Sticky Runners

[DN 5449]

Out with another DN,with old plate Runners slightly dulled.We had some stiff Snow to get out to the bare ice.He went thru the stiff snow much easier then my sharp Plate Runners.Does dulled Runners help in the stiff Snow?
Wondering if I applied some glide wax to plates if that would help to get thru the stiff snow?

[KB [us5219]]

We could be looking at two (or more) very different aspects of runner performance.
In snow the, sides of the runners potentially can make a bigger difference than the sharpened edge.  I have always made sure the sides of my runners are polished smooth.  Some even go so far as to use carnuba wax, McLube, Teflon-nickel plating or other surface treatments to try and resist snow and ice from sticking to the blades.
But be very aware that in conditions where the sharp edge of a runner is not needed (light air, soft ice, stiff snow on ice, deep snow)  it is usually faster to have a runner that is carefully stoned smooth, but not sharp.    You should be able to run a thumb nail lightly along the edge and not feel any nicks or irregularities.
Many sailors use "snow slippers" which are plate runners at minimum length and as much weight eliminated as possible.  They often sharpen them to 95 or 100 degree angles (as opposed to the standard 90deg).  This sharpening method can give similar results as a "dulled runner".

[DN 805]

Get the rust off.

Did you ever try to go down a sledding hill with a rusty old sled?   No go.     Same with runners.

[DN 5449]

No Rust on my Runners.
Thanks for advice Kent.

[eric_anderson]

Mike,
 There are a huge number of factors that go into what runner is fastest in what conditions.  On cold sticky snow on ice, I have often found that short plates with lots of crown ie ~ 7-8” of 0.008” flat are often the fastest.  I have given up trying to figure out why something is fastest and just work on  figuring out how to test what is fastest.
On sticky ice, I will often glide test  my short plates(90° very crowned) vs my min tees(very flat and 100°) to see which one works best, and go from there.  If one is a clear winner, then I test the next closest runners to the winners.  If they are both about the same, then I test the middle runners ie  3/16 inserts.
The other thing to remember is that all you need to figure out is which one of YOUR runners is the fastest. 
See you at the worlds in Nova Scotia!

Cheers,
Eric Anderson US 5193