I don't mind the occasional scrape or light cut but I'm wondering whether some of my fins could be smoothed out a bit. Think performance would be affected at all for a wave application?

I would be more worried about the foils

All of my fins present a variety of sharpness. The sharpest being tiny little 8cm side bites. Those are thin too. Honestly I don't think performance would be hindered in any way by rounding out the trailing edge especially for wave use. Doesn't have to be extreme either, just a bit dull so the fin doesn't go in so deep.

Advice I have heard in the past is to sand the trailing edge with a block so there is a small square edge. This was even for slalom fins.

The other strategy is to wear protective booties. That's my way. And before people jump in with the "can't get the same feel of the board" thing, I can say it makes no difference after a short time to get used to it. I am a keen surfer and wear booties all the time and if it was going to make a difference, it would be more noticeable there and I dont think it makes any difference at all. Booties and 'feeling' is all in your head. YMMV.

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sailquik said..
Advice I have heard in the past is to sand the trailing edge with a block so there is a small square edge. This was even for slalom fins.

The other strategy is to wear protective booties. That's my way. And before people jump in with the "can't get the same feel of the board" thing, I can say it makes no difference after a short time to get used to it. I am a keen surfer and wear booties all the time and if it was going to make a difference, it would be more noticeable there and I dont think it makes any difference at all. Booties and 'feeling' is all in your head. YMMV.

When I've been cut by a fin it's been by the trailing edge and on the shin as Im waterstarting..

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sboardcrazy said..
When I've been cut by a fin it's been by the trailing edge and on the shin as Im waterstarting..

Yes, that is a danger, but less so with a long leg wetsuit, and less sharp fins.

100% not an issue on a wave board, I do it to all my wave fins just in case. The fins that came on my Fanatic quad were super sharp at the trailing edge and tip and as said above I just sanded them a touch to make the trailing edge 'flat'. Never noticed a difference in performance.