a. Begin by setting up the ski so that the base is perpendicular to the floor, and stand so that the base is facing you. Attach the diamond stone to your file guide using one or two clamps (as shown). I like to angle the stone a bit so that only a portion of it makes contact with the ski. Because skis have an hourglass shape, a stone will not sit evenly on the edge of the ski, only the ends of the stone will be making contact. To get by this, I angle the stone, as shown. The rest is similar to the base edge procedure. Wet the stone with polishing solution or your homemade soapy water solution.
b. Place the stone and guide on the ski (as shown below) and, similar to the base edge, use light and even pressure as you move the stone down the ski. Again, use a coarse (100-200 grit) stone for damaged sections of the edge, and a medium (400 grit) stone for general maintenance/sharpening. Sharpen the edge, wiping it down every so often, until it is smooth of any dings or other roughness. Rinse of the stone and guide between each edge. The edge should now feel sharp and be smooth to the touch, and should appear shiny.
A quick sharpness test: lightly scrape the back of your fingernail on the edge. A sharp edge will take off some fingernail shavings, a dull edge will not.
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