Lesson 10 : The Vertical Edge ****

Did you notice the three stars?

Did you notice that we never had stars in class titles. It is because this class is a key class! This is the class in which you must learn to do work correctly and very very well!

Objective of class:
1. To understand the various possible angles to be used.

2. To learn how to create an angled vertical ski edge!


You will often hear me say, "nothing is for free" and in this class you will see why!
You have to view your choice of edge angles as a "personal choice" and a balancing act!

Let me explain.
You do not set your skis at x or y angle because "they" do it! You must understand that with every increase of angle there is a risk of edge damage!Thus 1 degree provides small risk, 2 degrees greater risk and finally 3 degrees vertical has very great risk that if you hit rock, concrete, steel pipe etc... you will have a damaged ski edge. That is the balancing act you will have! Greater angle....greater risk!

Also you must consider where you ski or where you will ski! If you have constant snow and have soft base, there is not need to 'over-angle" or over sharpen edges to 3 degrees! A sharp 1 degree will do!

My powder fats are never sharpened more that 1 degree!

That is why the expression, "nothing is free" applies since if you want very very sharp edges at 3 degrees you must pay in damage and life of the ski edge!

Make an intelligent decision. My advice to you is start at 1 degree. Make that edge very sharp and ski for a while at 1 degree. If you notice that there is more ice on slopes or your skis do not "carve" then first verify your technique,,,,then go to 2 degrees!

Do everything in slow gradual steps!


Very soon you will be able to "read" a course or slope and know what degree your ski must have! Often I plan a ski holiday, prepare my skis 2 days before trip since they announce powder and once I get there I realize the runs are rock hard! No problem ( since I travel with tune up kit) , I re-file edge to 3 degrees!

Here are the basic steps for this work.
I will assume you have protected your edges
There is no rust

At this point of the tune up, you must learn to use all your senses!
Learn to see edge ( if you can get a jewelers magnifying glass)
Learn to feel edge. Gently pass index finger over edge. Feel dings! Close your eyes when you do this!
Learn to smell as file or tool goes over edges. There is a distinctive smell which is present!

Secure ski to vice so that base is facing away from you!
Using strong wide elastic bring ski brakes up.
I start all my work from left to right , from tip to tail so place ski so tip is to left!

Using diamond stone or gummy block take out all dings ( inward cuts) and burrs ( outward damaged areas.

Set your tool at the degree you want for your conditions.
90 or 0 degrees for powder soft soft snow!

89 or 1 degree for some soft snow but some hard base.

88 or 2 degrees for groomed slopes with patches of hard sections.

87 or 3 degrees for hard icy conditions in most of ski areas.


A WARNING*****
A VERY IMPORTANT WARNING ******

Once you start to use file with guide,or any cutting tool, DO NOT PASS FINGER OVER EDGE!!!

Read that message again!

Always use towel paper to clean or touch edge! I warn you ! You will forget and get metal bits into your finger!

You see, what the file or cutting tool is doing is taking off some steel. Unless you are using the SKS Racing Cutting tool, you will have microscopic sections taken out depending on your hand pressure! Always wipe edge with paper and throw paper away!

Do not try to get perfect angle with one pass. Light even pressure is much better hard uneven motion! Three passes are better than one!

The secret is to place pressure inward towards ski core,, not downward! Use large shoulder muscles gently while fingers just guide file!

Do not attempt to do one pass form tip to tail. Do 30 to 50 cm passes, and always overlapping sections.

Listen very carefully! The sound more than anything will tell you when the edge is perfect and even. It is an even sound which the file makes from the tip to the tail. Once you heard it you will know.

Think of your file as a violin and get that even distinctive sound! Do not worry about tips and tails now! Just get that sound!

When you think you have it,,clean edges again with paper and feel edges,,but this time not along edge axis but 90 degrees from edge axis! Gently stroke edge with three fingers in various sections!

If in doubt do another pass!

The next step is critical since your edge does not yet have a uniform razor sharp edge. You must pass a ceramic stone IN ONE EVEN SOFT PASS! This is a stone very much like a knife sharpening stone!

Reliable Racing sells a kit of stones! I have used these stones for well over 20 years and it is still effective. This kit has 4-6 stones with finner finish! The last is 600 grit! You do not need such kit yet!
Just get a fine grit ceramic stone. A fine or very fine diamond stick will do also!


Repeat same process on other ski!


Last step is to de-tune tip and tails!
Again it is your call. You must learn how much to take out!

A rule of thumb will help you!
Look at ski as it lays on a hard floor or work bench. There is a curve at which edge does not touch surface. Note where this point is! It is a critical point!

See if you can visualize this!
As you set an edge and "pressure" the skis forward on a hard surface,,,the ski will bend or arc ( like a bow). That point you focussed on is now more forward ( towards the tip) That is the zone you must de-tune in consideration to your ski performance expectations.

No de-tune will render the ski very very nervous so that if you wiggle your ears it will turn!

10 cm, de-tune will get you a "lazy, sloth turning ski"

You play with this zone until you like it!

One or two passes at 90 degrees from edge will effectively de-tune edge. DO NOT USE HARD FILE or coarse sticks.



I am waiting for the one obvious question!

See who will be the one to ask it!

Pavel

Do you bother putting a layer of tape on the base to protect it from the edge guide?

PS That's not the a stab at the obvious question.

pavelski wrote:I will assume you have protected your edges

Dear Pavel, I am sorry but I think I am the one in the class who doesn't know if I have protected my edges or not :oops: Please can you explain your assumption??

Also I find my file fills with plastic from the side wall much quicker than any metal comes off the edge, especially as the pair of skis I am practicing on has never had a vertial edge of less than 90 before ... Should I use a sidewall plane first??

Sorry to slow the class ...

Jan

The Obvious Question ?

Pavel, could you be looking for us to ask if we use the ceramic stone for the de-tune using just enough pressure to dull the surface? Or is there something more obvious? I thought you left out nothing and all is clear.

Mike

Mike: Yes you can use ceramic stone to detune, however if it is fine grit level I suggest you use diamond stick or gummy block.

Jan: You are correct. I assumed that most skiers have not done tuning so they have lots of edge! You are correct, as you do more "filing" or tuning this steel edge gets less pronounced and thus you must "take" some plastic from sidewalls!
There are tools which you can buy which remove plastic sidewalls! I have found that using a Stanley knife with an "inserted" blade does trick very well! I also found the blade carpet installers use ( a curved inner section) gives me the best angle to take out plastic. Again the issue of "nothing is free" comes up! If you tune too much or too hard you will need a new ski in one or two seasons.

Once you have dome a great tune, then "minor" touch ups in specific zones will do! That is another advantage to doing your skis rather than giving them to a shop every week!


Ellistine's question about protecting the base from the rollers is for me an none issue since the rollers I have do not cause grooves or scratches on base! However one pont which is very important which I forgot to mention is that the base MUST be clean and smooth before you use guides! Any old wax or matter on base will cause rollers to deviate,,,thus change angle!

Ellistine, you should apply just enough force to "file" edges but not so much that you stall or stop file!


The key question which I was waiting from was from one of the "brighter" students! It has to do with right and left ski tuning!

Think about it! Mike we covered this issue 2 years ago!

Now I know Pavel is referring to another student under the term "brighter"..... any brightness I may have ever had is fading fast.

But two years ago it seems we spoke of marking (in a non-distructive manner)the skis so as to call one left and one right. In this way after a time of skiing on well tuned skis we could switch feet and have a fresh sharp inside edge. We also spoke of the reason for de-tuning. The reason was that if we didn't de-tune there was the potential for the sharp portion to "catch" and throw off our balance leading to a fall.

And we also spoke of the directions I provided in great detail for you to find our place ....and of your summer work during your college years ... and lots of other things too...not to mention a certain alarm clock which irritated the daylights out of you (sorry about that ...)... :lol: ha.. sleepless nights !!! :lol:

Mike

Well, I am not even going to enter the right/left ski discussion! But, I do have a question about detuning. What is your starting point for detuning the tip? It seems that if you are skiing on very hard snow, the very tip would be very difficult to get into contact with the snow anyway.

Right then, I just set about sharpening my edges for the first time. I gave up trying to sharpen the old skis I was planning to practice on (too rusty and far too long!) and proceeded to tune my dryslope skis.

It all seems to have gone remarkably well.

I started by removing any dings with an alu-oxide stone, drew a long the edge with a marker pen, and filed the edge with an 88 degree guide until the marker pen had gone.

I followed this with a 100 grit diamond Moonfile, followed by a 400 and then a ceramic stone.

Finally I ran along the bottom edge with a gummy stone to remove any burs.

The only problem I can see is that I have a small amount of filings embedded into the base, presumably pushed in by the guide. I was brushing the filings every couple of runs with the file but perhaps it wasn't enough. I suppose this is where taping the base might be a help.

Still, I expect the skis are now completely unusable on the dryslope! Last time they were sharpened (as a result of a base grind) I ended up sat trying to blunt the edges with the carbide tip of my poles! Great for carving - way too much grip for skidding.