It’s been a few years since I bought the first gen Sparx and it’s still going strong. I’ve been looking for a hard case to travel but it seems in recent years, previous recommendations for alternative cases seem to not be produced anymore, and Sparx doesn’t sell a hard case directly either. So at this point I’m casting a line out there to fellow Sparx Gen 1 users what would be a good alternative hard shell case to consider at this time.

Hello!

(TLDR) Height set at 2 and next level down is “figure”. Grinding ring still jumps at the end of a cycle right at the toe. Is height still set to high or other issue present?

I have a Sparx Gen3 and I absolutely love it. It’s been a great investment and I love having sharp edges when I skate.

I’ve had the machine for almost a year and one thing I am struggling with is the grinding ring seems to bounce at the end of the sharpen right at the toe. I’ve seen posts on this subreddit about grinding ring height and I understand that this typically means the height needs to be lowered. Currently, I have the height at level 2, the next lowest level is “figure” for figure skates. Is this normal? The contact point is pretty low which makes me wonder if the machine is not aligned properly? I have the BEAM as well and I have never had to make any adjustments based on the BEAM result.

Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I have two 4 year old kids skating 3-4x per week and they're solid little skaters.

I thought that more grip would benefit them so I have the sparx machine with 7/16".

Now I'm wondering if 5/8" makes more sense.

Thoughts?

Any know what wheel distance are you using on junior skates

I just saw a Skatescribe booth

https://www.skatescribe.com

The machine is nuts! Got me thinking, if it’s possible to connect to the hardware on the Sparx via computer, it would be possible to get some of the basics that skatescribe can do at home (with a lot more effort of course)z

Hey all, had the sharpener for a month or so now and all is working well, except the beam is kinda hard to tighten. It goes on pretty loose when the knob is as tight as it gets with a normal amount of strength. I have to really crank it with gloves on to get it to actually tighten on so it won’t flop or fall off. Is this normal or do I have a faulty one? Thx!

I couldn't bring myself to shell out the money for the Sparx edge checker and had this bad boy sitting around my garage already, so I thought I'd try it out.

Did a little math and based on a 3mm skate blade width, the .003" tolerance sparx suggests is about 1.35 degrees. So far my ES100 can put them at 0.3 degrees or so consistently, and they skate perfect.

Even if I didn't already own it, $30 beats the heck out of $90. Just thought I'd share in case it helps somebody else.

Hi! I am new into the skate sharpening and looking at a sparx machine… please everyone what have the pros been using the machine and what are the cons? Thanks so much!

Is the beam or standard edge checker necessary, or even helpful, with the es100?

Seems like once you use the alignment wheel there's not a lot of additional adjustment anyway.

Take it easy on me if I'm wrong. I'm still new to this.

I have an opportunity to purchase a used Es100. Are there things I should be on the lookout for? Is this still a good machine to have?

I'm somewhat of a noob Dad skate sharpener. I don't skate a lot myself so I don't have a good way to judge from a skater perspective and I think my son is too young to have a proper opinion on this matter. I have a Sparx 3 machine and have had it for roughly one full season. Great investment BTW. I understand that deburring the skate is an important step to sharpening skates. I have found that the blade edges seem much sharper (or grabbier) when I angle the stone to deburr at about a 15 degree angle instead of going completely flat with the stone against the blade. Is this really bad for the blade? I've been doing this lately and it just seems to make the blade feel sharper to my touch and it gets rid of the burrs as well. Someone please tell me if I should stop this immediately or keep doing it. All the videos/articles I've seen said don't do this unless your using a gummy stone for coated blades.

Is anyone else facing constant error codes? Mid grinding, the wheel stops on the blade and leaves a divot. It gives me error 52,53 and even 33. I adjust the height, i bring the wheel close before starting a sharpening. Not sure if something is off with the machine or my approach… help

I tried out the Sharpener 3 tonight for the first time. I decided to test it out on my older Bauer Pro skates, I went ahead and did the 4 cycle pass on it. Checked edges with Beam and it was good.

So then I figured everything is good let's do my True Custom SVH 2 Piece Skate. I did the same 4 pass cycle with the 3/4 Radius Ring, then checked with Beam and it was way off. Tilted to the left with the right up in the air. Beam resolution said must be out of alignment do 10 clicks to the right and sharpen with market test. I did that and then one edge has marker still and Beam said out of alignment.

I finally backed it to the left after getting the optical alignment kit out. Sharpened with marker test and ask the marker was gone but Beam still said the same thing and did the same thing. So it has the same resolution of 10 clicks to right.

I probably did enough trial and error with Beam that I used up 10% of my grinding ring trying to fix it based on what Beam and the Sparx App was telling me and my own assumption.

So mainly want some help cause I won't know what to do and don't know why sharpening one pair of skates would be fine and another would not be. Unless it has to do with the height setting of the grinding wheel??? That is the only thing I changed between the Bauer and True skates was the height of the grinding wheel. But I wouldn't think that would cause anything to become uneven.

Any help or who I need to talk to would be greatly appreciated.

Looking to get a Sparx to make sharpening my kids skates more convenient. Trying to see if the 3 is worth the price premium over the 2. Also, besides a grinding wheel are there any accessories I need/should get?

Does anyone know where the units ship from? I’m about 20-30 minutes from the HQ so i thought if they allowed local pickup I could save on shipping

Will I have to go through a whole return process or is Sparx chill and might give me a store credit?

Do you use the smooth or rough side of the leather?

Using 90/75 flat bottom b from a blade master machine. What’s the equivalent ring on sparx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTb_Y2cQYsY

Any way to turn up the screen brightness?

I’ve been using 1/2 fire for a while now but recently moved away and don’t have a sparx machine anymore nor does the rink I’m at. They do it by hand and I was wonder if my best bet is just for 1/2 or is there another cut closer to 1/2 fire.

I have seen a lot of comments on Reddit and elsewhere saying that the Sparx doesn’t sharpen well when the operator doesn’t know how to use it properly or maintain it properly.

When I set up and used my Sparx 3, it seemed pretty dummy-proof as long as the instructions were followed. Can anyone give me some tips on what is missing from the setup/use instructions that Sparx provides so that I can make sure I’m using it correctly?

Also, I haven’t seen much talk of how to properly maintain the Sparx. Apart from the instructions (air filter replacements, grinding wheel lifetime, cleaning metal pieces out of the bottom of the device), what else should I be doing when it comes maintenance? Thanks!

Please use this post to discuss and request any ongoing promotions and discount codes. Besides the official promotions available on Sparx’s website and mailing lists, Sparx Ambassadors offer codes that provide a discount of ~$100 on an Sparx machines or bundles.

Let us know by replying to this post if there’s an official promotion offered by Sparx that’s not listed here or if a promo has expired.

Please message the ambassador directly to receive their discount codes.

Current promotions (as of 2024-11-04):

• [newest - 2024-11-04] $100 off Sparx bundle - discount code: BUNDLE2024
• Free shipping for Sparx wheels – minimum quantity two – expires ??? - discount code: RINGS2024

The following is still valid but there's no reason to use them:

• $50 off Sparx bundle (cannot stack free shipping code) - discount code: BUNDLESAVE50
• Free shipping for Sparx machines – expires ??? - BACKTOHOCKEY - use if purchasing just a Sparx machine without a bundle

Sparx Ambassadors:

• /u/Aggressive_Till_8488
• /u/scubastevie
• /u/TYMSMNY
• /u/Festerles

If you're a Sparx Ambassadors and would like to be added to this list, please send us moderator message.

Please message the ambassador directly to receive their discount codes.

Requesting promo codes or Ambassadors offering codes outside this post will be deleted.

Hi there, are the any active discount codes other than the shipping for Sparx 3?

Thanks!

What’s the big difference between the two? Do you need a specific Sparx machine for the fire rings?

Hello everyone. I am new to Sparks just getting situated with it now. I really like it. I will be using it for a long time so I am wondering if there's ever a time in the year that these rings go on sale and I can stock up. I was thinking maybe a black Friday sale or something like that. I am sure they're not going to get any cheaper in the long run so if I can get a bunch on sale that would be great. Thanks.

Hey everyone. I usually match the number of passes for each skate. I just had to do a bunch of extra passes on one skate to work out a chip. Do you think I should match the number of passes on the other skate? First thought is that they should be equal so they wear exactly the same, however, I am sure that skates sharpeners at Pro shops are not keeping track of their passes to make sure they are perfect for each skate. So I guess I'm just trying to see what everybody else does. Thanks.

Hi all, thinking about getting a Sparx as my Can-ice GlideMasters synthetic ice definitely dulls the blades quickly. I have a 9 and a 7 year old who skate on the synthetic and on ice 2-3 times a week. I also use the synthetic once in a while with them and ice once in a while.

I am not a sharpening pro, in fact don’t know much at all about it except for some reading I’ve done online recently. What would be the best setup to get? Do I need the Beam for our uses or is it for pros who need the precision? Is there a specific ring that would yield better results on synthetic ice which doesn’t have the glide of real ice?

The kids have separate skates that they use on the synthetic vs ice. Should I get different rings or it won’t make a big diff?

Thanks!

Well, after many many many years and thousands of sharpening, I think my GEN one is finally crapping out. Just ordered a Gen 2 I hope it's just as good if not better

Thanks for those that have tried so far - I seem to be running into regional coupon code issues. Anyone have a coupon code usable in the US for the 2 or 3? I believe there's a $100 off lingering out there, just can't seem to find one that works.