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Do Skis Get Blunt?

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Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#51

Post by madaxe_again »

sgt wrote: post #32
gorbypark wrote: post #21

It totally depends on the type of skier and the type of skis you have. I worked in the ski industry and thus lived and worked in ski towns for 15 years. If you are a ski racer, tuning edges matter. If you aggressively ride groomers all day, then they will matter. Riding big fat powder skis everyday, inside and outside of the resort? More or less doesn't matter. Are you a park rat that only ever skis the park? Those f…

Yeah, I grew up with skis, but I don't think I have ever heard of anyone sharpening the edges. Waxing the skis yes.

I grew up with skis too, and my dad and I would sharpen our GS skis together in the garage every Friday evening, for a weekend of racing. Used to finish them with a sealskin strop, literally as sharp as razors - for the first few runs.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#53

Post by swader999 »

aeyes wrote: post #45
bamboozled wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Riding big fat powder skis everyday, inside and outside of the resort? More or less doesn't matter." Until you stop off at the bar on a Sunny day and ride home on dusk once everything has frozen again, then you'd be like "oh I wish I didn't tell everyone not to keep their edges in decent shape", as you fly off the cliff edge.

It's easier on fat skis which haven't been waxed in a long time. They aren't as fast so I rarely have to really put them on the edge on ice. I do a slide turn while keeping as much contact with the surface as I can. That's also the biggest downside, you can't really rip it with fat skis. Not even if you go down dead straight.

Fat skis put a lot of torque on the knees on ice if they are properly tuned and your carving in a high G turn. It's the wrong tool for that job, best to just slide around and chill like you mentioned.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#54

Post by gkanai »

A lot depends on where you ski. If you're skiing in the Northeast US, where conditions are often icy, then yes tuning matters a great deal. If you race, or want precision in your turns, then tuning is important.

If you're a powder hound in Utah or Niseko, then it matters a lot less.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#55

Post by swader999 »

strstr wrote: post #49
swader999 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All good, I didn't type it correctly initially. A lot of coaches in the past have been critical of those angles he's been on so I was probably anticipating it lol. Most kids that age are likely 0.75 and two degrees for Sl. And yeah older Fis kids are maybe trying zero base and perhaps 4 degrees on water injected surfaces.

Tuners look at me so strangely when I ask for 0°/4° lol. I can’t imagine dealing with coaches.

Yeah that is dialed like an F1 car and four degrees will shorten the life of the edge a bit. Some will do that much just under boot but go 3 at tip and tail. Another approach is to never debur and file every run. Saw that hack at a Fis GS race this year that was water injected by an over zealous course crew.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#56

Post by rhcom2 »

sgt wrote: post #32
gorbypark wrote: post #21

It totally depends on the type of skier and the type of skis you have. I worked in the ski industry and thus lived and worked in ski towns for 15 years. If you are a ski racer, tuning edges matter. If you aggressively ride groomers all day, then they will matter. Riding big fat powder skis everyday, inside and outside of the resort? More or less doesn't matter. Are you a park rat that only ever skis the park? Those f…

Yeah, I grew up with skis, but I don't think I have ever heard of anyone sharpening the edges. Waxing the skis yes.

This might be location dependent because in the Northeast US getting your edges sharpened almost every season isn't rare.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#57

Post by matsemann »

madaxe_again wrote: post #51
sgt wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I grew up with skis, but I don't think I have ever heard of anyone sharpening the edges. Waxing the skis yes.

I grew up with skis too, and my dad and I would sharpen our GS skis together in the garage every Friday evening, for a weekend of racing. Used to finish them with a sealskin strop, literally as sharp as razors - for the first few runs.

Same. Kind of a nice ritual and I look back at that time spent together fondly. I also feel a bit sorry(/grateful) for all the time my parents spent on this. Driving me ungodly early so I could get to a race a few towns over, and then waiting there all day for me and my team mates to do our thing and then drive us home.

You really do notice the difference on well maintained edges. On groomed slopes I can ski anything, and it doesn't really matter. But I don't think most people realize how icy a race track can become.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#58

Post by strstr »

amluto wrote: post #24
creato wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can see in this video that the interaction of the ski with the snow is much more than just the edge of the ski. I really doubt the fine tuning of the edge matters that much. I don’t think there is any objective way to settle this debate. I think if you enjoy tuning skis, go for it. I like sharpening knives and tools so I get it. But I don’t bother with my skis.

It sounds entirely straightforward to do a randomized, blinded test of freshly sharpened vs unsharpened skis. (Okay, the skier can feel the edge or look closely, but a cooperative skier could just not do that for the purpose of the experiment.)

You could also sharpen just one edge of each ski (opposite edges across the pair), then put the skis on random feet. Then see if they can tell which edges are sharp! Most of a typical skier’s weight is supported by the inside edge of the downhill ski while carving.

Youth racers tend to ski with one set of edges on the inside for training, and the other edges inside for racing (under the theory that the inside edges take more of a beating. Who knows if that is accurate). If you ever see youth racers on slalom skis (which are chiral, since they have tips that deflect ski gates), you’ll often notice that the skis are on the “wrong” foot.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#59

Post by sgt »

matsemann wrote: post #57
madaxe_again wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I grew up with skis too, and my dad and I would sharpen our GS skis together in the garage every Friday evening, for a weekend of racing. Used to finish them with a sealskin strop, literally as sharp as razors - for the first few runs.

Same. Kind of a nice ritual and I look back at that time spent together fondly. I also feel a bit sorry(/grateful) for all the time my parents spent on this. Driving me ungodly early so I could get to a race a few towns over, and then waiting there all day for me and my team mates to do our thing and then drive us home. You really do notice the difference on well maintained edges. On groomed slopes I can ski anything…

They got to spend time with you, which is its own reward. I only realized this now when I got a kid (he's 3). Never thought about it that way before. Do you have kids?

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#60

Post by strstr »

swader999 wrote: post #55
strstr wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tuners look at me so strangely when I ask for 0°/4° lol. I can’t imagine dealing with coaches.

Yeah that is dialed like an F1 car and four degrees will shorten the life of the edge a bit. Some will do that much just under boot but go 3 at tip and tail. Another approach is to never debur and file every run. Saw that hack at a Fis GS race this year that was water injected by an over zealous course crew.

I’ve heard the lifespan thing before and never understood it. It’s still 86 degrees wide.
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