NSW Nordic Ski Club

Care of Skis - Edge Sharpening And Tuning

Paul Campbell-Allen, 1995

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Last month's Kick and Glide featured an article based on Paul Campbell-Allen's demonstration of ski care at the club meeting in June. That article was mainly about how to get your skis gliding better. Paul also showed how to improve a ski's turning performance.

For those who want to improve their turning prowess on cross-country skis, edge sharpening and tuning of your skis could make a big difference. You do not have to be a champion skier to benefit. It will help anyone to turn better and if you are like me you will need all the help you can get. In his demonstration on ski care at the club meeting on June 28th Paul Campbell-Allen showed how to keep ski edges in proper condition for best turning performance. The objective is to remove all those marks in the steel edges of your skis which are appear as a result of skiing over such unconventional surfaces as rocks, trees etc., and to sharpen the edges so the ski will turn easier. The edges should be sharp enough to shave the surface of a fingernail. You will need an edge sharpener or 250mm bastard mill file (and a steady hand). The steps involved are:

  1. Flatten Base: Make the ski base flat as explained in last month's Kick and Glide. See item 1- Ski Preparation. If the steel edges project below the base file the edges level with base.
  2. Sharpen Edges: For the bottom wrap a piece of duck tape around part of the file so that there are two thicknesses of tape around the file. With the taped part of the file pressed down on one edge draw the file along the ski so that you file the other edge. As always when working with skis file from the front of the ski to the back. The purpose of the tape is twofold:
    • you file the edge rather than the base, which is already filed just the way you want it
    • it results in an edge angle of 89°. If you want to use a different angle, for example 87° which is flavour of the month at present, just have the appropriate number of turns of tape around the file.
    Then file the edges of the edges ie those at the side of the skis rather than at the bottom. To do this one way to hold the file is to have the long axis in line with the long axis of the ski. The sides should be exactly 90° to the base, so you will have to be careful to hold the file at the right angle. Again file tip to tail. Use your thumb against the base as a guide in keeping the file where you want it.
  3. Tuning: If you ski with the edges sharpened along the whole length of the ski the ski will grab as you try to turn and upset your balance. To prevent this you need to tune the ski by rounding off the edges at tips and tails by filing at a 45° angle. Do not remove much material - just enough to remove the sharpness from the edge. To determine how far from the tip and tail to tune hold the skis together and squeeze the centre together. Drop a piece of paper down between the skis. Smooth the edges as far down as the piece of paper will go down (approx. I 50-200mm)
  4. End Of Season Protection: Coat the edges with fine machine oil and apply a coat of glide wax.

Base Repairs

If you have mastered the procedures for edge tuning and waxing of your skis, perhaps you are ready for the next step in ski care - base repairs. We all have them, indeed a few scratches along the base of the ski seem to be skiing's equivalent of manhood or womanhood. It comes at a price however - more friction and less glide. To remove these blemishes, material that goes by the trade name of PTex is used. You should be able to purchase it at any of the cross-country ski shops. In principle, it is melted onto the base of the ski to fill the gouge and then smoothed. Here is what you do.

  1. Light the end of a stick of PTex and let it drip onto a board until the stick stops smoking -then drip onto damaged base. This is to allow the PTex to become hot enough to form a good bond onto the base.
  2. Long cool, say 1/2 hour or more, then scrape back flush as described last month. Warning : If the base is damaged through to foam core, hot PTex can melt the foam, causing a bubble in the base.

Waxless Skis Aren't

The excellent snow that has fallen this year has presented us with some unusual problems. On two trips in late July all members of the trip parties (except those with glide waxed skis) have experienced "balling-up". We do not normally have this problem because we do not usually encounter the excellent dry snow continuing cold that we have experienced this year. The main problem is that waxless skis are not waxless unless they are employed in the slush that we are more accustomed to. The patterned base means wax is not required to help you grip in these conditions. It does not help prevent gripping when you do not want to grip, as in dry cold snow. For these conditions you do need wax to prevent balling up. July's Kick and Glide had a report on how to wax skis. If you want to enjoy the wonderful powder this year rather than get stuck in it, you need to wax your bases as explained in that report.

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