How to hang your Antique or Vintage Skis

While there are quite a few methods to hang your antique wooden skis, our personal favorite is the good old ‘leather strap’ method. We sell them here.

Imagine…you just spend one month’s salary on a set of antique wooden skis and now you’re contemplating drilling a hole straight through them? Stop and think about it…would any antique dealer suggest that drilling a hole through anything would not lower its value? Of course not! That’s why we suggest to simply use an old piece of leather to decoratively ‘strap’ your skis to the wall.

Materials needed:

• 1 foot of old leather (new leather can be substituted, try a western saddle and tack store or your local craft store)
• Good mounting screws – Drywall Anchor Screws, or other appropriate hardware. Black color screws look the best
• Scissors (to cut the leather)
• Power Drill or Manual Screwdriver
• Ladder (if necessary)
• Pencil
We also sell a variety of ski mounting kits to suit your needs.

Installion Tips:

Skis Not Crossed – see below for Crossed Ski Mounting

Lay out your ski display on the floor before you take the first step up a ladder. Artfully arrange your skis on the ground playing with different ideas to maximize your decorating space and to suit your personal style and taste.

Once you have your skis arranged on the ground get your scissors and leather strap. Take the leather and lay it over the ski snugging up one end of the leather to the edge of the ski (STEP 1 photo below).

Make sure to leave enough extra leather flat with the ground to fit your screw. While holding this end stretch the leather over the ski (just below the toe piece on the binding) and wrap it over to the other side (STEP 2 photo below).

Mark this spot and cut. Repeat with the second ski (remember that antique skis will most likely be different in dimensions as many were handmade so make sure you measure both skis). You can also simply use one long piece of leather for both skis (photo below on the left)

 

Once you have your strip(s) of leather, start a screw through one end of the leather strip(s) (STEP 3 photo below). This way you won’t fumble once you’re 35 feet up the ladder. You might want to have a helper/spotter on the ground hand you the skis, screwdriver, etc. when you’re ready and in position. Now climb away little climber…Note: before you drill into your wall bring the skis up the

ladder and hold them in position with your spotter adjusting your movements. Once you decide upon the perfect spot, lower the top ski to your spotter and then make a mark with your pencil just below the lower edge of the bottom ski; just below the binding (STEP 4 photo below). Lower the bottom ski and get your drill gun or manual screwdriver. Now you will drill one side of the leather into this marked spot (STEP 5 photo below).

 

You are now ready to bring up the bottom ski. Get the ski into position with the leather strap just below the bindings or center of the ski and stretch the leather over the ski and drill the second screw as close as possible to the ski edge (STEP 6 photo below).

Once the ski is anchored tightly with the leather strap you can adjust the angle if necessary. If you think you have a good angle take the second ski and leather strap up the ladder and repeat as above.

If your wall is of poor quality drywall or if you want extra security you may choose to use a Drywall Anchor. Many of these anchors will hold up to 75 pounds of weight each. Drywall Anchors go into the wall before you drill in your screw. If you plan to have your antique or vintage skis hang in your chosen spot forever we suggest using Drywall anchors. If you are drilling into log, timber or other surfaces you might want to check with your local hardware store for recommended anchoring screws.

Crossed Ski Mounting

Of the most desirable and difficult is the crossed ski arrangement. Here are a few tips to make this process easier. If your skis have metal bindings or a space where you can wire them together do so. Use florist green wire or other dark strong wire. Next, you need to take the skis up the ladder and hold them in position with your spotter adjusting your movements. Mark the wall with your pencil where the outside of the skis meet. You may want to practice holding the skis in a crossed arrangement with your non-dominate hand.
Carefully lower or simply toss the skis down to your spotter. Once you have your Skis in the perfect X on the ground get your scissors and leather strap. Take the leather and lay it over the skis ‘snugging’ up one end of the leather to the edge of the ski.

Make sure to leave enough extra leather flat with the ground to fit your screw. While holding this end stretch the leather over the skis (just below the binding or center of the ski) and wrap it over to the other side. It may be necessary to adjust the length of the leather strip due to the curve or camber of your antique skis. If your antique or vintage skis do in fact retain their camber we suggest squishing them down a bit and then measure your leather strip.

Mark this spot and cut. You will need to make sure to stretch the leather tight and mark spots for each screw (you can also pre-wet the leather to really snug the skis to the wall). Pre-drill the screws through the leather. It is important to pre-drill the screws into the leather strip as this is very hard to do 35 feet up on a ladder with one hand holding two heavy skis and the other holding both the screwdriver or power drill, and leather strip.

Now you are ready to climb yet again, this time do a good shoulder stretch and up away you go. First climb the ladder with the pre-drilled leather strip and screwdriver or power drill. Drill the lower screw/side of leather strip into your marked spot and then have your spotter hand up the skis. Now place the crossed skis against the wall and hold with your non-dominate hand, face or other body part. If you do have the luxury of two ladders or your spotter is 8 feet tall have them hold the skis in position while you work. Bring the crossed skis into position snug up with the pre-drilled leather strip. Stretch the leather strip across the skis and hold in place with your non-dominate hand/thumb, free finger etc. Then, grab your screwdriver or drill from your pocket or between your legs and screw into place. You will now have your crossed skis on the wall but wait one ski wants to straighten and slip through the leather strap. This problem is solved by placing a long screw in the wall just above the crossed skis. Now you can drift back down the ladder and wait for 10 minutes for the skis to fall off the wall. If you pass the 10 minute mark all is clear and away you go….onto mounting antique ski poles, antique snowshoes, drinking a well deserved Après-ski beverage, etc.

If this article was in any way helpful or you require further assistance please let me know…970.390.9480 or e-mail info@vintagewinter.com …and yes we do sell mounting kits complete with vintage leather. Click here to purchase a pre-made antique ski mounting kit.

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