My identify is Abishai Corey, and I’m 18 years previous. I ski at Waterville Valley Academy as a post-grad FIS athlete. I selected to take this yr off from faculty to give attention to snowboarding, which can assist put together me for my future in alpine racing. Right now, I’ll share an essential tip on maintain your skis sharp whereas on the highway. Entry to a ski store isn’t all the time straightforward when touring, so having a tuning plan and sticking to it’s essential.
Studying to Tune
My dad taught me tune my skis at an early age. I keep in mind being nervous about utilizing the completely different coloured diamond stones within the fallacious order. That’s why I’m excited to hitch TOKO’s crew and assist others learn to tune their skis.
Let’s get began! Under is a photograph of all of the instruments you’ll want for this session:
Put up-Coaching Care
Once I return from coaching, I instantly unstrap my skis and wipe them down with a towel. This retains the skis dry and helps stop rust. When it’s time to tune, I take a ski to my tuning bench, rubber-band the brakes, and clamp it to the bench utilizing ski vises.
I begin by wiping the sting once more with a clear towel to take away any residual water or filth. A clear edge ensures you don’t rub grime into the steel when passing the stone.
Utilizing the Medium Stone
I start with my medium (400) stone. Should you’re not sure which stone to make use of, test the label on the underside. After discovering the precise stone, I clamp the stone to my facet angle information, putting the clamp on the highest proper to depart room for my hand to carry the underside. Pinching the information and stone along with my fingers provides me essentially the most management when transferring it forwards and backwards alongside the sting.
The stone might be handed each ahead and backward alongside the ski’s edge. I like to begin with quick back-and-forth passes, working alongside the ski, after which end with lengthy passes alongside the whole edge. I run the stone 4 to 6 occasions earlier than switching to the subsequent one.
Cleansing Between Stones
After ending with my first stone, I wipe the sting from tip to tail with a towel. This removes the tiny steel shavings created throughout stoning.
Subsequent, I exploit the high-quality (600) stone, following the identical steps. I all the time work so as: medium, high-quality, after which additional high-quality (1,000).
Checking for a Hanger
After stoning, I test for a hanger by working my fingernails upward from the bottom to the sting. If my nails catch simply earlier than sliding off, I’ve created a hanger.
Relying on situations, I both depart it or take away it. To take away it, I calmly run the high-quality stone alongside the sting on the bottom facet. This step is completed freehand, and not using a information, and requires gentle strain. It’s essential to run the stone flat throughout the sting—angling it will possibly boring the ski, forcing you to restart the sharpening course of.
Last Steps and Changes
Leaving the hanger on provides the ski additional chunk on snow, which might be helpful in sure situations like pond ice. In any other case, I take away it to keep away from pointless catching whereas snowboarding. As soon as the hanger is eliminated, I really feel the sting to test the sharpness. If it’s too boring, I run the medium or high-quality stone a couple of extra occasions.
Now your skis are sharp and prepared for any glacier terrain you would possibly face!
Good luck! Abishai
