"Before you put the pick back into the axe, give it a good wipe down with a Tuf-Cloth. This will really help protect your pick from rust, friction and wear. You can also wipe down the rest of the head of your axe with it as it will help protect the other components as well."

MAINTAINING YOUR ICE TOOLS AND CRAMPONS

The following webpage, done by Vince Anderson of Skyward Mountaineering, was sent to us. It has been edited slightly for content. If want to view the full page with pictures and other great information, please visit his website at:

 http://www.skywardmountaineering.com/tipsSharpen.html

Just like it is important to keep your body in good shape for climbing, keeping your equipment in good shape will help you get the best performance out of them. Here we examine how to maintain a good sharp edge on your ice axes and crampons as well as other tips for keeping your tools in top shape. Sharp, well-maintained tools can make the difference between pounding mercilessly at the ice with butter knives and making one swing, solid sticks with razor sharp precision instruments.

Tools Necessary

First you will need to invest in a good 10" to 12" bastard file. One with a nice handle is great for better control over the file. I also have a shorter, 8" file that I keep in my repair kit so that I can put a nice edge on the tools at the crag if I happen to ding them during the day. A good, sturdy vise is also nice, but optional. This will allow you to put the pick in the vise and then use the file with both hands. It also helps you maintain a constant angle when filing. A bench-mounted grinder is very handy. Leather gloves are helpful and will save your hands some abuse.

Axes & Picks

You should put a bevel on the bottom of the teeth on your picks if they are not made this way (many are these days). This will greatly facilitate removing the tool. Have you ever had one get real stuck before? Start by filing on the bottom of one side of the pick at about a 45º angle. You should always file in one direction (forward) and keep constant pressure and long strokes. Try to keep the angle of contact steady and uniform. You don’t need to press too hard. The teeth of the file should grind just fine with light pressure. Continue filing until about at the middle of the teeth, then turn the pick around and do the same to the other side. The bevel should meet right at the mid-point of the teeth and be about 45º on both sides.

Next step is to put a nice hooking angle on the first tooth. This will help the pick better hold on dry tool placements and thin ice. Take a felt tip pen and draw a line from the top of the notch behind the first tooth to the very bottom tip of the pick. Use this line as your guide and start filing away the metal until you have achieved this straight line from tip to notch. This will put a much steeper angle on the front tooth and let it hook much like a "Skyhook" is used in aid climbing.

Now you need to put a razor sharp blade on the front of the pick. If the pick is new, you probably don’t need to bother. It should be plenty sharp from the factory. After use, this edge will dull and you should file it periodically to maintain a good, sharp edge here. Try and file it back to original shape, with the same angles. This can make a huge difference when climbing cold, brittle ice. There is not many things more satisfying than a nice, one swing stick into old, brittle ice (I am sure some may argue this point). While the first two steps need to be done only once, maintaining the sharpness of the front of the pick need constant attention. Eventually, you will have filed back too far and will not have much of a front tooth left. This is time to replace the pick. It has served you well and nothing can last forever. Always have a spare handy.

If you are real careful, most of the above mentioned steps can be done much more easily with the use of a grinder. Now a word of caution here: the safety Nazi’s will tell you that this is a bad idea because it will heat up the metal too much and change the temper of your pick. This can cause it to break more easily. If you keep a jar of water nearby, you can dip the pick into it periodically to keep it cool. I have done this and have never personally experience and material fatigue and ensuing failure due to using the grinder. It is real helpful for putting a better hooking angle on the first tooth. I still prefer to use the file for sharpening the front, though. It just feels nicer, plus it gets me real psyched to go climbing.

A grinder is THE way to sharpen crampons, unless you have way too much free time on your hands (in which case you should just go lift weights and get stronger).

Before you put the pick back into the axe, give it a good wipe down with a Tuf-Cloth. They can be found here: http://www.sentrysolutions.com/TufClothkew.shtml , or at your hardware store. This will really help protect your pick from rust, friction and wear. You can also wipe down the rest of the head of your axe with it as it will help protect the other components as well.

Check all the bolts and make sure that they are properly tightened. If any of the bolts or nuts are getting stripped from repeated tightening and loosening, try and get a replacement for it. Check you leash (if you are still using leashes) and if the end is frayed, burn it. Trim excess leash material. If your grip is trashed, consider putting on some new grip tape.

Crampons

As mentioned above, a grinder is recommended here. You can sharpen the front point of your crampons (assuming vertically oriented) in the same manner you do the pick of your axe. I like to use the file for this. Do not bother putting a hooking angle on the front tooth or beveling the underside of the teeth, it is not necessary for the crampons. Then sharpen the rest of the points by just filing or grinding along the flat edge of the sides of each tooth. You should get a point that is about the same angle that the point was when the crampon was new.

Next check all the bolts and make sure they are properly tightened. Give them a wipe with the Tuf-Cloth. Check your crampons straps to make sure that you do not have an excessively long tail after you have tightened them onto your boot. If so, cut it down