Ski Builders Forum

hey everybody
so we have been forced into a design situation based on material constraints, our edges are only 165cm long. we started out with lib/gnu style where the edges only wrap thru the ee into the tip/tail transition. the edges were holding pretty well however that area is high impact for park riding (as well as backcountry) we started loosing snowboards every day to edges tearing out.

i was up at beaver creek with some friends and had a chance to hold a pair of kastle skis (generally all white with an orange "orb" in the tips). they use a 3 part edge, one for each sidewall arc and one for the tip.

well i went right back to the factory and bent two more edges for the next board, 4 pieces=full wrap! we have done this on several boards since then and i am beginning to see some positive aspects to the design.

first off, most of the damage to snowbaords ends up being bashing of the tip/tail. lib/gnu decided that it would be easier to repair if there was no edge in those spots. normally a bash in the tip means tearing out the edge at some point in time (either the day of the break or once water damage has occurred) and this sucks because the edge will sometimes rip out into the effective edge, making for a hard repair. with the 4 part system the whole front or tail edge can be ripped out without messing with the sidecut edge. longer lasting snowboards?

my question with all this is has anyone seen different material for the edge? we have been talking about a hard plastic edge in the tip and tail. something more bash resistant than just the ptex/tip/tail spacer, but also something that will not buckle/snap as easily as normal steel edge. are there any alternatives? has anyone else used a 4 part edge and been stoked on the results?

Have you tried a top/bottom edge for the tail and tip? 2x's 48 rockwell hardness steel would be pretty tuff to fk up without a resulting casualty. It would make the worst part of bending worse, and add a little swing weight but...

Okay. I've dropped the beer.

Armada skis use this 4 piece edge design
They are possibly the type of company that may have patented it too (but could you really patent that?).
I have been thinking about doing 3 part or 4 part wrap in my next pair of skis. Mostly because the last pair weren't that flat and once they had been ground down the base material on the tail was pretty thin and starting to lift.
I think the 4 piece edge design is a good idea.
There are def ski and snowboard companies that do the 3/4 wrap, but I am starting to wonder how they don't have to warranty a lot of boards/skis as the end of the edge seems a real weak spot.

Brazen - I had thought of an edge on the topsheet side as well, especially good in skis as it would stop the topsheet damage we get from banging them together. A lot more work though and makes allignment in the press crucial

Armada skis use this 4 piece edge design
They are possibly the type of company that may have patented it too (but could you really patent that?).
I have been thinking about doing 3 part or 4 part wrap in my next pair of skis. Mostly because the last pair weren't that flat and once they had been ground down the base material on the tail was pretty thin and starting to lift.
I think the 4 piece edge design is a good idea.
There are def ski and snowboard companies that do the 3/4 wrap, but I am starting to wonder how they don't have to warranty a lot of boards/skis as the end of the edge seems a real weak spot.

Brazen - I had thought of an edge on the topsheet side as well, especially good in skis as it would stop the topsheet damage we get from banging them together. A lot more work though and makes allignment in the press crucial

Other companies have a 4 piece edge setup by using a metal cutout at the tip and tail. Anyone know what this metal is? Aluminium or stainless?

I think the 4 part edge is a good design for snowboard. I contemplated the 3 part edge for skis, but took the easy way out w/ a 3/4 wrap. I've seen skis and boards with protective "bumpers" on the tips and tails. I've searched on the internet for that stuff and came up empty.

Edge on the top, interesting. You got the brain churning on that one.

Brazen - Try a sippy-cup, less spillage.

Currently using a 4 piece edge set, works better when loading a cassette and the easier to work with the edge bender which is creating one one simple curve.

Strange - have you tried the Carlito weave, help hold the edge set together?
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Metal on top, copper ... adding swing weight at the same time: http://www.az-ski.com/technologie-az-ski.html