GNA Ice Screw Sharpening Service

[Tyler]

GNA Ice Screw Sharpening Service

[Alex]

At 12$ a screw, minimum 2 screws, you are paying a minimum of 24$ (see, math isnt so hard...!).

 

Compare that to the retail price of a brand new BD Turbo (not express) of around 36$.

 

I do like the "don't send junk expecting a miracle" admonishment!

[Janez_Ales]

I am not sure how happy would GNA be to sharpen BD or any other brand screws...

 

In any case the first thing I do to any NEW screw is to SHARPEN them!

 

My sharpening job makes NEW screws go in EASIER than straight off the shelf ones.

 

You can try it yourself or I can sharpen your screws for a small fee (can also do picks and crampons).

 

(e-mail me at janez.ales@gmail.com)

 

Remember that any teeth can be fixed, but threads can not. The mesh tubes are also a good protecting item if you do not have an ice screw bag with single screw slots.

 

BD TURBO EXPRESS $54 CAD

BD TURBO $39 CAD

So if one has Turbo Express's, as one should assuming you do have BD screws, then "sharpening math logic" becomes:

approx 5:1 (for Turbo Express) rather than 3:1 (for Turbo), not to mention that your rack is getting smaller.

That is some cash saving, unless you can afford buying new screws every season... in which case you do not need to know the math anyway...

[Toast]

Apologies for the newb question, but...

 

Why sharpen a brand new screw? They seem plenty sharp off the shelf and it would seem to open the door to screwing up the angles.

 

I am aware it makes sense to tune a new pick because you're essentially altering the factory set angle of the first tooth. Are you suggesting that the teeth of a screw should be similarly tuned (i.e. the factory set angles are less than ideal?)

[HyperPlanesDrifter]

Tha factory angles are fine, however, the cutting surfaces are not perfectly flat, which makes the edges even less perfect, whatever perfect means...

The degree of sharpness mine have is such, that you have to take very good care of the screws otherwise you wreck the benefits...

 

Yes it is very easy to mess up with the angles (and there are two to worry about each time you make a stroke with a file) unless your hands (really) know what they are doing

[John Frieh]

GNA

 

Very fast turn around and great service

 

Get yours done before the ice is here... oh wait... some routes in the rockies are already in

[Don_Serl]

Looks like a great service for which there ought to be considerable demand, but it seems a touch on the expensive side to me - screws need to be sharpened mid-season too. Maybe classic economics will come into play and the price will come down when/if the volume rises.

 

That said, I hope this idea catches on. To make it a success, however, Grivel needs to "franchise out" the service to interested shops. There should be a shop or two in Banff where u can get your screws sharpened while u wait (or reasonably promptly, for later pickup). Ditto Vancouver, Seattle, Cody, Ouray, Vail, Boulder, etc, etc. I'm sure the initial economics will be challenging, but I'm also convinced it can be made to work - in fact, MUST be made to work, or the concept will fail. Can you imagine sending your skis to another state/country to get them tuned? Sharpening your skates by mailorder? Giving up iceclimbing for two or three weekends in an already short season (on the coast) while you get your screws back into condition? Doesn't seem like the secret to success to me.

 

Thoughts?

 

P.S. Hey Janez, you're the mathematician and the "obsessor" of icescrew sharpening. I know what you mean when you say there are two angles to be concerned with ("tilt" towards the core and "slope" from base to tip on the tooth), but of course there are THREE dimensions. Any comments on whether the "radial" angle you use when sharpening has any effect at all? There are those who contend such matters "matter" when sharpening knives, axes, etc...

 

And, do you "bore-stroke" your screws with a tiny rat-tail file to remove any internal burrs when you're finished?

 

Cheers, Don

[pdk]

I'd recommend getting a dremmel or a chainsaw file (i forget which size works perfectly - figure it out) and learning how to sharpen your own screws. Yeah, maybe you'll screw a couple up while learning, but its worth it.

[Jens]

I suck at sharpening screws. I've tried all sizes and types of files and other gizmos. I may try these guys.

[Kraken]

have you guys ever seen any of the E-Climb stuff? they have interchangable tips in their ice screws. Pretty rad stuff. They also have some amazing looking tools.

Pricey, but that's because they come from Spain and are a small company. I think a few people climbed on them at last year's Ouray Ice Comp.

 

www.E-Climb.com

[G-spotter]

"dude, I'm at the belay."

"what's wrong?"

"The tip fell off my last screw and I'm belaying you from a snow bollard and my third tool"

[Don_Serl]

have you guys ever seen any of the E-Climb stuff? they have interchangable tips in their ice screws. Pretty rad stuff. They also have some amazing looking tools.

Pricey, but that's because they come from Spain and are a small company. I think a few people climbed on them at last year's Ouray Ice Comp.

 

www.E-Climb.com

 

is it just me, or is this the worst, slowest-loading website since mastodons fell into the La Brea tar-pits?

[Indy_jones]

so the dudes at www.E-Climb.com say you can use their tools as a stitch-plate for belay/rapping ??

 

Yeah it might be nice to have if you drop your ATC...but it doesn't take long to imagine new kinds of rappelling accidents

Edited September 21, 2006 by Indy_jones

[ClimbingPanther]

is it just me, or is this the worst, slowest-loading website since mastodons fell into the La Brea tar-pits?

Ha!

There is definitely something fishy lately. Sometimes it loads fast, other times it's butt-slow, and sometimes when I click Active Topics, it says "you can not make another search at this time. please try again later"

what gives?

I demand faster free service!

[John Frieh]

That time of year again... do it now before you find yourself run out, pumped and cursing a dull screw...

 

[dbconlin]

Anybody know if the Grivel service will do other brands?

[tomtom]

Grivel North America is out of business, but:

 

To address this issue Grivel designed and manufactured an ice screw sharpening machine. In North America, Ouray Mountain Sports uses this machine to provide a sharpening service that effectively refurbishes older, trashed screws. OK, what happens when you order the sharpening service? You will be linked out to the Ouray Mountain Sports home page where you may find contact information. If you’d like to contact them by phone dial (970) 325-4284.

 

 

 

[jlawrence10]

In case anybody stumbles across this thread looking for a way to get screws sharpened, I'll let y'all know that I took mine to Carbide Saw in Portland, on SE Division at 41st, and they took a look and said they'd hand-sharpen them to get the teeth razor sharp, for $6 a screw. Sounds good to me! Don't have 'em back yet, so not sure about the work, but I'm optimistic.

[t_rutl]

Look up Dane. Pretty sure he'll end up being cheaper and prob do a more thorough job. He has his own shop. Makes picks, sharpens, mods picks, sharpens screws 'pons, ect. Charges an hourly shop rate that ends up being more economical and he's versed with ice gear.

[jlawrence10]

Yep, found that thread about 30 minutes after I dropped off at Carbide Saw. Doh! Looks like he does awesome work for a good price. Next time for sure. Thanks!

[Dane]

Thanks T. For those looking in the future:

 

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/915392/Re_Sharpening_ice_gear#Post915392

 

A few guys have come up with personal pick profiles they really like. If so I can easily duplicate your personal profiles or do what I think best for your picks and their current condition. Either way I am easy to work with and can recut and resharpen your picks specifically for your own use.

 

Any manufacturer's ice screws and 'pons are easy and will come back razor sharp and honed.

 

For the guys using anyone but a climbing specific ice tool and screw sharpener (read someone who actually uses the stuff as intended) I can guarantee they will miss half of what is required to bring your screws back to 100%.