Using a grinder to refresh the edge on climbing shoe soles

Hey there--the other day I used a grinder (with a diamond blade on it) to create nice flat edges on some shoes that had started to round over but were not quite ready to re-sole. I was pretty careful to remove as little material in the sole as possible and it seemed to work pretty well.

Climbed today with the shoes and they worked much better than before~I would recommend this for sure.

Any tips or thoughts on the best way to refresh the edges of climbing shoes? Anything to be careful about or avoid? Maybe this has been covered before...

Thanks!

I am pretty good at using tiny foot holds and I don't want really sharp edges on my shoes. I usually sand them off new shoes with rough sandpaper or rub them a bit on a stone. Sharp soles just roll off of small edges. It sounds like you need to work on your edging technique. For super micro front pointing I don't want them too rounded, but other than that I find shoes climb the best just before they are worn out. I want to feel the rock.

There are crappy shoes or ones that don't fit properly, but people blame their shoes way to much. With bare feet you can use tiny dime edges well once you have toughened them up a bit like your hands. There is just more chance of hurting them when you fall.

Wire brushing the sole helps restore stickiness.

Mark E Dixon wrote:Wire brushing the sole helps restore stickiness.

..on shoes that haven't been used in a while and the surface has oxidized.

Jonathan Cunha wrote:Hey there--the other day I used a grinder (with a diamond blade on it) to create nice flat edges on some shoes that had started to round over but were not quite ready to re-sole. I was pretty careful to remove as little material in the sole as possible and it seemed to work pretty well. Climbed today with the shoes and they worked much better than before~I would recommend this for sure. Any tips or thoughts on the best way to refresh the edges of climbing shoes? Anything to be careful about or avoid? Maybe this has been covered before... Thanks!

You would be getting yourself a fresh, large fish, do the chopping of the fishhead off of the body, and then you would be rubbing bloody side viciously against the soles. You wait for dry, and send.

M Sprague wrote:Sharp soles just roll off of small edges. It sounds like you need to work on your edging technique.

I've heard that from a few people who prefer slightly rounded sole & I'm sure that's the way they like it & they climb plenty hard. But to categorically claim that sharp sole rolls off small edges and that if you prefer it that way you don't know how to edge, well, that's just arrogantly presumptuous.

reboot wrote: ... well, that's just arrogantly presumptuous.

Perhaps, but only a little. I didn't mean to disparage the OP. I should have elaborated how if you find sharp edges helping, it is usually a case of not using you foot and body positioning as well as you could.

If you were using a very hard soled boot, then maybe a sharp edged sole would help on little edges, otherwise, too sharp an edge doesn't have enough support and deforms.

M Sprague wrote: ..on shoes that haven't been used in a while and the surface has oxidized.

I find wire brushing is helpful when the shoes get chalky or dusty too. YMMV

M Sprague wrote: Perhaps, but only a little. I didn't mean to disparage the OP. I should have elaborated how if you find sharp edges helping, it is usually a case of not using you foot and body positioning as well as you could. If you were using a very hard soled boot, then maybe a sharp edged sole would help on little edges, otherwise, too sharp an edge doesn't have enough support and deforms.

I've found this varies depending on the rubber you're using. C4 tends to deform (esp in heat) so a sharp edge was never really good. CWorn down C4 soles were always the best edgers.

With the newer Vibram XS Edge, specifically made to resist deformation, I've found that a much sharper edge on the rubber is a-ok and works better for me on certain types of edging. Somewhere there's video where TC talks about how many pairs of TC Pros he's gone through and I THINK he talks about needing new, fresh edges... Could be totally off on that though...

Thanks for all of the replies. The shoes do have Vibram XS edges~so maybe there is something to that.

While i'm sure some of it is bad technique (I'm trying to break into 5.11B) I am 6'7" and weigh 225--so having a positive edge on tiny holds really helps, but always trying to learn something new.

Aleks--you are my new hero... If you ever escape, please look me up.

I used to race formula cars a long time ago. There was a chemical you could apply to the tire, then file off the outer layer to make them stickier. I can't seem to find the name or remember where I bought it, though

jonathan.lipkin wrote:I used to race formula cars a long time ago. There was a chemical you could apply to the tire, then file off the outer layer to make them stickier. I can't seem to find the name or remember where I bought it, though

Something like this? speedwaymotors.com/Search?q…

I wonder if anyone has tried this on their shoes. Probably wouldn't work for a number of reasons (different optimal rubber temps, different compounds, etc.) Might be an interesting experiment though.

Have managed to use a hand file over the years to grind to what I need,,and some pure chemical acetone for making it sticky once again.

I'm interested in some of the tricks that the top athletes use to get er the most out of their gear. With that, I'm pretty confident that my shoes will always ut climb me. What the other posters have said I will echo, work on you. Body position, strength to weight ratio, and reading the route to find the best holds. I think those fundementals will up the climbing game, but not sanding our shoes. I also prefer when my shoes have been used about 50%. After that break in period, the sensitivity goes way up.

To be honest, I have found the mods to the shoes have worked out great. I never liked the way they edged and now they work really well for me. While I can respect most everyone's opinion, I'd also say that if you don't like the way your shoes work--try to modify them and see if it helps.

BTW-I originally got the idea from a professional climber from South America (with whom I was guiding with) who suggested using a razor blade to customize one's edges. Now this guy has put up 12 pitch 5.13+ routes in Patagonia and has no technique issues, but realizes that he can adjust his equipment to fit his particular needs--which makes a lot of sense to me (as I've customized my car to go off road, my surf boards to work in certain conditions, etc). I'm lazy, of course, and found the razor took to long--the grinder, however, worked like magic and makes me think I will continue to modify my stuff to fit my needs (and do so with a big grin on my face).

The race car tire stuff looks interesting...curious too if anyone has tried some. Will give the file/ acetone treatment a try as well (why the hell not). Cheers~JC