Is this enough edge?

[Pdub]

I just bought 3 year old GS trainer skis from a friend, for my U16 kids. He said "there's not much edge left." Looks like about 1-2 mm, and pretty rusty. Does such a thin edge affect performance or safety? I know it will limit the life of the ski, just wondering if it'll affect performance. And whether a thin edge changes the base bevel?
Thanks

 

[Jacques]

I just bought 3 year old GS trainer skis from a friend, for my U16 kids. He said "there's not much edge left." Looks like about 1-2 mm, and pretty rusty. Does such a thin edge affect performance or safety? I know it will limit the life of the ski, just wondering if it'll affect performance. And whether a thin edge changes the base bevel?
Thanks View attachment 61094 View attachment 61095

The thinner the edge the faster and better. With a thin edge a long base bevel may be in order.
No they are not too thin.

 

[focker]

Someone on here told me Racing skis have thinner edges to begin with? Is that true?

 

[hbear]

Metal is slower than base material.
Yes race skis have much thinner edges, partly due to this and also given the edges typically don’t need to withstand impact damage like an all mountain or park ski does.

 

[Jacques]

Someone on here told me Racing skis have thinner edges to begin with? Is that true?

Yes for the most part. Then you file them to death and they get better.

 

[DanoT]

Metal is slower than base material.
Yes race skis have much thinner edges, partly due to this and also given the edges typically don’t need to withstand impact damage like an all mountain or park ski does.

^^^ This and if it is a WC ski it likely only sees one season of WC use.

 

[Polo]

Someone on here told me Racing skis have thinner edges to begin with? Is that true?

Correct and speed event skis will have even less edge material than a SL ski. This is one of the big concerns I advise people on when they are buying SG or DH skis on Ebay, the base may look great but those skis start with much less side edge material and if you don't get really good pics of the side edge to get an idea of how much material they still have left, you may be in for a real shock when they arrive. Unfortunately, it happens, so always be mindful of that buying speed skis.

 

[James]

I hope they were cheap.

I remember an old Elan scx something or other carver. Very thick edges. You really could feel the drag of the metal.

 

[hbear]

Correct and speed event skis will have even less edge material than a SL ski. This is one of the big concerns I advise people on when they are buying SG or DH skis on Ebay, the base may look great but those skis start with much less side edge material and if you don't get really good pics of the side edge to get an idea of how much material they still have left, you may be in for a real shock when they arrive. Unfortunately, it happens, so always be mindful of that buying speed skis.

And in reality if the speed skis are good/fast....nobody gets rid of them!

 

[Doug Briggs]

You can tell how much edge has been removed by looking at the tips and compare the width of the edge there to the body of the ski. The tips don't get sharpened so they'll represent the new thickness.

The problem with thinner edges is the sidewall. I've seen skis with virtually no 'lip' above it to pull back with a planer or tool. The sidewall just went straight to the edge. That is too thin. The only way to get access to the edge would be to plane back the entire sidewall, which isn't the typical 'sidewall planing' that is done. Typically only the supporting lip is removed when planing a sidewall.

 

[cantunamunch]

The problem with rust on thin edges is that it gets *under* the ptex - and then it's a source of chronic re-rusting.

 

[Pdub]

Update: my son likes the skis and had a good GS result...but they are hard to tune. With such a thin edge the sidewall is in the way, especially in the middle, under the boots. I had to remove a lot of sidewall in some places. Trying to get by with stones because a file may take the last bit of metal. I think I've got 3 or 4 tunes left before they are done.

 

[Jacques]

Update: my son likes the skis and had a good GS result...but they are hard to tune. With such a thin edge the sidewall is in the way, especially in the middle, under the boots. I had to remove a lot of sidewall in some places. Trying to get by with stones because a file may take the last bit of metal. I think I've got 3 or 4 tunes left before they are done.

Just keep workin' them. Strip more sidewall, file more. Increase side edge angle by 1 degree for better grip!

 

[oldschoolskier]

Don’t over tune, just a light freshen the edge up, stays sharper longer while removing very little edge.