Winter’s coming. You can feel it and smell it in the air. I’m not talking about the crispness of a cold and clear winter morning. I’m the talking about the feel of files digging into edges, scrapers scraping bases, and the smell of hot wax dripping onto skis. Yep, for parents of young ski racers who haven’t quite mastered the art and science of tuning skis, we can look forward to many hours spent in tuning rooms and garages surrounded by your kids’ skis that are calling out to get sharpened and waxed.

I was up at our cabin near Sugar Bowl over the weekend getting my daughters’ (and my own!) skis ready for getting on snow in a few weeks. I was actually looking forward to ski tuning because it brings back memories from my days of tuning skis as a racer at Burke Mountain Academy, Middlebury College, and the University of Colorado (as well as my two years on the pro tour). It also affirms the fact that my two daughters have developed a deep love of ski racing and have chosen, at least for the time being, to pursue this crazy and most difficult sport of ours. And the big upside for me is that I get to spend most of the winter in the mountains while they attend the winter-term program at Sugar Bowl Academy. So, I can look forward to many hours in the tuning room off our the garage keeping their skis sharp and ready to go. BTW, I am also teaching them to tune their own skis, but they’re not quite there yet.

Interestingly, tuning skis hasn’t changed that much in the many decades since I was a racer. It’s still about sharp edges and smooth and fast bases. And many of the tools are the same including files, stones, and scrapers. No doubt the wax has gotten more sophisticated and, OMG!, incredibly expensive (does it really make a difference before FIS?)

But one thing has changed that has made my life, and the lives of many ski-tuning parents, much easier. As with many aspects of our modern-day lives, technology has evolved that not only results in better prepared skis, but also accomplishing that outcome in much less time.

Last fall around this time, I wasn’t too thrilled about spending another winter and countless hours tuning skis the old-school way, with a file and stone. So, I began to do some research on power tuning devices. I read an article on skiracing.com that reviewed some of the popular devices. I had seen national team technicians use them for many years, but never thought that I would have a need or an interest. But, as I read the article, my first reaction was that I had to “git me one of them new-fangled gizmos!” (said with a Vermont accent). My second reaction was sticker shock, as I saw how much these gizmos cost, in the $1000-$3000 range. Far beyond my pay grade however much I wanted one. So, I resigned myself to continuing to tune my daughters’ skis the old-fashioned way.

The skiracing.com article produced many comments from readers, one of whom mentioned a new power ski-sharpening tool called the Razor-Tune which she raved about (as did several other commenters) and called it idiot-proof (that was a prerequisite for an idiot like me!). And the best part, beyond the very positive reviews, was the price, starting at $500 for the basic kit. Now that was a price point I could wrap my wallet around!

I decided to call up the owner, Troy Scrivens (try doing that with one of the other power tuners!), an inventor and a father whose children were racers, to learn more about the Razor-Tune. He was familiar with my work in the psychology of ski racing and so, after talking for a while, he said he would send me a unit to try out.

I learned that the Razor-Tune has one big design advantage. Many of the other power ski tuners are placed on the edge with the base vertical, meaning that they sit rather precariously on the sidewall and can easily slip off and grind the edge the wrong way. But the Razor-Tune sits across the base with the base facing up, providing a stable platform and a solid feel.

There are several benefits to this design. First, it is nearly impossible for the Razor-Tune to slip off and ruin an edge. Second, you don’t need a vise to hold the ski in place while using the Razor-Tune. Third, you can use the Razor-Tune in the parking lot. And, Razor-Tune now offers a battery accessary that you can mount on the unit, so you can be entirely free of cords in your tuning room or anywhere else you might need to add some hum to skis.

Well, I’ve never endorsed a product before, but I’m doing so here because the Razor-Tune blew me away. I decided to start on my own last year’s SL skis because I wanted to get some practice before I tried it on my daughters’ race skis. I read the directions and watched the instructional video and then I dove right in. I felt a bit awkward at first as I got a feel for the Razor-Tune. But within 15 minutes, I felt like “Chief,” the long-time World Cup technician whom I had gotten to know when I worked with Team America a few years ago. Admittedly, of course, I only felt like him, but the results were still remarkable in three ways.

First, the edges were far sharper than anything I did using a file and stone. By gosh, my girls won’t have any excuses when they race on injected snow this winter! Second, in the past, it would take me upwards of 20 minutes to sharpen a pair of skis. But with the Razor-Tune, I had a pair of skis incredibly sharp in less than five minutes. Third, it was easy to get comfortable with using the Razor-Tune and the icing on the cake was that I didn’t screw up and ruin any skis. In fact, the Razor-Tune is so easy to use, my daughters are learning how to use it.

I’ve been using the Razor-Tune for about a year now and I continue to be a huge fan. Every time I sharpen a pair of skis, I’m amazed at how sharp they are. And the Razor-Tune has proven itself to be a quality product that has stood the test of 100s of pairs of skis so far with no sign of slowing down. The grinding wheels also have plenty of mojo left in them.

So, if you want to get your kids’ skis razor sharp this winter, or even better, if you want your kids to get their own skis razor sharp, in much less time, then I recommend that you run to your computer and order a Razor-Tune. I promise that your spouse and children will thank you. And you’ll also thank yourself because you’ll have so much more time to devote to what really matters in your ski racing family: Watching your kids have fun and gain the many wonderful benefits of our sport.

Note: This article is an updated version of an article I published last year.