Detune Ski Edges

Contrary to what you may have been told, detuning your skis properly won’t damage them. Detuned skis can be especially useful for beginner and intermediate skiers, as well as skiers who do tricks on rails and boxes. Detuning can be finished in 20 to 30 minutes, so you don’t have to worry about this project devouring your day, either.

Steps

Readying to Detune

  1. Select a sturdy, flat work surface. Your work surface should be long and wide enough to hold your skis comfortably. You’ll be filing away part of the ski while detuning, which will create fine sawdust.
    • Lay out a drop cloth or some newspaper on your work surface to catch dust and simplify cleanup.
  2. Identify the contact points on the skis. Contact points are at both ends and on both sides of each ski. The contact point is where the edge begins to round. For most skis, this will be the widest part.
    • The area you need to detune extends about 2 in (5 cm) above and below these contact points.[1]
  3. Hold skis in place in ski vises when available. Ski vises have protectors (usually made of rubber) to hold your skis in place without damaging their finish.[2] These are not necessary for detuning, but they can make the process easier.[1]
    • If you don’t have ski vises, you’ll have to hold the ski as you file, smooth, and polish it. You’ll be able to work more efficiently if the ski is held in a vise.
    • When using a vise, you’ll have to unclamp the ski to reposition it so you can work on its opposite side.

Detuning

  1. File down the contact points at a 45° angle. 45° is halfway between horizontal (flat) and vertical (up and down). Hold the finely grooved side of a metal file against the edge of the contact point at 45°. With firm pressure, drag over the edge in long, continuous motions down the entire contact point.[3]
  2. Evaluate the edge as you file. When the tip of the edge is flattened to a 45° angle, it is detuned. You may need to blow on your ski as you file or wipe it with a dry rag to clear away sawdust.[2]
  3. Smooth the edge with a wet diamond sharpening stone. Hold a medium-grit diamond sharpening stone in your hand. With your free hand, use a spray bottle to squirt the stone several times with water. Use several long, smooth, overlapping strokes with the diamond stone to smooth the edge.
    • Rewet the diamond stone frequently, but try not to saturate the wood too much with water. Wet wood expands, which may negatively impact your smoothing efforts.[1]
    • A diamond sharpening stone can be purchased at many hardware stores, home centers, and sporting goods stores.[2]
  4. Polish contact points with a Gumi stone. This tool is sometimes spelled as “gummy,” “gummi,” or “gumy” stone. Go over the detuned contact points lightly with this stone. Use several strokes and long, smooth, overlapping motions.[1]
    • Gumi stones are relatively inexpensive and can be bought through online retailers or at sporting goods and winter sports stores.[2]
  5. File all contact points on both skis in this fashion. You may find it easiest to file all contact points before smoothing with a diamond sharpening stone and polishing with a Gumi stone. Alternatively, you could file, smooth, and polish points one at a time.[3]
    • Wipe down skis with a dry rag to remove sawdust in between filing, smoothing, and polishing.

Making the Most of Detuned Skis

  1. Attempt Freestyle Ski with detuned skis. Rails and boxes are usually found in the Terrain Park of the slopes. You can do tricks like Freestyle Ski off these features. Tuned skies tend to stick on rails and boxes; detuned skis will work best.[3]
  2. Equip beginner and intermediate skiers with detuned skis. The sharp edges of tuned skis cut more deeply into turns, making it harder to release the turn. This can cause difficulty to beginner and intermediate skiers, who may not yet have the experience to compensate for this like a veteran might.[1]
  3. Detune edges after each retuning. After a season or two, it might be time to get your skis tuned again. After retuning, you’ll have to detune contact points again. This process can be a little annoying, but when contact points are detuned and the rest of the ski well-tuned, your skis will handle the best.[3]

Warnings

  • Improperly detuning your ski(s) could result in permanent damage. Take your time and work carefully to prevent costly mistakes.

Things You’ll Need

  • Diamond stone
  • Dry, clean, lint-free rag
  • Gummy stone
  • Metal file
  • Ski vises (x2; optional)
  • Spray bottle (full of clean water)

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogZKroOlpuk
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://www.backcountry.com/explore/ski-tuning-in-8-easy-steps-8-videos#
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL4FIR2lmKo

You may like

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Detune_Ski_Edges&oldid=287083"