Ski Tuning | The Basics

Skis and snowboards have a tough life. Snow, ice, harsh temperatures, various types of terrain, and the high speeds at which you travel put enormous strain on the material. All the more important is to maintain skis or boards so that you have more fun riding in winter sports and are safe on the move.

Together with experienced service technicians from the World Cup, we have compiled the most important basics for DIY ski service . You can find all the necessary tools for this in our shop.

1. Check the ski base

Before you start, you need to check the ski base. A concave (base is hollow) or convex (base is curved) ski base makes ski service difficult or impossible. A flat surface is the basic requirement for proper ski service. The edge angle, which is important for ski edge grinding, can only be correct if the base is in good condition.
For checking the ski base, we recommend our Basictool No. 1: base scraper Base with hairline ruler.

2. Plane off the sidewall

For ski edge grinding or alternatively ski edge filing, it is advisable to remove the sidewall. The plastic above the ski edge interferes and causes dirt during work.
If you work with the ES 2000PLUS ski edge grinder from raze-cat, this step is not absolutely necessary but recommended regarding dust development. We advise planing off the sidewalls if the ski edges are worked on with a file.
For removing the sidewall, we recommend our Basictool No. 2: sidewall remover - Racing.

3. Measure edge angle

If you are not sure what angle your ski or snowboard edge has, you should measure it.
It makes ski service much easier to maintain the existing angle or to grind a different edge angle suitable for you if you know the starting angle. It is also sensible to re-measure or check the new angle afterwards.
This is not quite easy because very little material is available for measuring the side edge of the skis or snowboards. Therefore, we have developed an angle gauge that is fine yet handy enough to measure the ski edge angle. Since the correct angle is important, we have published a special report on this: Ski Edge Grinding - Which Angle?
For measuring the edge angle, we recommend our Basictool No. 3: angle gauge.

4. File ski edges

Filing the ski edge with a file is still the most widespread method.
We recommend this step to skilled skiers. The commercially available file guides on the market have rarely been further developed and are often not easy to use. Also, the tedious manual work and the enormous time required of about 20-30 minutes per pair of skis or snowboard should not be underestimated.
For ski edge filing, we recommend our file guides of the FG100 Worldcup series with fixed angle as well as the CF-4 from raze-cat with adjustable angle.
These are innovative and contemporary ski tools for professional ski tuning.

5. Grind ski edges

If you want it easier, just as precise, and with less time effort, you can do this with our electric ES 2000PLUS ski edge grinder. Easy to handle and with various grinding belts, it is possible to achieve a top result in any desired angle in a very short time. The quality of the ground ski edge is sensational and takes only about 2 minutes per pair of skis or snowboard.
For optimal work with the ES 2000 in diagonal tension, we recommend the Skispanner Profi Quick from raze-cat.

6. Clean the ski base

After filing or grinding the ski edges, it is important to clean the base from dust, shavings, and other dirt.

Without this step, ski waxing is not possible.
The easiest and fastest way is with our Basictool No. 4: base brush bronze.

7. Wax skis