Sparx Skate Sharpener - At home sharpener

[Ten2Four 4]

Posted this to FB but haven't seen a response yet. I've noticed that my machine seems to get out of alignment easily. I sharpened a friends skates last week and after the initial 4 passes on each skate I checked the alignment and it was off. Did 2 passes on 1 skate and checked the alignment, once again it was off. I repeated this process for his other skate and my skates with the alignment being off each time. Am I doing something wrong or is this expected behavior?

[stevebalchunas 32]

23 hours ago, Ten2Four said:

Posted this to FB but haven't seen a response yet. I've noticed that my machine seems to get out of alignment easily. I sharpened a friends skates last week and after the initial 4 passes on each skate I checked the alignment and it was off. Did 2 passes on 1 skate and checked the alignment, once again it was off. I repeated this process for his other skate and my skates with the alignment being off each time. Am I doing something wrong or is this expected behavior?

 

 

 

Hey Tyler, 

Sorry about that. For some reason, those wall posts don't show up in our updates.

This doesn't sound right, you shouldn't have to be re-aligning the machine unless you're moving/traveling. Can you shoot me a few photos of the alignment before and after? It's a little hard to grab, but if you rest your phone right on top of the optical alignment tool, you can usually tap on the area of focus (the tab and groove) and get a decent result. Also, I'm just assuming you're checking the optical alignment and not checking edge height on the blade skate by skate to come to this conclusion. So, let me know a bit more of how you're measuring this and send those photos over. 

My email is steve@sparxhockey.com and if you want to give me a quick call too after you send the photos, please feel free to at 855 772 7947 x711. 

 

[Ten2Four 4]

2 hours ago, stevebalchunas said:

 

Hey Tyler, 

Sorry about that. For some reason, those wall posts don't show up in our updates.

This doesn't sound right, you shouldn't have to be re-aligning the machine unless you're moving/traveling. Can you shoot me a few photos of the alignment before and after? It's a little hard to grab, but if you rest your phone right on top of the optical alignment tool, you can usually tap on the area of focus (the tab and groove) and get a decent result. Also, I'm just assuming you're checking the optical alignment and not checking edge height on the blade skate by skate to come to this conclusion. So, let me know a bit more of how you're measuring this and send those photos over. 

My email is steve@sparxhockey.com and if you want to give me a quick call too after you send the photos, please feel free to at 855 772 7947 x711. 

 

Correct, I'm looking strictly at the optical alignment. I'll give my skates a sharpen today and snap some pics and email them over after. Thanks!

[stevebalchunas 32]

On 9/28/2016 at 4:57 PM, Ten2Four said:

Correct, I'm looking strictly at the optical alignment. I'll give my skates a sharpen today and snap some pics and email them over after. Thanks!

Just checking in, Tyler. I haven't seen anything from you yet. Did you have a chance to sharpen and get some photos?

[Ten2Four 4]

13 hours ago, stevebalchunas said:

Just checking in, Tyler. I haven't seen anything from you yet. Did you have a chance to sharpen and get some photos?

Haven't had a chance yet, sorry. Tomorrow or Wednesday I've got to do them. 

[bootsmagee 15]

On 9/27/2016 at 0:09 AM, IPv6Freely said:

I just use the leather for my coated blades.

After a fresh sharpening, do you notice any effects of a burr that might be left from only using the leather strop?  I haven't gotten a chance to test it out for myself because I don't like experimenting on game-days.  I should really experiment and go to an open skate to see if I notice anything, but I haven't gotten the chance yet.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

5 hours ago, bootsmagee said:

After a fresh sharpening, do you notice any effects of a burr that might be left from only using the leather strop?  I haven't gotten a chance to test it out for myself because I don't like experimenting on game-days.  I should really experiment and go to an open skate to see if I notice anything, but I haven't gotten the chance yet.

I haven't noticed anything. I find the coated blades don't burr nearly as much, though. So there's that. 

[bootsmagee 15]

3 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

I haven't noticed anything. I find the coated blades don't burr nearly as much, though. So there's that. 

Gotcha..I might just go for it then.  I'll skate out with a fresh sharpening for this weekend's game and see if I notice any difference.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

Just curious if anyone at Sparz has ever sharpened a skate and if so what is their experience in doing so? Or did they just build the machine to try and fill a niche gap?

[bootsmagee 15]

2 minutes ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:

Just curious if anyone at Sparz has ever sharpened a skate and if so what is their experience in doing so? Or did they just build the machine to try and fill a niche gap?

Read about Russell here https://www.sparxhockey.com/pages/team

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

How long did it take him to Master The Art of sharpening?  Pretty sure I am still learning after 30 years at it? 

[bootsmagee 15]

1 minute ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:

How long did it take him to Master The Art of sharpening?  Pretty sure I am still learning after 30 years at it? 

I'm not certain..maybe he'll chime in.

[flip12 714]

 

19 minutes ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:

How long did it take him to Master The Art of sharpening?  Pretty sure I am still learning after 30 years at it? 

A rapper once said:

"Then you get your Master's. Then you get your Master's' Master's. Then you get your Doctorate..."

I.e., the learning's never done.

Edited October 11, 2016 by flip12
apostrophe?

[Vet88 674]

6 hours ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:

How long did it take him to Master The Art of sharpening?  Pretty sure I am still learning after 30 years at it? 

Yep, there ain't no machine that will tell you the stone doesn't sound right as the blade runs over it or the pass just doesn't feel right. A machine solution will give you a sharpen but a good experienced operator will give you a great sharpen and there is night and day difference between the 2.

[bootsmagee 15]

3 hours ago, Vet88 said:

Yep, there ain't no machine that will tell you the stone doesn't sound right as the blade runs over it or the pass just doesn't feel right. A machine solution will give you a sharpen but a good experienced operator will give you a great sharpen and there is night and day difference between the 2.

I don't doubt that a good experienced operator can offer a great sharpening, but some of us just don't have that guy locally available.  Having personally experienced the inconsistency of many "average" operators out there, I'd rather get a good-to-great sharpening that's exactly the same every single time versus gambling on the guy at the rink.  Only time will tell in the long run, but I think these guys (Sparx) have done an exceptional job here.  If you haven't given it a try, find one to test out and see what you think. 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

1 hour ago, bootsmagee said:

I don't doubt that a good experienced operator can offer a great sharpening, but some of us just don't have that guy locally available.  Having personally experienced the inconsistency of many "average" operators out there, I'd rather get a good-to-great sharpening that's exactly the same every single time versus gambling on the guy at the rink.  Only time will tell in the long run, but I think these guys (Sparx) have done an exceptional job here.  If you haven't given it a try, find one to test out and see what you think. 

I'm with you 100%. 

[Vet88 674]

9 hours ago, bootsmagee said:

I don't doubt that a good experienced operator can offer a great sharpening, but some of us just don't have that guy locally available.  Having personally experienced the inconsistency of many "average" operators out there, I'd rather get a good-to-great sharpening that's exactly the same every single time versus gambling on the guy at the rink.  Only time will tell in the long run, but I think these guys (Sparx) have done an exceptional job here.  If you haven't given it a try, find one to test out and see what you think. 

And I don't disagree with you, I think they have created a very good product that fills a niche at the bottom to good end of the sharpening spectrum and the "I just want to sharpen skates at home" market. IMHO there are a lot of rinks and shops out there that could benefit from having one of these, by removing the barely trained operator from the equation they could give consistent results. I've had these kinds of people sharpen and butcher my blades so I know exactly what you are talking about. However I was lucky enough to meet one the better sharpeners in the business and have spent the last few years learning from him, it is worth it when you find a good sharpener but that hunt can be a difficult and frustrating process.

[bootsmagee 15]

 

On 10/11/2016 at 6:00 PM, Vet88 said:

And I don't disagree with you, I think they have created a very good product that fills a niche at the bottom to good end of the sharpening spectrum and the "I just want to sharpen skates at home" market. IMHO there are a lot of rinks and shops out there that could benefit from having one of these, by removing the barely trained operator from the equation they could give consistent results. I've had these kinds of people sharpen and butcher my blades so I know exactly what you are talking about. However I was lucky enough to meet one the better sharpeners in the business and have spent the last few years learning from him, it is worth it when you find a good sharpener but that hunt can be a difficult and frustrating process.

 

On 10/10/2016 at 10:13 PM, oldtrainerguy28 said:

How long did it take him to Master The Art of sharpening?  Pretty sure I am still learning after 30 years at it? 

I am not a skate sharpener, so I can't really argue many technical sharpening specifics one way or the other without having any kind of traditional sharpening experience.  That being said, what are some of the specific sharpening trade technical points that you guys might call into question when comparing to the Sparx?  Maybe we can get some answers that you aren't yet aware of, or maybe we can learn some limitations that most of us Sparx users aren't aware of.  I do know that it can't profile a blade, but it is supposed to maintain the profile that has already been applied.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

After not getting a chance to use my Sparx since May due to my injury, I finally used it again last night. Man, this thing is a dream. It's like using a toaster... skate in, press play, done!

I've started again using it before every skate, doing just two passes unless I have visible damage (goalie skate... so I hit the posts fairly often). To me, that makes more sense than 4 passes every other skate. Consistency is the name of the game with this machine. Is it as good as somebody who has been sharpening for 40 years? Absolutely 100% not. Is it as good or better than the kid who butchers my blades every time at the LHS? Absolutely 100% yes. Does it mean I don't put off getting them sharpened for two months or more because I have to drive to another town to get them done, making the first skate really difficult? Again, a resounding yes. 

It doesn't replace pro shops with skilled sharpeners. Those skilled sharpeners should also not feel threatened by the Sparx, either. It fits a space where it makes sense for some people and not so much for others. There's nothing wrong with that. 

[Chadd 916]

I know two people that are already trying to steal business from the local shop by using one of these. Ethics aside, the results have been less than impressive

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Interesting. Mine works pretty well.

[bootsmagee 15]

7 hours ago, Chadd said:

I know two people that are already trying to steal business from the local shop by using one of these. Ethics aside, the results have been less than impressive

What kind of unimpressive results are we talking about?  We're reading a fair amount of negativity about the Sparx on this page, but nothing specifically negative.     

[stevebalchunas 32]

14 minutes ago, smcgreg said:

The only argument I've heard against it would be if the steel weren't straight the machine can't account for that.  My question is, would most humans?  Some, the guys I trust, but most?  Probably not.  Anybody else have any specific criticisms other than it can't do the Magic the way the experience Magicians can?

 

1

I'd really love to hear comments on this as well. 

I won't say too much about what I think, but here's a little chart from some of our blade research... My engineers would tell me never to say never, so I'm just going to say it would be highly unlikely to be skating on a perfectly straight blade. And no matter what tool you think you have that can "straighten" the bend, it's highly unlikely you could ever bring something back to perfect when we're measuring at such a small scale (thousandths of inches).

This chart is ~50 blades we tested for straightness (new/old/Bauer/CCM/Step/in-holder/out of holder (the Sparx recommended way to sharpen)/etc.) and as you can see, they're all bent to some degree. So, for those who are questioning how we can perform with bent steel, at least know that we've done our homework and that we know of the "issue of bent steel" and think we handle them just fine :).
 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

This is why I got a Sparx (photo of my old runners courtesy of JR):

 

[Chadd 916]

The two guys I've seen both had dull spots along the blade.