In this paper it is investigated how surface topography on trimming dies influences the wear process. Surfaces on both semi-industrial test dies and dies used in production were analyzed with different surface topography analysis methods. The result shows that the wear process is different on the different sides of the trimming edge. The texture direction of the surface is changed due to wear, with the strongest change on the clearance side of the edge. The roughness on sheet side of the edge is reduced due to a hammering effect from the sheet material. The result on the test dies and the production dies correlates well.