If taking care of our physical form, having a good level of learning and training are essential to enjoy snowboarding, the state of our material is just as important. You can choose from a wide range of high-quality snowboards available in the market, but then it’s up to you to know how to take care of it so that it lasts longer between seasons. The first thing that ensures a good grip of your snowboard is its sharpened edges, and with that comes the question, how to sharpen snowboard edges?
Through this article, we will give you a hand by answering the main question about sharpening your snowboard edges.
First of all, we would like to recommend that if your board already needs a pass through the workshop, it would be best if you took it to a specialized store since the first attempt on our part is likely to be quite unsatisfactory.
How to Sharpen Snowboard Edges
If you are still interested in doing it yourself, it will be better for you to follow some guidelines and acquire a minimum knowledge. Let’s see the process step by step.
If you go up the mountain with your board and realize that it no longer runs like it did in the past, especially in areas of very hard snow, know that this lack of grip is because your board needs a bit of pampering; sharpening the edges, and proper waxing may be more than enough if your snowboard does not have more serious war injuries.
How long should it take before you have to sharpen the edges?
There is no recommended time frame, just like wax – it depends on use. Generally, it is recommended during the end of the season or in the early season maintenance.
Check the board’s edges regularly if you have snowed in rocky areas and if marks have appeared. In such a case, you should sharpen the edges to ensure a good grip, and for this, you must learn how to sharpen snowboard edges.
Sharpening Snowboard Edges
In snowboards, as in skis, the edge has two parts, an upper (lateral) area and a lower (sole) or tuning edge. Both sides should be sharpened as a general rule.
Keep in mind that sharpening has to be done only if necessary since each sharpening, you will lose thickness, thereby shortening the life of your edge and, therefore, of our board.
As a general rule, the angle of the edge of our snowboard will vary between 88º and 90º. If you do not want to lose said angle, you must sharpen with great care not to alter the said angle. Varying it will determine the type of ridding that you usually do. In such a way that an edge is not sharpened in the same way if you are going to do freestyle as if you will make only descents on tracks (carving).
Types of Tools for Sharpening Edges
Angulators
It is the tool that will give us the angle of the edge, it is usually a medium-density file, and they have one side at 88º and the other at 90º. The tool should always be used in one direction, for example, from the board’s nose to the tail.
Files or Diamond stones
In this case, there are also several densities. They are usually used when the edge repair is not too serious, like small burrs, rust etc. It is unnecessary to pass the diamond files along the entire edge, and it will be enough to act on the damaged area.
Limes
They are the typical devastating files from the hardware store. There are different densities, but the most used are coarse ones used to repair significant flaws. Medium files are used for normal faults and fine files for softer polishing.
You must be cautious about passing the file on both edges not to damage the sidewall or the board’s sole. So, when you pass the file along the edge of the sole (tuning), it is entirely flat and resting on the sole, so it is advisable to first go over the edges and then wax, since when the file passes, it will cause small frictions on the sole from the table.
For this, the file mustn’t have a cumbersome grip. To reduce the impact of the file on the sole of the board, and you can wrap it with electrical tape, duct tape or, failing that, cellophane.
The use of the file must be with constant pressure and, as we did with the diamond file, always in the same direction, from nose to tail.
Something that can be very useful at the beginning to avoid excessively devastating the edge of the board is to mark with a dark marker the side of the edge that needs to be sharpened and stop sharpening when the mark disappears.
The edge of your board shines. It seems new; it is surely enough to grip more than before. When finished, wipe with a cloth moistened with solvent or glass cleaner.
We recommend applying a coat of wax before storing your snowboard for the next season.
How do you store your snowboard?
Wipe the snowboard with a dry cloth at the end of the day to avoid the appearance of rust. Do to leave the board in direct sunlight (especially the base), and don’t place the board on things that can scratch it or stand against a wall.
At the end of the season: the most important thing is to protect the snowboard base so that it continues to slide as it should. We recommend restoring the base so that it is flat, that is, removing scratches.
It is best to apply the wax without scratching it to provide a protective layer on the base at the end of the season.
Leave your snowboard in a dry place to avoid any chance of rust setting in. Avoid the garage, garden sheds, basement, etc. It is best to opt for a room at home. In addition, it is ideal that you keep it in a protective cover for snowboards.
Our Final Thoughts
The care and maintenance of a snowboard are as important as taking care of your physique or practicing snowboarding skills. By following these basic tips, we believe that you can now sharpen your snowboard edges by yourself.
