# How long do sharpened edges stay Sharp?



## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

Well racers sharpen and polish after each run so I guess it's relative to what you're using them for. 

If you know you're riding ice sharpen them the night before. If it's soft snow or groomed corduroy you won't have to worry about it as much. Tune your board to the conditions you ride for both wax and edges.


----------



## Sincraft (Sep 6, 2010)

anywhere between 10 minutes to about 10,000 days depending on your conditions. 

Serious.

New edge, on the ice coast, if you skid turn or do alot of sideways plows while you scope out your next line or, take on steeps but arent ready and skid the whole way down, 


your edge will be shot THAT run.

If you carve through firm snow, not ice - could last you a LONG time.

If you carve through ice, wont last you very long but should take you through half the season.

most people kinda live with a good bit of mediocrity when it comes to edges.

I had a pretty good system going, or I thought, whereas I would use my tuning tool with diamond stones to keep things spruced up every few times out. Well, I stopped doing it at all this year and the damn edge is just as sharp as it was this time last year and I havent touched them..

And when you go to the local shop, they basically throw it on a grinder - half of the people have NO clue what they are doing and you can land anywhere from a 90/90 to an 95/85 depending on the tech.

The more severe the bevel toward grip, the more quickly you will likely feel like you lost your edge.

So you say you cant get any fingernail shavings? What about the edges that dont touch?


----------



## TheNorminator (Jan 6, 2013)

Sincraft said:


> The more severe the bevel toward grip, the more quickly you will likely feel like you lost your edge.
> 
> So you say you cant get any fingernail shavings? What about the edges that dont touch?


I never thought about that... I was trying to learn to ride switch that weekend, so naturally there were a lot of skidded turns and speed checks. I'm also trying to learn how to carve, but I feel like on steeps I go to fast and need to bleed off speed with skidded turns.

An you're right, I have no clue what the shop did. I also have no clue about what base or side bevels are on my board. *can't wait to get my own board* :hope:

What do you mean by "edges that don't touch?"


----------



## racer357 (Feb 3, 2011)

I would definitely advise you to get your own board.

Quality equipment makes a difference in all aspects of our sport. 

I would think the edges on a board need attention most of the time because we find rocks and jagged objects under the snow and gouge them.


----------



## Efilnikufesin (Oct 8, 2011)

He means in between the contact point.

What kind of board are you riding? Many freeride/all mountain boards will come with a 1 degree base and a 1 degree side bevel. I find it helps some to run a 2 degree side bevel on it and leave the base at 1 degree, gives the board some extra bite when you need it.

All depends on what the base bevel is set at now, but having your side bevel set 91 degrees from the base bevel is something you may like here in the east/ice.


----------



## TheNorminator (Jan 6, 2013)

racer357 said:


> I would definitely advise you to get your own board.
> 
> Quality equipment makes a difference in all aspects of our sport.


Yeah pretty much everyone here recommends owning a board, but it's my first season so I guess I'll wait till next year so I have a better idea of what I want to do. And if I'm going to get equipment, the first thing I should get is a pair of good boots, right?



Efilnikufesin said:


> He means in between the contact point.
> 
> What kind of board are you riding? Many freeride/all mountain boards will come with a 1 degree base and a 1 degree side bevel. *I find it helps some to run a 2 degree side bevel on it and leave the base at 1 degree, gives the board some extra bite when you need it.
> *
> All depends on what the base bevel is set at now, but having your side bevel set 91 degrees from the base bevel is something you may like here in the east/ice.


I'm riding a Rossi Accelerator 155. It's a bit big for me but suuper noodley so it works alright. I can't find *any* information online about this board. Literally nothing. So I don't know what the bevels are. I've read about edge tuning and base + side bevels and stuff. 1 deg. base and 2 deg side was exactly what I was shooting for but I decided to edge+wax for 20 dollars instead of buying a bunch of stuff for ~75 dollars. I might get a tuning kit next year after I (hopefully) get my own gear.


----------



## Efilnikufesin (Oct 8, 2011)

TheNorminator said:


> Yeah pretty much everyone here recommends owning a board, but it's my first season so I guess I'll wait till next year so I have a better idea of what I want to do. And if I'm going to get equipment, the first thing I should get is a pair of good boots, right?
> 
> 
> 
> I'm riding a Rossi Accelerator 155. It's a bit big for me but suuper noodley so it works alright. I can't find *any* information online about this board. Literally nothing. So I don't know what the bevels are. I've read about edge tuning and base + side bevels and stuff. 1 deg. base and 2 deg side was exactly what I was shooting for but I decided to edge+wax for 20 dollars instead of buying a bunch of stuff for ~75 dollars. I might get a tuning kit next year after I (hopefully) get my own gear.


Good boots can make a world of difference, probably best to buy them locally where you can try them on. Spring sales are starting too so it's a good time to buy gear. 

When you get a board tuned at a shop, you can request the edge angles done a certain way, if you don't they will use whatever default setting that they use.


----------



## vknyvz (Jan 23, 2013)

yea i have been wondering about these too but then again people here are right, it really depends on the conditions, east(icy) coast will eat edges a lot, especially if you do carvings like me on these mountains.
after 12-15 days of riding on my brand new never summer I saw rust and edges weren't that sharp anymore, it was partly my fault thou, I needed to dry the edges before putting it in the bag. oh well lesson learned.

I got a swix sharp edge tool, althou it's scary to sharpen your edges often as sharpen too much you can kill the board.


----------



## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

I've found that you want to pay more attention to the side edge than the base edge to sharpen. 

On my all mountain board I set the angles with a file, 1 degree base, 2 degree side. Debur with a black daimond stone and polish with a blue and then a red. When the edge starts to dull I sharpen with the black diamond stone and polish with the blue then the red. 

When the black diamond stone no longer gets it sharp I file the side edge down and don't touch the base. Then I deburr with the black, and polish with the blue and red. This way you don't take the edge away from the base while still creating a razor sharp edge. 

I use a base/side bevel tool. Also look into buying a sidewall planer. As you continue to sharpen the edge it will file down to the sidewall which will need to be planed down to continue with future tuning.


----------



## Derp (Feb 3, 2012)

Would you (any of) trust a shop in tuning your edges that doesn't carry the brand of board you ride?

Really thinking I need to sharpen the Carbon Credit I ride, but not sure if I should take it to my shop (who doesn't carry Melvin) or if I should perhaps just get the GNU edge tool and do it myself.


----------



## vknyvz (Jan 23, 2013)

Derp said:


> Would you (any of) trust a shop in tuning your edges that doesn't carry the brand of board you ride?
> 
> Really thinking I need to sharpen the Carbon Credit I ride, but not sure if I should take it to my shop (who doesn't carry Melvin) or if I should perhaps just get the GNU edge tool and do it myself.


I really wouldn't trust any shops, I do my own tuning (learning and doing at the same time). Nobody will take care of your board like you do, Just suck it up the initial tool expenses and do your own tuning.

but if I trust anybody I will trust the tuning shops at some big mountains, but not all


----------



## redlude97 (Jan 9, 2008)

vknyvz said:


> I really wouldn't trust any shops, I do my own tuning (learning and doing at the same time). Nobody will take care of your board like you do, Just suck it up the initial tool expenses and do your own tuning.
> 
> but if I trust anybody I will trust the tuning shops at some big mountains, but not all


This makes no logical sense at all.


----------



## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

Derp said:


> Would you (any of) trust a shop in tuning your edges that doesn't carry the brand of board you ride?
> 
> Really thinking I need to sharpen the Carbon Credit I ride, but not sure if I should take it to my shop (who doesn't carry Melvin) or if I should perhaps just get the GNU edge tool and do it myself.


I don't trust any shops when tuning my edges. I have 3 friends who all work in different tune shops and they sharpen edges all the same way and without any regard for bevels. They all use the same type of sharpening machine in which they hold the board in their hands and run it until it's sharp. There's no guide or vice that holds it consistent, they literally bevel it by hand. 

I'm pretty particular when it comes to my bevels because when riding park on the east you want to limit as much catching on rails as possible while keeping as much of an effective edge at the same time.


----------



## Derp (Feb 3, 2012)

Extremo said:


> I don't trust any shops when tuning my edges. I have 3 friends who all work in different tune shops and they sharpen edges all the same way and without any regard for bevels. They all use the same type of sharpening machine in which they hold the board in their hands and run it until it's sharp. There's no guide or vice that holds it consistent, they literally bevel it by hand.
> 
> I'm pretty particular when it comes to my bevels because when riding park on the east you want to limit as much catching on rails as possible while keeping as much of an effective edge at the same time.


All I needed to read. Appreciated.


----------

