Buy your own skate sharpener?

[Buck Murdock]

We sharpen 2 pairs of skates every week (avg), and sometimes at tournaments scramble to get them sharpened depending on the rink.

Thinking about the portable units. Anyone have experience with them and if so, any advice?

[indes]

I know several people with a Sparx and they all love it. I would have one if I had the extra cash kicking around lol. The general consensus is that it does a good job once you have it set up, but don't buy it if you think it's going to save money. The savings is in your time as it will take years to "pay itself off".

[Weitz]

They are quite popular now. A number of guys on my beer league team have them for them and their kids. All Sparx like above.

[Locke]

I tried once but apparently thats 'human trafficking' so you have to settle for the machine.

[BigNumbers]

I have one - love it. Good selection of different wheels, and an amazing time saver.

[Knut]

Doesn't save money but it saves a lot of time. 30 mins to run 3 sets of skates weekly through it and can crack a beer at the same time.

[fotze2]

I sure wish I bought one 10 years ago but my wife who’s got a terrible grip on math chose to drive to No Sweat three times a week for all the blades. My buddy has one he wants to unload his since apparently there’s a higher end Sparx competitor he got.

[Nancy]

Don't you risk ending up with a "banana blade" if you don't know what you are doing? Had this happen to my son's skates, having them sharpened at the cheap place too frequently. Later opted, instead, to go for the Bauer skates with the blades that you can swap out, and had two sets of blades, and always made sure to take them to the same place for sharpening.

[Knut]

Originally Posted by Nancy

Don't you risk ending up with a "banana blade" if you don't know what you are doing? Had this happen to my son's skates, having them sharpened at the cheap place too frequently. Later opted, instead, to go for the Bauer skates with the blades that you can swap out, and had two sets of blades, and always made sure to take them to the same place for sharpening.

It is pretty idiot proof. A high end skate sharpening place is still better, but for the Majority of what you need it works just fine. We have a goalie skate holder for our goalie kid's skates.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Knut

It is pretty idiot proof. A high end skate sharpening place is still better, but for the Majority of what you need it works just fine. We have a goalie skate holder for our goalie kid's skates.

Challenge. Accepted!

[undercoverbrother]

huh

reminds me I haven't sharpened my skates in a few years.

[Voodooman]

I don't seem to remember anyone getting their skates sharpened more than once every couple of weeks, or even a month in my minor hockey days. Is this declining quality in the steel that requires more maintenance, or just another in what seems like the endlessly ridiculous series of things that parents have to do in minor hockey now?

[Knut]

Originally Posted by Voodooman

I don't seem to remember anyone getting their skates sharpened more than once every couple of weeks, or even a month in my minor hockey days. Is this declining quality in the steel that requires more maintenance, or just another in what seems like the endlessly ridiculous series of things that parents have to do in minor hockey now?

Honestly, I still sharpen the skates every couple weeks. Some elite players sharpen way more often.

I do notice the difference with my own skates. My edges are way better after a sharpen.

[Nancy]

Originally Posted by Voodooman

I don't seem to remember anyone getting their skates sharpened more than once every couple of weeks, or even a month in my minor hockey days. Is this declining quality in the steel that requires more maintenance, or just another in what seems like the endlessly ridiculous series of things that parents have to do in minor hockey now?

An unfortunate effect of the having a kid in hockey after the movie Dream came out. So many hours of practice wasted skating lines.

[Strange Brew]

I always wish I had bought one of these. As someone else said, not to save money but for the convenience.

[Weitz]

It’s a money saver or at least even if you value your time at all. Too many people value their time at $0 though and will do anything to save a buck.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Voodooman

I don't seem to remember anyone getting their skates sharpened more than once every couple of weeks, or even a month in my minor hockey days. Is this declining quality in the steel that requires more maintenance, or just another in what seems like the endlessly ridiculous series of things that parents have to do in minor hockey now?

Probably because that's as often as you could make it/remember.

When I worked at SportChek in uni I used to sharpen my own skates and it was so great to be able to try different things and ultimately know what worked best. It would have been pretty cool to be able to play around with that as a teenager.

And yeah, maybe not each ice time, but if I had one I would have been sharpening them way more often than they used to be. Nobody HAS to do it. My family had 3 boys playing minor hockey for our entire lives. If you added up the cost and the time of dealing with getting skates sharpened, it almost definitely would cost less to have it, plus you build a connection to your equipment and how to customize it.

[DoubleK]

What does a sharpen cost these days?

One of the perks of reffing Junior was not having to pay for skate sharpening. I'd throw the trainer a $20 now and then, but it was a pain to get him to take it.

[Mr.Coffee]

Bought a Sparx and was one of the best things I’ve bought in awhile. Expensive, yes. Does it save money? Absolutely not, especially because you still have to buy the grinding rings after you buy the machine and they’re $100 a pop.

But timesaver. Gives you peace of mind. You end up never having to worry about it and my kid likes sharp skates / uses his edges hard. Don’t have to worry about a bad cut and removes the second guessing about if it’s him or the skates. Like no, now it’s just you falling all over the place nice try. Then I get to use it for myself, other kids for their skates, friends if they need a quick sharpen which seems to happen and I’m happy to help, etc.

It’s also easy to use. If you can afford it and your 1 kid is in hockey it’s a maybe- if you have 2 or more kids skating it’s a no brainer.