Without a doubt, one of the most important things a hockey player (yes, even a hockey goalie) is concerned with is the quality of their skates edges. You need to have a skate sharpener that does exactly what it’s supposed to do every single time you use it.
But with that being said, what is the best skate sharpener out there? Are automatic skate sharpening machines better than older style, manual skate sharpening machines? The skate sharpening world has changed so drastically in the past decade, it’s hard to know which style is best for you.
We’ve used plenty, we’ve sharpened our skates on a wide variety of machines over the years and we’d like to think we know a thing or two about finding the best hockey skate sharpener for whatever your situation is.
In this article, we’re going to take a deep dive into the world of a skate sharpener, covering these topics:
- Best skate sharpeners
- Portable skate sharpeners
- Automatic skate sharpeners vs manual skate sharpeners
- Hand held skate sharpeners
- How to sharpen your skates
These are our top recommended hockey skate sharpeners.
- Sparx Skate Sharpener
- Pro Sharp Home Sharpener
- Wissota 911 Sharpener
Having personally used the Sparx Skate Sharpener for going on 3+ years, it's worth every penny. To stress test the machine, we have not changed the filter once. While I wouldn't recommend it, this sharpener is the single best skate sharpening I've ever experienced. -Tyler
These are the Highest Rated Sharpeners for Hockey Skates
For obvious reasons, learning how to sharpen hockey skates is a critical investment in any hockey players career. Whether you decide to sharpen your skates yourself, or have a friend do it, you have to have a great edge.
Up until recently, at home skate sharpeners like the Sparx and Pro Sharp were not an option for players and parents. With the invention of the Sparx machine, however, at home sharpening is easier than ever. Honestly, our Sparx sharpener was and still is the best investment we’ve ever made.
Sparx Skate Sharpener
Sparx has done more for skate sharpening than just about any company on the market. Yes, I’ve included two other sharpeners in this article, but that’s only so I am not accused of writing them into a monopoly. Seriously, if you’re reading this, just buy the Sparx sharpener and do not look back.
Honestly, I have no problems being a fan boy of the machine. I have personally recommended it to more than several hundred of the parents who’s goalies I train. I know first hand of 20 or so friends who own this machine and love it. I’m well versed in how to use it, and how it performs.
Editors note: I’m currently on my 2nd Sparx Skate sharpener, have run several thousand pairs of skates through both machines and have not had a single issue with either. That’s about as proven and tested as one can get, I recommend this unit to every person who asks.
Having personally used the Sparx Skate Sharpener for going on 3+ years, it's worth every penny. To stress test the machine, we have not changed the filter once. While I wouldn't recommend it, this sharpener is the single best skate sharpening I've ever experienced. -Tyler
Pro Sharp Home Sharpener
The Pro Sharp skate sharpening system is a distant second to the Sparx Skate Sharpener. While it generally does the same thing, the company has been outpaced in terms of usability and general reliability. I’ve used my Sparx sharpening system for going on 4+ years currently and wouldn’t consider recommending anything else. With that being said, if you absolutely cannot fathom the thought of supporting Sparx, the Pro Sharp is the #2 skate sharpener on the market.
I have used the Pro Sharp sharpener around the same time I was testing the Sparx unit, it’s a very dependable skate sharpener and I mean this next line with the utmost respect – it’s not close to the Sparx machine. For the ease of use, the accuracy, and just how long it lasts, there really is no other reason to go with anything else.
Wissota 911 Skate Sharpener
With Wissota, we’re entering a skate sharpening market that is completely different than your average home user. The Wissota brand is widely recognized as the top manufacturer of skate sharpeners for commercial users world wide. These things are truly battle tested, having been used day in and day out by NHL equipment managers for years.
If you’re serious about a commercial style sharpener that will allow you to make custom adjustments (beyond what you’d get on a Sparx or Pro Sharp), a Wissota is likely the brand you’ll go with. These guys have been building them for forever, they have the best testimonials you could look for, and they’re reasonably affordable.
At one point, I had done more sharpening on our Wissota machine, however, in the past 4 years I’ve done 100% of my sharpenings on the Sparx. We take it on the road, keep it in the locker room, and have one at home.
Skate Sharpening Accessories
You’re going to need a few things to go with your sharpener. The first thing you’ll need is a top of the line skate blade edge checker.
Portable Skate Sharpeners
Without a doubt, my favorite invention in the hockey world is the portable skate sharpener. To be fair, every skate sharpener is portable in some way or another, it’s just that some were built to go from rink to rink.
Unfortunately for older companies like Wissota, Pro Sharp and Sparx have got quite the grip on the hockey skate sharpener market in general, not just those looking for portable sharpening kits. With the invention of the truly portable skate sharpener, even previously useful devices like a hand held skate sharpener are becoming less and less necessary.
We own two Sparx machines, keeping one at home and one that travels to all arenas. They’re not the most portable thing in the world, but they are designed to move with you provided you follow the transportation instructions. A note on transporting these things, follow all instructions. I know of two people who have ruined their machines by not transporting with the locking mechanism in place.
Having personally used the Sparx Skate Sharpener for going on 3+ years, it's worth every penny. To stress test the machine, we have not changed the filter once. While I wouldn't recommend it, this sharpener is the single best skate sharpening I've ever experienced. -Tyler
Automatic Skate Sharpening Machines vs Manual Skate Sharpeners
At one point, manual skate sharpeners were the only game in town and for good reason. They were the only skate sharpening machines that could deliver the same edge (depending on skill of the user) each time you sharpened skates. Not the case anymore.
For 99% of users, an automatic skate sharpening machine like the Sparx is going to exceed your expectations and daily use requirements. It’s even reasonable to suggest that an automatic skate sharpener is actually better simply because of the difficulty in messing it up. They truly are plug and play and with 5-10 minutes of basic training on the device, you’ll get the same edge the pros do.
Heck, even NHL players use Sparx.
Hand-held skate sharpeners
Hand held skate sharpeners are designed to take the edge or simple burrs off of the skate blade. They’re not designed for regular use as an actual skate sharpening grinding stone can produce and should not be used as such.
If you want to add a hand held device to your bag just for maintenance between periods, there are a handful at Pure Hockey that can be had for less than $30. We haven’t done extensive testing on these to tell you which one is truly the best, as with the creation of Sparx, they’re becoming less and less useful. Many of the folks who come back to us with feedback tell us that they take their Sparx machine to tournaments, the locker room, etc. They’re fairly portable and are easy enough to completely re-sharpen your skates at practice or between periods of a game.
If you refuse to take that information and insist we suggest one, it would be Blade Barber. It’s advertised as a hand held sharpener that’ll give 20-30 sharpenings before it runs out. Again, have not tested this personally so use caution. If you’re on the fence and have the budget, go Sparx and don’t look back.
The Blade Barber is one that we have heard about (full disclosure, we have not tested this one), it has positive reviews.
How to sharpen your skates
If you buy an automatic skate sharpening machine, like the Sparx or the Pro Sharp, it’s as simple as following their instructions for the first time. Once you’ve sharpened your skates a few times on these machines, it’s like second nature. They’re easy to use.
If you decide to purchase a manual skate sharpener, however, learning how to sharpen skates can be a bit more challenging.
