The tuning stick is the guidepost here. You have snow conditions that demand certain edge finishes. The Tuning Stick is the only way to precisely analyze your edges to match them to the snow.
OK, if it is pow, you don't tune. Everything works in pow. The only question is, are your edges TOO sharp for pow? If they are, you lose a lot of looseness you need to make pow fun. Your edges bite too much in the soft stuff when you want them to slip.
But let's say, OK, the snow is typical average. How do I tune for each day?
1. Tuning stick, check sharpness, particularly underfoot. What is the condition of my edges? Likely during the day the sharpness wore off underfoot and needs to be restored. Every day, you want to start with fresh sharp edges underfoot. Period.
2. Start with the 180 grit ruby sharpening stones, sharpen the edges, and check with the tuning stick. You will learn over time how sharp the edges need to be for the snow conditions. If the 180 grit stones achieve the sharpness needed, stop sharpening. If they don't, go to the green stones, they will get the edges even sharper. If still not sharp enough, go to the files. But it better be REALLY hard snow, files are rarely needed or desired.
If the snow isn't hard but you need some bite, you can sharpen with the 350 grit stones. If it really isn't hard, you can sharpen with the coarse gummi stones. The point is, there are many ways to sharpen skis, but the result always needs to be the same, sharper underfoot, less sharp towards tip and tail. Match it to the snow for slip, grip and glide.
3. You ALWAYS finish the edges with polish. No exceptions. Ever. The only question is how to polish? Again, polish is determined by snow conditions.
For hard snow, final polish is done with stones, 180 or 350 grit
For softer snow, fine gummis
So how long do we spend with daily edge tuning? Two minutes, four if going slow. That is IT! We know this is hard to get, but it is true. And when you get it things get really cool. You capture control of your tuning and you find more time spent doesn't give you better results. In fact, you CAN'T spend more time, unless you are doing it wrong. Doing it right means little time spent, more time spent is more likely just making a mess.
Superb ski tuning is superb edge tuning; everything else is just a supporting role.
After every several days (weekend)
IF THERE IS ROCK DAMAGE:
1. Base work, use the Base Flattener with the steel blade lightly to remove any ragged P-tex and edge metal.
2. Base repair. Your choice of how to apply the plastic, but candle dripping doesn't work well on sintered bases. After the repair, use the Base Flattener with the steel blade lightly to bring the repair flush to the base. Finally, use a Base Flattener stone (fine preferred) by hand, not in the tool, to blend the repair with the rest of the base so that the repair actually disappears.
3. Edge work. First use the 180 grit Ruby Sharpening stones to remove any edge metal rising off the edges. Then, use the coarse gummi stones on the rock damaged areas to aggressively polish the damage. DON'T hand polish the rock damage. The Ski Sharp will neutralize the damage and will eventually return the edge to consistent finish, don't expand the damage to the tip of the edge by hand polishing.
IF THERE IS NO ROCK DAMAGE OR AFTER THE ROCK DAMAGE IS REPAIRED:
1. Base work. First use the Base Flattener with the steel blade. This is like the artist who "cleans his canvas" before starting a new painting. The steel blade cleans up the base and removes any remnants of wax before starting to work. Then check for flatness and flatten if necessary. Once bases are flattened little work is needed to maintain flatness.
2. Edge tuning. Follow the same procedures above under Daily Tuning. If you tune quickly each day that process remains complete each day.
3. Freshen structure. The Base Flattener structure with the stone blades lasts about two days so it needs to be freshened after each weekend.
4. Wax. Waxing is optional, we don't. We carefully pick the right structure for the snow conditions. Avoiding waxing saves a great deal of time, money, and stress on our lungs. And our skis work great!
So how much time does this take after the weekend? About 10 to 15 minutes, unless base repair is needed. Very little time is spent tuning when done regularly and correctly.
