Fixing fishscale?

[Trailpatrol]

I have an old pair of first generation (1971) Trak no-wax skis. Over
the past 34 seasons, the fishscales on the bottom have worn down
pretty much to where the skis only work on heavy (near 32F) snow.
Anybody out there have any ideas on repairs?

Thanks,

Hans

[Flatrock]

You can repair gouges with p-tex candles, but I'm not aware of any way to restore the scales. A good afternoon spent with unlimited patience and a soldering iron or some other heat source might allow you to sharpen up the pattern. Maybe.

Have you considered putting a little wax on the bases to improve the grip? Or, conversely, you could pay a ski shop $20 to put your skis on the tuning machine and grind off the scales completely. Then you've got a pair of waxable skis.

[Pete_Hickey]

I would sand them smooth, and turn them into waxable skis. Start with a rough grit then work to a finer one. It is close to impossible to re-create fishscales.

[Riosacandaga]

Guessing that the skis cost new in 1971... $125. they've cost'd you about $3.67 a year or about 7 cents a week. You should have been saving up for a new pair !
By the time you invest in making a jig and buying clamps and p-tex, and a gun to melt the p-tex if you're going to do it right, then the time to file in steps let alone fish scales.... you're not skiing enough.
Take your old skis put them in a bin and start saving them up for staves and when you have enough make yourself a nice adk chair.
If you have to use'em I would not even bother sanding the bottoms. Just wax'em for some grip and go.

[Trailpatrol]

Saving?

Actually, I have four pair of skis. If I had been saving, I would only have the one! These are just my first pair, and I am trying to resurrect them.

Those four pair are; 1996 Karhu 10th Mtn. Tours, 1971 Trak touring skis, 2001 (2nd generation) Trak Bushwackers and a pair of historic military skis I am restoring.

Without a doubt, my favorites are the Bushwackers:
190cm Trak Bushwackers, (85-70-80) with Berwin Backcountry Bindings that allow me to wear any boot (or, in my case, Steger mukluks) on my skis. It also allows me to wear the same footwear on my snowshoes (4-pair, all traditional wood and web)without having to change shoes. I had a pair of original Bushwackers before these.

The 10th Mountain Tours are a ski that Karhu came out with back when the 10th Mountain hut system started becoming popular in the 1990s. The current equivalent model would be the Karhu Pinnacle.

A friend showed me a way to file the instep to create a better grip. I may give it a try...it worked for him!

Ski safe,

Hans

*1st generation Bushwackers were all 160cm and green. 2nd gen were blue and came in 160, 175 and 190 lengths. I got my first pair back in 1983, after Pete Fish introduced me to them in the High Peaks.

[Flatrock]

Hans,

I just sold my pair of 175 cm blue Bushwackers to a friend and bought a used pair of Karhu Catamounts on Ebay. I like the metal edges on the Cats. Both skis have the same profile and they are a truly great ski. Kind of like snowshoes that glide. Perfect for well, bushwacking.

I've also got a pair of narrower 10th Mtn Tours in my collection. They're green, 190 cm and waxless. Another great pair of backcountry skis.

Which military skis are you refurbishing? I've got some old Swiss Army jobs of varying vintage as well as some more recent U.S. Military issue Karhus and Asnes. The Asnes, which cost about $35 at Coleman's surplus, are my all-around favorite backcountry ski.

[Trailpatrol]

Well, they are solid white (no markings of any sort). They have metal edges and are quite heavy. I am guessing late '50s or early '60s vintage, but I am still working on nailing that down better. I am thinking they may be Karhu-Canada products, since Karhu made skis for our troops for a number of years, but I have still not found any proof. The bindings are Ramer convertible cable bindings with base plates. They're waxable, with a grommeted hole in the shovel for skins, and no channel in the base. They are cool, even if I never use them. I have to get the rust ground off the edges and do some cosmetic clean-up. Otherwise they are as good as new! I bought the skis, poles and bindings for under $20.00 on E-bay.

My 10th Mtn. Tours are blue-green, full metal edges (which is why I bought them) and are pretty much my utility ski for patrol and recreation. They have Rossignol 3-pin 75mm Tele bindings. (Yes!, I admit it! My name is Hans and I'm a pinhead.) I have a pair of light touring boots and heavier Karhu/Merrill Converts for backcountry use when I am not using the Bushwackers with mukluks, or if I am going to be on the skis for a long time, such as an event patrol.

I'd love to get my hands on a pair of 2001-02 Bushwacker XTs 190cm with the partial metal edges. I liked the Catamount, but that was why I got the 10th Tours.

Almost bought a pair of Orions with Berwin bindings on them a couple months ago, but somebody else at the Winter Camping Symposium beat me to it by a matter of minutes.

Ski safe,

Hans

[Flatrock]

Doesn't sound like you have the earlier Swiss Army skis, cause my older ones don't have holes in the tips. They do have stainless steel tips and what looks like Bakelite sides. The later versions of the SAS have neat (but really heavy) convertable downhill/cross country cable Fritschi bindings and holes in the tips. The earlier ones had cable universal leather boot bindings. Neither incarnation was made by Karhu, but by a Swiss firm (I forget the name) that is no longer in business.

I do have a pair of the Karhu U.S. Army skis (190s) that are the same profile as the Catamounts and Orions (same ski), but heavier and waxable. No groove on the bases, either. Nice skis for deep snow when you want more glide than you'll get with the waxless versions.

Sounds like we've got the same pair of 10th Mtn Tours. The wider ones are black, I believe. The blue/green ones are really a fine ski and I can see why they're your utility ski. I'd take mine pretty much anywhere, anytime.

I'm an NNN-BC guy. My pinhead friends claim they get a better stride, but they have yet to prove that to me.