Season 1 Ep.11 "DH gets a Sparx Machine"

Well I finally took the plunge. I broke down and ordered a Sparx home skate sharpener. I will admit it. I made an emotional purchase.

I was watching my son skate at practice and he was all over the ice. Tripping over his feet. Laying on his stomach. Doing snow angels on his back. My blood pressure was rising uncontrollably and all I could do was watch. I knew I was in deep "hockey parent" territory but I couldn't help myself. I had taken the first step. There was no looking back. 

What was happening? Why is he laying there? Why is the coach letting him lay there? C'mon buddy-GET UP!

It was a Shakespearean tragedy taking place before my very eyes. I was helpless to do anything about it so as soon as I collected him from the ice I checked his skates. I was right (not really), it was the skates (it wasn't) and they were to blame (they weren't). There was no possible way this would have happened with properly sharpened skates (it would have). So right then and there I decided I was going to enter the world of home skate sharpening.

For the last 4 years my skates have been sharpened on a Sparx machine. A good friend of mine has one and he has been generous enough to sharpen my skates when they have needed it. I don't get my skates sharpened much anymore. Probably once a month depending on the frequency I am on the ice. Now that my kids are more involved- our trips to the skate sharpener have increased. It's been in the back of my mind for a bit but this last practice put me over the edge.

I had been researching two different machines. The Sparx brand home sharpener and the new Prosharp home sharpener by Bauer. The Sparx version is onto its 3rd generation of sharpener while this is the debut of the Bauer machine. I think the thing that finally made me pull the trigger on the Sparx machine was the great reviews I had received from friends and how the bundle I ordered saved me some money. I had already talked myself into getting one machine. Just hoped I made the right choice.

The machine took about a week to get here and came packaged extremely well in a Sparx branded box. The Starter bundle that I ordered came with everything I would need to start our own at home skate sharpening studio. The bundle included the Sparx Sharpener 3, the Sparx Beam alignment tool and the starter pack of grinding rings. I unpacked the box right onto a Costco folding table I had in my shed. I set it up by an electrical outlet in the garage, plugged it in and located the power switch. That was about all the labor this little beauty would require from me.

Fortunately, the starter pack of grinding rings covered what I would be using the sharpener for. I have been getting my skates sharpened at 1/2 inch hollow for as long as I can remember. Not sure when it came to be but for most of my adult life and for every one of my professional games-my feet have slid into skates cut at a half inch. If you're unfamiliar with skate hollows here is a diagram to provide a really good starting point.

Every player is a little different in how they want their skates sharpened. As you can see above, there are various types of hollows players can use based on their personal preference. I believe finding your "best" cut requires some experimenting and if you have the luxury of having your own sharpener, then this is easily achievable. Finding the right hollow for the player comes down to a handful of key points. 1. Height and weight of player 2. Position player plays 3. Style of game player likes to play 4. Ice conditions (This one is the hardest to navigate). My advice to you is start somewhere in the middle and see how it feels. If it feels "too sharp" move a little to the left. If it feels "too dull" move a little to the right. Sometimes the ice conditions will have you changing your hollow because you find yourself unable to move. I remember playing in the ECHL Southern Conference finals in Biloxi, Mississippi in 2003 and felt like I was sinking into the ice during our pre game skate. Luckily our equipment manager Scooter Aldrich navigated the soft ice conditions by lessening the bite of the blade into the ice and increased my mobility so I could get around the Gulf Coast Coliseum. You can be your own equipment manager with your home sharpener changing the grinding ring at your convenience to achieve your best cut for all the variables I listed above.

After watching a few "how to" videos on the Sparx hockey website I was ready to take this thing out for a test spin. Time to turn it on!

I thought after clicking that power switch it was going to begin speaking to me like R2-D2 in the Star Wars movies. It Was Alive! One of my greatest joys in life is when the videos you watch on "how to" do something are straightforward and it does the exact thing the video says. No trouble shooting. No hiccups. Just hit power and it's ready to roll. The next thing I did was pick the grinding wheel I was going to use to sharpen my jets. I went with the 1/2 inch Radius grinding ring to start my journey. The starter pack came with two 1/2 inch options. A Radius and a Fire grinding ring. The ease of putting this ring into the unit was mind blowing. The videos were clear and gave really concise direction. In no time at all I was ready to drop a skate into it and get this rookie his first look.

Placing the skate into the machine was really easy. Pressing down on the left lever opened the skate holder and secured my Bauer Nexus skate into the machine for its inaugural run. The first thing you need to do once placing your skate in the machine is line up the grinding wheel to the proper height of your blade. The directions in the video had me confident that even a Western Hockey League graduate like myself could figure it out.  

I then went to the app to pair the bluetooth on the machine and start creating profiles for the Hay family. I added Jax, Cash and myself to the profile page and used the prompts from the app to finish set up of my machine

Now it was time to make the donuts. After setting the number of passes on the digital display and making sure I had followed the instructional videos correctly- it was time to press "play." I don't know if I expected this machine to turn into Optimus Prime but when I hit the start button- the LED lights glowed blue and the Sparx machine went to work with a dull hum cutting an edge on my skate. Easy, peezy, top cheesy!!

 In the span of 15 minutes I went from box opening to skate sharpening and in 10 more minutes I had both my skates sharpened and ready to go back on the ice. All I had left was to check that my edge was perfect.

Another cool part of the bundle is the Sparx Beam. It's a laser level for your skates that tells you your steel is sharpened perfectly. This tool is awesome! Tighten this to the blade of your skate, give the red leveling piece a tap and it will let you know immediately if your skates are ready for the ice. This takes the guess work out of knowing if your skates got sharpened properly and gives the player an added level of confidence and comfort going into big games. 

My experience with this product has been sensational out of the box. From ordering online, to delivery, to the website and app-everything has been so easy. I know I have said it multiple times during this review but it really is that uncomplicated. My favorite part was customizing the LED lights to a royal blue color. I am sure it sounds minor but being able to personalize this machine with the choice of light color was a cool feature. I also love that it's portable and I can take this machine on the road with me when we travel. With an available travel case, this machine becomes your own skate shop wherever you play.  The other thing I love is the consistency I receive from this set up. Receiving professional level results with minimal set up and adjustments is something I can look forward to time after time. That was something as a player that I believed was so important. Having faith that when you step on the ice you are going to be ready to play at your highest level because your equipment is ready to perform at its highest level.

The last 2 things I have are the money I will save long term and the time I get back from doing it myself. Think of how many times you get your skates sharpened over a season. Now add how many kids you have and the age of your kids. How many times do you think you will get your skates sharpened through their playing years? Divide that by $5, $8 or $10 bucks a sharpening and this investment will pay for itself in no time. Then the value of your time. No more commuting to the skate shop. No more waiting for the skates to be done. No more punk kid screwing up my blades because they don't know what they are doing on the skate sharpener. The Sparx skate sharpener is one of the most valuable tools I have at my disposal and will look after my families needs for the foreseeable future. If only it could make my stride like Cale Makar. Maybe the Sparx 4 can do that. 🏒 

About the author: *This is not an advertisement. Darrell has received NO compensation from Sparx for writing this review*

Darrell Hay is not a mechanical wizard and has a very shallow understanding of tools like this. Never in his life would he thought of this as an essential tool but his perspective has changed. If you see his kids laying on the ice now doing snow angels-it's their fault. 😉 This machine takes all the excuses away.