How often do you sharpen?

[bunnyman666]

10 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Eh.

I generally stick with 1/2" and hate the immediate feeling of the skate. I'll scrape them up a but on the ice and by the end of the first period they're more or less fine.

I've experimented with larger and shallower hollows. Going shallower just feels like I'm skating on butter and the sharpen doesn't last as long and obviously going deeper just makes me scenario worse.

Unless you have an alternative to my situation, I don't think "you're at the wrong hollow" is necessarily correct in all situations. (though it's probably still a pretty common solution) 

Whilst definitely subscribing to the “you’re at the wrong hollow if you rub your blades on the doorway after a sharpening”, I get that sometimes, there is that sweet spot that can only be achieved by that method. Sometimes it is part of ritual and has superstitious implications. It’s just like me with my new dietary restrictions- mashed potatoes are going to be better for me, but I just plain DETEST mashed potatoes. I am trying to choke them down, but it is beyond difficult. I won’t judge you on your post sharpenings if you don’t judge me on my outright HATRED of mashed potatoes.  

[Naz]

3 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Just depends on the quality of the original cut, ice conditions (summer/winter) and how much abuse my edges have taken.

This.  I play regualarly at 11+ different arenas with varying ice conditions, not to mention varying floor conditions in hallways and dressing rooms.  I get them sharpened when I feel them sliding a bit instead of easily gripping.

[coopaloop1234]

8 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

Whilst definitely subscribing to the “you’re at the wrong hollow if you rub your blades on the doorway after a sharpening”, I get that sometimes, there is that sweet spot that can only be achieved by that method. Sometimes it is part of ritual and has superstitious implications. It’s just like me with my new dietary restrictions- mashed potatoes are going to be better for me, but I just plain DETEST mashed potatoes. I am trying to choke them down, but it is beyond difficult. I won’t judge you on your post sharpenings if you don’t judge me on my outright HATRED of mashed potatoes.  

Buddy, you hate mashed potatoes?

There is seriously something wrong with you. I can't even right now.

[bunnyman666]

41 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Buddy, you hate mashed potatoes?

There is seriously something wrong with you. I can't even right now.

Would expect nothing less from an elitist!

[BadAngle41]

1 hour ago, bunnyman666 said:

Whilst definitely subscribing to the “you’re at the wrong hollow if you rub your blades on the doorway after a sharpening”, I get that sometimes, there is that sweet spot that can only be achieved by that method. Sometimes it is part of ritual and has superstitious implications. It’s just like me with my new dietary restrictions- mashed potatoes are going to be better for me, but I just plain DETEST mashed potatoes. I am trying to choke them down, but it is beyond difficult. I won’t judge you on your post sharpenings if you don’t judge me on my outright HATRED of mashed potatoes.  

1 hour ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Buddy, you hate mashed potatoes?

There is seriously something wrong with you. I can't even right now.

To be clear... I'm very Pro-Mashed Potato. But I'd like to step forward and say that any dietary restrictions which force upon a person mashed potatoes likely do NOT include all of the wonderful things that make the mashed potatoes Elitists and commoners alike feast on. Fixins like butter, cheese (sharp cheddar, maybe even blue cheese), bacon bits, sour cream, chives. Hell I'm guilty of cooking up some choice bacon and adding a touch of that bacon grease right in the mashed taters. So good. (Dare i even mention frying up those mashed potatoes the next morning in patty form as part of a healthy breakfast?!?!) Without all of those things... just literal mashed up potatoes... I can understand a man not finding his pallet satiated. 

Now @bunnyman666 if you can include fixins and you still don't like mashed potatoes... i dunno man... i dunno.

[IPv6Freely]

I miss mashed potatoes, but trying to cut out the carbs. 

[BadAngle41]

Also, I sharpen less frequently w/ my Tydan DLCs than the marshmallow steel Bauer provides... but ice conditions also factor in here. As @coopaloop1234 said there is a sweet spot and sometimes it's between 1/2" and 9/16"... and that can only happen with a little scuff.

[bunnyman666]

@BadAngle41 Bubble and squeak is one way I tolerate mash. Fried tater patties are awesome.

@IPv6Freely My world is upside down with the new, lo fibre diet. I did lose 34 pounds from all of this crap, but I do NOT recommend UC. 

[old but slow]

6 hours ago, Kapz said:

Is there a big difference in feel between flat bottom and regular?

There is for me but hollows and sharpenings are all personal preference

2 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

For skaters there absolutely is. I don't find any difference as a goalie, but glide isn't as important as good edges. 

Two things. First, you can get a cross-grinding wheel for any Sparx. At least, you could before. They told me they've discontinued the cross-grind ring until they make some adjustments. Second, I don't understand what cross-grinding has to do with anything, unless you're saying that they come in with blades so bad it's not worth it to try to get them back to normal.

Anyway, I make two passes on my Sparx before every skate just to touch them up. I just moved from 1/2 to 3/8 recently and love the push I get. Took a while to get used to skating around though.

And as for people who don't like freshly sharpened skates, like the people who get their skates sharpened and immediately start running their skate blade across the bench door sill: you're on the wrong hollow, then. A fresh sharpening should be a great feeling and should be the peak of performance. If it's not, then you should look at trying a new hollow. 

Last I heard, back in Feb, there are no plans for the cross grind ring to be available for the non commercial unit any longer. Who knows what they may decide moving forward. The Cross grind ring will save wear on the other rings when you do encounter a particularly bad ding/knick also if you come across a severely bias blade.

2 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Eh.

I generally stick with 1/2" and hate the immediate feeling of the skate. I'll scrape them up a but on the ice and by the end of the first period they're more or less fine.

I've experimented with larger and shallower hollows. Going shallower just feels like I'm skating on butter and the sharpen doesn't last as long and obviously going deeper just makes me scenario worse.

Unless you have an alternative to my situation, I don't think "you're at the wrong hollow" is necessarily correct in all situations. (though it's probably still a pretty common solution) 

This is why I went to the flat bottom hollow. Give it a try if it's available to you.  You get the Bite of the hollow you like without the depth

[coopaloop1234]

10 minutes ago, old but slow said:

This is why I went to the flat bottom hollow. Give it a try if it's available to you.  You get the Bite of the hollow you like without the depth

I've thought about it. I generally use my summer seasons as my new gear break in / experiment time. So I may take you up on it.

[bunnyman666]

6 minutes ago, old but slow said:

There is for me but hollows and sharpenings are all personal preference

Last I heard, back in Feb, there are no plans for the cross grind ring to be available for the non commercial unit any longer. Who knows what they may decide moving forward. The Cross grind ring will save wear on the other rings when you do encounter a particularly bad ding/knick also if you come across a severely bias blade.

This is why I went to the flat bottom hollow. Give it a try if it's available to you.  You get the Bite of the hollow you like without the depth

I think enough of us owners should get together and demand a  cross cut ring. I want it only for the worst runners; but what if I end up buying another pair of cowlings with a super-wonky edge but otherwise good cowlings?  One pair of skates was a nightmare trying to get them straightened out and it took some life from that wheel!

Your assessment of FBV is pretty good. I love it on my skates and can’t recommend it enough.

[old but slow]

The issue, as I understand it, with the cross grind ring is the Slag and the potential fire hazard that goes with it. The commercial units have the exhaust system that somewhat nullifies the issue. And yes the rings are different between the 2 machines, I tried to get more CG rings this past Feb. I am also trying to get 7/16, 9/16 and 3/4 fire rings made, we'll see.

[IPv6Freely]

1 hour ago, old but slow said:

There is for me but hollows and sharpenings are all personal preference

Last I heard, back in Feb, there are no plans for the cross grind ring to be available for the non commercial unit any longer. Who knows what they may decide moving forward. The Cross grind ring will save wear on the other rings when you do encounter a particularly bad ding/knick also if you come across a severely bias blade.

This is why I went to the flat bottom hollow. Give it a try if it's available to you.  You get the Bite of the hollow you like without the depth

I doubt it will happen. 

47 minutes ago, old but slow said:

The issue, as I understand it, with the cross grind ring is the Slag and the potential fire hazard that goes with it. The commercial units have the exhaust system that somewhat nullifies the issue. And yes the rings are different between the 2 machines, I tried to get more CG rings this past Feb. I am also trying to get 7/16, 9/16 and 3/4 fire rings made, we'll see.

Correct. They even had somebody who neglected to replace the filter when the machine told them to, causing a safety issue. They sent out free filters to all customers who responded to their email, and revamped their documentation to explain why it is so critical to change the filter. 

[Bonesinium]

Not often enough. If I had my own sharpener or a local place I could trust to do them well, I’d do it more. When I do it always seems to take a couple skates to get them to a comfortable level.

In winter when I’m skating more and have plenty of pick up skates, I’ll get them done more, because in addition to the increased volume, it allows me to skate several times on newly sharpened skates before in actual game. I’d rather play on too dull blades than too sharp or terrible done blades where I’m catching edges left and right...

[bunnyman666]

8 minutes ago, Bonesinium said:

Not often enough. If I had my own sharpener or a local place I could trust to do them well, I’d do it more. When I do it always seems to take a couple skates to get them to a comfortable level.

In winter when I’m skating more and have plenty of pick up skates, I’ll get them done more, because in addition to the increased volume, it allows me to skate several times on newly sharpened skates before in actual game. I’d rather play on too dull blades than too sharp or terrible done blades where I’m catching edges left and right...

I get where you’re coming from. 

The unfortunate thing is that in many cases, there is a LOT more bad sharpening than good. That part sucks. Worse yet, not everyone can afford a machine; the other equipment is expensive enough. 

[IPv6Freely]

20 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

I get where you’re coming from. 

The unfortunate thing is that in many cases, there is a LOT more bad sharpening than good. That part sucks. Worse yet, not everyone can afford a machine; the other equipment is expensive enough. 

Yep. There some dude on MSH who is one of those old school sharpeners who has been doing it for 40 years or something. All he does is bash the Sparx about how its taking money out of his pocket, etc. 

I'm like... dude... if you're any good at your job, you have nothing to worry about. The Sparx will not beat a professional sharpener who knows what he's doing. But it will beat the 16 year old kid in the pro shop every day of the week. 

[bunnyman666]

3 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

Yep. There some dude on MSH who is one of those old school sharpeners who has been doing it for 40 years or something. All he does is bash the Sparx about how its taking money out of his pocket, etc. 

I'm like... dude... if you're any good at your job, you have nothing to worry about. The Sparx will not beat a professional sharpener who knows what he's doing. But it will beat the 16 year old kid in the pro shop every day of the week. 

I would have happily stayed going to someone, but it seemed that every person I liked quit and I never saw them again. I value skilled individuals who hone their craft over time. 

For me, the Sparx was a necessity, plain and simple, as my options became super- limited. 

[old but slow]

The Sparx at this point cannot take the place of a quality experienced human. Once new steel is profiled the Sparx is awesome, however, new steel is rarely perfect or consistent. I've seen steel out of the package 2mm out of whack from the center to toe and heel. Sparx won't fix that

[bunnyman666]

13 minutes ago, old but slow said:

The Sparx at this point cannot take the place of a quality experienced human. Once new steel is profiled the Sparx is awesome, however, new steel is rarely perfect or consistent. I've seen steel out of the package 2mm out of whack from the center to toe and heel. Sparx won't fix that

‘tis true; however- how often is steel made perfect at the sale of the skate?  

If my business takes off, I want a Prosharp that profiles. 

[IPv6Freely]

1 hour ago, old but slow said:

The Sparx at this point cannot take the place of a quality experienced human. Once new steel is profiled the Sparx is awesome, however, new steel is rarely perfect or consistent. I've seen steel out of the package 2mm out of whack from the center to toe and heel. Sparx won't fix that

Nope, but for weekly sharpening it's the perfect solution. Get them profiled once by a qualified sharpener (like MSH Pro Shop) and you're set.

[Matt30]

I love a FBV sharpening, I just find it doesn't last as long. Shops here charge almost double for FBV compared to a traditional hollow, so it's not worth the money, to me anyways.

[bunnyman666]

10 minutes ago, Matt30 said:

I love a FBV sharpening, I just find it doesn't last as long. Shops here charge almost double for FBV compared to a traditional hollow, so it's not worth the money, to me anyways.

I tell my sharpening clients that the edges made by the FBV-style wheel are slightly more fragile, as well. There is a great performance advantage, but it comes at a price of fragile edges that need more tweaking.

I don’t understand charging double for the FBV hollow. Maybe a couple of dollars, but not double. For my Sparx machine, the wheels cost the same and I thusly charge the same price no matter the hollow if I have it.

One shoppe I know of uses the Blackstone wheels for FBV on a Blademaster. It doesn’t quite shape the FBV hollow correctly and they have since stopped offering the FBV service. They only charged $1 extra, btw.

[IPv6Freely]

To be clear, neither Sparx nor Blademaster has FBV anyway. Similar concept, but its not the same. 

[Matt30]

19 hours ago, bunnyman666 said:

I don’t understand charging double for the FBV hollow. Maybe a couple of dollars, but not double. 

When it first came out here, no difference in price at most shops. The only one I recall being an outrageous price was Pro Hockey Life.

Then once it got popular, everyone is up in the $8.50 range for a FBV sharpening. 

[bunnyman666]

31 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

To be clear, neither Sparx nor Blademaster has FBV anyway. Similar concept, but its not the same. 

The shoppe I was referring to was literally doing it wrong, using the Blackwell wheel on the Blademaster sharpening wheel. G’d knows how they arrived at using the wheel to shape and dress their grinding wheel... 

Yes- Sparx Fire is a (somewhat) FBV equivalent, but the nomenclature is much more simplified. As I remember, there were at least three small variants for the 1/2” equivalent, all with subtle differences. 

Blademaster may have one, but again nothing as technical as the Blackstone system. 

Prosharp has something similar plus they have a downright bizarre Z-channel hollow.