Curiosity: Chemical Composition of Edge

[montefuca]

Hi, i was wondering about chemical composition that you choose for the edge.

is possible Al Fe Zn Mn?

or maybe it's not possible to wrote here?

[starikashka]

from the mechanical engineer point of view it could be usual carbon steel with higher than average carbon content or slightly alloyed why do you need to know that?

[montefuca]

because i have the exactly composition of them, and i'm just thinking why use this elements, which properties who create them was looking for.

for example, there's no trace of Titanium. In my father's ski, there's.

i'm a big big curious!

[starikashka]

how did you get this used styloscope? i`m not sure how this device called, but you need to create an electric arc and then identfy content by spectrum. Or you just guess?

Titanium is not only component that can be used in edge material. I would expect chromium and vanadium in it )

[montefuca]

it's a particular instruments that make instant analysis using x ray.

now i don't have the exact percentual, but the accurate composition is the one i've posted up.

[nils]

good question ! smiles...
Frankly only the factory knows...and i'm not sure its so important is it??
We only know that we chose to make wide edges so they last much longer...

N

[starikashka]

Nils, it`s important for the guys who rides mostly on icy slopes, so edge need to be hard to avoid frequent sharpening. Those who rides on show does not care, i think.

more hardness - less sharpening, more time for fun.

[nils]

well there is many factor that enter this...

Jean-Bernard Tschäppät, Mr Tooltonic, could speak about it for about 5 days without needing a refueling ...basically he explains that the steel needs to be polished like a mirror if you want them to last longer and glide well... He recommends using diamond file each time before sharpening to de-temper the steel that has been hardened by stones, friction etc...this way the edge can be eaten by the file again...

I do not spend 5 hours per edge like JBT does when he makes his son BX board ready for the season....but at least i try to polish it with a very hard stone a bit so it bites well and lasts longer... the hardest thing is to make a sharp edge that cuts even after you polish it and plays with the different diamond files ( up to 800)..
Basically with the tooltonic, from scratch to almost polish it takes 5 minutes per edge if you are quick and use the rotofinish diamonds...the chromed Vallorbe icecut Race file eases the pain too because you need less diamond afterwards.

So no idea what edges are, but since there is barely 2-3 providers for the whole europe market, there should not be very different from boards to boards...

N

[starikashka]

Nils, I understand only thing - if hardness of edge material higher it will last longer. But this can not be a very high so edge could be brittle.
This magic tools you talking about is only solution for us, poor snowboarders Business sharks just shared the pie ))

Thanks for the tip anyway. Why you not on the slope )?

[Felix]

Nils, it`s important for the guys who rides mostly on icy slopes, so edge need to be hard to avoid frequent sharpening. Those who rides on show does not care, i think.

more hardness - less sharpening, more time for fun.

Wrong, if you want really sharp edges you want a soft edge, not a hard one. First hard edges may break, second soft edges are easier to sharpen. Off course you will have to sharpen soft edges more often, but performance on ice will be better nevertheless!

Just polish with diamond stone first, and don't forget the ceramic stone afterwards - so that the edge stays sharp much longer. Also polish the edge after every day riding with diamond/ceramic so you can take long intervalls between edge filing with file.

@Nils - the tooltonic Race file is made out of Wolfram - which explains why it is so good (clean cut and long lasting). The common market term for that file is Vallorbe/Icecut hard metal file. Very expensive but also very good!

[starikashka]

Felix 45HRC would be enough to broke? is it soft or hard?

[Felix]

I think 45HRC is on the soft side. Some companies said there edges are 48HRC but what do i know?

I only noticed by sharpening my boards and skis that soft edges are the way to go. Also other posts in forums are more for soft edges. With Wolfram files like the Vallorbe Icecut Hard Metal files maybe harder edges are as easy to prepare although.

[Ohawa]

It's called x-ray fluorescence. You put just a piece of material in x-ray chamber and you have its composition within minutes. Precise enough for ski edges I think.
No idea why somebody uses Ti...
Yes for soft edges but not too soft. Edges of my old Choc were gone after one day on icy slopes... Rossignol's edges lasted much longer

[montefuca]

this is what i've used to analyse the edge: http://www.niton.com/Metal-and-Alloy-An ... fault.aspx

i use it for work too, not only for my curiosity!!

[Ohawa]

I'd better keep you in my contacts because who knows I won't need your help in the future! I am a materials scientist in some sort, too... generally XRF stands for X-ray Fluorescence, i.e. irradiating of the material with X-rays and detecting the characteristic lines for known elements. The concentration is then based on irradiating of some known standards. I see you have hand-held machines that's not as in the scientific labs! PS Very off-topic.