When you play defense in hockey, your skate sharpening needs are specific. You need to be able to bounce from the balls of your feet to spring for pucks and have explosive starts from the boards, and you need to be able to skate backwards and do crossovers while protecting the net. This means your skates need to be sharpened to precision while bearing all your defensive needs in mind.

A hockey defenseman requires their skates to respond to every movement. It's essential that their skates are properly sharpened - and sharpened often - to ensure they can steal pucks, block shots and stop offensive drives and powerplays in their tracks. 

Skate blades go through a lot of abuse during games and practices. That's why the Sparx Sharpener is the perfect defensman skate sharpener, because it is an affordable and easy-to-use DIY solution and can be done right from home.

No more running to the Pro Shop after every nicked skate blade or trying to battle through a lost edge. Now anyone, anywhere with no prior skate sharpening experience can get a pro-level skate sharpener.

Useful Sparx Resources

• 3 Simple Experiments All Hockey Players Ought To Consider
• Sharpen Your Skates At Home
• How Sharp Should Hockey Skates Be?
• How to Properly Maintain Your Blade Profile

Skate Sharpening: Radius of Hollow

If you're a goalie and need your skates sharpened, it's a good idea to first learn about this concept. Radius is the distance from the center of a circle to its outer edge (a measurement) and Hollow is a cut or depression in something. In our case, it’s the concave groove that is ground into the bottom of the skating surface. Learn more about Radius of Hollow