How to Sharpen Rollerski Pole Tips
New rollerski poles with untouched and sharp rollerski tips are pure enjoyment for every athlete.
Sharp tips have a great grip and they dig well into the asphalt or any other hard paved surface. They allow perfectly clean and strong pushes that result in maximizing sports performance and leading to truly efficient training sessions.
Most of rollerski tips are made of tungsten carbide, which is far more resistant and durable material, compared to steel. It is a chemical compound containing powder forms of tungsten carbide and cobalt which are, during a specific sintering process, fused together into a dense "hard metal". Despite this fact they still lose the sharpness after approx. 50 km of training, in case of high intensity and/or heavier athlete even earlier.
To be sure of getting the best workout experience it's important to sharpen tips of rollerski ferrules frequently.
Sharpening process
Diamond file or sharpener - pocket-size
The procedure is simple and it can be easily performed by pocket-size diamond file or sharpener. A small and handy tool is easy to use and allows sharpening rollerski tips whenever and wherever. It’s easy to carry in a clothing pocket or different kinds of sports gear. It offers fast and precise sharpening also during the workout.
Diamond stone sharpeners - 3 grits:
- Red - fine K600
- Blue - medium K325
- Black - coarse K220
Diamond sharpeners – credit card size - 3 grits:
- Green - extra-fine K1200
- Red - fine K600
- Blue - medium K325
Sharpening movements
Sharpening the ferrule tip is done quite quickly by moving the file back and forth on the angled side of the carbide tip with medium pressure until the tip looks and feels sharp.
Wet the file
During the sharpening make sure that the file is wet (the whole procedure will be faster) and wash it every time after the use to remove the dust from the file's surface.
File grit
Recommended grit of the sharpener is medium to coarse, although the final touches with the fine grit can be also welcome to make the surface nicely smooth in the end.
Tip bevel to sharpen
In order to take off the minimum possible material when sharpening the tip every time we recommend grinding only the shorter bevel of the rollerski tip (as shown on the photo below).
How often to sharpen?
Rollerski tips can be sharpened every time before the workout in order to maintain sharp tips all through the lifespan of the ferrule. In case a of missing few sharpenings in a row it will take a while to achieve the proper sharp edge again, plus there will be more material needed to be removed from the tip in order to make a nice and sharp edge.
Important note
We absolutely don’t recommend sharpening rollerski tips with bench grinder (turning stones). This sharpening technique makes the carbide tip and the plastic ferrule (into which the tip is inserted) extremely hot.
Such high temperatures change the properties of tungsten carbide material itself and make it more fragile, which leads to easier breakage, more tip chipping, faster bluntness, etc...
High temperature reached by grinding rollerski tips with bench grinder also softens or even melts the plastic part of rollerski ferrule. A ferrule damaged like this couldn’t hold the pressure of the carbide tip being inserted into it, so the tip might sink into the ferrule slot quite deeper. As a consequence such tips are almost impossible to use and leave the athlete needing to exchange the rolleski ferrule.
To avoid any possible rollerski tip inconveniences and damages like this, it’s better to use simple and handy portable diamond sharpener which offers easy and quick sharpening on the go and with no fuss.