Filing Horizontal Front Points

[Colin]

I can't seem to decide which is a better method for filing horizontal crampon front points:

 

-from the sides, creating a very triangle-shaped front point

 

-from the top, creating a trapezoidal-shaped front point

 

Sabretooth crampons come with the front points already somewhat "top-filed," while most (Grivel, DMM, CM) come with the front points "side-filed." It's been my experience that if you "top-file" them, then as the crampons get older (and points shorter), your front points get wider, and therefore less effective. On the other hand, perhaps "top-filing" them preserves the life of the front points more than "side-filing?"

 

Thoughts?

[Lambone]

Hey Colin,

 

I've had sabertooths for about 4 years or so and still havent filled them. But if I were going to I'd probably just do some light strokes from the top down. You'd havta file the sides quite a bit to get a sharp triangle front point on there, and it would probably be weaker...

 

Anyway, maybe one day I will sharpen them, but as of yet I have't seen the need to. Obviously the more you sharpen them the sooner they will wear out, and I find that sharp poons and picks just need to be sharpend more often to stay sharp. Therfore I leave mine dull and call it good.

 

Hope that helps,

Matt

[freeclimb9]

I file the tops of the frontpoints to recreate the chisel shape from the factory. For other points, I file the front and back edges.

[Smoker]

Colin's trolling!!!

 

You cant get me to believe that you actually carry pons to climb?

 

You just lost a star!!!

 

Dull points displace more ice and require more effort to set.

 

I file my Rambos from the side creating a "triangle".

[freeclimb9]

I file my Rambos from the side creating a "triangle".

That's what Grivel recommends, but I've never seen anybody do that . Crampons are such soft metal, I'm curious as to how a triangular point wears when stubbing your feet on rock and hitting black ice. Do the triangular points wear okay?

[Smoker]

They get nicked, but I dont file all the nicks back out. I end up attempting to find a happy medium, and I dont make the angle of the "triangle" too steep.

 

As Bone points out

It is pretty easy to file away your points if your obsessive about sharpness.

[allthumbs]

I love the new Titanium crampons I'm testing. They hold a point through much bashing and abuse. If fact they supposedly never need sharpening and are infinitely stronger and lighter than steel. I dig em'

[Smoker]

Who makes em?

 

Sounds good and spendy!!!

[Colin]

Smoker,

 

Don't Rambo's have vertical front points? I would assume that no one files their vertical front points from the top.

[freeclimb9]

Don't Rambo's have vertical front points? I would assume that no one files their vertical front points from the top.

damn, you're right.

I'll add this one last comment, and you can take it however you want. I once had a pair of strap-on crampons that were Mugs Stumps'. The horizontal front points were sharpened from the top. I figure he knew what he was doing.

[Smoker]

Yeah, and I haven't done any hot rodding either

 

I simply skipped the "horizontal" aspect of the original query...queer eh?

 

I would assume that no one files their vertical front points from the top.

 

 

 

I dunno, we read lotsa weird stuff on this board...

just look at what I wrote????

 

It was an early morning

[TheDude]

I asked the guys at BD this once, they suggested to follow their original file on the sabertooths. So I just file lightly to keep a nice horizontal edge. Top to bottom, back to front. Of course they do get more trapezoidal as you file them more and more, so I do try to hit the sides to square it off slightly..