A proper detuning is in order anytime you unsheath a new board. Sure, you can get by without it, but be prepared for unexpected edge hooks in the worst possible places, like say, icy cat tracks first thing in the morning, or cold steel rails on your last lap through the park. Count on it. Or follow these five steps to detuning your new board and up your odds of staying on your feet first chair to last.—L.G.
Photos Nick Hamilton
What You Need
Medium-Course File. It can be found at any hardware store.
Gummy Stone–Great for removing minor burrs; a good thing to have in your pocket at all times.
Diamond Stone–Use like the gummy to polish your edge.

1. Remove major burrs–This is essentially the first once-over treatment with the file to buff out any of the gnarly snags in your edge. Find the trouble spots and smooth them out.

2. Detune tip and tail–Find the widest part of your board at the nose and tail, that’s called the contact point. It’s the section of edge that’s most likely to catch on hardpack. Then start an inch back from that point and use the file to round out the edge toward your nose.

3. Light detune of the entire edge–Visually divide your edges into three sections. Place the file on your edge at about a 45-degree angle and make one or two passes over each of the sections. The idea is to just take a little bit of the edge off. This probably isn’t necessary for pipe jocks, East Coast riders, or any of you closet Euro carvers out there, because all of you will want to keep that edge razor sharp.



4. Remove all edge shards with a cloth–Clean up all that shredded edge so as to keep those micro shards off your board and out of the base.

5. Polish the edge with a gummy and/or diamond stone–Although it might seem like your edge is smooth, there’re really a lot of little micro burrs that need buffing out, so take that gummy or diamond stone to the edge and finish it off right.