Petzl sharpening recommendation

Just noticed something from Petzl that I've never seen recommended before-- they say to leave a .5 mm flat part between the bevels on the tip of the pick. This is from their gear care guide:

Does anyone sharpen their picks this way? The only thing I've heard of like this is blunt Krukonogi dry tooling picks, but I haven't seen those in person. 

I can see where Petzl is coming from here. Many folks have learned that a really sharp pick i.e. no flat between the bevel, dulls pretty darn quickly. IME a pick that's "reasonably sharp" works as well 95% of the time as a wicked sharp pick. So I rarely take it that last bit of the way, esp. early in the season.

J C wrote:

Just noticed something from Petzl that I've never seen recommended before-- they say to leave a .5 mm flat part between the bevels on the tip of the pick. This is from their gear care guide:

Does anyone sharpen their picks this way? The only thing I've heard of like this is blunt Krukonogi dry tooling picks, but I haven't seen those in person. 

It literally says why to leave a flat spot where it says to leave a flat spot...If you make it razor thin, it will dull very quickly

Interesting.  If you are leading at your limit on hard and brittle ice, I would still fully sharpen the edge.  It doesn't matter as much if you can afford to hack away or the ice is soft and plastic.  

DeLa Cruce wrote:

It literally says why to leave a flat spot where it says to leave a flat spot...If you make it razor thin, it will dull very quickly

Yes, I read the article, that's how I knew what it said...this is literally the only time I have heard of shaping a pick this way. Is it common in Europe? I have read almost everything about pick sharpening that is readily available online, and no one else suggests this. I trust Petzl more than most companies, but I still feel like asking around before I take a file to my picks. (Plus it will be months before I'd get to try it on ice.)

Bevel angle has a role in durability as well. I will probably leave my picks for brittle/hard ice as they are, and try this the next time I sharpen my all around/mixed picks. If I remember to report back next winter, I'll update when I climb on them.

sorry if I sounded like an ass. I mean, if the durability is less important, then file away as sharp as you like. Sharp picks will shatter less ice, which is great. And as Karl said about leading, reducing the swings needed to get a solid stick goes a long ways in keeping the pump at bay...But on thin ice, the tip might very well chip if the bevel is razor thin. Personally, I care more about having great sticking picks than durability for pure ice climbing. 5mm seems like a lot. It’s just about what you value and honestly, as much as Petzl “knows”, it’s your pick, You can /should sharpen or reshape however you want

It's all good. Probably will try it out this winter for my mixed climbing picks.

Ok this winter I tried the Petzl recommendation (leaving a small ~1 mm flat along the front edge of the pick) for both picks and front points. I used Petzl pons and Kuznia picks. I did a side by side blind comparison of one pick sharpened like this and one sharpened normally, and couldn't tell a difference. I'm sold, as the Petzl method appears to increase the durability of the point on rock.