Stone grinding flattens the ski base, removes burnt and damaged base material and provides important micro-structure.  Bottom line, it makes your skis faster and easier to wax.  We have tried to simplify a complicated process as much as possible, but if your eyes glaze over with the information below, give us a call and we can help you choose what will be best based on your skis and the conditions they see most often.

We have Tazzari RP-13 & RP-23 cross-country specific machines that leave bases clean and hair-free, reducing post-grind base prep and giving you fast skis almost immediately.  These machines are numerically controlled, which means that the diamond cutting system and grinding wheel are digitally controlled and can give us highly precise, repeatable grinds.  Most stone grinding machines are made for alpine equipment and can not do the fine work required on cross country skis, which have softer bases and smaller surface area.  Our machine avoids the burning, smearing and overly-aggressive structure we see in a lot of skis that are brought to us from other grinders.

Click on the thumbnail images for full-size images of the skate and classical graphic grind menus.
download the full grind menu by clicking here

Skate Structures - Performance demands on skate skis are extremely high, as the skis must run very fast, but also release the snow easily while in motion. Too much structure will cause a distinctive “bite” in the performance feel of the ski, and climbing speed can be compromised. In general the more advanced layered structures - designed to combine optimal moisture and crystal management with a very light feel - offer the best advantage on skate skis.

Classic Structures - Classic skis generally glide in a track (where there is a lot of traffic, and usually a higher degree of glazing for a given crystal type and moisture content) and are not required to release the snow in motion. For these reasons classic skis can handle heavier structure, and the patterns don’t require the same level of refinement. The primary concern on classic skis is to make the range of the structures as wide as possible, in order to put the ski with the optimal wax pocket into the race whenever it’s required.