Edge Sharpening

[darklordofsys]

Ok stupid question....how often should I sharpen the edges on my board? I'm still learning so I'm doing anything crazy with my board. Just practicing turning and going straight.

[Dan-]

I sharpen a few times a season.

[AtomicSkier]

Everyday.

[toast21602]

park skis = never

[Tyler]

i dull my edges, so...never

[Justin]

I de-tune between my feet. Other than that I never sharpened them since I got them, they're probably really dull by now but they're invaders so who really cares.

[xNick11]

Never sharpen your edges.

[Matt]

Once ski season really begins, I basically tune and wax at least once a week.

[librider]

I dull mine. Never sharpen.

[method9455]

Let me explain the difference in answers here cuz no one really gave a reason.

 

AtomicSki and others are blasting down the mountain (on skis) and often on hard pack/ice, so they sharpen very very often. I don't know what he does specifically but the best edge is a machine edge polish (in my opinion, he probably knows more than I).

 

The people saying never, or dull it, are generally park riding snowboarders. You don't want to catch an edge on a rail when you are going sideways, it leads to the hardest of all falls. The people who said tune it but dull between the feet - same thing, a rail is only like 1-12" wide so thats really all you need for basic board slides.

 

Somewhere in between is the right answer.

 

For you skiers who are not doing the park, you can never do it too much, the only limitation is the cost of sharpening, and hypothetically the thickness of the edge. You shave a little off every time it gets sharped, but in reality the bottom will get torn apart before you see the edge get sharped away. I would be suprised if there was anyone serious enough to tune there edges that often that didn't plan on buying near gear almost every year anyway. I've only seen one or two pairs of skis have it happen to them at work and the owners where usually along the lines of "oh well they are my 5th pair of skis anyway I wanted them as rock skis"

 

For snowboarders free riding, almost the same thing but with a caveat. The guys at the shop will do an edge tune. If they are good they will detune (dull) the very end of the edge where it turns around for the nose. If it is still sharp, you will often catch that corner and fall. So I always detune the last 2-3 inches on boards. You don't need an edge polish for this yet because you won't be going fast enough to need it, a standard tune is all you need. If you decide to start going fast free riding opt for a stone grind and machine polish with hand waxing. If you go park don't get them sharpened at all and dull the middle a lot. I would still hand wax either way, but not really bother with a grind on the base either.

 

As for how dull to make it, a few passes with a file is usually good. Some people go nuts with it. I think I'm going to bust out a 4" grinder and just round off the edges completely on my park board between the feet and keep the last 6" at the end of the edge sharp. I don't catch the corner anymore and I rarely slide on that section so it works for me.

[Glenn]

I agree with method. I would add that for your purposes, every 14 days on the snow would be plenty. If you don't have a sharpening tool then maybe 2 times a season. My free ride board got the edge tuned up about 5 times this past season over 70 days, and 2 of those tunes were to get it right after I (stupidly) hit a couple rails with it.

 

Until you get your carve sorted out well its not a huge deal though.

 

My first board I got the edge tuned once over 3 seasons, and at the time I thought it rode just fine.

[method9455]

And for park riders worried that their park boards won't cut through ice after they de-tune the edges, if the ice is so bad you can't turn with the board - you are going to hurt yourself when you fall anyway. So long as you have a board dedicated to park only, I would dull the crap out of the edges. I have always used a file but I can't wait to try a grinder this winter it is going to be mad fun, I hate that board.

[GNU_rider]

I prefer the full hand tune although a base grinder is a nice tool, for an entry level rider I would recommend full detune in the nose and tail and maybe a bevel of 2 degrees on the base edge just so you're not catching edges all over the place. Also waxing your board is it a sintered or extruded base if it's sintered every 5 or 6 rides, extruded every 10 to 15 or even just twice a season if you're really not down with paying for it to get done.

[BEasy]

regarding beveled edges what do most of you riders and skiers tune ur edges to... like how many degress

[RACEWAXdotCOM]

regarding beveled edges what do most of you riders and skiers tune ur edges to... like how many degress

 

There is a lot of info on this page for edge tuning.

 

I do a very simple routine and my edges are always sharp to carve the ice on the PA slopes. After setting my angles (I have a 1 deg base and 2 deg side) I take the file out and put it away for the season, then I put in a blue DMT diamond stone and use that once per week only on the side edge. Then run a gummi stone lightly (no pressure) at 45 deg. Simple & always sharp!

[xNick11]

I hate the feel of sharp edges.

[adrian]

this thread went pretty long without mentioning detuning the contact points. as you learn, i think a well maintained base bevel and, as method said, detuned contact points will be your best bet. you can start to detune the rest of your edges if you feel like its necessary as you transition into park, but please learn to turn first, haha.