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SHARPENING 101

Whether you are a first time skate sharpener, or a seasoned pro, Sparx Hockey can help elevate your sharpening game. Our deep experience sharpening millions of skates over the past decade has given us in-depth sharpening knowledge and we want to share that information with you.

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SKATE SHARPENING BASICS

Skate Sharpening can easily be defined as the process of shaping the blade of an ice skate with a grinding machine to create two edges that are sharp, smooth and level. When an ice skate is used on the ice, the blade can become dull or lose its edge, which can negatively affect the skater’s performance and increase the risk of injury.

ELEMENTS OF A GOOD SHARPENING

The elements of a good sharpening can be summarized with the abbreviation ESS. ESS stands for Even, Sharp and Smooth. A properly sharpened skate should have Even Edges, Sharp Edges and a Smooth Surface Finish. It is important to check these three elements any time your skates are sharpened. Even if only one of these elements is off, your performance could be impacted.

RADIUS OF HOLLOW

One of the most confusing aspects of skate sharpening for most individuals is the term Radius of Hollow. While there is some basic math involved, the concept of Radius of Hollow (or hollow or RoH for short) is quite simple. A radius is the distance from the center of a circle to its outer edge and a hollow is a cut or depression in something.

BLADE PROFILE

There is often confusion between the Radius of Hollow of a skate blade and the profile (also known as the ‘rocker’ or ‘contour’). This confusion is understandable because both terms use the radius of a circle as their measurement. When referring to the Radius of Hollow (the depth of the cut in the blade), the measurement is in inches. When referring to the profile of the skate blade, the measurement is in feet.

DEBURRING

After every skate sharpening and before testing the edges, we recommend deburring both sides of the blade with a deburring stone, rubber stone or leather strop. In any sharpening (manual or automated), when the stone cuts the steel, it is cutting out the desired hollow and often this cut will leave behind steel that has “folded over” the sides of the blade.

TESTING BLADE EDGES

Once you have sharpened your skates and completed the deburring process, it is always a good idea to check your edges to make sure they are even. Below are few different ways to measure your edges.

Sparx Grinding Rings

THE HEART OF THE SPARX SHARPENING

Sparx offers 16 different Grinding Rings including Traditional Hollow Radius Rings® and Flat Bottom FIRE Rings® for extra glide while still maintaining grip.

SHOP GRINDING RINGS

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ELEVATE YOUR PERFORMANCE

The Sparx Sharpener delivers pro-level accuracy every single time and the lightweight design allows you to sharpen anywhere, anytime – from your home to the rink.

Whether you choose the Sparx Sharpener 3 with its all-new enhanced technology features, or the economical Sparx Sharpener, you can sharpen with confidence.

There's a reason more than 25 NHL teams use Sparx Sharpening technology - professional results every time with virtually no adjustment needed.

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PRO-LEVEL ACCURACY

The all-new lightweight design allows you to sharpen anywhere – from your home to the rink.

CONSISTENT. EVERY TIME.

Used by more than 25 NHL teams, the Sparx Sharpener produces professional results with ease.

PERSONALIZED PERFORMANCE

Patented design creates a perfect sharpening every time with virtually no adjustments necessary.

CLEAN AND SAFE

No prior sharpening experience needed and several safety features allows you to sharpen with confidence and no mess.