 90/50 FBV I'm using for the rest of the summer is ok, I still prefer the X8. We can argue about which one is scientifically better, and I'd concede the FBV probably is, ultimately its going to come down to personal preference, and the only way to know is to experiment with different grinds until you find the one that's right for you. Oh, and hope it isn't one where there's only one guy where you live that can do it, and he closes shop for the summer.

[mc88 160]

I normally skate on a 9/16-5/8" ROH, but for the last 6 months switched to a 5/8" FBV (90/75) and 1/2" (100/50) and loved both. After some usage with these Fire grinding rings, I have to say I don't like the BFD at all. I've gone from 5/8" Fire to 1/2" Fire and I still flop around like a fish out of water, and wipe out when trying to do quick turns/stop hard in game. I like the FBV wayyyyy better than the BFD offered. To be honest, I'm kind of disappointed in the rings.

With that said, I'm going to try the 1/2" ROH grinding ring. I'll report back on whether or not it fixes the slip-n-slide issues.

Edited August 4, 2016 by mc88

[rlshky 0]

6 minutes ago, mc88 said:

I'm kind of disappointed in the rings.

 

So are you saying you don't like the machine and don't think it does a good job of sharpening skates or that the machine is working fine and that this BFD type of sharpening just isn't for you?

[mc88 160]

13 minutes ago, rlshky said:

So are you saying you don't like the machine and don't think it does a good job of sharpening skates or that the machine is working fine and that this BFD type of sharpening just isn't for you?

As of now, the rings. I'll hold on saying the machine until I try the 1/2" ROH ring (just ordered it, should get it within 2 days).

[smcgreg 81]

Given that it appears my local TH will be closing, I guess I'll be getting one of these.  I don't trust the sharpenings anywhere else that's close to me and I'm not driving an hour to JR's shop.  So, since this machine seems to be pretty consistent, it should pay for itself within about a year, if not, two.  Plus the convenience of having it done when I want, the way I want. 

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

7 minutes ago, smcgreg said:

Given that it appears my local TH will be closing, I guess I'll be getting one of these.  I don't trust the sharpenings anywhere else that's close to me and I'm not driving an hour to JR's shop.  So, since this machine seems to be pretty consistent, it should pay for itself within about a year, if not, two.  Plus the convenience of having it done when I want, the way I want. 

Novi's closer.  Jose will be there.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

That covers both reasons I got one. The sharpenings I get at the rink are inconsistent. One guy is awful, another guy is okay. Either way, the shop is closed almost all of the time that I'm actually there (closes at 5pm, and our games are all 6:30pm or later). That means I go far longer than I would like between sharpening my skates. So that first time on the ice after a cut is awful. So having this machine lets me sharpen before every game with consistency. I use less than the standard number of passes (only about 1 or 2 passes) if they don't appear to have any nicks in them, and the standard cut if they do. 

It really is the consistency I want. Even if they aren't up to par with somebody who knows what they're doing, they're still better than the bad sharpenings I get locally, and I know what I'm going to get every single time. 

That said, I'm not sure I'd pay full retail for this thing, I'd probably buy an X01 instead (though not having to learn how to use it and get good at it is a plus for me). But at the Kickstarter price, I'm happy. 

@JR Boucicaut You'll see the finish this thing produces at WF. It will be my player skates so unfortunately the evenness will probably be crap (you saw how bad my old goalie skates were thanks to the local guy) but you'll get an idea of the finish at least.

[Kgbeast 195]

9 hours ago, mc88 said:

I normally skate on a 9/16-5/8" ROH, but for the last 6 months switched to a 5/8" FBV (90/75) and 1/2" (100/50) and loved both. After some usage with these Fire grinding rings, I have to say I don't like the BFD at all. I've gone from 5/8" Fire to 1/2" Fire and I still flop around like a fish out of water, and wipe out when trying to do quick turns/stop hard in game. I like the FBV wayyyyy better than the BFD offered. To be honest, I'm kind of disappointed in the rings.

With that said, I'm going to try the 1/2" ROH grinding ring. I'll report back on whether or not it fixes the slip-n-slide issues.

Is it possible that you just loose your edge? Both BFD and FBV create a pretty skinny edge that can roll-over of split-off. I would think that the quality of the steel, hardness of the ice, and weight of the player can result in ROH being a better option. Although if you flop with 9/16 ROH, you'll do the same with 1/2"... perhaps when you hone the sides, you also take the edge off a little. Who knows, there could be more than just ring problem.

[mojo122 535]

I don't want to hijack the SPARX thread, but BFD is less than precise compared to FBV.  BFD is a scale where a particular dressing can feel within a range (for example, bite can feel like anything from a 1/2" to 5/8") and FBV has multiple spinners equivalent to specific hollows (for example 100/50 = 1/2").  If the SPARX fire ring is closer to actual ROH, then I'd say it's a better system than BFD IMO.