care & maintenance for new skis

Finally got rid of my old K2 axis X's , no matter what I tried I could not
get the edges sharp and skiing with them was a chore, couldn't hold a grip
on the slightest bit of ice. Got 5-6 years out of them at 20-25 days per
year so I guess I got my money's worth. Tried stone grinding them a few
times, let the shop sharpen them , tried sharpening them myself , just gave
up.
Fast Forward to my new Volkl tiger sharks(10 ft,no switch) and wow , what a
difference. Went from a 167 to a 161 , still go just as fast but tried them
over the weekend and they performed fantastic, felt very confident at high
speeds and on ice they gripped like tires on asphalt.
Anyway after a long day of skiing ,sometimes it's hard to do the right thing
for the skis and you just slip them in your ski bag,put them in the back of
your car and drive home and hit the sack. When you look at them the next
morning you find the edges starting to rust already, I was able to wipe most
of it off, but I want to try and take care of these .
My thoughts are :
putting them in the ski bag makes prevents them from drying off and creates
moisture in the bag. You can wipe them with a towel and try to shake the
water off but when it's cold the snow sticks to them so it's hard. Maybe
leave the bag open so it can breath ? I don't ever put them on the roof on a
ski rack. Any tips on removing the rust the next day ? Is hot wax (paraffin)
still the best method? The guy in the store claims the easy to apply wax
after each use is good enough. Let's face it, hot waxing and scraping is a
pain in the ass. Any suggestions ?
Ron

Ron - NY wrote:
Finally got rid of my old K2 axis X's , no matter what I tried I could not
get the edges sharp and skiing with them was a chore, couldn't hold a grip
on the slightest bit of ice. Got 5-6 years out of them at 20-25 days per
year so I guess I got my money's worth. Tried stone grinding them a few
times, let the shop sharpen them , tried sharpening them myself , just gave
up.
Fast Forward to my new Volkl tiger sharks(10 ft,no switch) and wow , what a
difference. Went from a 167 to a 161 , still go just as fast but tried them
over the weekend and they performed fantastic, felt very confident at high
speeds and on ice they gripped like tires on asphalt.
Anyway after a long day of skiing ,sometimes it's hard to do the right thing
for the skis and you just slip them in your ski bag,put them in the back of
your car and drive home and hit the sack. When you look at them the next
morning you find the edges starting to rust already, I was able to wipe most
of it off, but I want to try and take care of these .
My thoughts are :
putting them in the ski bag makes prevents them from drying off and creates
moisture in the bag. You can wipe them with a towel and try to shake the
water off but when it's cold the snow sticks to them so it's hard. Maybe
leave the bag open so it can breath ? I don't ever put them on the roof on a
ski rack. Any tips on removing the rust the next day ? Is hot wax (paraffin)
still the best method? The guy in the store claims the easy to apply wax
after each use is good enough. Let's face it, hot waxing and scraping is a
pain in the ass. Any suggestions ?

Congratulations on your new Tiger Sharks. I'd welcome you into the
Völkl Conspiracy, but course I can't since it doesn't actually exist.
I'm not surprised that the Tiger Sharks have much more edge grip than
the old K2s - edge grip technology has come a long way in the past few
years and there's more to it than just having sharp edges.

You can remove surface rust with a gummy stone - about $5-10 at any ski
shop. Of course, if you avoid putting them in a bag when wet you'll
avoid the rust in the first place. I never put my skis in a bag
unless I'm flying with them.

The paint on wax is a good daily maintenance routine. $15 will get you
a season's worth, and help prevent the edges from rusting to boot.
You'll still want to get a hot wax every now and then - it's not a
direct substitute.

After years of sharpening and waxing (and scraping) my skis myself, I've
determined that I just can't get the edges as sharp as the
Wintersteiger. The hill where I have my pass offers a Wax and Tune deal
for $15, so I think I'm just going to let them run it through the
machine every 5 to 7 ski days (with paint-on wax applied daily) as the
regimen for this year. Maybe there's a similar deal where you ski?

"Walt" wrote in message
...
Ron - NY wrote:
Finally got rid of my old K2 axis X's , no matter what I tried I could
not get the edges sharp and skiing with them was a chore, couldn't hold a
grip on the slightest bit of ice. Got 5-6 years out of them at 20-25 days
per year so I guess I got my money's worth. Tried stone grinding them a
few times, let the shop sharpen them , tried sharpening them myself ,
just gave up.
Fast Forward to my new Volkl tiger sharks(10 ft,no switch) and wow , what
a difference. Went from a 167 to a 161 , still go just as fast but tried
them over the weekend and they performed fantastic, felt very confident
at high speeds and on ice they gripped like tires on asphalt.
Anyway after a long day of skiing ,sometimes it's hard to do the right
thing for the skis and you just slip them in your ski bag,put them in the
back of your car and drive home and hit the sack. When you look at them
the next morning you find the edges starting to rust already, I was able
to wipe most of it off, but I want to try and take care of these .
My thoughts are :
putting them in the ski bag makes prevents them from drying off and
creates moisture in the bag. You can wipe them with a towel and try to
shake the water off but when it's cold the snow sticks to them so it's
hard. Maybe leave the bag open so it can breath ? I don't ever put them
on the roof on a ski rack. Any tips on removing the rust the next day ?
Is hot wax (paraffin) still the best method? The guy in the store claims
the easy to apply wax after each use is good enough. Let's face it, hot
waxing and scraping is a pain in the ass. Any suggestions ?

Congratulations on your new Tiger Sharks. I'd welcome you into the Völkl
Conspiracy, but course I can't since it doesn't actually exist. I'm not
surprised that the Tiger Sharks have much more edge grip than the old
K2s - edge grip technology has come a long way in the past few years and
there's more to it than just having sharp edges.

You can remove surface rust with a gummy stone - about $5-10 at any ski
shop. Of course, if you avoid putting them in a bag when wet you'll avoid
the rust in the first place. I never put my skis in a bag unless I'm
flying with them.

The paint on wax is a good daily maintenance routine. $15 will get you a
season's worth, and help prevent the edges from rusting to boot. You'll
still want to get a hot wax every now and then - it's not a direct
substitute.

After years of sharpening and waxing (and scraping) my skis myself, I've
determined that I just can't get the edges as sharp as the Wintersteiger.
The hill where I have my pass offers a Wax and Tune deal for $15, so I
think I'm just going to let them run it through the machine every 5 to 7
ski days (with paint-on wax applied daily) as the regimen for this year.
Maybe there's a similar deal where you ski?

Thanx for the reply .Yep have all the sharpening tools ( ' The Beast') and
gummy stones etc, spent a lot of money and time practicing sharpening on my
old skis. I have to agree, no matter what I did, I could never get the edges
as sharp as the shop. I think I'm going to give up and let the shop where I
bought them do it. They give you life-time sharpening and waxing anyway,
might as well use them. For some insane reason I actually diluted myself
into thinking I could do a better job but I admit defeat. Is this
'Wintersteiger' the best machine for sharpening ? I'll ask my shop what they
use. I did get most of it off with the gummy, but I'm a little afraid of
dulling .If you use the gummy on the bottom doesn't it scrape the bases up
slightly?
Next time out i'll try a quick wipe of the skis with a towel and won't
attach them together and leave the bag open a bit. I'll buy some good paint
on wax and just hot wax them every 5-6 times out . My question is this, when
you say let the shop sharpen them with the 'Wintersteiger', is running them
through the machine the same as getting a base grind ?

Ron - NY wrote:

Thanx for the reply .Yep have all the sharpening tools ( ' The Beast') and
gummy stones etc, spent a lot of money and time practicing sharpening on my
old skis. I have to agree, no matter what I did, I could never get the edges
as sharp as the shop. I think I'm going to give up and let the shop where I
bought them do it. They give you life-time sharpening and waxing anyway,
might as well use them.

Well, I think you have your answer, as long as it's not too inconvienent
to take them into the shop for their periodic wax/tune.

For some insane reason I actually diluted myself
into thinking I could do a better job but I admit defeat.

I was doing it myself because it was free. Plus the fact that the local
shop would take 3-4 days to turn around a tune. The shop at the hill
will do it while I have lunch, and since they do a better job than me
it's worth the extra $2 a ski day to have sharp edges.

Is this 'Wintersteiger' the best machine for sharpening ?

I dunno. Wintersteiger's probably the most common brand, and it's
rumoured to be "the best". The local shop uses Montana gear, the hill
has a Wintersteiger. Can't say I can tell the difference between the
two, but there's a noticeable difference between a machine tune and one
of my hand tunes, and the machines win.


I did get most of it off with the gummy, but I'm a little afraid of
dulling .If you use the gummy on the bottom doesn't it scrape the bases up
slightly?

I wouldn't worry too much about it.


when
you say let the shop sharpen them with the 'Wintersteiger', is running them
through the machine the same as getting a base grind ?

No. The basic tune is just a side edge sharpening and a wax. The base
grind w/ bottom edge tuning is an additional procedure (and costs more)
- you wouldn't want to do a base grind more than once a season or so.


//Walt
//
//There is no Völkl Conspiracy

Ron - NY wrote:
"Walt" wrote in message
...
Ron - NY wrote:
Any suggestions ?

welcome you into the Völkl
Conspiracy ... I never put my skis in a bag unless I'm
flying with them.

Yep have all the sharpening tools ( ' The Beast') and
gummy stones etc, spent a lot of money and time practicing sharpening on my
old skis.

Practice is good. It's actually easy to screw up the bevels to where you
never get them back, especially with some of those fancy sharpening
tools, which could explain some of your former soft edges - more likely
it's because that ski never was very high end so it was made to have
"forgiving" edges plus you say you had between 100 and 150 days on them
- all skis go wuss soft at around that many days and nothing can be done
- make them your rock skis for early/late season and don't worry.

Re the new babies - ski them to death and treat them like a consumable,
not like an investment. It's not too early to start watching for your
next pair to pop up at an unbelievable price (say $25 from the back room
at the shop.) But getting anal about skis leads one stop exploring, stop
bush whacking off piste, stop dropping into rocky lines - it's a silly
cost tradeoff, considering how cheap skis are and how precious every
single ski day of your life is especially out in the wild snow where
life begins.

"lal_truckee" wrote in message
...
Ron - NY wrote:
"Walt" wrote in message
...
Ron - NY wrote:
Any suggestions ?

welcome you into the Völkl
Conspiracy ... I never put my skis in a bag unless I'm
flying with them.

Yep have all the sharpening tools ( ' The Beast') and
gummy stones etc, spent a lot of money and time practicing sharpening on
my
old skis.

Practice is good. It's actually easy to screw up the bevels to where you
never get them back, especially with some of those fancy sharpening tools,
which could explain some of your former soft edges - more likely it's
because that ski never was very high end so it was made to have
"forgiving" edges plus you say you had between 100 and 150 days on them -
all skis go wuss soft at around that many days and nothing can be done -
make them your rock skis for early/late season and don't worry.

Well I must admit, I beat the hell out of them when I skied but still tried
to take care of them,to a point, but I don't think I could have practiced my
sharpening skills anymore than I did, but your probably right, after a while
the adges just go soft and I had to replace them. The tigersharks set me
back $800 but if you figure it's averaging about $150 a year it's probably
the cheapest part about skiing.


ot too early to start watching for your
next pair to pop up at an unbelievable price (say $25 from the back room
at the shop.) But getting anal about skis leads one stop exploring, stop
bush whacking off piste, stop dropping into rocky lines - it's a silly
cost tradeoff, considering how cheap skis are and how precious every
single ski day of your life is especially out in the wild snow where life
begins.

I guess the 1st season is the hardest until they get a few gauges in them
and then you settle down and stop beating up the little kids for skiing over
them. In fact I already had a close encounter with a boulder so their on
their way to being broken in. I agree, I don't want to treat them so good
that I'm afraid to use them hard, but I don't think that's a problem, I ski
them pretty hard.

On Mon, 3 Dec 2007 13:03:59 -0500, "Ron - NY"
wrote:

Fast Forward to my new Volkl tiger sharks(10 ft,no switch) and wow , what a
difference. Went from a 167 to a 161 , still go just as fast but tried them
over the weekend and they performed fantastic, felt very confident at high
speeds and on ice they gripped like tires on asphalt.

Could not agree more about these new Völkls - awesome, rock solid,
high-confidence, notchy skis. I have two sets of them, Racetigers for
steep GS and AC30 for cruising and off piste.

Suzie
--
Suzieflame

alt.horror Spanks so far:-

Andy ReVulse SPANK & BAR
Dr Tom Chadwin Walpurgis SPANK
Dark Angel SPANK
The White Lady SPANK
Bod SPANK

Suzieflame wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2007 13:03:59 -0500, "Ron - NY"
wrote:


Fast Forward to my new Volkl tiger sharks(10 ft,no switch) and wow , what a
difference. Went from a 167 to a 161 , still go just as fast but tried them
over the weekend and they performed fantastic, felt very confident at high
speeds and on ice they gripped like tires on asphalt.


Could not agree more about these new Völkls - awesome, rock solid,
high-confidence, notchy skis. I have two sets of them, Racetigers for
steep GS and AC30 for cruising and off piste.

I'm looking forward to trying out the Volkls you've snagged for our
secret Invasion next year...

On Dec 3, 11:03 am, "Ron - NY" wrote:
let the shop sharpen them

Yea, I did that once. Once! Never again.

Anyway after a long day of skiing ,sometimes it's hard to do the right thing
for the skis and you just slip them in your ski bag,put them in the back of
your car and drive home and hit the sack. When you look at them the next
morning you find the edges starting to rust already, I was able to wipe most
of it off, but I want to try and take care of these .

OMG!!! Sometimes, it's hard to get up in the middle of the night
(several times) to feed your starving new born. But you do, right?

Anyway - no big deal really. If you skied on them again, that would
most likely remove the rust. Get yourself a base and side edge file
guide and polish with a fine diamond stone. I recommend 1 base/3
side.

Also, why use a ski bag? Put an old blanket down in the car and let
them air dry on the way home.

Please tell you have straps. You have straps right? You didn't place
them wet, in a bag, overnight, in your car, with the bases together
did you?????

Also, wax is for bases - not edges. Well, edge protection for storage
- but, not for anything else.

Take care of your new babies and they will take care of you.
--
Marty

On Mon, 3 Dec 2007, Ron - NY wrote:

Finally got rid of my old K2 axis X's , no matter what I tried I could not
get the edges sharp and skiing with them was a chore, couldn't hold a grip
on the slightest bit of ice. Got 5-6 years out of them at 20-25 days per
year so I guess I got my money's worth. Tried stone grinding them a few
times, let the shop sharpen them , tried sharpening them myself , just gave
up.
Fast Forward to my new Volkl tiger sharks(10 ft,no switch) and wow , what a
difference. Went from a 167 to a 161 , still go just as fast but tried them
over the weekend and they performed fantastic, felt very confident at high
speeds and on ice they gripped like tires on asphalt.
Anyway after a long day of skiing ,sometimes it's hard to do the right thing
for the skis and you just slip them in your ski bag,put them in the back of
your car and drive home and hit the sack. When you look at them the next
morning you find the edges starting to rust already, I was able to wipe most
of it off, but I want to try and take care of these .
My thoughts are :
putting them in the ski bag makes prevents them from drying off and creates
moisture in the bag. You can wipe them with a towel and try to shake the
water off but when it's cold the snow sticks to them so it's hard. Maybe
leave the bag open so it can breath ? I don't ever put them on the roof on a
ski rack. Any tips on removing the rust the next day ? Is hot wax (paraffin)
still the best method? The guy in the store claims the easy to apply wax
after each use is good enough. Let's face it, hot waxing and scraping is a
pain in the ass. Any suggestions ?
Ron



I would never drive with skis inside the vehicle -- if the vehicle rolls,
then you have machetes flying around at neck level -- buy a binding cover
and use the roof rack.......when you get home, just wipe the bases/edges
with a soft cloth and there won't be any rust.....

Jim