Switching to more aggressive edge angles (1° base, 3° side from 0° base, 1° side) on my snowboard made a huge difference. I can lock in a carved turn much easier on ice and don't catch my tails or any other sketchiness in slow floating transitions across the board. I think most of the improvement is attributable to base bevel, and I agree with your assessment that freshness of sharpening is important. I hit my edges with a fine grit stone and a gummy stone every morning before heading out, and by afternoon they're noticeably more dull and hold less well. One test you can do to measure this is to drag the top of your fingernail across the edge in a perpendicular manner. If the edge is sharp it'll shave a little ribbon of fingernail off, if it isn't it won't. I only ever use a file to change angles or if I need to take a bunch of material off to fix a large rock gouge (like something that would require also ptex repair). I ride a Tanker 201 with Upz hardboots and F2 plates.
