I have previously posted on my Instagram account how I use my sparks to get an “under high” cut on my goli skates. Oftentimes I get comments about how bad Sparks is and how it can’t even sharpen an edge… but the whole point of an “inside high” cut is to have rough edges. Since I had so many people asking me how to do it, I made this step-by-step guide on YouTube. I highly recommend watching the video as it will explain a lot more than just following the steps in this article.
What is an “inside high” cut?
To begin, let me explain what an “inside high” is and why I use and recommend it. This is for all intents and purposes an incorrect sharpening that makes the inside edge of the steel higher than the outside edge. For goalies, this is beneficial because it cuts more when pushing off the butterfly, cuts more when stopping in the slide, while cutting less on the outside edge when moving across the ice. Generally, goalies are skating more on their inside edge than on their outside, so that edge allows for more cutting while moving the outside edge back into the ice. would give
Can a sharpener “high inside”?
I was introduced to this sharpener by a local goalie who worked at a local hockey store. Once he was gone I lost my local trusty sharpener and when I tried to get a similar cut again locally I had mixed results. Once I started working at a hockey shop myself, I quickly learned which sharpeners could be trusted with this kit and would perform consistently. Once I quit that job, it became very difficult to accelerate consistently and I would have to drive far to guarantee the results I wanted… so I ended up buying sparks to accelerate myself. Coins!
Speaking of Sparks (affiliate link), I’m part of the Sparks Ambassador Program, which gives me a discount code and link that gives me access to my Rewards sparks to help pay for grinding rings. So if you want to support this website and my YouTube channel you can use the code hockeyreviewsca on the Sparx website when purchasing the bundle to Get a discount and help me pay for the rings. I had owned Sparks for about 3 years before this program started, but I thought I would join the ambassador program because I use the machine all the time and recommend it.
How about the Bauer Prosharp Advantedge?
Before I start the steps, I have been asking and searching how you can do this sharpening on the Bauer Prosharp Advantedge. Although their influencer couldn’t give me an answer, you can type the wheel incorrectly which will give you similar results to this guide. But I haven’t been able to test it myself and the process isn’t that easy because it doesn’t have an alignment visual tool to see how misaligned the machine is. For the ProSharp Advantage, you need to use their allen key to unlock the alignment nut, then adjust the nut, relock the alignment nut and sharpen the skates. I can’t comment on the number of turns or how it works, but theoretically it should give you the same results.
Steps to “Inside High” with Sparks
Step 1: You must first “misalign” the sparks, this can be done more accurately with the “Optical Alignment Kit” I show in the video. If you have “BEAM” with Sparx, you just need to transfer the alignment with “Alignment Driver” and finally check the results. I usually recommend 10 clicks to start and if you want more you can go further.
When adjusting the sparks alignment, turning the “alignment driver” to the right moves the ring and wheel away from you and the front of the machine. which will make the edge closest to the user the higher side.
Step 2: Set your first bullet skate on the sparks and adjust the color contact points to their correct location. I usually start here with my right skate and point the toe to the left. Since we moved the “Alignment Driver” to the right and thus pushed the wheel and ring off the front edge, we want the inside edge of the right skate to be higher and placing it closer to the front of the machine creates height. will be done As an aside I recommend watching the YouTube video here as I give some tips on how you can angle your steel to help reduce the puck at the end of the steel that is created when using sparks. can go
Step 3: Sharpen the steel as you normally would, since I sharpen my skates after about 2 skates, I only need 2 passes to get the edge and sharpen. But it will depend entirely on how often you sharpen and how bad the edges are.
Step 4: For the other skate, and in this particular instance my left skate. We point the toe to the right because we need the inside edge to be the edge closest to the front edge of the machine. Set up the skate in the same manner as described above and sharpen as described in step 3.
Notice:
You will need to deburr the steel as you normally would. Never use a sweet stick after sharpening the steel as it ruins the edges, see this excellent thread on Mod Squad Hockey discussing this. If one wants to use a sweet stick to achieve a specific feel, they need to adjust their hollow until they achieve that feel.
I’ve seen people mention in the past how sharpening “inside high” will deteriorate your edges faster if you hit the posts with too much of an inside edge. The interblade is either 3mm or 4mm wide, with the edges spaced millimeters apart in height… It is extremely difficult to get just one edge on the post when driving in them. The height difference this misalignment will make when hitting the posts is negligible, and you’ll need to sharpen your blade anyway after hitting the posts hard.
Hope this article and video were helpful in understanding how to use sparks and get an “inside high” edge for bullet skates. I highly recommend people try the inline high cut, and unlike the profile it doesn’t revert to the tradition of sharpening the steel by grinding it.
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