"Dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of skiing with wooden skis"
Comments7 February, 2019 Hi Greg! My husband bought me a pair of Eggen skis at a local Ski & Skate sale in December. I LOVE THEM! They are beautiful and fast. I see on your site that Gjermund Eggen is a sheep farmer now. Do you have any way of getting in touch with him? Snail mail is just fine! I would love to write him a letter and send a picture of me and my husband with our wooden skis. We're in our 30s, in America, skiing wooden skis. We hope Gjermund would appreciate a pair of skis he made are still being used and loved. Thank you, Allison Editor's Note: Hi Allison, I will send you his phone number and address. * * * 4 November, 2018 Just received my 205 Trysil Knuts. Thank You so much. These skis are beautiful! Fresh snow is falling, I've remounted them, and a fresh coat of Pine Tar is going on right now so Trysil Knut will get some First Tracks in the morning. HAPPY TRAILS!......Richard, Colorado, USA * * * 7 March, 2018 I just wanted to drop you a line and say, Thank you. You sold me some skis (4 pair of wood xc skis) about 10 years ago. I'm still sking on them and I love them. I am amazed that the supply of used wood skis has become so scarse. I'm just so happy to have mine. I will continue to look for good usable skis to purchase. I would like to know a little more of about the skis I do have. Sincerely Lloyd Morrison age 63 with two knee replacements and still sking.
21 November, 2017 First off, let me say that your website has been a great resource as I acquired my first set of wooden skis last year (Asnes tur-langrenns).
6 November, 2017 Howdy Greg, nice to see my photo and comments are still on the web site from Feb. 2009. I am still skiing on my 210 Askoems[sic] and Troll 3 pin. My garb, pack and rifle are all still the same as well. What has changed is that at 72 this Feb. I aint the lead dog anymore. Back when I was 65 one of the 26 year old kids whom I taught to X/C ski (on wood skis of course) when he was around age 10 was skiing side by side with me on an ascent. We were breaking 4-6 in. New UT powder. I was flat out as I usually killem all on the ascents, and he was in training for a Triathlon the following summer, and the little s*** just went right by me. Granted, I was carrying my usual pack & 1903 A3 Springfield rifle (about 30 Lbs.) which was a few more pounds than he was carrying, but that never made any difference before. I had told all these young bucks since day one that when they could ski around me they should just do so as I was not going to just pull over and let them go by to make them feel good, and that I would take my cowboy hat off to them. When we got to the top, I didnt say a word I just took my hat off and bowed to him. He then said: Ive been trying to do that for 15 years now and today was the first time I could do so. The only reason I was able to do so today was because I had the best damn X/C instructor in the world. I shed a tear. Another friend of mine was working in Fairbanks Alaska and sitting in a bar and saw a picture of a Husky in traces, up close from the rear. Below it read If you aint the lead dog, the view is always the same. He burst out laughing and told them all about me and how I would always Bogart breaking the powder on the trail. Hells Bells, I still lament that ascent that day, but I sure as hell was proud of that kid. Impeccable technique. BTW, we were both (of course) skiing wood skis waxed tip to tails with Toko Blue Special, which is getting hard to find these days. Thanks for keeping this great web site going.............John, Price, Utah
20 April, 2017 I can't believe I found your site just now. I have been in the Nordic Ski business for some 40 years, starting with John Tidd, in '76 at Mountain Meadows STC, in Vt. Have run my own backcountry shop Nordic Adventures since the 80's and have collected wooden skis the whole time. Your site is a vast array of excellent information on one of my favorite subjects. There are many here that share your passion and they seem to find my ski shop that has migrated several times, but has finally found its final location in my garage , here in Rochester, nestled in the heart of the Green Mountains............Dean in Vermont.
8 April, 2017 "Greg, I just wanted you to know that Viking Nordic Ski Center did a beautiful job on the skis [pine tar] for a most reasonable price. I shipped them last fall, and then they hand delivered them to my son's home in Grafton in time for me to use them over Christmas! It felt wonderful. Anyway, this year-long project was well worth the effort and would not have happened without your advice. Thank you so much". Katie
12 November, 2016 "I think you are a world authority on wooden skis and that is really cool".....Magnus Johansson, Sweden.
3 November, 2016 We received this note from one of our fans. Enjoy! "Inspired by your website. My fourth grade class from the Community School in Sun Valley, Idaho attempted to build their own traditional wooden skis based on research from your website. The video is a little long, but well worth seeing the kids using their skis at the end. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf7Tb5BuG38 Thank you for your work! Trent Herbst 4th Grade Teacher Community School, Sun Valley, ID"
2 November, 2016 As the teacher of tenth and twelfth grade English at Chazy Central Rural High School, I have had the privilege of facilitating the Senior Project, which invites students to learn a new skill or develop one of their current skills past their ability. In order to do this, mentors have been required to help students see what they do not already know. One senior is interested in making wooden skis, but has been unable to find a mentor. When I searched the internet for possible resources in this area, I came across your website. I am impressed with the passion you have for the craft, and I was would like to learn more about the Senior Project. I realize that you are far out of state, but it could be possible to arrange mentorship using the globe-shrinking abilities of Skype or Facetime. Thank you for your consideration....Chazy Central Rural High School, Chazy, NY Ed: I would be happy to mentor your student during his/her ski-building experience. I have ski-building plans to share, if that is of interest. I have Skype, so it would be no problem to communicate this way or via email other times. Feel free to contact me by phone if necessary. I'm retired, so my time is more flexible than a working persons'.....Greg
24 October, 2016 Beautiful skis. Almost too nice to use. Looking for some thin soled three pin duckbills and some more snow so I can use them.
23 October, 2016 Thank you so much Greg. The skis are great!..........Bill, Park City, UT
7 February, 2016 First of all thank you, thank you, thank you for having a supply of wooden cross country skis. I bought a pair of Konesberg skis about 25 years ago in a store named Play It Again sports. The skis had a 3 goat head image on the tips but until I discovered your web site, I knew only that there were made in Sweden......Steven, Fremont, Nebraska _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7 February, 2016 I live in Missoula, Mt and and only use wooden skis. I have a number of pair, for all the right reasons. However, I have been on a beautiful pair of Normarks for the past few seasons and I love them. The other day the bail broke on one of the bindings. I set out to replace the bindings with a new set of 75mm when, much to my surprise, the spacing of the paired holes is wider than the traditional 75 mm binding. I would rather replace those bindings with new/used Normark bindings or at least see if anyone has an extra bail to replace the broken one. Ed: Yes, send photos of the binding and measurements. I have both used and new 3-pin bindings, so I should be able to help.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 23 January, 2016 From a Facebook post on our page: "My friend Greg from Minnesota knows more about Norwegian wooden skis than most norwegians, check out http://www.woodenskis.com".........Knut, Tønsberg, Norway _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/7/2016 - I live in Winnipeg Manitoba and have just picked some vintage Madshus skis and am wondering if you would help me find out how old they are, and what they would look like in original condition ( bottoms seem to have a coating of orange paint?). I want to restore them and use them.They are 200 long and the bindings were made by the T Eaton companyI am also missing one cable. Is there somewhere I could buy one or will I have to fabricate one myself?.......John, Winnipeg Manitoba
Ed: John, Nice skis! I have a pair nearly identical to them. Check out our website I have a cable to replace your missing one.......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/3/2015 - I still can't thank you enough for the resources & videos you've put together at woodenskis.com!....Morgan, Vermont, USA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/2/2015 - I'm very impressed with the information you have gathered by research. Vintage snow skis are not easy to find information about..........Becky, somewhere in USA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/13/2015 - Greg, I'm a truck driver and "even after near 5 million miles in 18s (18 wheelers) with no Facebook. I like the easy way I can buy vintage skis in almost any size and with confidence that I will get expert service". You have "a responsive web site that is not just the best but the only true complete source in this country. I will happily attest to this and you may publish it how,where, when you like...........Charles, Fox Lake, Illinois _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9/12/2015 - Incredible research has gone into
your site. A job well done. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/23/2015 - Greg, I just skied my first Birkie this past weekend and did so on wood! My favorite wood skis are my Holmenkollen 210s, which made the 54kms. without issue. I've seen several skis just like these skis but with different brandings. My Holmenkollens are EMS skis and i have a pair of Asnes that look just like them but are 205s and in poor shape--EMS on them as well. At the bib pick up in Hayward, the Madshus booth had the skis just like my Holmenkollen and Asnes but with Madshus and EMS on them. I'm seeing a trend with this specific ski. Do you know if there are other manufacturers (more likely brands) that grace these specific "EMS" skis? Mine are dark wood on top but I've also seen them in a blueish green with Holmenkollen brandings. They all have a tapered routing along the sides, thickest forward and aft of the binding flat. The Madshus were not for sale but in really nice condition. I'd like to pick up another pair as these are my primary skis and want to know if there are other names i should look for. As you might expect, they are in the race category with respect to width. Thanks for any info you might be able to add.....Jim, Bloomington, Minnesota Ed: Thanks for the note. Asnes and Madshus were separate ski companies in Norway. Asnes, not only made Asnes skis, but Janoy, Telemark, Holmenkollen, Sigmund Ruud, Norge Ski, and Trysil Knut brands. EMS stands for Eastern Mountain Sports, which is an east coast outdoors retailer. EMS had Asnes put their name on Holmenkollen and Asnes skis, which were only sold in the US. EMS also had their brand on the tip of the ski with no other markings, except for tur-langrenn. Some of these skis also came in different colors, like you mentioned, including brown, red, blue, and aqua. I've never seen Madshus skis branded with the EMS logo, but that's certainly possible. Asnes and their other brands had the tur-langrenn model and tur-modell. Langrenn was narrow and used in the tracks. Tur-modell skis were wider and better for back country skiing. Take a look at all of the brands, that I have documented at http://woodenskis.com/classic_brands.htm. I have historical information on most brands. Asnes, Bonna, and Madshus Birkebeiner skis are some of the most popular brands, that people demand. Eggen orange stripe, Bla Skia, and Jarvinen are some of the popular wooden racing skis. There are also other brands. I hope this helps.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/15/2015 - Hi Greg I came across your site by chance and what a pleasure! We are kindred spirits. I started cross country skiing in the early '70's with a pair of Gresshoppa touring skis, Tempo bindings and cane poles. Deep snow and back country trails were what we sought. Then along came kids who got into XC racing and so did I. I became a loppet racer doing skating and classic on plastic skis. But I still have my Gresshoppa's, and two pairs of Madshus Birkebeiners, and a pair of Asnes and, and ... When I want to ski for pure pleasure, I don the wooden skis. I guess I am hooked on the smell of pine tar. Keep the faith.....Jim, in Ontario, Canada _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/12/2015 - Hello, Greg, I spent many summers on field projects in Antarctica beginning in 1960, studying geology of mountain ranges, am familiar with Byrd Expeditions, and Larry Gould.... The photo of L.H. Hagen skis from the 1928 Byrd expedition is of special interest to me because I knew Larry Gould, and am curious to know how you acquired them. I am also familiar with the Gould archive at Carleton College, and am currently reviewing a book about Gould's life for The Polar Times, publication of the American Polar Society. Are the skis for sale, and if so, I would like to investigate them further for deposit in the Archive at Carleton. Very nice to read about your hobby and business... fascinating subject for a historical context. My experience with skis in Antarctica was partly to follow motorized toboggans in crevassed areas, with ropes attached to toboggan controls (steering, throttle, cutoff switch) and skiing behind them to avoid falling into a crevasse personally........John, Minnesota USA Ed: John, the Larry Gould skis are not for sale. Eventually, I plan to donate them to a museum, such as the Carleton archive.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/11/2015 - I am looking to buy a set of cross country skis, and while i have never tried wooden skis, a mentor of mine, an old guy who lives on a mountain in Vermont, recommended vintage Bonna skis. i like the idea, for the wooden aesthetic and because they were clearly designed and made in a time before planned obsolescence became the culture. i am 6'4" and around 175 lbs. my wrist
to the floor is about exactly 220 cm. looks like you recently
sold a pair of bonna 2400's in very good condition at this
length, i think that is exactly what i'm looking for.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/19/2015 - I have a pair of skis that came over from Norway with my ancestors in the 1800’s. 10‘ long, very pointed tips, one still has the single strap leather binding. They have been stored away since the 1930’s and they still have some original painted decorations.[snip]. Skis are 10' long, 3 1/2 " wide. They
seem light for their size and the wood looks like pine/fur/spruce.
They have a few knots in the wood. The binding [snip] is
just an adjustable loop for the front of the boot and the
a crosswise strip of leather behind it. Perhaps to keep
a heel from sliding forward? All this leads me to assume
they would have been a low end working/farm ski.......Lynn
from Wisconsin
1/10/2015 - Yeah Greg! Just had my first day on the Madshus, and they were great! Fast, maneuverable, and I loved the "quiet" ride, that wood certainly dampens the vibrations. We had low-teen temperatures, with a few inches of super dry fluffy stuff on top of crust, which was machine groomed with some granular, but I slapped on Toko-Blue kick wax, and we went for a wonderful three hour tour at Pine Hill XC Ski Club in Sutton, New Hampshire. Completely bonkers, I am sold! I love them! I mounted a pair of NNN BC Manual Magnums, and was very pleased. Not traditional, but very effective for this ski. Thanks again! I will be on the look-out for next year for another pair to back them up. Good Tur indeed! ..... Christophe, New Hampshire
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/9/2015 - I love your website, great job and very informative. Do you buy wooden skis ? I see you have many for sale. [snip] If you're ever out here in the East I highly recommend Whitegrass Ski Touring Center run by Chip Chase !!! I wish I was going to be in the Twin Cities to hear your upcoming lecture later this month at the museum. I've bookmarked your website and plan to return. Yours truly........Marty in Vienna,Virginia USA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/9/2015 - Dear Greg, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/3/2015 - From our Facebook page: I have to give you a tip of the cap. Your advice and videos made the process [pine tarring skis] pretty straightforward. Much thanks....Jim, Big Lake, MN _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/2/2015 - From our Facebook page:It's such a great thing you're doing. If you ever come to CO let me know and we'll get a big wood ski rally going. We have a bunch of friends here who tour on wood all the time. We'll go somewhere SPECTACULAR!! Happy New Year!.....Jamie, Colorado USA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/2/2015 - From our Facebook page:it makes me so happy that this exists...not 'rare and unique retro decor, not thousand dollar custom or yard-sale mayhem -- just good solid well loved, well documented and fairly priced......Ian, Toronto, Canada _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/10/2014 - In the middle of January we have a race in Estonia commemorating 55 years from the first Tartu Ski Marathon in 1960, its 55 km. The plan is to race with equipment approximately from that period 60s-70s. Is it possible for you to put together a set for me of good skis, bindings and poles, and boots if you have those? I am 178 cm and 75 kg, foot 43 EU size.......Tiit R. Estonia. Ed: Tiit, we only ship to North America.........Later, we shipped the skis, poles, and boots to NYC, where Tiit's friend lives and will deliver them to Estonia when he visits. https://www.facebook.com/events/319670748225696/ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/9/2014 - Dear Madam/Sir Sunny greetings from cold high mountains of Iran. I have an old Wooden Ski, Made by Bröderna
Sandström AB which my aunt gave me 50 years ago. Please let me know if you are capable to collect such a wooden ski. Warm regards, Narges Vambakhsh, Iran. Ed: I would love to have this ski, but I'm afraid that the shipping cost would be prohibitive. Your best bet is to sell them on Ebay......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/31/2014 - Dear Wooden Skis. com,
Ed: Jack, Attached are the articles. I would love to have some photos of your process to share. Good luck with your project.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/1/2014 - I am a senior.... in high school in New Hampshire,... and I was hoping you could help answer some of my questions on my senior project. My year-long senior project is learning about the construction of Nordic skis and building a pair of my own. I need some proportions and measurement suggestions for my backcountry skis. I am an enthusiastic skier and I wanted to make simplified Nordic-based backcountry skis. Any advice, suggestions or even samples of your craftsmanship would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you! Thank you for your time and consideration....High School student in New Hampshire. Ed: I will be happy to give you information on skis. I'm also excited to know, that a person your age is interested in making skis. This is awesome! ...I'm sending you a few articles from the past, that describe how to make wooden skis. I would love to get some photos of your progress, when you have time. I'm not sure if you saw this article on my website, but this may help to see some of the processes involved: http://www.woodenskis.com/birchskimaking.htm.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/18/2014 - Just want to thank you for your website on early wooden skis and their manufacturers. We recently received a donation of wooden skis where the decal was very worn, except for the flying eagle with skis. Using your site, we were able to identify the manufacturer as Flexible Flyer and some history. I will pass this along to the donor. The skis originally belonged to her grandparents, here in Northfield, VT. The donor also gave us a pair of early Paris, Maine skis and 2 pairs of early wooden Northland US ski poles. It certainly helps to have all this history as part of our catalog record for these objects. When we exhibit these items, additional information is always welcomed by the visitors. Keep up the good work!......Northfield Historical Society, Northfield, VT 05663 - http://www.nhsvt.org _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/13/2014 - Just found your website. Have been out on my Silva Huski wooden skis with bamboo poles during winter storms in NC (North Carolina). Purchased 1974 in Liverpool NY where I learned the sport. Just love being out there.....Carol _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/12/2014 - Just picked up skis from my local Goodwill. They caught my eye and since then I've been fasinated with them. My questions are, anyway to determine the year? Since they're laminate Im thinking 50's. I've noticed with other Järvinen skis these have 5 Olympic rings. Do you know why some have 4 and some have 5? Can I /should I restore these bad boys? Bobby from VA - your site rocks!!! Ed: Bobby, I'm guessing that the Olympic Committe had issues with people using 5 rings, so the ski maker may have used 4 rings. Your skis have 4-pin bindings, which places them in the 1950s era....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/23/2014 - Greg, Just found your site - it is fabulous, thank you. A friend of mine first taught me to ski on rented skis, then gave me a pair of Kongsbergs from his father's basement. They are blue like the ones in your picture, with two numbers engraved on them. The first, 200, I'm assuming is the length. The second is 14455. There is more descriptive information covered by the heel and binding. It's been a strange winter in Boston - good powder snow rather than our usual wintry mix. I just went out on them today. They are a delight! For the longest time in the entryway of Beacon Hill Friends House in Boston there was an enormous pair of wooden skis, about ten feet long at least and very wide. The tips were not tapered and were long, like a candy cane almost. If I remember right the bindings were lace-ups. Maybe my friend there has a picture she can send you. Thank you for this great collection of information!........Judy, Boston, MA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/10/2014 - Howdy Greg, thanks for keeping
my letter and pic from 2009. I'm 68 now and not much has
changed here in Price, Ut. Your site has evolved very nicely
and its great to see so many people skiing on the best touring
skis….wooden. Getting a little hard to find Toko or
Swix Blue Special. This year we are going to try something new
on our full moon skis…..an outfit in Longmont Co.
sells a kit for building igloos. So this year we will give
it a try for an overnight full moon ski.Hard to beat a clear
sky, full moon X/C ski. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/8/2014 - I am so pleased to find your site!! I have a pair of tur langrens that I have loved and continued to use over the past 30 years. It is good to know I am not the only person on the planet that still uses wood skis. I got them by accident. My friend and I were skiing and she had skis from her Mom and I, who had skied a lot more than her, had a cheap pair of fish scale skis. It was warmish out and mine kept sticking and hers were too fast for her. We traded and I have had them and loved them ever since. They are due for new pine tar so I was looking up how to do it since no one around here does it anymore and discovered your site. Had to go to LL Bean just to get the pine tar. By the way they still do pine tar application in their big store in Freeport, Maine but not at their other stores. They sell the pine tar only at the big store too. Just wanted to say Hi and Thank you for your wonderful site! All the best and happy skiing!....Sarah _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/28/2013 - Hi, I just wanted to say thank you for such a wonderful site. I have been a XC skier since I was a child and I am know getting into wooden skis. I have picked up a few really nice pairs and have used your site for history on them and advice. Enjoying all the snow we have here in Minnesota. Thanks again!......Jeremiah _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/23/2013 - Hi, your website is fantastic, I've learned a lot about wooden skis from it including how to maintain my garage-sale bought composite wooden skis (maker Ski World in Peterborough Ontario), and was inspired to try my hand at making my own solid wooden skis using hand tools. You can see some pictures of the process and final product in the link below. I had so much fun that I am planning on making some more using different types of wood and variations in the shape. Feel free to post the link on your site if you choose.....Oliver, Georgetown, Ontario
http://flickr.com/gp/corinaandoliver/ALRwso/ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/22/13 - Hi Greg, great web-page!
Howard, Just looking at the tips, the skis appear to be from the 1940s. If you have other photos, I may be able to tell more about the actual ski. Alfred Hovde started making skis in Vikersund, Norway in 1897 in a small workshop. He first made about five pair of skis and not many people bought skis from him, because they thought that he was a rookie in ski making. After a few years, his reputation became more favorable due to good results and in 1912, Hovde started making skis in a factory with machine production. Many small workshops became ski factories in the early 1900s. Alfred's son, Kristian Hovde took over the ski factory in 1938. Kristian was a good ski jumper, but an even better cross country skier. From the middle of the 1920s until the 1950s, many ski jumpers selected Hovde skis. The ski factory burned down in 1960.....Greg Greg, What a feast of information, how interesting! I'm very very impressed with your knowledge, and such a prompt response too! How fantastic to be the world's leading authority on wooden skis, something so important through history to so many countries. Backed up with a brilliant website that shares this wealth of knowledge to a mere novice such as myself! ........Howard, London, England _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4/8/13 - Hi, We have been clearing our basement recently
and we found two pairs of old wooden skis but we can't figure
out how old are they as we are not sure who they used to
belong. We live in Zagreb, Croatia and we wondered if you
can help us find out how old they are. Kind Regards, Vedran and Igor......Zagreb, Croatia _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/12/2013 - I just wanted to thank you again for answering my questions a couple years ago. We didn't really get much of any snow last
winter, but this year I managed to pick up boots, pine tar,
waxes, etc. I missed our first snow storm this year while
waiting for the pine tar to come in, but This winter has been a bit odd here in Vermont and we get a food of snow and then it warms up to 40-55°F for a week, so it all disappears as quickly as it had arrived. I hope Minnesota is not the same.........Morgan in Vermont _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/5/2013 - Hi! Thanks for a VERY nice page about wooden skis! I have a pair that is made by (I think) Hartola in Finland. Wooden, and with red paint and “Rex Golden Crown” in gold. I have searched on Internet about them but cannot find anything. Do you know more about this ski brand? All the best from a snowy Örebro in Sweden!.......Berth _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/22/2013 - Hi, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/26/12 - "Hi Greg, I was skiing on a trail up above my house yesterday and ran into friend and neighbor Charlie. I commented on the nice Bonna 2000's he was skiing on. He started raving about the great web site he got his "new" skis from - www.woodenskis.com !!! Looks like you have a happy customer in Anchorage! Cheers!".........Tim, Anchorage, AK _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/25/12 - Hello, I have just made a pair of birch skis and the last thing i need now are the bindings. I have checked around for some good ones but noone really fits my shoes well. I saw a photo of some home made on your site http://www.woodenskis.com/birchskimaking.htm and am thinking of making something similar. Do you have some more in depth instructions of how they are made? If not i can probably figure it out from the photos, just thought i could ask just in case . :) Thanks!...........Jonas from Finland Jonas, The binding mentioned on the link above was created from the binding in a book written by Karin Berg: Ski i Norge. You should be able to see more detail in this file: http://woodenskis.com/TelemarkBinding.htm or download here: http://woodenskis.com/LeatherTelemarkBinding.pdf Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/20/12 - O'Mighty Wooden skis, I'm sorry to bother you but I would have a small question for you, If you don't have time to answer no prob!
Please look at the attached picture, I would like to know how to move my heel plate on my Åsnes skis, I want to pull it back a bit to fit my boot size. Never did it and i'm wondering if it glued or should I just pop the white plastic section and see a screw there. Tks in advance....Cedric, Sainte-Adèle, Quebec Cedric, this one is easy. Take a straight blade screwdriver and carefully pry up on the plastic on the edge to pop the plastic cover off. Below the plastic there is a screw that holds the aluminum piece onto the ski. You can fill the old screw hole with epoxy or a small wooden dowel glued in....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/17/12 - I hope that you can help me with instructions on how to properly fit Kaby kandahar type bindings. My wife has been given an unused pair of 1980's
wooden cross country skis, and I managed to Can you help? Thanks in anticipation........Andy Andy, I have some instructions for old Northland Ski bindings and these should help you. Click here or here for a link to those instructions. Good skiing to you.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/11/12 - Hello; Gerald, Thanks for the comments. Putting traditional glide wax onto a wooden ski requires an iron to heat the wax to melt it in. Doing this on wooden skis will release the pine tar and mix that with the glide wax, causing poor glide. Some people have tried to crayon the glide wax on, but it doesn't last long enough. A cold or hard kick wax works best for glide on wooden skis. There is both a practical and traditional reason for using this as the glide wax. Some people have gone so far as eliminating the pine tar and varnishing the bottoms of the skis. Then they apply traditional glide wax melted with an iron. The only problem with this is that it's harder to adjust your kick zone wax for length. When you use a cold kick wax for glide, you can still adjust the kick wax zone without any problems. Good skiing to you.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/19/12 - Hello,
Victorino, These skis are Sigmund Ruud skis. Often times, ski manufacturers made special brands for certain customers. The skis appear to be from the 1940s and are downhill/telemark skis. If the ski tips are rounded, they are most likely from the 1940s and if they have a nipple tip, they are most likely from the 1930s. Sigmund Ruud was a ski jumper from Norway and he worked for two years in a sport shop in Prague, eighteen years in Zurich and joined Gresvig ski company in Oslo by winter of 1931. Later, he opened his own ski making company in Oslo.......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
10/24/12 - Dear sirs I am looking for small wooden skiis (approx 450 mm), bindings are not required. I require them for an apres ski themed bar to serve shots. We will cut out holes to hold the shot glasses. I look forward to hearing from you Regards, Director of Soho Bars (London) Ltd and Archer Street Soho, I'm sorry, I don't ship outside of the United States......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/21/12 - Hello. My name is Jo and i came across your site when looking for a set of wooden skis. My fiancée and I are having a winter wedding in Vermont in January. We love the winter and winter sports, especially skiing. Instead of having our guests sign a guest book we liked the idea of something a bit more memorable - wooden skis which we'll hang in our home. So I'm looking for a smaller pair that is in "excellent" condition and a lighter/medium stained wood so their signatures can be seen. With that description, do you have any recommendations from your collection? Thanks!.....Jo Jo, Yes, I have a shorter pair that will look nice with signatures. I'll email you with details....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/15/12 - Hello, We have purchased a pair of old wooden skis (approximately 7 feet) to use as a guest book for our wedding. I was wondering if you might be able to answer a few questions for me in regards to this: -do you know what type of pen/marker would
be best to use for this? Thank you so much for any help you can offer us.......Dorothy Dorothy, See comments below about a Sharpie paint marker. The paint marker will last a long time, although it wouldn't hurt to use a spray polyurethane over the ski when the signatures are completly dry.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/15/12 - Good Afternoon, I was recently searching for wooden skis, and found your site. Your page caught my eye because there was a story similar to my search - a couple wanted skis for their guests to sign at their wedding reception. Your reply reads: My daughter is getting married in June, 2013 and she and her fiancee would also like their guests to sign a pair of wooden skis at their reception. They are both avid skiers - her fiancee proposed on top of Valluga Mountain in Austria. The picture of the vintage skis you had engraved would be absolutely perfect! Would it be possible for me to also purchase a pair of engraved wooden skis? I would like to discuss this with you! I look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes.....Terese Terese, I am not able to have skis engraved anymore, due to the difficulty. Using a gold or silver paint marker for signing names works very well on darker colored skis, such as the pair that you will purchase. You mentioned an artist friend painting the names and dates, instead of engraving. I think that this is a great idea.......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7/23/12 - I read your instructions about re-cambering and -- since it did look like the skis were down to the wood, lacking wax and pine tar -- I clamped them together and put a board underneath the boot parts. The top of the board is loose though the bottom is snug. Should I fill in the top part with another thin piece of board? I don't know if the board that's there is thick enough. How do I tell? I have a feeling I'm missing something here, and so have enclosed two photos and hope you will examine them and enlighten me.......Meg in British Columbia
Editor: Meg, your
board needs to be thicker than the existing camber, so that
the wood fibers in the ski will stretch out. You may also
use a smaller piece of wood, such as a 10cm x 10cm piece
of wood about 3-4cm thick. The wood block should be placed
directly below the binding area. Some people use a wax cork
on its side or a full tube of kick wax as a spacer......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7/21/12 - I pine tarred my wooden skis for the first time last fall and they are still tacky! Is there anything I can do to make the tar dry? We just tried heating a ski with a blow touch, but nothing much happened......Tara in Oregon Editor: Tara, heat the ski bases up again where the pine tar is applied and then wipe with a cloth to remove extra pine tar. When the bases are cool, use a synthetic wax cork to smooth the bases like glasss.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4/29/12 - I have just returned from the North Pole for the 10th time and soon heading to the South Pole again. I have been asked to lead a team back to the North Pole in April for a month they would like to do the expedition with traditional skis. My question is: would it be possible to have 6 sets of wooden skis for the North Pole made to fit modern bindings? I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, ALAN CHAMBERS MBE FRGS Editor: Alan, I know of two people who could make traditional skis for you; Mark Hansen from Grand Marais, MN and Paul Terpstra from Canada. Mark is an instructor at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN, USA (www.northhouse.org) and Paul makes custom skis. Mark Hansen actually made about 10 pair of wooden skis a few years ago for the BBC for their documentary on a North Pole expedition.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4/24/12 - Hi, Editor: Nordic Sport was founded as early as 1972 by Börje Österberg. A true entrepreneur, who started his career as a businessman at the age of 11. He put on his skis and started skiing to the neighbors in a small hamlet in the north of Sweden, selling weekly magazines and since he has continued on that course. He built a javelin factory in Arvidsjaur, then he opened a sales office in Skellefteå and finally he went out to sell his products to the biggest events he could find in the world. Börje Österberg has managed to position the company and its products in the largest arenas, and built a fantastic network around the world of athletics, and the story continues. By now the company is well established on all markets......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4/23/12 - Hi Greg, I've bought old Sigmund Ruud ski's from a
second hand site. They are in very good condition. The flex
is still very good. I would like to restore them so I can go skiing with them. I go to Norway about 3 times each winter because I guide groups for a non-profit organization that's promotes nordic skiing in Belgium (SRHF). I love the northern heritage and would love to combine these with Rottefella super telemark 3-pin bindings and Crispi leather 75 mm boots. They now have the old 3-pin bindings, but I can't find any shoe's that fit because the modern duckbills are to thick, so I will need to replace them. My second question has to do with the varnish. It needs to be refreshed, because where the logos are on the tip, it is starting to crackle so there can get water in the ski's. But I'm afraid that I will ruin the logo's if I sand the varnish. Is there a way to keep the logo's intact and put on a new coat of varnish? Or is the only option to sand down the complete ski (including the logo's) and then put on a new coat of varnish? Again the same question, would this be a shame or are these ski's not exclusive enough to be worrying about this? So, all your thought are welcome. Btw, you have a great site and it is nice to see how you keep the heritage of these ski's alive............ Koen in Belgium Editor: Koen, Ski on those skis! Hundreds of people in the United States enjoy skiing on wooden skis, including myself. I also ski on a pair of wooden skis using super telemark bindings and Asolo Snowfield boots. For refinishing old skis, I recommend using 0000 steel wool and mineral spirits. Very lightly scrub the ski with the steel wool and mineral spirits to remove dirt and wax. Do not scrub over the logos, but go around them. When you are done cleaning, you may have to sand the skis a little bit. Wipe clean. After the skis are dry, you can use a spray urethane to cover the logos, so that they will be preserved. You may need 2-3 coats. Once the logos are covered and protected, you can apply urethane over the entire ski. Good skiing to you......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4/5/12 - Good afternoon my name is David Nicolas Suarez of Argentina and I am a long time in my family there a couple of ski quite old. No information meeting, I met his website and that is why the consultants so that I can guide on the history and origin of these skis. sent some pictures and I hope I can help. if you require more photos or information
do not hesitate to contact me. a Greeting Editor: David sent photos of Norge-Skis from Oslo. Click here for information on David's skis. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/25/12 - I purchased my first pair of skis from an army surplus store. They were wood, painted white with a hole drilled in the tip. We would fill the hole with wood putty, remove the white paint and have metal edges installed. We did not want anyone to know we had used army skis, but I am sure they knew. When I had enough money to buy a pair of “real” skis, I purchased a pair from Walter Linton. Walter Linton had a factory producing wooden skis in Denver. In order to prove the strength of his ski, he would place a pair between two chairs and let you jump up and down on them before you made the purchase. He said if they broke, he would give you a free pair.......Barney B., Denver, CO _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/14/12 - Hi, Question! My Husband has a pair of Jofa sport
wood skis they are Carol, Yes. In the 1950s, wooden skis were painted black or red on the bottoms. Later in the 50s, a plastic called Ebonite was installed on the sole of wooden skis. You should be able to take the paint off and then pine tar the skis......Greg Fangel _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/28/12 - Hi there, I enjoyed reading your web site which I somehow "accidentally" found as I browsed the web for some new mountain skiis (fjellski) as I'm crossing the Hardangervidda mountain plateau in the Easter. Will need some skiis with steel edges for that though. Just wanted to tip about http://www.finn.no
which is the norwegian "ebay" I can't imagine how many got some old wooden skiis in their basement, never to be used anymore and will be probably be garbage. Too bad, but such skiis aren't valued much nowadays, other than for a design detail on a cabin wall. Have a nice day. Med vennlig hilsen, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/28/12 - Hi Wooden Ski Folk, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/26/12 - Hello, Dave, Yes, Paul Terpstra from Ontario makes beautiful wooden skis. You can find him at http://www.terpstrawoodworks.com/........Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/24/12 Dear sir, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/12/12 
Hi Greg, super nice job on the site and thanks for posting info/pics on the Vintage Ski Festival in Mazama. We had a great event, now we just need a few more people!......Tracy _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/13/11 - Hello Greg, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/3/11 - Greg, I have worked on plenty of thrift store bought wood skis in all these situations, but with this amazing pair I want to be careful. Can't wait for snow or enough time to head to the UP and give these a try. Thanks in advance. Jim......Madison, WI _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/20/11 - Thanks for all the invaluable info on woodenskis.com, it's been a great resource I saved my father's Kongsbergs (probably from the '60s) when they moved a couple years ago and have been waiting to put them to good use. I've been training my Siberian Husky by "longboardjoring" (on a longboard skateboard) in the spring & fall for the last few years and am looking forward to adding skijoring to our repertoire. I have to pick up a pair of 75mm boots and tar & wax When it comes to the wax, I've done some research, but all the cross country skiing I did as a kid was on waxless skis so have little experience. Thanks to your YouTube videos, I'm comfortable with attempting cleaning, tarring, and waxing myself, but would like some sort of "starter kit"for waxes to get me going and experiment more over the coming years...........Morgan in Vermont _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/19/11 - Skis arrived safe and sound. Very well packaged. They were as described, so I'm VERY HAPPY with my purchase. I'll be looking for another pair of wooden skis from you, likely for the 2012/13 season THANK YOU VERY MUCH _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/13/11 - Greg… the skis arrived and they look great! Now its time to find some bindings. REI is an OK source. Thanks for all your help! ........James, Ann Arbor, MI _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/20/11, Hello - I love you site. I started skiing again a few years ago on cheap hand me down skis. Over time I found more and more info on wooden skis and started looking for a pair to buy. I mentioned as much to my father in law and he had an old pair of Troll's just "lying around". I enjoyed the entire last winter on that pair and much to my dismay, I rolled over a rock in the spring and splintered the tail. Do you know of anyone that could repair? Or how I could do it myself?...Chad
Chad, I would try to repair them yourself. Try using a good, slow setting epoxy. Clamp well using wax paper to protect the clamp from the glue on the ski....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/4/11, I am planning on building my own pair of skis for my senior project and I was wondering what type of wood is best to create a ski out of? I have heard that pine and birch are good but I wanted to know what was the best type of wood in your opinion....Jordon in Virginia Jordon, Maple and Birch are two good options, while pine would be my last choice. I'll send you some information on making your own skis....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 8/4/11 - Hi, I am refurbing a pair of wooden skis. They have a slot through them for leather bindings. There are plenty of leatherworks places around who are happy to make me a simple strap to go over the toe. I am interested in something a bit fancier, possible with a strap around the heel, as well. Do you know of any plans for these that I could share with the leatherworks places? By the way, I love your site. The one big advantage of wooden skis that you don't mention is that they are warm. You can ski on wood when it is -20F and your feet will stay warm. At that temperature fiberglass will suck all the heat right out of your feet. Thanks, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7/18/11 - Hello, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 6/13/11 - Hello! You have very interesting web pages. I send you new information about the our new contact info and web pages from Lahti Finland.
Best regards _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/5/11 - Greg, Received my Troll skis today and I can not thank you enough, I think they are the most beautiful skis I have ever laid eyes on! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/5/11 - I just found your website - Wood N Skis. What a delight was! I was so happy to find a site devoted preserving wooden skis, skiing and that skiing on these kind of skis has not died. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/27/11 - Greg, I just wanted you to know what a TREMENDOUS birthday gift those skis were for my mom. She told my dad the day before she turned 70 that she wanted to “ski out of the decade of the 60s” by a cross country ski up “Cache Creek.” What a huge success thank you thank you. Best, Lynne...Jackson, WY _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/23/11 - Greg, The brand STRIDE was registered by myself in 1972. I had graduated from Cornell Business School with an MBA in 1970 at the age of 22!. I went to ski and train in the winter of 1971-2 in Finland at the National training center up in the interior of Finland with a group of Canadian skiers. I had the pleasure of skiing many long distances with the famous Finn Olympian Eero Mantyranta. I soon recognized the commercial possibilities of the sport and visited factories in Finland, Sweden and Norway getting all sorts of samples and a complete product line to brand STRIDE. I gave up racing to promote the commercial side of the sport! I soon had customers coast to coast in Canada and through an associate firm Dovre SKi Binding in West Concord Mass we distributed many thousands of skis, boots, poles and bindings across America as well...Christopher, Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/14/10 - Dear madam, sir, My father and I live in The Netherlands. We would like to make our own solid wooden ski's from ash. We have experience in wood working bur never made ski's before. The ski's will be used for general tour skiing in the forest. Can you perhaps supply us with a building scheme?I would be very gratefull. With kind regards, Merijn W., Netherlands Merijn, See attached information from an article that was published in Fine Woodworking Magazine in 1981 and from Popular Science Magazine in 1937. There should be enough information that you could build your own skis. Veel geluk op uw project en gelukkig skiënaan jou!......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/29/10 - Having a devil of a time finding the spreader attachment for a propane torch for waxing old wooden skis. Any ideas?....Sid Sid, Bjorn Hanson of Out There Sports might have something that works. He says that he sells a "tar torch". See http://outthereshop.com/WoodenSkis2.htm Otherwise, tray Amazon.com and search for "flame spreader". I found one there.......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/28/10 - I just discovered your business yesterday. I am very impressed with your inventory and whole approach. The wooden ski inventory is remarkable. I've been nordic skiing since 1963 up here in Alaska and remember many of the great brands, e.g. Jarvinen, Asnes, Lampinen, etc. So, it is with great pleasure to see these again. I do think wooden skis are the best in certain conditions, particularly in dry snow. But you guys already know that! Anyway, I plan on buying a pair in the near future. Have you shipped to AK much? Charlie..........Anchorage, AK. Ed: Charlie, Thanks for the nice comments. Yes we have shipped many pair to Alaska. Let me know what you need. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/6/10 - Thanks for all the great info on wooden skis. I've been getting together some cross country skiing gear for the coming winter, and purchased a couple of pairs of Splitkein Spesial Bass skis with Troll bindings, thanks to your website's encouragement. A pair of BC 3 pin boots I have that fit very nicely in Rottefella 75 mm bindings didn't fit quite right in the Trolls; the Troll bindings seem to be just slightly wider (maybe a 1/16 or a 1/32?). The wire bails seem to be closer to the base of the binding too. Are they made for a thinner soled boot? ............Jonathon Jonathon, 3-pin bindings are slightly different between manufacturers. You mention that the Troll bindings are wider. 79mm bindings are 4mm or slightly more than 1/8" wider than 75mm bindings. Usually, the larger bindings are for larger boots. Sometimes BC boots have thicker soles, which means that you might need a 75mm BC binding......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/16/10 - Great to find that there are others out there enjoying wooden skis:-)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/9/10 - Can you give me any info on these skis? .....Jeff
Jeff, I received one other email like yours in 2005 asking the same question about The skis look like they were made in the 1960-70s. I'm also basing my Greg
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/24/10 - Just wanted to let you know that my daughter received her skis in Halifax and mine arrived same day out here in Alberta. Both sets are great! I had the Asnes Tur-Modell's out today for a quick 10 km. in the mountains west of Calgary and I'm thrilled with how they look and feel! It brings back such fond memories of my first pair of touring skis (Toppen Tur-Lett's, back in the early 80s...) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1/19/10 - I thought you might like to know that I skied my Bonna 1800s to an overall Wooden Ski Division win in this past weekends Seeley Classic 22km race. I skied them well enough that I also managed to finish in the top 100 of the race (300+ entrants) overall and top 25% in my 55-59 age group. In other words I had the Bonna's cookin' and competitive. :-) Mark.....Rhinelander, WI _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/4/10 - We got hit with a two-day mini-northeaster so I gnawed open the package from FedEx, screwed the part onto the ski and zipped across the street to a local park I use when time is of the essence. Again, I thank you so much for your generosity...I will continue to tell others about your website.... You were an unexpected Christmas gift because none of the ski shops in and around Massachusetts could be bothered with my plight. Even places in Vermont couldn't help so you can imagine my immense gratitude. You made my New Year. Thank you many times over. Sincerely, Johanna.....Massachusetts _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/12/009 - Hi Greg, I was just looking online for a refresher on pine tarring my wood skis. I liked the first one I read - and when I reached the end I discovered it was yours! A name I know I can trust. Editor's Note: Julie was one of the handful of women in the state of Minnesota to race on wooden skis, while in high school in the 1970s. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/12/09 - Just wanted to know that we received the beautiful skis and are "over the moon". We are so glad that we found you and the amazing skis. A thousand thank yous and have a Merry Christmas!....Tara and Greg, Calgary, AB. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/4/09 - Hello! First off, thank you for the fantastic website on wooden skis. Its the only one I have been able to find and I have found it wonderfully informative. I am interested in building my own laminate wooden skis, with the assumption of following the graphic you have on the website outlining the use of hickory, beech, ash, and spruce. While the actual construction seems "relatively" straightforward, Im surious as to what an optimal camber would be for a 210cm ski of that design style. I have a set of modern wax less skis, would the camber be similar to those? I would really appreciate your advice/input. Many thanks!........Alan D. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/2/09 - Great website. I live in Petersburg Alaska on a 10 acre muskeg and am an avid wooden skier and have been for over 40 years. I've about 8 pairs of wooden skis (mostly Bonnas) and am looking for a single 1800 @ 215cm. Got one? I broke it's mate on Angle Peak near Togwotee Pass, Wyoming 15 years ago. BTW, I made the first ski descent of the South Teton on US Army oak 7' skis in 1972 or 3. Thanks......... Doug http://dougleen.com/ontheroad/2008/02/23/ski-touring-at-totlandlanglaufen-in-totland/ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/10/09 - I am a student at Prescott College in Arizona, and I am a Minnesota native. I am close to finishing school, and in the process of developing a senior project. Skiing is my passion. I am interested in preserving the heritage of the lifestyle. I am wondering if you know about anyone in Minnesota preferably in the Minneapolis region that continues to manufacture wooden skis. I am interested in finding someone to apprentice under, in order to preserve tradition, keep wooden skis alive and pass it to the generations that fallows mine. I would greatly appreciate any information. Cheers, Kyle Kyle: Northhouse Folk School in Grand Marais makes wooden skis for classes that it offers. They have classes coming up in November for ski making.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9/23/09 - I learned to XC ski in the mountains of Pennsylvania in the late 1970's and always rented the woodies. Also, I remember the great pine tar smell and how the shop hand waxed the skiis before sending you out on them. When I did buy skis I bought plastic bottomed skis. I now live in Colorado and ski only several times a year and want to get back into it. And I found some great old 3 pin boots in a used shop that are a bit heavier but fit like a glove. The heavier boots may be good for my novice tele turns, although ill be primarily skiing on groomed trails but you never know. I did get your info./website link from the "White Grass XC Ctr." website in Davis, WV and I skiied with Chip many years ago when I was in college. BTW it is snowing in the high mountains here... Mark C.......Colorado _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9/11/09 - Hi Greg - Just wanted to let you know I've finished making some more wooden skis. I have just finished a pair out of Ash which turned out really nice. They have a sidecut, traditional style bindings, and a more traditional tip. I also finished two out of Hard Maple that will have a 3 pin binding on them. I also just came back from a trip to Europe. My wife and I first went to Norway where we visited Ulf Ronning from Treski.no - (I found him through your website) - and I saw his shop and learned about the skis he makes. We also went to Morgedal where there are two guys that make traditional skis and do workshops there through the Ski Museum. (www.morgedal.com is a great link I would suggest for your website) Both visits where very inspiring. Attached is one photo (of the ash skis) and you can see more at my blog and flickr site. All the best, http://thewoodwright.blogspot.com/ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 5/25/09 - Hi there This might be a slightly strange request but we are looking for a pair of wooden skis for guests to sign at our wedding reception. Can you help ? We are an English couple and we are both mad Skiers. I used to ski for the British Army in the Land Command Ski Championships and Elizabeth was in the English Schoolgirls Ski Squad. Neither of us went on to do anything further but we look forward to the thrill of skiing on our annual ski holiday. Last year I proposed to Elizabeth on the slopes in Killington on Bear Mountain and this year we are getting married in London in September. As part of the day we wanted to get our guests to sign a pair of skis that we could mount on the wall at home and have as a memory. We have looked at buying a pair on eBay but we are not clear on the quality and more importantly we are not sure of whether the signatures of our guests will really work; what pen do we use to ensure that the ink doesn’t bleed ? Do we varnish the ski’s afterwards or will this darken them and make the signatures indistinguishable ? Will it all look like a black mess at the end ? We then saw your website and hoped that you might be able to help us. Would it be possible for you to advise or create a pair of “blank” skis for us? Most of all as you have knowledge working with the materials would you be able to advise on how best to go about preparing them so that we can get the signatures and effect that we want before we mount them on our wall after the wedding as an enduring memory ? Ultimately we would like to be able to put something on the skis to show what the occasion was. I note that you live in a beautiful part of the world. I work for Thomson Reuters (Thomson bought Reuters last year) and the main Thomson site is in Eagan, MN which I have visited a couple of times, staying in St Paul each time. It’s beautiful country out there ! Hope to hear from you soon Stewart and (soon to be) Elizabeth Pedler.......England. Editor's Note: 7/26/09 - Through correspondence with Stewart, we were able to sell him a pair of 1930s vintage skis and have them engraved with wedding information. They were recently shipped so that Stewart and Elizabeth can have their guests sign the skis as a momento to the wedding at One Whitehall Place in England. Best wishes Stewart and Elizabeth.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/22/09 - Back in the days when the 75mm, 3 pin was the state of the art boot/binding system, the holes in the boots which would accept the binding pins would eventually deteriorate. After a while the boot could not be firmly clamped onto the binding. You could attach a thin metal plate called "smiley plate' onto the bottoms of the duckbill portion of the boot. This plate had holes which would line up with the pins and help keep the boot holes from elongating. Do you know where I can find a pair of "Smiley Plates"?.....Fred - fswark@charter.net _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/14/09 - Every now and then over the last 20 years I get nostalgic for my old wooden Madshus Birkebeiners and wonder how I could have “lost” them when I moved from Vermont to Seattle. So tonight I googled to see if anyone was selling some and found your website. What a great story you have, and what a wonderful service you are doing preserving old wood skis. When I switched to fiberglass waxless skis, I was so thrilled that I could go skiing on a moments notice – I lived in Vermont where one day could be purple klister and the next day special green. I tried not to think about the decreased performance, but I’ve never forgotten how wonderful it is to ski on a perfectly waxed wood ski. I was surprised to read about how popular the Madshus Birkebeiners were, since I never once saw another pair back when I used them 1973-1983. Everyone seemed to have Bonnas, and I was forever explaining that my weird unpainted skis were really quite good. And I was dismayed because it means they will be harder to find now. Sooooo, if you do ever come across a pair, in the 200cm range, I’d be thrilled to buy them from you. Who knows, maybe they would actually be my old pair – I do hope they aren’t just rotting in some fallen down barn in Vermont. And again, thanks for what you are doing in saving these old skis, and getting the word out about them. Alison......Seattle, WA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/9/09 - Howdy folks, nice site. I always figured I wasn't the only one who knew that wood was best for all-around touring. Here's my brief history: My age is 63 next week. Semi-retired. I live in Price, UT. I ski on the top of the Ashleys and the Manti-Lasal, at around 9000 ft. The Ashleys have the best powder in UT...period. I am about an hours drive to either. I have skied a min. of 20 days for the last 32 years. Several seasons were over 40 days. I've had 30 mi. days on a snowmobile track. Lots of full moon overnighters.I always ski 'haul'in the freight' ie, about a 40 lb. pack...see photo.In my youth I would ski in Oct. on wet rocks or a heavy frost, now if it ain't powder, I go home. I gave up skiing on red wax 25 years ago.Its Toko blue special (or Swix if I can't find Toko) end of list. I've skied all the new stuff, waxless, metal edges, contacts bindings, etc. All junk. My first ski was a pair of Bonnas, 2400's in 210. No lignastone edges. They came with a pair of Alpha low cut touring boots and bamboo poles. $40. I still use them for new turks who want to learn to ski but have no equipment. I have a bunch of Bonnas in 2000 & 2200 as well as Asnes...most all skinny (what I call track skis.) For the last several seasons I have been skiing a pair of ASKEOM's . Its the only pair I have ever seen They're wide bodies (2400) with lignostone edges. I got them with clap trap cable bindings , but put some TROLL 3 pin bindings on . I've bought junk skis just to get the TROLL bindings..I think they are the best, but the Marker &Rotofella are ok. Does anyone know anything about these skis? Made in Norway is all I know. Well if anyone gets the urge to kick some good powder over their gators... give me a shout. Today was 10 - 12 in. new powder, virgin trail, skied the storm. Day 15.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/7/09 - Dear Wood n' Skis- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/2/09 - Hi there. I love your website! .......I am 25 years old, and have built many things including a kayak, and cutting boards that I sell. But I must say that I feel the one thing I've built that I am most proud of is this pair of skis.....Photo
I am curious if you know of any resources on the advantages and disadvantages of different wood types for skis (both cross country and downhill). My skis now are out of birch, but I've heard of skis made of hickory and ash. If you know of any books or online resources not listed on your website I would love to know of them. Thanks so much, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/26/09 - Hi, Thanks for your site, excellent! I found a Finnish manufacturer, check out their website at http://www.suksitehdasylonen.fi/. Unfortunaltely it seems to be only in Finnish at the moment. Best Regards........Tommi L., Finland _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/23/09 - Late last season I found this site. It had been some time since I used my Bonna 2000s and I had a desire to come back to the sport. I was elated to find your site because no other site on outdoor sports had any current knowledge of wooden skis, and most responses to my inquires suggested I save my skis as a decoration and buy the newest equipment. This season I have been in the local woods several times and have used the information you have posted as a refresher course. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/19/09 - Greg--I was lucky enough to marry up and in that process our ski collection grew considerably. My wife is a first gen American of Norwegian/German parents. In our collection we have a lot of woodies all in great shape (Bonnas, Splitkeins, Anses, Skiloms). These are likley all from the 60s and 70s. The top of our collection is my father-in-law's Splitkein Splitkanas. He unfortunately passed away before were were married. We recently moved and I no longer have a good shop to have service done. I want to clean up the skis (all of them) but had some questions. Thanks much!! Great site, nice to see woodies alive and well. .....Todd Editor's Note: Todd, I use linseed oil thinned with turpentine to refinish clear coat skis such as the Asnes Veterans, Madshus Birkebeiners, and Normark VIs.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/13/09 - Hi there. I love your website! I am actually in the process of making wooden cross country skis. They are nearly complete. I am 25 years old, and have built many things including a kayak, and cutting boards that I sell. But I must say that I feel the one thing I've built that I am most proud of is this pair of skis. I will email you some pictures when they are complete. I am curious if you know of any resources on the advantages and disadvantages of different wood types for skis (both cross country and downhill). My skis now are out of birch, but I've heard of skis made of hickory and ash. If you know of any books or online resources not listed on your website I would love to know of them. Thanks so much....Paul _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/12/09 - Hi, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/11/09 - Greg: Thanks so much for your website. It’s so nice to know that I am not the only fan of wooden skis around. I’m still skiing on my first pair of X-county skis purchased in the mid 60’s, a much beloved pair of Asnes tur langrenn’s. I had no idea that anyone still made the base pine tar for wooden skis. Mine have not had the treatment in many years, so upon seeing that the stuff was still available, I quickly ordered some. I recently gave away as a Christmas gift, a beautiful pair of Bonna 2400’s (in like new condition) to a German friend of mine, who noted to me that in Germany, wooden skis are still treasured as well, so this is not some quirky Minnesota thing. Thanks again for the site and information.....Dave _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/9/08 - Kudos! I love this site! It reminds me of all the great old
equipment my Norwegian parents kept in our garage that my friends
and I used when it snowed. I am just sick when I think of those things
having disappeared along the way. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/8/08 - Hello, Tom,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/7/08 - Check out my new skis at http://outsideinmi.blogspot.com/....Jeff _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9/12/08 - I just had a question if you new what the value would be for a set of Shafer cross country ski from Germany in the mid 70’s. think there about 200mm. Thanks....Chris I don't have any idea how much they would be worth......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9/10/08 - I am very interested in making wooden skis for my kids but live in Idaho and unfortunately won't have the opportunity to attend a class at North House Folk School. Is there an instruction video or booklet to help me make them at home?....Julie Plans are in "Fine Woodworking Magazine",
from November/December 1981. Issue #31. You may find a copy on Ebay.
Amazon.com sells a book on wood bending and that book has two chapters
on cross country skis. It's called "Bending Wood (Fine Woodworking
On) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4/21/08 - I just found your site by googling wooden
skis and saw that you also have a Wooden Ski Rendezvous! We have put
on our event for 8 years now as an educational and membership drive
for the Backcountry Skiers Alliance _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4/1/08 - Greg, The skis arrived today. The packaging
was excellent, and the skis blew me away!!! Thanks again for the prompt
shipping and the beautiful skis. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/25/08 - Dear Greg, Thank you so much for the fabulous skis and for your flexibility in payment for them. They are gorgeous. I am putting them away as a Christmas present for my husband, who has been skiing on wooden skis for almost 50 years now, and who raced in his younger years in many races in Minnesota. He will treasure these! I will continue to watch your site, as I may wish to purchse another pair or two. My son loved the last pair I got, which was a birthday present to him. Thanks for mantaining this tradition! F.F...........Indiana _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/22/08 - My son is getting married and wants some skis
to use to sign as a guest book. They will not be skiing on them but
want them as ornamental. Do you have any that might fit the description?
They need to be light brown - Please get back to me asap. They are
getting married March 29. Yikes! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/3/08 - Here's a photo of young Inga from the Lotvola Cup at Maplelag in Callaway, MN. She is wearing traditional Norwegian ski attire and using Splitkein wooden skis.
Photo by Jay Richards. Photo courtesy of www.skinnyski.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/1/08 - Hello! You have a nice site! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"I have acquired a pair of Jarvinen skis and poles made in Finland. The Jarvinen bindings were made in the German Democratic Republic. The skis are made of wood with synthetic tops and bases. The poles are bamboo. If someone can date these skis please notify me. The skis will go on display in the Koskela House Finnish Museum at Brantwood, in northern Wisconsin." Bill Hoffman...cyrilla@centurytel.net _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/24/08 - Greg, The skis arrived today and I am thrilled! Thank you for the great merchandise and service! .....Faith _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/10/07 - Looking for information on the best type of glue to use to repair lignostone edges. The side of my Normark VI lignostone edge sheared off while skiing in tall grass. The 1st foot or so the edge came off cleanly, followed by a 1" x 1/2" strip of the lignostone edge and the hickory bottoms. I notice that you've mentioned Gorrilla glue and 2 part epoxy. Which do you think would work best in this situation? Would a waterproof wood glue also be good in this situation? ....Michael Michael, I would recommend a slow-setting two-part epoxy to repair your lignostone. I would not recommend waterproof wood glue.....Greg 12/2/07 - Nice web-site, however I assume that you just
do Nordic. Tom, It appears that Kristian Hovde was a Nordic combined skier after looking at this website; http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikersund_idrettsforening. Kristian won some medals for the 18 and 30km races. He won his medals from 1926 to 1932. Manufacturers typically named skis after medal winners right after they won the awards. I would guess that the skis are from 1930 + or -....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/18/07 - Greg, My name is Tom and I met you a couple of years ago when
you dropped some bindings off for me at my office. I am interested
in buying a set of 215 or 220 cm skis. I also looked at the link you
had to skis made in Sweden and I may buy a pair but they are definitely
spendy. I have a buddy that has had a pair of 230 Tegsnas for many
years and they are a riot to ski. I collected alot of stuff when I
worked at old North Country Ski shop off of Hwy 94. I love looking
at your website and am going to try and make it to your ski gathering
in Duluth in March this year if I'm around.........Tom, Stillwater,
Minnesota _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/3/07 - Greg, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/15/07 - Greg, If you should know any people who'd like to take part in a real tough downhill race with their old wooden skis, then tell them that they should go to Leogang, Austria, from January 18th to 20th. It would be nice to meet some "Holzfreunde" from overseas there. Auf Wiederschreiben! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9/8/07 - Hi Greg, The skis arrived today and are more beautiful than I could have imagined. My wife's birthday is soon (sic) so the timing is perfect. I'll let you know her reaction which I know will be surprise and joy. Trout season closes Sept 30th. It would be perfect if we got a snowstorm on Oct 1! Thanks again, Jim.......New York City _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7/16/07 - Hi Greg, Here is something I thought you might find interesting, even though we are not directly affected here in the United States. The August 2007 issue of Wooden Boat Magazine contains an article concerning the European Union banning the use of pine tar as a carcinigen. The ban would have had a significant effect in the Scandiavian countries where pine tar is used extensively as a protective coating for traditional wooden boats and for older buildings. The article did not mention skis, but that may just have been beyond the scope of the writer's interest. The ruling was protested by the Scandiavian countries and, after review, the EU temporarily lifted the ban until 2010. It was an interesting article and talked about the economic
history of pine tar as well as its chemical composition and use. Just
thought you might like to check it out...........Steve, Albany, NY Editor's Note: Check out the following links for more information. http://www.woodenboat.com/wbmag/index.html http://www.european-maritime-heritage.org/EMHsite/Projects/pinetar.htm http://60north.asiakaslehti.fi/article?section=02&journal=1723185&article=2043235 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 6/9/07 - Greg, I [snip] ran across an article about removing epoxy screws from skis. they heated them first with an electric solder gun. I have always heard that epoxy breaks down with heat but never though it to be a good idea to try and heat up the screws with a propane torch. The electric [method] sounds like the ticket......Dan _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/25/07 - Hi, Greg; _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/22/07 - Hi, Greg; Just picked up the box from the post office, and WOW!!! Are they ever beautiful! I especially love the scent of pine tar, which reminds me of my “yut” With a little luck, we’ll be taking them out this weekend to give them a try. Got a question, though: what would you recommend as a glue for reattaching the binding screws? We’ve got to knit some socks to go with the outfits! Thanks for the great skis!!.....................Jerry G., Antelope, CA Editor's Note: I do not recomment glue for the screws......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/31/07 - Hi Gregg, thanks for the advice on the bindings.
I thought I'd report in
1/9/07 - Greg, Thanks for the beautiful Madshus Birkebeiner skis and the boots and knicker socks. Hope to see you at Seeley Classic wood skis event, if and when it is held. It would be nice if someone could take a group photo of the wood class skiers at the event with their skis before the race. Good luck in your Worldloppet events. I plan on taking a digital camera with me in the Norwegian Birkie event. I wish I would have carried a camera with me in the Swedish Vasaloppet. Some great panoramic views. I plan to stop and take a photo now and then........ Ken, Apple Valley, Minnesota
1/3/07 - I am on the Langlauf Ski Race Board and the winner of the Woods and Woolies division for the last 10 years and would like to add Langlauf to your list of ski events with a wood ski division. We end up with about 25 people competing in the wood ski division and would love to see more. Let me know if it is possible and what you need. The race web site is www.spokanelanglauf.org Thanks.......Mike A., Spokane, WA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/2/07 - Howdy Greg, et al at Wooden Skis. Delighted
to find your website and check out all the other wooden ski enthusiasts.
I have been looking at all the skis and have noticed that most pictures
show 3-pin bindings (apparently the binding of choice). I use NNN-BC
on my Asnes Tour Modell skis with great success, taking them to the
10th Mt. Hut system in Colorado every year- even use 'em pulling a
sled on the easier climbs. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/24/06 - Hi Greg, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/24/06 - Good Morning Greg, I just read the StarTribune article about your ski business. I look back on the past with fond memories also. While calling on my sporting goods customers selling them hunting and fishing equipment as a rep back then I met up with Jan Haug and we put together some suppliers from his homeland of Norway. I started introducing the stores to the sport and the first year sold 5,000 sets. From this part time effort we built a business named Janoy. I now live by Crosslake, MN and still have a few pair in the garage, including a couple of new pairs that have never been mounted.......Tom, Merrifield, MN _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/11/06 - Hi Greg. Very cool website! My dad and I
were recently selected as the official Birkie Warriors this year.
We have some good old wood skis, pine tar and swix polar, but I'm
wondering if the newer iron-in glide waxes would work instead? Mike, Congratulations on your selection as a Birkie
Warrior. That should be a very fun experience. I know that Jimmy Vandenbrook
had a blast last year. Click here to see American Birkebeiner press release about the Warriors
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/26/06 - I have some wooden skiis that I sanded to
bare wood and refinished with urethane. The urethane chipped and I
don't think it's the right finish, so I'd like to refinish them again
(tops and sides; the base has a plastic surface). I have two questions:
What's the best paint remover for the chipped urethane? and What should
I use for a new finish? (I have considered all pine tar, spar varnish
or epoxy.) What do you think........P. Hoff Thanks for the quick reply. Turns out sanding is the only thing that removes urethane (that and some patience!) The linseed oil is a good idea - it ought to repel the snow better than varnish or urethane. I tried some Watco oil that I've used in furniture finishing. Wow! They're gorgeous. The linseed oil will be great in maintaining a finish. Now I hope we get some snow. Good luck to you and enjoy your wooden ski moments......P. Hoff _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/12/06 - Hi Greg, Editors Note: Can anyone help with this question? Alpin photo 1 - Alpin photo 2 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/11/06 - Hi Greg, Wow, thanks for maintaining this cool website. I'm hoping
you will be able to steer me in the right direction. I inherited my
parent's 1970s wooden skis this summer and would like to repair them
for use this winter. Cracked in Madison, Wisconsin...........Curtis B. Curtis, I would try to spread the crack open a little bit with toothpicks or small wedges. Then apply "Gorilla Glue" as directed on the label, then clamp. The Madshus Birkebeiner skis were the "Cadillac" ski of its time and they fetch the highest price these days along with being the most sought after ski in the used wooden ski market...........Greg Fangel _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/8/06 - Hi there! Editor's Note: Click Here to see the Artis ski. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10/6/06 - My husband found an old pair of ski's on a
demolition site. They are wooden ski/leather straps and foot rests.
They are both stamped with what appears to say 'Northland Ski Manufacturer.
St. Paul Minn'. These words circle a picture of a moose. I would really
appreciate it if anyone out there can tell me about Northland and
possibly what these might be worth. Diane, Northland Ski Manufacturing Company, formerly C.A. Lund Company of Hastings, Minnesota founded by Norwegian born C.A. Lund, began producing skis, toboggans, snowshoes and hockey sticks shortly after Lund’s arrival from Norway. Lund’s skis soon gained a widespread reputation for unsurpassed quality making Northland the largest manufacturer of skis in the world. Northland manufactured skis from the early 1900's until the 1950's........Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 8/30/06 - Greg, I just thought I'd let you know how pleased I was once I opened up the box of skis and poles I ordered from you last month. I am now in Moscow and I waited until I arrived here to break open the box. Great job on packing/padding the skis; they look really well cared for. Hard to beat the way wooden skis look! It looks like the bottoms have been prepped with a sealant. I remember in the past applying a black liquid to the soles prior to each season. Swix made a one-part sealer (in a can) while somebody else made a two-part sealer (in bottles). Are either of these products still available? Does Aker's (out in Vermont or New Hampshire) carry anything like these products? Lastly, do you recommend using a glue (like epoxy) to set the binding screws in with, or do you think the screws alone are sufficient? Tom .......Moscow, Russia Tom, I'm glad you like the skis. The bottoms are treated with pine tar. The two-part treatment you are speaking of is shown at www.woodenskis.com/ski_tools.htm. See the links to pine tar in the right-hand column on this webpage.I do not recommend using epoxy to set the screws. If your binding breaks, it will be impossible to get the screws out again. Screws alone work the best.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 8/23/06 - Hello Wood N Skis! Kind regards,........J. Spinder, Myrtleford - Melbourne, Australia J, The only thing that I know about Trysil-Knut skis is that they are Norwegian, named after the region of Trysil. Trysil-Knut, was a character of saga, with unique qualities as a skier. The skis are from the early 1970's and their value
is dependant on where you sell them. If I had them in my stock, I
could sell them for $150USD. You may be able to sell them on ebay.....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7/13/06 - Hi, I've just been given a pair of bonna 1800 skis in good condition. Can I use them? Where can I find boots for them? Thanks, "Lauri, Yes, you can use them. What type of bindings do they have? 3-pin? Ebay seems to have the biggest selection of 3-pin, 75mm boots. You can also find new ones at Akers-Ski.com http://www.akers-ski.com 75mm refers to the width of the toe piece of the boot and that is the most common size"....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4/9/06 - Hello, I have studied your website on wooden skies with great
interest and I have a question that I hope you could answer. You write
on the FAQ that some wooden skis were manufactured with a P-Tex or
ebonite coating on the base One possibility could then be that the base of the skis is in fact coated with P-Tex or ebonite, but how can this be established? Another possibility is of course that he is/I am wrong... Looking forward to hearing from you! Best regards, "Johan, Pine tar was applied to the ski bases to protect the wood from moisture entering it. Ebonite or P-tex bases are black in color and appear to be plastic and artificial. A visual inspection is about the only way to tell if the skis are wooden or coated with ebonite or p-tex. Sometimes in the past, people put the pine tar on very thick which makes it appears to be an artificial base. In my opinion, skis with a wooden base (hickory) should be pine tarred. Hyvä menestys..............Greg" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/23/06 - Thank you so much. I got the skis yesterday
and they are PERFECT!! I think I will ski next year’s Birkie
with them. The camber is excelled, the bindings seem brand new, and
I can’t wait for next winter. Thanks again. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/19/06 - Greg - Just want to let you know what a great day I had at the Rendezvous. Wonderful weather, track, organization, and camaraderie. Many thanks to you and all the other organizers! Let me tell you that I had the BEST seat in the house
for watching the race. For about 4.5 k, Chris Hegg and Dave Pramann
put on a great show, dueling for the lead. I was sometimes right behind
them, sometimes as much as thirty I've watched lots of races on videos, but there's nothing like an unobstructed "up-close, in living color" view of a hotly contested race.......D. Pederson.........St. Louis Park, MN _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/13/06 - I found out about you from the people at North House Folk School who I saw at Canoecopia in Madison this weekend. I thought I was the only nut out there who revered wooden skis anymore. I thoroughly enjoyed scrolling through your web site. My wife and I have skis representing almost all the manufacturers you have listed and in multilple lengths. We use them regularly and only ski on plastic when it's above freezing. We started collecting in the mid 70's when it became clear that their availability would become limited with the passage of time. My son lives in Duluth and also skis regularly on wood to the dismay of the plastic and spandex crowd. I have been concerned because we have only one plastic
repair tip and 5 of us who ski. It worked fine when we were all together
but now the kids are going their own way and I have been looking for
more of these tips. Do you know of any for sale? Stan: Akers' sells plastic repair tips. Go to www.akers-ski.com and type in "repair tip" into the "Search" box..........Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/26/06 - Editor's Note: The following message comes from a skier that is building his own wooden skis from scratch. Just a note to let you know that I have the wood cut and that I am in the process of sanding. After I am finished sanding to the correct thickness I’ll attempt to bend the tips. I got a little carried away with the belt sander and took a little too much off in one area but I think it will be OK. Hopefully I’ll have the bending completed this coming weekend! Every time I make some small imperfection I remind myself that 500 years ago someone was probably carving a set of skis using a primitive knife or tool made from a whale bone! I went to Menards to look for pine tar. They didn’t have any but told me where to check. What ratio of pine tar to turpentine do you recommend? I practiced bending a piece of wood. I put two coffee cans together (cut the bottom out of one and jammed it into the top of the other), filled it with boiling water and placed a piece of wood (covered with two old tube socks) in it. I covered the top of the can and wood with aluminum foil and let it soak for about 30 minutes. Then I bent it at the tip. I used a three inch diameter piece of PVC pipe to bend it around. I was working with a pine 2X4 that I had cut down to 3/8 inch thickness and it was easy to bend. I may have to soak the birch a little longer. I still haven’t decided how to bend the middle for the camber. I was thinking about wrapping the wood in a blanket; soak it with boiling water and wrapping aluminum foil around it to keep the heat trapped. Then after about 45 minutes, unwrap it and place the balance point of the ski on a piece of 1 1/2” diameter PVC pipe and place a weight on the ski at the front and back and let it set overnight. What a learning experience! I’ll keep you posted on how things are going. Kenny KENNETH J. VENNELL, Lt Col, IL ANG.........Springfield, IL _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/20/05 - We've had a record month of wooden ski sales. In the month of December so far, we've sold over 30 pair of wooden cross country skis! Recently the Three Rivers Park District from the Minneapolis, MN area purchased 14 pair for their new Nordic center being built at Elm Creek Park Reserve. When that lodge opens, look for a collage display of our skis and other historic ski related items. Elm Creek has snowmaking for cross country skiing and lights for night time trail use.......Greg Fangel, woodenskis.com
Elm Creek Nordic Center - Minneapolis, MN _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/19/05 - Anyone heard of "Latu"? I just discovered your site last month and am delighted with it! I've already referred several folks to it (every time I go out on my wooden skiis people admire them and ask where they might find information or buy a pair.) I have a pair (and a spare) of the Bonna 2400's with the mid-section cracked steel edge that I use for trail-breaking and packing but my all-time favorite touring skiis are a pair made by a manufacturer (Latu) about whom I have never been able to find any information -- I'm hoping maybe posting this note will lead to some clues. I bought these skiis 12 years ago at a flea market for $15 dollars -- they are 195's and the seller also had an identical set of 210's (it broke my heart that I only had $20 with me and the seller refused to hold the second pair til I could come back.) Both had low-end Dovre 75mm bindings -- it was obvious that the 210's had been used once and the 195's not at all (I imagined a hopeful Christmas gift from a husband who never was able to convince his spouse to join him on the trails.) The skiis are very similar in appearance and dimensions to classic Birkebeiners: beautifully grained all-wood (hickory or birch?) with an oiled finish and lignostone edges. The markings are in black: "Latu" in Olde English font with a stylized stag head at the tip and "made in Norway" on the tails. I've upgraded them to Profil bindings and they are sublime to ski with -- superlight and quick with fantastic camber, the most wonderful skiis I've ever used (and I've owned and dumped a half-dozen pairs of synthetic skiis over 30 years of skiing.) Anybody familiar with this mark? Anybody know where I could buy more like them? (I've googled and eBayed and they are nowhere to be found.) Some lucky person here in the Pittsburgh area bought those 210's -- I hope they didn't end up nailed over a fireplace somewhere. Thanks, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/18/05 - Hi , I am attaching some pictures of my Eiger skis, that I've noticed you don't have included on your manufacturers page. I guess I have used them for 25 - 30 years, and just had to repair the lignostone edges at the tails this year. Any info on the company would be welcomed. I am also sending pictures or a pair of Normark II skis I found at a garage sale. unfortunately, they have no lignostone edges. My wife is still skiing on her original Birkebeiners from the 1970's. I had to reglue the rear edges and tail laminations this season (1st ever repairs). Thanks for your time and effort for the web site. I am going to try to make the Mancelona MI wooden ski event, but is very close to our Canada trip to Stokley Creek Lodge. (A great cross country lodge that probably deserves a link on your site) Thanks, Dave........Ann Arbor, MI _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/12/05 - I have a excellent pair of Bonna 2400 without metal edges. My question is this, After skiing do you just scape off the kick wax of the day, if so do you use a little heat getting the wax off? I have a terrible time trying to clean them up after use......John, Otego, N.Y. I typically just scrape the wax of the day off. I use a 3" metal putty knife and it works quite well. Care needs to be taken to avoid scratching the skis, but it's never been a problem. After scraping, use a cork to smooth the bottom, then apply your new wax of the day......Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/12/05 - Hi Greg; The skis arrived today;both pairs are beautiful! It doesn't even look like the Trolls have ever been skied before. The bases and lignistone on both skiis are in much better Thanks so very much for all of your help, and your I've already pointed other folks to your site, I think you are providing the world a good service, keeping these old treasures alive. Keep up the good work,--Chipper...Sterling, VA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/11/05 - Howdy - Once in a while I rub some olive oil into them (mineral
oil is too heavy), and let it soak in overnight. The tails are starting
to split on one pair, as they stood in water a few times too many
and have lost the metal butt, but they still perform well. Synthetics
are stiffer, need wax, not as good unless you _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/8/05 - I just discovered your website dedicated to the preservation of skiing on sticks, and it is awesome. Wish I knew of your site when I was figuring out how to prepare wooden bases etc. Several years ago at a pawn shop I picked up a brand new (i.e. never drilled for bindings) set of old Head LTs (210 cm). Instead of mounting with traditional three-pins, I mounted them with the NNN backcountry bindings that I favor. They have lots of camber and are a little soft but VERY responsive and forgiving. They have become a favorite for the kind of backcountry, "trail" (i.e. simply on snowmachine tracks), and light telemarking that I do. They also perform well when I hit the groomed trails for some fast kick-and-glide and a little skating. Your prices on Head LTs and other wooden skis are a bargain. Heads (albeit no steel edges) are every bit as good as the Fischer E99s etc that we gladly pay more than $200 for. I'll be ordering a set of your bamboo poles to complete the package! Thank you. Pat.............Walkerville, Montana _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12/3/05 - Hi, Bob, I've always had good luck with mineral spirits....Greg Greg, I ended up warming the a can of pine tar and mineral spirits in a pan of warm water and it finally mixed together well. Ends up being about 1/5 the cost of a can of Swix...Bob _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/24/05 - Hi, Keith, The 4-pin bindings are out-of-date and boots are impossible to find for those. I have a pair of 6-pin bindings mounted on cross country skis from the late 1940's. I recommend switching to 3-pin, 75mm bindings....Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9/24/04 - Greg, received the skis. They look fantastic... Can't wait to mount them up... now all we need now is snow!! Thanks!!....S. Gantert _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9/13/05 - Hi there, I was just wondering if you knew of any places in Sweden or Norway where you can take a course to make your own wooden skis? I know there is the place in Minnesota but I can’t find anything on the web about being able to do such a course in Europe. If you have any contacts in Europe that may be able to point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it, I am based in the UK so getting to the States for such a thing would be a bit too expensive!! Thanks, Chris _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9/13/05 - Hello I had a question on your 210 skis for sale. In the characteristic outline, it says no for lignastone edges for some of the skis. Are the edges metal or none at all? Also if the the skis contain Lignastone edges, do they support icy conditions for downhill turns? Thanks, Rich, the skis with no lignostone edges typically have a hickory veneer base with wooden sides. The lignostone edged skis may work in some icy conditions, but not all. Their intent is to prevent wear and tear and not for skiing performance...Greg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
8/27/05 - Hello, This is just a short note to tell you how much I appreciate
your website. Having been affiliated with Nordic Ski Imports in St.Paul,
MN during the early seventies I must tell you that Madshus did not
make Troll skis. Keep up the good work, Rod Hanson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4/10/05 - Dear Mr. Fangel, Wow! I am so thrilled to find my father's Janoy skis
in today's St. Paul Pioneer
Press! You see, he started the company, having the skis made in
Norway, manufactured with his company name on them, Janoy. His name
was Jan (Norwegian, because he was from Norway) E. Haug. His business
partner who knew nothing about the ski industry or the sport, was
Floyd Hedding. They put their names together to form "Janoy",
when I was about 14, back in the early 1970's. Floyd provided financial backing for the business venture, but retained his full time job at an electrical manufacturing plant in MPLS, while my dad quit his job at the same company to follow his dreams. Skiing was my father's passion, and he did everything possible to promote xc skiing here in the U.S. He did not get rich by eating, living, and breathing xc skiing. But he sure got a lot of people hooked on it, as the folks at FinnSisu will tell you, one of his best local customers. I remember him spending a lot of time promoting ski trails in county parks. He helped establish French Park in Plymouth. He even made tracks in the snow with a primitive wood block he built and dragged behind him on a rope, with us kids following along behind. After Janoy went out of business, Jan went on to sell Edsbyn skis (his middle name was Edward), which my husband and I still ski on. Being more recent, we come across Edsbyn skis more often then Janoy skis. Jan died suddenly at the age of 56 of an enlarged heart, in 1988 (just when L.L. Bean signed a contract to purchase Edsbyn skis). None of us knew enough about his business to take it over. Two years later, we four surviving children helped our mother move from our four bedroom house in Plymouth, to a town home. The youngest of us was 20 by then. In doing so, multiple garage sales were held and at least a dozen pairs of skis were sold. We didn't realize how much we'd miss Janoy skis, especially to feel connected to our dad in his absence. Thus, I must buy a pair of Janoy skis from you. I don't even know what kind or size right now. I'm just so excited about your business (or hobby?) that I had to email you right away. I will also tell my avid ski fan brother about this discovery today. He may feel the same way I do and contact you himself. I'll probably want a pair to use myself, just for light touring. Perhaps you can suggest a pair? Thank you so much for keeping alive the heritage and culture of wooden skis! Also for reading this long personal story. Sincerely, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4/10/05 - Hi Greg, I bought by Madshus skis in the 1970s when cross country skiing was first being written about in Minnesota, and they are still the skis that I use for breaking trail as they are so stable (wider). And they go up hills better than any fiberglass skis in my opinion! We live on Turtle Lake just west of you, and when there is enough snow on the lake, they are great for getting out there for some fun! Bette Larson ...Turtle Lake, WI _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/21/05 - Only discovered woodenskis.com today, despite
skiing on wooden skis, and nothing but wooden skis, for over 30 years.
Just a few weeks ago, I was given a pair of Bonna Fjellskis, 220 cm
with full metal edges and the old style Silvretta cable mountaineering
bindings, which were the model used by the late Paul Ramer which he
modified to become the U.S. Army Ramer bindings issue at least until
the early 1990s. I also own a pair of Bonna 2400s, a pair with "Head"
brand label, but which say made in Norway (any thoughts on the true
manufacturer?), and some Swiss Army surplus mountaineering skis---full
wooden core but with plastic base including fittings for special skins,
and recently discarded old pair of Edsbyns (don't see that brand mentioned
in your info) because of delamination and damage. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/20/05 - Greg, Thanks for the comments about my skis.
I hope you will be pleased with them. I've been doing all the ski
restoration for the new Elf Engen Ski Museum in Park City at Olympic
Park. During the Olympics, Norway brought in a replicas pair of Sondre
Norhem's skis with the root bindings, skis from 1845. I also build
that binding but not too many people know what it's all about. They
let me take photos and measurements. I've been to your site numerous
time because I'm soooo interested in antique skis and the history
of them. I live in Ohio in the summer and here in Utah in the winter.
Ski 5 days a week at Alta and Snowbird. Now at 70 years of age, I'm
trying to learn to telemark. Tough. I can get down OK but getting
back up is another matter. Keep in touch. Editor's Note: See Bob's website of reproduction telemark and downhill skis at the Wasatch Lightning Ski Company _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/5/05 - Dear Sirs Editor's Note: Derrick, Seit 1900 means "since 1900" in German. It appears that these skis are German made. "Schick Ski" means "Elegant Ski" in German. Gottingen is a city in Germany. 80mm is very wide for a pair of skis. Sporthaus tells me that it was probably a sports shop or store that sold the skis. The leather snow stops on the bottom of the ski poles tells me that the poles are probably from the 1940's. The best place to see how much the skis are worth is to check www.ebay.com The number on the skis is an arbitrary number used to match pairs in production. Best Regards. Greg Fangel - woodenskis.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3/2/05 - While surfing the Internet I came across your
site. I am an avid cross country skier, and remember that when I was
a kid in the early 70's my father purchased a pair of wood skis. I
think the name is ACTRA XC but I'm unsure. As I recall, they are made
in Poland, have a hickory base and are very long! I think his are
210's. As a teen, I remember applying pine tar to them and carefully
maneouvring them through doorways. From what i remember they were
not so unusual here in the Laurentians, just north of Montreal, Canada.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/22/05 - Thanks for your site. I am going to try my first wooden ski race here in Homer, Alaska and I needed to learn more about my equipment....Jack and Nancy Allen _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/13/05 - FYI, two articles about building cross-country skis that were published in Fine Wood Working Magazine are avalible in a book called Fine Wood Working on Bending Wood. This is avalible from Taunton Press. The first article is Cross-Country Skis, the Easy Way by George Mustoe, and, indeed, it is an easy way. Had I not shaped the tips wrong on my first attempt, I would have finished in about 8 hours of total working time, and that includes building a more complicated jig vs. the one that appeared in the magazine. The second article is Cross-Country Skis, Norwegian Style by Richard Starr. This article seems slightly more complicated, but still do-able for a woodworker with even moderate skill. My only recommendation on the skis that I built vs. the book is to cut the groove into the ski before you laminate the parts together. This will make for a much easier job, and instead of using two 1/4" pieces for the core, I would use one 1/2" piece of eastern white or western red cedar. This wood bends fine without steaming when it is bent only as much as is needed for a cross country ski. Hopefully, I will have these ready to go by next weekend, so I can get out on them. I'm also trying a homemade binding that will allow me to use my mountaineer leather boots on these skis. Enjoy, Bryan Hansel _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2/5/05 - We are very happy with the skis! We have already
used them several times. Carol is extremely pleased! Hope to do more
business in the future with _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/26/05 - Greg, Just letting you know that I received the skis in fine shape. Pretty darn nice looking skis. Don’t know their age but must be at least 30 years, maybe much more. Waxed the skis and tried them out today. Our snow is terrible, 39 degrees here yesterday and 20 today. So the snow had an ice crust on it. But the skis felt great and I didn’t mind the slogging through the crust. I noticed that they were a lot more stable than my Karhu’s or Skilom. My ankle didn’t slip to the side as they would with the narrower skis. This is all backcountry, on some old trails and new trails that I made today, not groomed. Thank you very much......Duane....Wisconsin Rapids, WI _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/26/05 - I just want to let you know that I purchased a set of old MARK IV skis from you back in November and I recently had a chance to use them- It was best cross country ski I had ever had. Wooden skis are great! Thanks for a great pair of skis.......Michael..........Fishers,Indiana _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/25/05 - Many thanks Greg, I will try to make my skis as new :) Shall I try with boat tar ? Best regards from Finland, Editor's Note: Boat tar or pine tar used on the hooves of horses also works. You may need to thin it a bit with mineral spirits or some type of solvent. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/24/05 - HI there: I'm e-mailing you from snowy Nova Scotia and I'm on the hunt for some good solid wooden touring skis. A number of my family members have older thick wide wooden skis and that is what I am looking for. I presently have a thinner, shorter pair of wooden skis and my boy friend has a great pair of 200cm Toppen Tur-ski; so I am either looking for a thicker pair for myself (200cm), or steal my boy friend's and replace them with a nice shiney new (to us) pair for him (210 - 215cm).......... Any help you can provide would be great..........Becky _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/16/05 - I have 1 splitkien bass and 1 Landsem type skis. I would like to match either one or both of these orphan skis with a match. Is this a service that you provide ? I got your address out of the latest newsweek. I love skiing on my old pair of Kongsberg skiis here in central Idaho. Thanks for your time............ A. Troutner Editor's Note: Yes, we have a few orphan skis. And yes, we were mentioned in Newsweek magazine in the January 21st. issue. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/15/05 - The Bonna's are great. I decided I'd like to get another pair of skis so everyone in the family has a pair of wooden skis......J Walden, Madison, WI _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/14/05 - I've been skiing on long Bonna 2400's with
a metal edge for decades. I am looking for am excellent pair of the
same? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/11/05 - HI. I thought that I would drop you a line to let you know how glad I am to have found your site. I have been a wooden ski enthusiast since day one. I have owned and raced some plastic skis but have always had at least one pair of wooden skis. My wife has a pair too. I have a quick question. I know that there was a ski that used a mohair strip in the kick zone. Do you have any? I would need a 215 or stiff 210. I have also thought about modifying a pair. I have thought that a person could route a groove into the base and then install a strip? Now where do I find the mohair? I know that climbing skins are made from that stuff but I can’t see my way clear to destroy a $100 pair of skins for a couple of strips. You may wonder why I am looking for a waxless ski? I live on the west side of the Cascades in Washington state and the last few years have not had very low temperatures and it makes waxing a somewhat frustrating ordeal. That’s it for now and I might like to buy a set of your 215 soon, so I will get back to you....Robert F. P.S. We also shoot wooden bows, fish with bamboo fly rods, kayak in skin-on frame boats, ride steel bike and take pictures with real live manual rangefinder cameras. We live a sort of retro life style and I have lived for several years in a cabin with no electricity. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1/10/05 - I have just found your site on the internet and am hoping you may be just the people to help me! I am contacting you from Keo Films in London. We have been commissioned to make a 6 x 1 hour documentary series by the BBC, National Geographic and the History Channel (US) about the historic expeditions made to the South Pole by Scott and Amundsen in 1911/12. Filming will take place in April, June and July 2005, and will mostly occur in Greenland....................Editor's Note: Stay tuned! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11/4/04 - The birch skis you sent are great... can't
wait to use them. We're suppose to get some snow but it probably won't
last. I'm looking for a pair of old cable style cross country bindings.
I have another pair of wooden skis and would like to put those on
the skis... if not do you have any old 75mm 3 pin types? thanks for
your help... Editor's Note: Yes, we have some cable bindings and plenty of used and new 75mm bindings...... 10/26/04 - I just wanted to let you know, in case you did not already, that Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder, Colorado sells leather 75mm boots, wooden Norwegian army skis, pine tar, and kick wax specifically for pine tarred wooden skis. In addition to the museum pieces he has all over the wall it is definitely worth a visit to check out the ski selection. Michael S. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9/21/04 - Thank you so much for all of your help with these skis. I have been looking all over for good wooden skis to buy, and you had exactly what I wanted. Thank you again for being so helpful in the process of this purchase. Christian.....Spencerport, NY 9/22/04 - I'd like to thank you for all of your help
in sending the skis to our son, Christian. He has been so up for this
and was thrilled to come home to them today. Because you care about
maintaining the tradition of wooden skis, I thought you'd want to
know that you've helped keep that passion alive in Christian. He's
grown up skiing on his grandmother's wooden skis, but went through
a huge teenager growth spurt last winter and realized he just couldn't
use his favorites any longer. So began the search for the right pair
of skis. The area ski shops smirked and told him to give up on wooden
skis. But he is a 15 year old purist :-) and I'm Thanks again, Kym.....Spencerport, NY _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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