Preparing a new race ski: breaking in, edge sharpening and base impregnation

Why prepare a new ski?

A brand-new race ski or snowboard isn't ready for the slopes yet. The sidewall and the top of the steel edge are often still sharp and uneven, the base comes fresh from the structure grinding stone and is full of fine grinding dust, and the factory wax is usually a cheap, all-purpose wax that isn't tuned for race conditions. By breaking in and waxing the ski yourself, you build a solid foundation to build on for the rest of the season.

Step 1: Preparing the sidewall and cap

Start with the sidewall. With an Edge Tool Pro you remove excess sidewall material and burrs, so the sidewall runs nicely flat and tight along the steel edge. Work calmly and in small sections, and check regularly that you're not removing too much.

Protect the base while working on the sidewall and edge with tape, so you don't scratch it while sharpening.

You can smooth the top (cap) of the steel edge with the sanding block for aluminium ski tops. For the sidewall itself, as a final smoothing step after sanding, use the Edge Finisher: a fine sanding block that finishes the sidewall nicely smooth and silky.

You can also get the sidewall and cap perfectly smooth with the Carrot Sidewall machine.

You can further smooth the sidewall with sandpaper and optionally rub in sidewall oil. How far you take this depends on how you use the ski: for most skiers, the first, coarser sanding pass combined with a quick check of the sidewall height is more than enough. Keep going until the result matches what you want. Speed disciplines get more attention here than skicross.

Step 2: Sharpening the steel edge

Now that the sidewall and top are tidy, move on to the steel edge itself. Start with a coarser file, such as the 200mm file Viiala Cut 1 or the hard-chrome file Medium Cut 1, in a fixed-angle file guide, to get the factory edge straight and at the correct angle.

Then check the flatness of the edge, just as in step 1 of our guide, with the flatness gauge (straightedge). As a replacement blade for the Vola flatness gauge (planimeter), you can also use the Haarliniaal Alpin. This way you're sure the edge is the same height all the way along before moving on to finer work.

Next, finish with finer files. Use the Vola file 100x25mm CUT2 extra fine (16 teeth/cm) first as your first fine pass, then the Vola file 100x25mm CUTOFINO super fine (18 teeth/cm) for the finest, highest-quality finish.

Finish off with the Vola diamond stones and optionally an Arkansas stone hard or Arkansas stone extra hard to polish the edge.

How far you take this depends on how you use the ski: for most skiers, the first, coarser filing pass combined with a quick flatness check is more than enough. Keep going until the result matches what you want.

Step 3: "Waxing in" the base – impregnation

Start by cleaning with RO21. A ski or board comes fresh from the factory straight off the structure grinding stone, so it's full of fine grinding dust. Cleaning the base with RO21 first removes this dust, and also helps the new wax bond better.

Use MX901 to impregnate a new ski. This wax is hard and protective, and keeps the base saturated for a long time — exactly what a new, "thirsty" base needs. Iron the MX901 in calmly and let it soak in well. The longer the ski stays warm, the deeper the wax penetrates. For speed disciplines (soft base) you can use a thermo jacket for this.

Finish off with an MX-E of your choice, such as MX-E Red or MX-E Blue, matched to the temperature and snow conditions you'll be riding in. Scrape off the wax with a metal scraper and brush as described in step 6 of our guide.

Remember

A base always takes wax faster the more it's been waxed, scraped and brushed: each maintenance pass makes the base a little more sensitive and porous, and therefore easier to absorb wax into. However, as soon as the ski goes through the machine again to grind the structure, the base is "empty" again and you're effectively starting the waxing process over. Keep this in mind: a freshly ground base needs extra attention to get properly saturated again.