Sparx Believers be Non-Belivers

I think a lot of it is simple skepticism. Sharpening has always been a "craft", a skill people had to work at and hone (no pun intended) over years in order for them to be able to consistently sharpen skates very well.

It's simply hard for people to accept that a person with little to no experience could get an excellent result from a machine that does it automatically.

When people tell me that they are skeptical, I point out that basically every NHL team is now using them in some capacity, and Pure Hockey stores are all switching over to them.

When I first bought the machine, it started as a joke between me and some teammates because sharpening is a pain to get where I live. I looked into it and was convinced to buy it because of how overwhelmingly positive all the reviews are.

The only people that have ever complained about the sharpening are really bad skaters, like the guy that told me he kept falling every few seconds when I sharpened to 5/8", but when I sharpened it to 9/16" it was suddenly all better and he could skate just fine. I've sharpened for a lot of VERY good skaters who have all said great things about the cut.

To me, it's a better sharpen than anything aside from a cut done by a very experienced sharpener. The very first time I skated on my Sparx edge, I understood what people meant about the consistency of the edge. It's an awesome machine and total game changer in the sharpening world.

Who cares about the noise one way or another? If your hockey schedule can benefit from having a machine, try it out. If it doesn’t work out for you, you’ll easily flip it for almost no money lost. It may not offer absolute world class sharpening, but for 99% of non pro players, it’s more than good enough.

Interesting comment about sparx sharpenings not lasting long.

I just got the machine and my son has had one skate so far. He says one of the edges seem to be "off". The edge checker tells me that the edges are within tolerance.

Realigned the machine again by one click. Let's see if it makes a difference.

It was a no brainer for me: 4 pairs of skates in this household between my kids and me. On the ice 3-5 days a week yearlong.

And the pro shops at the rinks use the Sparx Pro anyways.

I purchased one primarily for the convenience and consistency. My 10U son and I are on the ice 4-5 days a week so I run our skates through 1-2 times a week so they are always sharp. I personally would rather have a consistent cut that feels the same every time than the crap shoot I get around here.

I have only heard positive feedback in person from people that use or own a Sparx. The only criticism or skepticism I have heard has been online. Most of what I have heard, if not all, has been from skeptical skaters that have never skated on a Sparx cut. As others pointed out, the major majority of skaters won’t notice a difference between a good “manual” cut from a Blade Master and the Sparx.

All of that said, if you have access to a shop and individuals that are great at manually sharpening then maybe a Sparx doesn’t make sense.

Pros:

• Convenient - no trips to the shop and it only takes a couple minutes
• Consistent - You can check the edge and adjust if it’s not right on. Your skates will always feel the same after every cut.
• You can try different cuts and if you don’t like it you can change it
• Skates are always sharp. I used to go months without sharpening before I had the Sparx

Cons:

• Figure skates - I have heard figure skaters don’t like the Sparx cut (don’t know this is actually true because it was from the interwebs) and you need an expensive adapter for figure skates
• Sharpening rings are a little expensive at $65 a pop plus shipping. They last for ~50-60 sharpens.

Neutral:

• Sparx is not as simple as plugging in, throwing in a skate and hitting play. Some, although really easy, setup is required.
• Some look at the Sparx as an “investment” because they will save money on sharpening. I don’t see it that way. Even with 4 skaters in our family it will take a while to break even.
• Other skaters will hear you have a sharpener and will start asking if you can sharpen their skates. I don’t mind but some might. One of our other coaches charges $10 per sharpen to cover the cost of replacing the ring.

I'm sure you could ask the same question about any technology. We measure how good a sharpening is by how it feels on the ice. And that is subjective, which brings in a lot of bias.

I ended up buying for convenience and consistency.

I’m a believer. Really happy.

I figure with shipping and the rings I am into it for $1,000. Sharpening at pro shop is currently $7, so discounting the value of my money elsewhere, I need 142 sharpenings to break even (doable with the rings i have). With two of us on the ice 3x per week for 80% of the year, it’s gonna take a few years. We have an outside rink in winter and i sharpen wife an daughters skates a few times, and more sharpenings for me and son. I shine up extra skates when we have friends over. Also I’m willing to sharpen others skates for $5. Still not going to qualify as ‘investment’ type returns.

I love the consistency. I do two passes every week before my game, son gets 2 passes up to twice a week. Always rocking sharp edges vs wearing down then full sharpen at the rink.

I love my Sparx. It’s so convenient and I don’t notice any difference in the edges compared to a more traditional sharpener.