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Snowboard Edge Sharpening
Tools Needed for Snowboard Edge Sharpening: Gummie Stone, File Guide, Mill Bastard Filer, Ski man(from Wintersteiger), Whetstone, Polishing Diamond file.
Edges play a very important role on your everyday riding. Starting from the nose to the tail. The nose and tail are what touches the snow first and last. When initiating a turn and when you are releasing from a turn it is your edges that keep you stable.
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Snowboard edge sharpening will start withDe-tuning. New boards are usually not de-tuned. You should do this to take some of the sharpness away from the nose and tail. De-tune the contact points, about 10" from the tip of the nose and 10" from the tip of the tail, with a gummie stone. Run the gummie stone over these edges about 1o times, then run the gummie stone up and down the whole length of all the edges 2 times.
Base Edging: The degree of your base edge angle is what makes it easier to slide from side to side. A typical base edge will have a .5-1 degree angle. A base edge of a .5 degree is typically used by carvers, almost everyone uses a 1 degree, and beginners and jibbers use a 2 degree angle. The more base angel the less "catchy" the base edge is.
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Snowboard edge sharpening your base edge works better if you have a bench with a snowboard vice. However, just using a flat table will work also. Place your mill bastard fileon the file guide, choose the file guide that is suited best for your type of riding(mentioned above).
Align the file so the teeth are towards the edge and make smooth long strokes pushing away from your body. You can paint the edge with a color marker and see how much edge is being removed with each stroke. Once all the marker is gone you know your base edge is done. If using a file guide, like the ones found on our snowboard tuning tools page you will not have to worry about having a mill bastard file because they come with everything you need. So snowboard edge sharpening becomes that much easier.
Side Edges: You sharpen your side edge only after you have sharpened your base edge and you have taken a whet (coarse) stone and slid it up and down your edges to de-burr it. Doing the base edge first will push the metal pieces to the side so now you want to get rid of them as you sharpen your side edges.
The edge sharpness mixed with the bevel angle controls the board in different snow conditions. Almost all snowboards come with a 90 degree edge(the relationship of the base and side edge form a 90 degree edge). If you don't have a bench with a vice try and get one of your friends to hold your board, but not necessary. You want the edge facing you.
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Use a side edge file guide and go from tip to tail with long smooth strokes. Using your file guide will give you an almost 100% accurate edge. You shouldsharpen your side edge according to the snow conditions. 90 degree is for soft powder, 89 degree is for average snow conditions, 88 degree is for hardpacked snow and 87 degree is for ice.
Tips: If you feel that your file is skipping over a section, don't try to go back and keep filing over and over. This area is hardened, usually caused by rocks. You should use a polishing diamond file and go over the this section.
Edge Finishing: After your edges are done you need to de-burr and polish them before you wax. Burr's form on your edges after you sharpen them and they will slow you down, especially if you ride pipe or boardercross. You need to take your polishing diamond file and run it up and down all the edges very smoothly with light pressure. This will give you precise edges. You are now done with Snowboarding Edge!
Here is what different edge bevels will look like
90 degree bevel
No side edge
Acute Edge Bevel
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