Shaping, Pine Tar, and Bindings

Release and check

Unclamp the skis the next morning ¹ and stand them base to base. They should touch at tip and heel with an even gap under the feet, no more than Richardson’s 3/4 inch of arch ². Check that both tips rise about the same, and sight down each ski for twist.

Then check that each ski is true: drive a pin into the middle of the tip and the heel and stretch a thread between them; it should run down the center the whole way, or the ski will run in a curve ².

Taper the thickness

Hansen’s students “cut, gouged, scraped and chiseled the bent ski blanks into something that resembled a pointed ski” ¹. The aim is a ski about an inch thick under the foot, thinning smoothly toward tip and tail. Talbot tapered his to 5/16 inch at both ends ³:

1. Mark the taper on both edges of the ski.
2. Plane the two top corners down to the line first, then plane off the ridge left in the middle; finish with the grain ³.
3. Behind a carved tip, saw down and chisel out the waste where the plane can’t reach ³.

Flex each ski by hand as you go. The whole front should be springy, helping the bend, not stiff up to a sharp kink ². Thin both skis evenly so they flex alike.

True the sides

Plane the edges to the template line, square to the base. Richardson wanted edges sharp but not so sharp that they splinter, and warned against an exaggerated side curve, which makes it hard to grip with the edge on steep, hard snow ².

The groove

The groove “steadies the ski for straight-running by preventing them from slipping sideways,” like a keel. Too deep and the ski won’t turn: Richardson once owned a pair with a groove about 3/8 inch deep that ran straight well and turned badly. His recommendation is about 1/12 inch deep and rounded ².

Talbot routed a groove 3/8 inch wide and 1/16 inch deep, from 12 inches behind the tip to 12 inches from the tail, with a straight fence clamped along the ski, and tapered its ends with a chisel ³. By hand, a small round gouge or a round-soled plane cuts the rounded Telemark groove.

Tips and decoration

Hansen’s students carved figureheads on the tips and decorative lines on the tops ¹; North House lists a V-tool for decorative carving ⁴. Talbot carved the traditional tip he calls “the ocean” ³. Keep carving shallow at the bend, where skis most often break ².

The binding slot

Telemark skis have a narrow slit through the ski near the middle for the binding ². A common way to place it: balance each ski on a finger and mark the balance point; put the slot there, with the boot toe just in front of it. Bore a row of holes through the ski from side to side, just below the top surface, and chisel them into one slot wide enough for the strap.

Pine tar

Pine tar “seals the bottom of the ski to prevent moisture from entering the wood,” and wax goes over it ¹. Fangel’s method for regular pine tar ⁵:

1. Prepare. Scrape the base clean and sand with 60 grit, then 100 or 120. Brush off the dust.
2. Thin. Thin heavy tar with mineral spirits. Quick-drying ski tar is used as its can directs.
3. Heat and brush. Warm the base with a heat gun or a torch with a flare tip, and brush on an even coat.
4. Bubble. Heat the tar until it bubbles, working in 6- to 12-inch sections and taking care not to scorch the wood.
5. Wipe. Reheat gently and wipe off the excess with a clean cloth. Wipe again until no tar comes off.
6. Wax. Let the base cool, then wax.

Do this outdoors or with strong ventilation, with a fire extinguisher at hand. Richardson preferred plain varnish to black paint on the tops and sides, so the grain shows and the sun doesn’t melt snow onto the ski ²; tar or oil on the tops also works.

Leather bindings

Hansen’s students sized bindings to their ski footwear. They soaked, cut, and punched a rawhide strap for the foot and cut and fitted tanned leather straps to hold the boot onto the ski ¹:

1. Toe strap. Thread a strap of soaked rawhide through the slot and shape it over the boot toe while it’s wet, so it dries to the shape of your boot. Punch holes and lace or buckle it.
2. Heel strap. A tanned strap runs from the toe strap on one side, around the back of the boot above the heel, to the other side, with a buckle to adjust it.
3. Fit. The boot should be held firmly at the toe and still lift freely at the heel.

Older bindings were simpler still: Richardson pictures the skis of one of the first Telemark skiers to come to Christiania (Oslo), with a binding of twisted birch bark ², and the postcard above shows a Sámi skier held by a single strap over each toe, with one long pole. North House lets students bring their own bindings instead ⁴.

Try it

Before tarring, ski the bare skis once on a few inches of snow, or just stand and flex on them on a carpet. Uneven flex or a ski that turns on its own shows up now, while you can still plane it.