When is an edge done for good?

[Chris Johnson]

Hi all,

Got into tuning spring of '20 due to all shops being closed and I couldn't do my annual spring tune & summer wax (by far preferable to having to wait a long time in the fall when everyone else realizes their skis need a tune). Overall, been great. My question now is when is an edge just done? My daily drivers are now 5 seasons old and have a lot of sections where the edge is basically 3 sided it's so rounded. So many sections have been dinged up by rocks, branches, whatever, it seems impossible to get them back to a crisp edge by hand. Is it worth it to pay to have them reset (if possible)? Is it possible to do it by hand? I used my main file prior to putting them away for the summer and was seeing a lot of shavings of metal come off, but they don't look much different to the naked eye.

I'm contemplating buying a new set of dailies before next season and am also looking for info in keeping them sharp and extending their life. I ski in all conditions and definitely will hit rocks with any daily driver. How do you handle the sections (usually underfoot) that get banged up pretty good? Is there a downside to taking a file to just those couple inches?

Not the best pic, and not the worst of my skis but I forgot until I had wax on the bad ones. A little hard to see, but hopefully it conveys the issue I'm seeing.

One other question, what do you all do about the shallow but long scratches in bases? Seems like overkill to try to ptex the whole thing (sometimes feet long), and some are so shallow I don't know if ptex would stay in anyway. Once a year base grind to get back to normal? Just don't worry about it? Thank you!

 

[Scruffy]

Shallow scratches are nothing. Don't worry about them; they are structure if nothing else.
Looks like you got plenty of edge depth. Take them in for a good stone grind.
You say they are 5 years old, but how many days on them? That's the key question on how much $$ you should invest in them vs buying something else, but then again do you want them for rock skis? Even if you tune skis yourself you'll need a good stone grind periodically.

 

[Scrundy]

Hard to tell by pic but what I’m seeing is a extreme burr on the base edge, or the base edge is extremely pitted. If it’s a burr run a stone or as bad as it is a file across the base edge. If the base edge is that pitted, it’s up to you to spend some cash on a base grind or purchase new skis.
Did you take the sidewalls down before you went hard with file on side edges?

 

[Jacques]

Hi all,

Got into tuning spring of '20 due to all shops being closed and I couldn't do my annual spring tune & summer wax (by far preferable to having to wait a long time in the fall when everyone else realizes their skis need a tune). Overall, been great. My question now is when is an edge just done? My daily drivers are now 5 seasons old and have a lot of sections where the edge is basically 3 sided it's so rounded. So many sections have been dinged up by rocks, branches, whatever, it seems impossible to get them back to a crisp edge by hand. Is it worth it to pay to have them reset (if possible)? Is it possible to do it by hand? I used my main file prior to putting them away for the summer and was seeing a lot of shavings of metal come off, but they don't look much different to the naked eye.

I'm contemplating buying a new set of dailies before next season and am also looking for info in keeping them sharp and extending their life. I ski in all conditions and definitely will hit rocks with any daily driver. How do you handle the sections (usually underfoot) that get banged up pretty good? Is there a downside to taking a file to just those couple inches?

Not the best pic, and not the worst of my skis but I forgot until I had wax on the bad ones. A little hard to see, but hopefully it conveys the issue I'm seeing.

One other question, what do you all do about the shallow but long scratches in bases? Seems like overkill to try to ptex the whole thing (sometimes feet long), and some are so shallow I don't know if ptex would stay in anyway. Once a year base grind to get back to normal? Just don't worry about it? Thank you!

View attachment 139049

Don't sweat small scratches. Sometimes an edge is too far gone to ever get it back. You have plenty of side, but you can't keep filing the base edge. You can only scrape and file a base so much. Likewise, you can only stone grind a base so much, so at some point, new sticks may be in order. Good luck.

 

[CascadeConcrete]

Looks like you caught some rocks with that edge. How big a deal that is depends on how extensive the damage is, what you use these skis for, and how much you care. If it's just that one spot, it may never be perfect again but I probably wouldn't trash the skis over it. If it's the whole ski, they may be rock skis now. But for some ski types, e.g. race and carving skis, I might care about having perfect edges more than other skis, e.g. pow boards. And it also comes down to personal preference: is this going to bug you just knowing it's there or do you just say "tools not jewels" and keep skiing?

As for what to do, I'd probably just file off any burrs jutting out of the damaged area that might snag on something and let it be. I use a cheap alu-ox stone for this sort of thing so the damaged edges, which are often work hardened, don't beat up my nicer files. Depending on how deep the gouge is, you may be able to get the bulk of it looking good again with a stone grind plus edge tune, but it's hard to tell from the picture how deep it is and how much material would need to be removed.

 

[SpikeDog]

I'm with Scruffy - take them in for a good stone grind. Nothing in the picture makes me think those skis are goners. That'll clear up most of the long scratches too, plus give you some base texture. Your skis will love you long time.

 

[Wilhelmson]

The edge is done when you get a grind and tune and the skis are still annoying. You might never get annoyed if you ski soft snow and can overlook the deficiencies.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Those skis are quite serviceable. If you expect to hit more rocks then don't sweat it.

Gouges in the base that run the length of the ski are not a big deal. If they run diagonal to the length of the ski, then they'll slow you down.

The edges are pretty dinged up but when a base grind is done, the edges should be/are also re-beveled. Some of that beveling will remove the innies you have. Certainly any outies. How aggressive a grind you choose will depend on how close to new you want the edges to be. The more base material removed, the more the edges will be restored.

Short of broken through and through or severely bent, edges are fine as long as they perform as you desire. One way to extend the useful life of skis is to swap left for right. That way your new inside edges will be the old outside edges. Outside edges usually are in better condition than inside edges so your skis get a new lease on life when you swap them.

 

[James]

Done for what?
Maybe try some soft non-rock snow? Or full rocks.
Honestly can’t tell how bad they are, but they’d need a base grind unless you hit the Jacques salt mines and struggle by hand.

Even with that, there’s only so much you can do to make a severely rounded edge square again. We still haven’t gotten to the point of adding metal to edges. Difficult to do without ruining the base. Replace sections, but generally not worth paying someone to do it.