Sharpening ski edges
You have to know that each part of your skis needs personal attention and observation in order the skis to function well. Do not wait until you find some serious damage but check up regularly the ski edges as they can be scratched and burred and thus affect negatively on your performance in skiing. To reassure yourself if there are some damages, run lightly your fingers on the edges. In case you feel some metal snag, it must be removed the sooner, the better. For this purpose, a small stone is used to make the surface even and sharpen the ski edges. In order to do it properly, it is better to take the skis in the ski shop and let the mechanic do it instead of you. For sure, you can do it also yourself but you need to know at what extent you have to do the sharpening and do it in the proper way. Otherwise it is possible that you do more harm than good on your skis, and even worse than not sharpening the edges at all.

Sharpening your ski edges by yourself
It is normal that the hard terrain dulls out your edges but you have to be careful because on icy surface you will not be totally secure on your skis. If you want to manage the ski care yourself, then you have to wipe your skis daily with a diamond stone in order to take out any burrs. After that, use an edge tuning tool for at least a week to file the side edges. You can find these instruments in most of the ski shops. How does the sharpening proceed in practice? First, take the diamond stone and run it down the side edges, while in the same time holding the bevel to the edge. After filing the side edges, you have to put skis on a secure and solid surface. Take a heavy rubber band and wrap the brakes to hold them up off the plane of the edge. You can use a ski vise for this purpose, but two sturdy chairs will work almost the same way as a vise. You have to know that ski edges are not 90 degrees, thus you need to use a variable edge bevel to hold a file to the necessary degree of 90. Ask which is the ski manufacturer's recommended bevel, afterwards set the tool and insert the file inside. Then set the flat tool edge against the bottom of the ski and that is all.

Base repair of the skis
It may happen that you feel some problem in your skis while skiing, in sense that they hook, grab or catch and thus cause you lose stability on the slope. If your edges do not grip well on hard terrain while skiing fast, it is also good that you or a mechanic takes a look at your skis. Repairing the ski base includes running them over a dry or wet stone grinder in order to make your skis function well and show you their full capacity. After being repaired, try them again and you will see how different it is to have well-tuned ski. In fact it appears that it is better to rent well-tuned skis, than skis that are a brand new pair but are not tuned properly.

Ski waxing
While skiing, the constant contact with snow and the friction of the ski base form a light sheath of water that can be an obstacle to your ability to glide. This sheath has to be eliminated and this can be made by waxing it breaks it to small beads. In this case your skis will become water-resistant and your turns will be smoother. When you provide the ski base a wax film, you protect your skis against abrasion of the snow and oxidation because of the sun rays. Moreover, the well-waxed skis will perform better in powder and soft crud snow conditions. If you decide to do the ski waxing on your own, here are the main things you should know and the main steps you should follow. Choose a type of wax according to the temperature in your area and better consult some technicians in the ski shops. In any case, universal wax will work and is appropriate for all kinds of temperatures. If you choose a paste or liquid wax, it may run off very soon from your ski base when you start skiing. So, take a hot wax and thus you will be sure that it will last much longer. Determined to apply the wax yourself on the ski base, you need a special waxing device or an old iron. Here are some practical advises for the procedures in waxing. Take an old iron without steam holes, wax, a flat scraper (like Plexiglas) and a scrubbing pad. Then melt the wax on the iron but be careful not to heat it extremely, because you will damage the bases of your skis. In order to know if the wax is heated enough, it has to melt when contact the heat but if the iron is too hot, it will produce smoke. Spread the wax evenly along the ski base and iron the wax on the base. Then leave your skis aside to cool and later rub off the wax with the scraper from the base- and side-edge. In the end, use the scrubbing pad to polish the base evenly.

Ski storage
Ski care is crucial for the efficient maintenance of your skis. You can always turn for a help in a ski shop to repair the damages but it is better not to wait for this moment and look attentively after your ski equipment. The storage of your skis is also important - you have to keep them in a dry place not only in winter but also in summer. After the ski season ends, rub the edges and bases of your skis with a storage wax in order to protect them against rust and oxidation. Thus, you will provide yourself nice skiing and maximum comfort on the pistes.

Ski Boot Canting
Exactly like skis, your ski boots also need adjustment for a maximum comfort while being on the slope. Adjustment includes canting that is made to your ski boots to provide a neutral position that allows you to stand flat on both skis. In other words, the boot is canted (shimmed) under the binding to bring stable your foot to a neutral position.

Why your ski boots need canting
To have the perfect pre-requisite for skiing you need to have your skis ideally flat on the snow. The ski boot is attached to the ski and you can observe how any tipping movement of the boot to the outside or inside will reflect to the outside or the inside edge of the ski to detach the ski from the snow. It is common that many people have some inherent tilt in the boot sole to kneecap range and thus they are bowlegged or knockneed to some degree. It does not necessarily regard both the legs but most of us have it as a habit while walking. To avoid straining the ski and keep them flat in a neutral stance you need to do canting to the offending boot opposite to the natural lean of the leg.

The indications that show canting is needed
Probably you will not notice that there is a misalignment in your stance while skiing. Your friends also might not be trustful to observe you professionally on the slope but the best person you can rely on about this is a ski instructor. It is logical because instructors have seen so many skiers with stance problems and can easily detect some irregularity by a visual observation or by watching the bio-mechanics while you ski. In case you are advised by an instructor to make correction in your stance, trust him and go to a reputable boot shop to do an alignment check.

The canting process
Good tuning of your ski boots can require more corrections than expected and take more than one visit, so it is important to find a reputable boot fitting shop that is nearby. The technicians at the shop will do a regular check-up and alignment procedure to measure how far, in degrees, the center of your knee mass is from the center of your boot. When the technician finds out the difference, he can decide to do the canting of your boot, or boots, to have your skis lay flat.

About paying the canting service
Canting procedure is not too expensive, as in most cases the alignment procedure, check-up and all the work about canting will be included in the price if you have done it all at the same place. If the technicians have performed the alignment and check-up but it appears that you do not need canting, in some shops you will be charged nothing but others may charge a fee. If your foot beds are already done, the alignment check most probably will be for free. In fact, the canting includes the work of the technician either about angled building up of your boot sole or, on the opposite - shaving down of your boot depending on which procedure the shop is specialized in.