Stone Grinds. Do you do it?

First, I must admit that I don't know too much about stone grinds. Realistically, I have never thought about stone grinding skis that have no core shots, or require PTEX repair. I'm sure that a new pattern in a base once in a while is not a super bad thing, but I always thought that grinds don't do much, other than eat away at the base.
Is the collective pro or con stone grind? How often do you do it? I know some people who do it 2x/year. I always thought that for recreational schralping, that is just insane.

I typically grind when damaged, however if you have dedicated spring skis putting a structure that prohibits the "suck" to snow factor is much recco'd. YMMV.

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I had a grind done on a monatana saphir machine on a very evil handling rail high ski and it made a big difference in the handling

Yes i could had filed it by hand but this M/C did a better job in about 10 minutes than I ever could have and I would probably still be working on that ski 10 yars later

YMMV but I don't bother with stone grinds unless the skis have a real problem

i lean more towards nay on a stone grind, especially if your skis feel alright on the snow

worked in a shop for a bit and it was 9/10 edge and wax vs full tune, the only time i sold a full grind tune was when there was significant damage on a fairly newer ski, even more so if the customer only skied that ski

i check my own skis from time to time with a true bar, never had the need to fix railed or base high ski which for me would be the only reason i'd want a grind and stone structure

if the bases are flat, wax is the best thing for em

I stone grind everything, new/used/whatever, when I first get it to baseline it flat. Add edge bevels by hand and then maintain them from there. Only ever grind again for post core shot/ deep ptex repairs. Longtime buddy owns a shop so it's cheap/ free, so that's nice.

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Originally Posted by singlecross

I stone grind everything, new/used/whatever, when I first get it to baseline it flat. Add edge bevels by hand and then maintain them from there. Only ever grind again for post core shot/ deep ptex repairs. Longtime buddy owns a shop so it's cheap/ free, so that's nice.

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Me too. Don't really do it for maintenance unless there is base/edge damage I can't fix by hand; don't change structure for spring. Last 5 pairs of new skis also got Phantom base treatment.

I’m trying out the skivisions guy’s koolaid and incorporating a few quick passes with my stone tool on the base when I’m doing polishing and touching up the edges.

I get my bases stone ground twice a year. Winter snow structure and spring snow structure.

Also, I usually get a full tune with a stone grind on each new pair of skis before I ski them. I didn't do that with my most recent pair and regret it. Well worth the $60-80 to not form a shitty first impression of a ski.

i only stonegrind after ptex repairs. if the garage repairs take over appr 33% off base and then its time for a grind.
never for maintenance.
new skies get serviced straight away and i also set base bevels by hand.
rest is just keep up by hand.

if spring is around the corner and a ski goes for service i tell them to but more structure.

I usually don't unless as other have stated, there is a serious problem with the ski. I keep my skis waxed, scraped, and brushed. I keep my edges smooth more than sharp since I am really only interested in skiing soft snow. I don't need or like the feel of skis that are race room sharp. So I would detune them again in any case. I had a pair of custom skis for testing arrive wickedly railed and I tried to flatten them with a panzer file, soon gave up, and had them stone ground before I ever skied on them. That's the only one in recent memory.

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Originally Posted by bodywhomper

I’m trying out the skivisions guy’s koolaid and incorporating a few quick passes with my stone tool on the base when I’m doing polishing and touching up the edges.

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Do you strip the wax first as per instructions? I guess after 4-5 days skiing there’s not really any wax left anyway.

Never, less material to chip away with rocks. If it's deep ptex, if it's superficial... wax.

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Originally Posted by CaliBrit

Do you strip the wax first as per instructions? I guess after 4-5 days skiing there’s not really any wax left anyway.

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Yeah I think if you’ve got a couple days of use on then it doesn’t need to be stripped. Otherwise I would strip wax, or else presumably you aren’t actually grinding the base and are just stripping wax with the stone


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Originally Posted by CaliBrit

Do you strip the wax first as per instructions? I guess after 4-5 days skiing there’s not really any wax left anyway.

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Originally Posted by waxloaf

Yeah I think if you’ve got a couple days of use on then it doesn’t need to be stripped. Otherwise I would strip wax, or else presumably you aren’t actually grinding the base and are just stripping wax with the stone

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i'm still learning the tool a bit. i've stripped wax if the wax is recent and have not removed wax if they've had several days of skiing on them, which worked well except for my wife's base-high skis. For those, i used a wax remover solution, but ended up getting down into wax that was apparently deeper in the sintered base, which then got into my stone. if i had to do it again for a ski that is pretty base high, i'd get the new base flattener attachment and an aggressive file for removing significant base material, and I would stop part way through the work and use the wax remover to make sure that i wasn't clogging up my cutting surface.

I think the idea that a high quality stone is shortening the life of your ski is largely a misnomer. I ground an old pair of K2's once a week for two seasons, sometimes running them through repeatedly after a repair and it took well over 150 passes to thin the bases out. Adding structure helps to hold wax and a base grind with a side edge makes skis feel brand new again. If you have access to a stone for a reasonable fee definitely take advantage.

Yeah, for sure. I grind mine all the time. I hate freezer burn. Skis will lose their pop way before you will ever burn the base. So you might as well keep them flat and fast.

I think all points expressed are valid, I have been surprised when a tech put a true bar on skis that had no real damage but were not flat. Techs have told me wide skis seem to need more base flattening than skis of yesteryear.

I get a stone grind if my edges are bad enough that I think I need to reset them from the bases which means the base must first be flattened and stone ground first. Or sometimes if the bases are so mangled I just can't stand the look of them. I do my own core shots and the like. I don't get a grind after that, just make sure the repair is flush with the rest of the base.

May I suggest a good quality engineer's square instead of a true bar. A very valuable tool to have around the shop for things other than checking ski bottoms.

my husband yells "stone grind" to me every time I ski thru the parking lot directly to the car

and I yell back "tools not jewels"

I ski them w factory/existing tune then will usually get a tucker tune which usually includes a grind to establish a good structure and any other adjustments we talk about.

hell, i might even Phantom this couple of new pairs i have comin up here pre spring

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Originally Posted by buttahflake

Yeah, for sure. I grind mine all the time. I hate freezer burn. Skis will lose their pop way before you will ever burn the base. So you might as well keep them flat and fast.

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haha i have some second (third?) hand DPS hybrid wailers (awesome ski btw) that have some really low spots on the base - can almost see through it to the core. heheheh

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Originally Posted by babybear

my husband yells "stone grind" to me every time I ski thru the parking lot directly to the car

and I yell back "tools not jewels"

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My wife told me yesterday "you don't get new skis because you trashed them skiing through the parking lot."

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Originally Posted by snowaddict91

My wife told me yesterday "you don't get new skis because you trashed them skiing through the parking lot."

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we live in snowy enough places that it's ok. more efficient really
these spouses belong in the OCD thread

Everyday I ski at Magic my skis get a stone grind.

I'll usually do a full tune once a year on them. That includes a stone grind. It takes so little material off I think I'll wear skis out with my fat ass before they get too thin. If it's a long spring season with a lot of really we spring snow then I'll do it again, makes a HUGE difference in high water content snow in May-June.