New Skis - Need Sharpening?

New Skis - Need Sharpening?

Post by M. Wild » Sat, 27 Sep 1997 04:00:00


George alluded to a new form of abuse:

Quote:

> I recently purchased new parabolics and am planning a trip to Vail "in
> Jan".

Please let me know how Jan (we always called her Janice) feels about
carrying
you all the way to Vail.  Is this a new sort of penance she must pay for
offending the gods of Ski (and/or K2B [synonymous terms])?  Won't she be
too
sore to ski after carrying you all that way inside?  

Quote:
> Do I need to have these skis sharpened/waxed?  Do new skis come
> already-sharpened?

You need not have skis sharpened nor wax-ed for the slopes of Vail

Quote:

> Thanks in advance,
> George

No Problem George

Wilde

Vail - pre-sharpened

 
 
 

New Skis - Need Sharpening?

Post by Georg » Sat, 27 Sep 1997 04:00:00

I recently purchased new parabolics and am planning a trip to Vail in
Jan.  Do I need to have these skis sharpened/waxed?  Do new skis come
already-sharpened?

Thanks in advance,
George

 
 
 

New Skis - Need Sharpening?

Post by Frederick A Pec » Sun, 28 Sep 1997 04:00:00

id say that you might wnat to have them waxed and sharpened when you get
there, george.

new skis dont come very sharp, so this is a necessity.  also, new skis
tend to comewith a "factory wax".  this is usually a cheezy wax put on
simply to protect the ski's base.  when you get to your destination,
have a shop wax them for the prevailing conditions.  

you'll notice the difference.  if you like it, you may want to think
about investign in some files, wax, an iron and a tuning book.  this can
all be had for about the price of 2 shop tunes, and with practice,
you'll do a better job.  the presision that you can cut and wax your
skis with is far greater than that of a shop, because you will spend so
much more tiem with the.  i know that on nights before races, i used to
spend about an hour per ski.

have a\fun with your new skis!

 ---fred---

      \\
       \\
        \\    ====== GO AVS ======
         \\  
          \\
           \\
            \\
             \\______
              \______\

 
 
 

New Skis - Need Sharpening?

Post by Iceski » Sun, 28 Sep 1997 04:00:00

Quote:

> recently purchased new parabolics and am planning a trip to Vail in
>Jan.  Do I need to have these skis sharpened/waxed?  Do new skis come
>already-sharpened?>Thanks in advance,>George

George,
I pretty much agree with most of the things Fred said.  The "substance"
that is coated on the bottom of new skis can scarcely be called a wax.it
is a product designed to preserve the bases and protect the edges from rust
during storage.  It most certainly is not worthy of skiing on.

As far as edges go, they may be relatively sharp when new, but the side
edge is invariably cut at a conservative 90 degree angle, which is not
optimally suited for clinging to the surfaces of Eastern ski mountains :-)
I cut my own edges by hand, usually .5-1 degrees for base edge and 89-88
degrees for the side edge (depending on the ski and the skiers ability).

Another problem with new skis can be an uneven  base surface.  Ive seen
new skis bases that are convex, concave, base high, wavy, sometimes all the
above.

The approach that I have found to work for me is to:
Check the bases for flatness.  If they are not true, have the bases sanded
and stone ground.
Cut the edges to the angle best suited for you and where you are  skiing.
You can do this yourself or have some one else do it, but this type of work
is usually done by hand.
Finish off with a proper coat of  hot wax.  After you wax cools and youve
scraped and brushed it, dont forget to scrape the wax off your edges with
a plastic scraper.

If you are interested in tuning your own skis, Seth Masias definitive
book "Alpine Ski Maintenance and Repair" is a must read.  A reputable mail
order catalog of tools and supplies can be found through Tognar Toolworks
1-800-299-9904.
Doug

"East" and "Ice" are two words always used in the same sentence.

 
 
 

New Skis - Need Sharpening?

Post by Bruno Mel » Tue, 30 Sep 1997 04:00:00

: I recently purchased new parabolics and am planning a trip to Vail in
: Jan.  Do I need to have these skis sharpened/waxed?  Do new skis come
: already-sharpened?

If you buy from a reputable shop they should do a tune up for you.
The last pair of skis I bought were edge high. I would assume that
this is even more common with supersidecuts as there is much more base area.

bruno.