Sparx Edge Checker - Get the Most from Your Sparx Skate Sharpener

[@SeenByYosh]

As of late 2024, Sparx Edge Checker is now only $90! I recently tried Bauer's AdvantEdge angle checker... you can save a little more if you use Bauer's though the Sparx version is much nicer. In the 5 years since this video has been out, Sparx has also launched BEAM: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWeZZX-Jm5mYq68 It's interesting, but not for everyone.

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

I think it’s reasonably priced for the quality. I bought a ProSharp edge gauge, and it was out by a few thousandths of an inch, not good. I sent it back and complained. They said it was fine, it wasn’t, it disagreed with Blackstone and Sparx gauges at a local shop. That was £60 down the drain. I bought a cheap gauge from eBay, it’s ugly, looks cheap, but it works.

[@SeenByYosh]

It definitely seems like the best one all these years later.

[@LucaBratzi-u3m]

Its expensive but every so often they have a sale. Sign up for notifications so you don't miss them. Last one was 20% off. I think its better than nothing but not very precise. Ive done pairs where 1 is even and 1 is off. Changing the distance between the gauge and the magnet can change readings. Well made but inherently too many variables for precision. I had a machinist make a small, precise 90 degree angle this placed squarely on the blade works well however you need to be off a bit before you see light. None,are great but you do need something.

[@SeenByYosh]

Grabbing on sale would be great for most people. I think I prefer the speed of their edge checker to something like BEAM

[@TerrysTwigReviews]

Coated steel is the way to go! Thanks for the video.

[@SeenByYosh]

Agreed!!

[@chrishoorweg1007]

I’ve found ‘The original Edge Checker’ a great alternative for about half the price. Really good service from them too. Easy to use and just as accurate.

[@DavidManningvlog]

Dude, super impressive video! Nice work man👊

[@SeenByYosh]

Thank you! I'm cringing at this one already though, so that means I'm making some progress! lol

[@daveaustin9739]

I like your T shirt! Where did you get it?

[@SeenByYosh]

It was super old but they still sell it: www.cheesesteaktees.com/hunting-season/

[@generalinformation7937]

Hi Josh, I love the videos. Newbie question...If my edges are uneven and the Sparx is aligned perfectly, will the edges become even or do I have to adjust the alignment to sharpen one side more than the other side? Thanks

[@SeenByYosh]

In theory. In reality, your blades may be imperfect. One of my LS4s that came with my skates bent pretty badly almost immediately, a tragedy really 🥲I couldn’t get that straight, even adjusting back and forth for it. It was bad to the point where I’d have a high edge on one side depending on how I tried to compensate and I would catch it randomly. Figured it wasn’t worth going into the boards on it. Most slight curves or imperfections won’t be that bad, and I rarely adjust the alignment even doing many different skates… but that’s where it’s nice to have the checker. If you take a reading at the toe, mid, and heel and they’re all off in the same direction, you can adjust. Or I sharpened for someone who I could get all the way even except the very back left edge because of a slight warp. It was nice to know that - instead of realigning to try to make the back better (which would mess with the majority of the blade), it was better/safer just to hit most of the blade correctly

[@HondCr125250]

there is only one adjustment on the sparx to bring the stone in or out laterally across the blade.... how does that allow you to adjust for edge height?

[@SeenByYosh]

It can be tricky to visualize without a diagram. Because the grinding rings are curved, they create a hollow in the skate blade, removing more material (think deeper) in the very center of the blade than it does toward each edge. In a perfect world, the middle of the curve of the grinding ring is completely centered on skate blade (and you have steel in good condition without a bend). This will create edges or fangs of the same size/depth. If the stone is off center, either too far toward the front or back of the machine, either your inside or outside edge is going to have more material removed than it than the other. As an example, facing the machine, if your right skate is on the sharpener, toe facing right, and the grinding ring is off center toward the front (closer to you in that lateral adjustment)... your outside edge will be smaller, resulting in a deeper inside edge, often leading to that sticky feeling, or an inside edge that catches.

[@steventenney8797]

I really don’t want to do any sharpening with my runner in the holder of the skate anymore since I took it to my friends machine shop and found the holder causing my blade to be .020 bent but it’s good out of the holder . When I would have it cut 1/2 my right skate outer edge felt very hard to get any bite

[@SeenByYosh]

Yeah that's not a good feeling when you're missing part of an edge. Hopefully it's been working ok outside the holder. It's a big bummer when they're bent so badly they need to be replaced!

[@tomcora9417]

Nice review!

[@SeenByYosh]

Thank you!

[@eggman8218]

Nice vid but I got a question were did u get it I don’t wanna get scammed for 100$

[@SeenByYosh]

Do you mean what brand or what store? If someone is claiming to offer a new one for dramatically cheaper than retail I personally would avoid that as it would appear to be a scam.

[@eggman8218]

@@SeenByYosh yeah

[@SeenByYosh]

@@eggman8218 I would just make sure you're getting it from fulfilled by Sparx, whether that's through their site or their Amazon seller page. Those were the only places I saw it last time I looked.

[@samcoble4215]

If one edge is higher/lower than the other why can’t the machine level it out itself (assuming the alignment is perfectly straight), rather than having to click the grey knob 2-3 clicks?

[@SeenByYosh]

My guess is that it, in theory, could. Using some type of electronic mechanism or laser or something. Keeping it mechanical and user-adjusted keeps cost/complexity way down. Also, if you have some bent steel it can be tough to get perfectly even edges if at all. So that's one scenario where you might want to be able to adjust skate to skate. The Sparx is great but all things considered, it's fairly simple as far as tech devices go. I think in the future you will more likely see something like this: ideally you could tell it which set of steel you were sharpening through a mobile app and it would just remember (or better yet learn) the specific adjustments. And if the machine could hold three grinding rings at once and cycle through them automatically... then you really start to have a "set it and forget it" machine.

[@wagnerjacobson622]

Well explained

[@SeenByYosh]

We just need to get you into a lifetime of hockey and you'll need one of these in no time!

[@wagnerjacobson622]

@@SeenByYosh Let me learn first how to stand up straight with skates and then we talk about hockey lol

[@SeenByYosh]

baby steps haha

[@wagnerjacobson622]

@@SeenByYosh haha maybe I can be the keeper

[@trevor108]

How would this be different than just ensuring the sharpener is aligned properly? I'm trying to decide if I should buy this edge checker...

[@SeenByYosh]

It's certainly possible that others are more precise with the included calibration tool than I was, but I found that once I had the notch "centered" a few clicks to either side also seemed just as correct. Once you get to that best guess point with your eye, this is the only true way to measure how close you got. I would say it makes more sense to get if you are doing more than just your own skates too.

[@SeenByYosh]

It's tough though because if you are feeling generally happy with your current results, you can obviously get two new rings for less money

[@wesweber1524]

use a quarter

[@SeenByYosh]

A quarter can only tell you if they're "close" or "bad". That is probably fine if you're just checking to verify if a shop did you dirty with a very uneven sharpening. Whether it's this checker or another though, the lines help you dial in the machine.

[@MotoMaximus]

Agree.. $130 is a rip-off!