Dan here, thanks for watching! This video started getting really long, really quick. Wanted to add a few notes here: 1. Thanks to Bladetech and my buddy Ray! 2. This newer version of the Sparx Sharpener is really sick. It was cool in 2017, but it's come a long way. And the unboxing experience feels a lot more like a tech product nowadays. 3. If anyone out there is keeping a tally, I'd love to know how many sharpenings you've run on your own machine, or how the 2-3 cycle recommendation fits for you. 4. Or if you have hesitations about jumping in on Sparx, what things are giving you pause. 5. If I sell, I will miss this. The idea is that, if/when I get back to playing frequently (unsure at the moment), I'd potentially pick up the newest version at some point. I'm moving, doing some career change exploration, and will essentially be couch surfing for the rest of the year. I'm not a minimalist, but I do fit comfortably in this small studio apartment, and I try not to move through life with a bigger physical footprint than I need. Because I'll be doing some travel and not moving into a new apartment right away, it feels like more of a hassle to store while I'm not actively playing a ton. I'll certainly keep it if I don't sell it, but either way, I won't be using it as much this fall/winter. 6. I largely feel that if my sharpener disappeared tomorrow, I'd be happy that it made it this long given how much I've gotten out of it. It's been fun to keep the data, but I think it's good to look at the purchase from other angles beyond the "breakeven" exercise. Sharpening is more expensive now, increasingly you're going to get your sharpening done on a Sparx even at a pro shop anyway, and you no longer need a dedicated flat surface on which to keep a 50 pound behemoth. It's so much smaller and lighter now, and while I poke some fun at the idea that you can be truly up and running for $699... it IS a lot less risky to buy a Sparx in 2023 than in it was in 2017. Probably a safe bet that the company will be around.
Love this, it really was a no brainer for my family with the recent sale. I chose the V2 for $599 and after getting the accessories and 2 stones, with tax and shipping it was delivered for about $990USD. For me alone its just the simplicity of being able to walk out to the garage before my sons practice and give him a fresh edge. I'm sure it will pay for it's self soon enough with myself, a 6.5 year old, and 4 year old skating 2-3 times a week and my wife occasionally skating with us outdoors. thanks for the video!
Enjoy it! Yours is a perfect example of a use case where I wouldn't fret about when the payoff will happen - like you said, that's a lot of skating, and the simplicity and time savings will be great.
With 3 skaters in the family, and one playing goalie I was spending $30.00 to $40.00 every time I get skates sharpened. If they are open I have about 2 hours of time invested. A few times they have messed up my and or my kids skates. Sure they dial them back in at no charge, but that's a practice, or a game on trash skates, and the extra time to get them fixed. The Sparx 3 is a huge time saver, and we never let our skates get dull. I'm averaging 2.2 passes because I maintain the edges and don't need to do heavier grinds. Goalie skates get extra abuse due to bashing posts, and as such they get a tuneup more frequently.
Thanks for sharing, this is great! Is that 2.2 tracked all nicely within the app now? I haven't had a chance to unbox mine yet, but I am looking forward to seeing what the app displays.
I’ve had my Sparx for about 4 months now and I love it. Really cool to hear the much longer term experience. For me, it’s not about saving money but rather saving time. In that regard it’s paid for itself 10X over already 😁
THE Tom Buck?! Had no idea you played. Lol I come to my hockey channel to post and feel like my production quality is high for this niche... not to find out you've watched this video and feel immediately self conscious 🙈 Thanks for all the work you put in on your channel, it's really helpful! The time is huge. I finally decided to get one when I stopped driving past Pure Hockey on an old commute. Do you find 2-3 cycles working well for you?
@@SeenByYoshoh wow! Dude your channel is amazing!! It really helped me decide on the Sparx a few months ago, and your videos are just always fun. I only started hockey at the beginning of this year- we got a new AHL team here and quickly became huge fans then got kinda addicted to skating/playing. I’m currently trying to learn goalie, which is…difficult 😁 And yeah, I usually do 2 cycles every 4ish hours of ice time. It took a bit to get the alignment right, but after that it’s been ridiculously consistent. I sharpen my wife’s skates and some friends’ too, so I just have a note card for their height settings and it’s a snap 👍
That's awesome, and brave of you for getting in net 😅 The note card for jotting down the hight of the grinding ring is key, I probably should have mentioned that in the vid. Keeping the data that I did is way overkill for most obviously, but anyone who is sharpening for multiple other people/sets of runners can save a lot of fiddling by having those settings written down.
I just got a 3 yesterday. Great video. Also super jealous of the ring collection. I want to get a few more to give my son a chance to try and really feel what he likes.
@@SeenByYosh set-up was easy. Doing the first sharpening for my son tonight after his skating treadmill session. The trick is finding the right radius.
radius and hallow are 2 different things! the sparx leaves the stock 11 foot radius on the blades also do not sharpen above a 5/8 there is no need and best performance like 90% of NHL players try using 1 inch or 3/4 @@ISAACalgary
@@samualroth4109 does this nothing about 5/8s apply to really young sakters? or at what age is that applicable? I have a 4 and 6.5 year old. The 6.5 year old is now on a 5/8s fire but the 4 is still on the 1/2 fire. I've been considering trying the 3/4 fire for my 6.5 year old as he's a really good skater.
Somewhere the YT algorithm gods are smiling down on me 😂 I've been meaning to make a follow-up to my first video for a long time given how much I've used this machine since covid, it made sense to film before moving especially now with almost double the data, and my teammate was down to let me unbox. So I couldn't say no to that!
Good video. I'm considering it even though financially it doesn't make any sense. I'm 61, still play in the better leagues and want best performance and love the flat bottom V. I'm near one of the busiest hockey shops in MN and they absolutely refuse to do FBV anymore. Always have to come back 2 hours later too so time is a big investment. Would love to do it myself at home with the Fire rings and get that good feel back in my blades.
Thanks! The 1/2" FIRE has really grown on me. If you find a good place to do mail-in FBV, it might be better money spent to pick up several new sets of steel and mail multiple at a time. That said, I do find the FBV more fragile, so it's harder to get away with skating on it a long time confidently.
@@gerardnadrowski5672 I think the sentiment of trying to find the most shallow that works for you is a good one. I've recently tried warming up to 5/8" again. But I've certainly seen good skaters on deeper than a blanket 3/4" - 1 1/2". Personal preference still plays a big role.
Hi, I want to buy Sparx3 and I also have the knives from Bladetech with DLC. I just don't know how to do the honing. Opinions vary a lot. Some say I should do it with stone, others only with ceramic, others only with leather and one shop from Bauer told me honing not to do by the titanium runners or runners with DLC... Can you help me with this, or make a video about honing runners with DLC coating or titanium. Thank you for your videos.
I'm working on some BEAM videos now, but I can try to do something short on deburring soon. I like Sparx's coated steel kit for these, and based on my experimentation on my own skates, the gummy stone is really forgiving. I like to run it up and down along both edges at a 45 degree angle and take short strokes at a much shallower angle as well. Then a few passes with the leather stop afterwards.
If I can get my hands on what they're teasing, I absolutely will! Haha maybe a different teammate will pull the trigger on it and be as kind as to let me unbox 😂 Assuming I sell this v1 with my move, I am largely trading hockey for some travel/hiking over the next month or two. If I get back to playing with frequency at the end of the year I'm sure I'll be missing it desperately!
@@SeenByYosh so I got 3 kids that play club on the ice about 4 times a week each, make sense to buy a sparx machine? Is it difficult to figure out? We play out of the Skatium, I just say give them the standard when asked which I believe is a 1/2.
In my mind this is the perfect use case for one. But if the shop there does a nice job, is always open when you're there, and it isn't any more of a wait, then maybe it only makes sense if you want more control over switching hollows frequently, or want to travel with it. I'd say there is a slight learning curve. I had done some manual sharpening before so the concepts and terms weren't new to me. But overall it's pretty straightforward. Once you're aligned and have the grinding ring height set, assuming your edges are coming out even, it's off to the races.
Obviously I don’t live around you but hell I’ll buy it! As long as it does Goalie skates me & my son both play and both use 1/2” for our skates. He’s got regular steel, I have Black Steel
Appreciate the offer, but my Sparx found a good home last week 🥹 Hoping to get my hands on a v2 or v3 in the future when I'm back from traveling. If you and your son plan to play for awhile longer, it's definitely something to keep considering.
Dan here, thanks for watching! This video started getting really long, really quick. Wanted to add a few notes here:
1. Thanks to Bladetech and my buddy Ray!
2. This newer version of the Sparx Sharpener is really sick. It was cool in 2017, but it's come a long way. And the unboxing experience feels a lot more like a tech product nowadays.
3. If anyone out there is keeping a tally, I'd love to know how many sharpenings you've run on your own machine, or how the 2-3 cycle recommendation fits for you.
4. Or if you have hesitations about jumping in on Sparx, what things are giving you pause.
5. If I sell, I will miss this. The idea is that, if/when I get back to playing frequently (unsure at the moment), I'd potentially pick up the newest version at some point. I'm moving, doing some career change exploration, and will essentially be couch surfing for the rest of the year. I'm not a minimalist, but I do fit comfortably in this small studio apartment, and I try not to move through life with a bigger physical footprint than I need. Because I'll be doing some travel and not moving into a new apartment right away, it feels like more of a hassle to store while I'm not actively playing a ton. I'll certainly keep it if I don't sell it, but either way, I won't be using it as much this fall/winter.
6. I largely feel that if my sharpener disappeared tomorrow, I'd be happy that it made it this long given how much I've gotten out of it. It's been fun to keep the data, but I think it's good to look at the purchase from other angles beyond the "breakeven" exercise. Sharpening is more expensive now, increasingly you're going to get your sharpening done on a Sparx even at a pro shop anyway, and you no longer need a dedicated flat surface on which to keep a 50 pound behemoth. It's so much smaller and lighter now, and while I poke some fun at the idea that you can be truly up and running for $699... it IS a lot less risky to buy a Sparx in 2023 than in it was in 2017. Probably a safe bet that the company will be around.
Love this, it really was a no brainer for my family with the recent sale. I chose the V2 for $599 and after getting the accessories and 2 stones, with tax and shipping it was delivered for about $990USD. For me alone its just the simplicity of being able to walk out to the garage before my sons practice and give him a fresh edge. I'm sure it will pay for it's self soon enough with myself, a 6.5 year old, and 4 year old skating 2-3 times a week and my wife occasionally skating with us outdoors. thanks for the video!
Enjoy it! Yours is a perfect example of a use case where I wouldn't fret about when the payoff will happen - like you said, that's a lot of skating, and the simplicity and time savings will be great.
That price is an absolute steal. You would have no problem selling that
With 3 skaters in the family, and one playing goalie I was spending $30.00 to $40.00 every time I get skates sharpened. If they are open I have about 2 hours of time invested. A few times they have messed up my and or my kids skates. Sure they dial them back in at no charge, but that's a practice, or a game on trash skates, and the extra time to get them fixed.
The Sparx 3 is a huge time saver, and we never let our skates get dull. I'm averaging 2.2 passes because I maintain the edges and don't need to do heavier grinds.
Goalie skates get extra abuse due to bashing posts, and as such they get a tuneup more frequently.
Thanks for sharing, this is great! Is that 2.2 tracked all nicely within the app now? I haven't had a chance to unbox mine yet, but I am looking forward to seeing what the app displays.
I’ve had my Sparx for about 4 months now and I love it. Really cool to hear the much longer term experience.
For me, it’s not about saving money but rather saving time. In that regard it’s paid for itself 10X over already 😁
THE Tom Buck?! Had no idea you played. Lol I come to my hockey channel to post and feel like my production quality is high for this niche... not to find out you've watched this video and feel immediately self conscious 🙈 Thanks for all the work you put in on your channel, it's really helpful!
The time is huge. I finally decided to get one when I stopped driving past Pure Hockey on an old commute. Do you find 2-3 cycles working well for you?
@@SeenByYoshoh wow! Dude your channel is amazing!! It really helped me decide on the Sparx a few months ago, and your videos are just always fun. I only started hockey at the beginning of this year- we got a new AHL team here and quickly became huge fans then got kinda addicted to skating/playing. I’m currently trying to learn goalie, which is…difficult 😁
And yeah, I usually do 2 cycles every 4ish hours of ice time. It took a bit to get the alignment right, but after that it’s been ridiculously consistent. I sharpen my wife’s skates and some friends’ too, so I just have a note card for their height settings and it’s a snap 👍
That's awesome, and brave of you for getting in net 😅 The note card for jotting down the hight of the grinding ring is key, I probably should have mentioned that in the vid. Keeping the data that I did is way overkill for most obviously, but anyone who is sharpening for multiple other people/sets of runners can save a lot of fiddling by having those settings written down.
I just got a 3 yesterday. Great video. Also super jealous of the ring collection. I want to get a few more to give my son a chance to try and really feel what he likes.
Hell yeah! Assuming this is your first Sparx, how did setup go for ya?
@@SeenByYosh set-up was easy. Doing the first sharpening for my son tonight after his skating treadmill session. The trick is finding the right radius.
radius and hallow are 2 different things! the sparx leaves the stock 11 foot radius on the blades also do not sharpen above a 5/8 there is no need and best performance like 90% of NHL players try using 1 inch or 3/4 @@ISAACalgary
@@samualroth4109 does this nothing about 5/8s apply to really young sakters? or at what age is that applicable? I have a 4 and 6.5 year old. The 6.5 year old is now on a 5/8s fire but the 4 is still on the 1/2 fire. I've been considering trying the 3/4 fire for my 6.5 year old as he's a really good skater.
interesting timing for this given the new Sparx is about to be revealed on the 19th of September :)
Somewhere the YT algorithm gods are smiling down on me 😂 I've been meaning to make a follow-up to my first video for a long time given how much I've used this machine since covid, it made sense to film before moving especially now with almost double the data, and my teammate was down to let me unbox. So I couldn't say no to that!
Good video. I'm considering it even though financially it doesn't make any sense. I'm 61, still play in the better leagues and want best performance and love the flat bottom V. I'm near one of the busiest hockey shops in MN and they absolutely refuse to do FBV anymore. Always have to come back 2 hours later too so time is a big investment. Would love to do it myself at home with the Fire rings and get that good feel back in my blades.
Thanks! The 1/2" FIRE has really grown on me. If you find a good place to do mail-in FBV, it might be better money spent to pick up several new sets of steel and mail multiple at a time. That said, I do find the FBV more fragile, so it's harder to get away with skating on it a long time confidently.
My opion of FBV is its for people who havent developed the confidence to skate on ¾, 1 1¼ and 1½ roh
@@gerardnadrowski5672 thanks Gerard, I'll try to work on my confidence then.
@@gerardnadrowski5672 I think the sentiment of trying to find the most shallow that works for you is a good one. I've recently tried warming up to 5/8" again. But I've certainly seen good skaters on deeper than a blanket 3/4" - 1 1/2". Personal preference still plays a big role.
Hi, I want to buy Sparx3 and I also have the knives from Bladetech with DLC. I just don't know how to do the honing. Opinions vary a lot. Some say I should do it with stone, others only with ceramic, others only with leather and one shop from Bauer told me honing not to do by the titanium runners or runners with DLC... Can you help me with this, or make a video about honing runners with DLC coating or titanium. Thank you for your videos.
I'm working on some BEAM videos now, but I can try to do something short on deburring soon. I like Sparx's coated steel kit for these, and based on my experimentation on my own skates, the gummy stone is really forgiving. I like to run it up and down along both edges at a 45 degree angle and take short strokes at a much shallower angle as well. Then a few passes with the leather stop afterwards.
350$! someone should jump on that deal! 🤑
I'll pass out the raffle tickets in the locker room next week 😜
How long does the grind ring last?
Details at 6:22, but for most people, I say expect 40-50 sharpenings realistically.
So 5 skater house hold, 9 pairs of skates. Probably a decent investment?
Yeah I think so, even if you have good sharpening for cheap nearby. I believe they’re still running $100 off the 2, or on bundles
Dude are going to review the gen 3 sparx
If I can get my hands on what they're teasing, I absolutely will! Haha maybe a different teammate will pull the trigger on it and be as kind as to let me unbox 😂 Assuming I sell this v1 with my move, I am largely trading hockey for some travel/hiking over the next month or two. If I get back to playing with frequency at the end of the year I'm sure I'll be missing it desperately!
@@SeenByYosh I brought mine in February. Just me in the house skating. Team meets can use it also
Liking it so far??
@@SeenByYosh I only used it once for myself and 3 teams used it. Nearest rink is 4 hours away from me here in Ireland
Oh wow! I was just there last October, and definitely didn’t see any rinks. Though I assume there’s at least a few in Dublin?
pure hockey in Colorado is $25 now
Wait, $25 for a regular sharpening??
@@SeenByYosh Last time I was in Pure Hockey (also CO) I was told they are moving from $10 to $15.
That feels like a big jump 😔
Oaks?
Oaks! I've been playing mostly Shinny USA in the mornings, haven't played at nights in a few years.
@@SeenByYosh so I got 3 kids that play club on the ice about 4 times a week each, make sense to buy a sparx machine? Is it difficult to figure out? We play out of the Skatium, I just say give them the standard when asked which I believe is a 1/2.
In my mind this is the perfect use case for one. But if the shop there does a nice job, is always open when you're there, and it isn't any more of a wait, then maybe it only makes sense if you want more control over switching hollows frequently, or want to travel with it. I'd say there is a slight learning curve. I had done some manual sharpening before so the concepts and terms weren't new to me. But overall it's pretty straightforward. Once you're aligned and have the grinding ring height set, assuming your edges are coming out even, it's off to the races.
I’ll jump on that deal if you want to sell all that for $350 I’m in. Not joking!
Obviously I don’t live around you but hell I’ll buy it! As long as it does Goalie skates me & my son both play and both use 1/2” for our skates. He’s got regular steel, I have Black Steel
Appreciate the offer, but my Sparx found a good home last week 🥹 Hoping to get my hands on a v2 or v3 in the future when I'm back from traveling. If you and your son plan to play for awhile longer, it's definitely something to keep considering.