Making Skis by Hand in Chamonix, Part 1. The Ronin build // DAVE SEARLE

This is part one of The Ronin Build.
In this video we meet Jonno, the owner and creator of Ronin Skis Chamonix (www.roninskis....) and we begin the process of making my Custom 108 LTE skis. The process was fun and rewarding and I learnt loads about ski building and sustainability in the ski building industry. I would strongly recommend checking out their ski range and remember you can also build your own ski's in Chamonix.
RONIN SKIS: www.roninskis....
RONIN SKIS on youtube ‪@roninskis‬
My website and contact: www.davesearle...
Instagram: / davejsearle
Thanks to Luke Jarmey ‪@jarmey‬ for additional ski footage.
Filming : Kerry Charlotte and Dave Searle
Editing : Dave Searle
#roninskis #chamonix #backcountryskiing #skibuild #skiing #mountain #skimountaineering

[@teleroel]

Support builders like Jonno from Ronin. I've a pair of hand build skis (mine come from Canada) and the connection with the guy who makes them is just an extra bonus.

[@DaveSearle]

Agreed!

[@roninskis]

Thank, appreciate it. Whats the candian brand you are skiing on?

[@ravingdog24]

I have a pair of hand made skis from my friend Howard Wu out of Salt Lake City, Utah, Wubanger. This is their twelve season and they are still lively. He used the same thick base and edges also. Ski techs notice the thick edges when they do my tuning

[@dphotos007]

Love this video. I have been skiing since 1974 when I started in my high school ski club in Los Angeles and I have seen the advancement in ski manufacturing. I was skiing on 210 long racing skis in the 70’s and 80’s. The new shape skis with the new designs and materials has make skiing much easier for the new skier to learn and enjoy the sport and it allows the advance skier to ski an all mountain, powder or a race ski. The process of building your skis was very interesting and I love how each step in the process was explained to the viewer. Now off to watch section 2.

[@roninskis]

Glad you enjoyed it man

[@JCesarH]

Woow, this is awesome to see. I work at an outdoor shop, and we'll have brand representatives come by and talk about the build and materials of their gear, we do tests every year, but I've never had this kind of insight on how a ski is built. Really nice to see. And I love that Jonno gives the oppertunity to be part of making your ski's.

[@DaveSearle]

This is quite different from a mass produced ski also. Many many steps! Very interesting to see and be part of.

[@roninskis]

Really appreciate that. Doors is always open. Come check the shop out anytime.

[@jazzman_10]

Hi, Ski teacher and ski rental owner here. I may have repaired thousands of skis, literally, with a ski sanding machine that has no wheel to push the ski through, I do it by hand which allows me to apply more pressure only where needed. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that is key to extending the life of a ski by fivefold at least. Modern machinery is less work but a good technician cannot be replaced...yet. Some pairs I have repaired and sanded well over 20 times. I may also say that they never die because they lack edges which give the ski a lot of its rigidity BTW, but from the sole. Soft soles are easy to repair and the results are perfect, hard syntered ones are tougher but a pain to get a perfect finish. The improvement in weight reduction these past years has been astounding, I ride an old pair of Tecnica´s Zero G, about 1250 grams per ski and they feel incredible even in groomed slopes. I´ve always wanted to have a hand made pair with a wooden finish, retro looks with modern shape, a killer. I would love to test ride these, they look really awesome, nice job.Are they tip & tail rocker?

[@michaelhernandez7124]

That’s is amazing job!! Lucky to have built your own 🎿.. saving up now can’t wait!!!

[@DaveSearle]

👍

[@MtJochem]

This is some incredible content, thanks!

[@DaveSearle]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@roninskis]

Thanks man. Also really enjoyed watching it Dave.

[@etiennelabeille]

Really nicely edited. Thank you.

[@roninskis]

Dave did a great job. Nice work buddy.

[@samkochevar983]

I’m going to show this to my coworkers in our university’s ski shop! Super cool to see every step of the process

[@DaveSearle]

Yeah it’s super interesting!

[@Benzknees]

A university has a ski shop!??

[@samkochevar983]

@@Benzknees BYU Outdoors Unlimited in Provo Utah! We do lots of rentals and repair work on skis and bikes as well as rafting, camping, and other outdoor gear. It has been an incredible job for me to help pay for school while also learning to service bikes and skis and hanging out with cool people.

[@roninskis]

Give me a shout if you need any advice. Always happy to chat skis. Preferably over a beer ;)

[@andreasmeerkamp8627]

Very good explanation of the process to build a ski

[@DaveSearle]

Yeah!

[@roninskis]

Glad you enjoyed it Andreas

[@dpardo74]

I am came to this by 🎉 it is so good i can't stop watching 😊

[@DaveSearle]

Glad you like it!

[@johnwilliamjacobs6936]

Hi... thank you for sharing.....

[@darylfortney8081]

Look amazing… ordered 🎉

[@DaveSearle]

🙌🙌

[@jarmey]

Best touring skis out there!

[@roninskis]

Thanks Luke appreciate the sentiment.

[@SwiftAnthony]

Another super informative video, thanks!

[@DaveSearle]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@roninskis]

Second that. Great work Dave.

[@fadet0green]

A proper manufacturing!

[@roninskis]

Merci

[@seret.t472]

Awesome !

[@DaveSearle]

Thanks!

[@roninskis]

Cheers buddy. I love Dave's work.

[@OleTobs]

Amazing!

[@DaveSearle]

🙌

[@roninskis]

Crushing it Dave!!

[@markthomasson5077]

It is quite a process. I guess when he is not making with a client, he will mass produce components, so speed things up. Does he just have the one press, that must limit production. One thing they say with sheathing timber / plywood boats is to always prime the timber first. Otherwise you are at risk of the timber sucking in too much resin and starving the fibre layers.

[@DaveSearle]

Not a huge amount that can be don’t to speed things up. All his skis are custom so there is a certain amount of needing to know the specifications before starting also. In a lot of ways it’s better to go one pair at a time.

[@roninskis]

Hey mark. As Dave mentioned, each pair is made to order. For sure not the fastest method but the one that delivers the best experience for every Ronin skier. Made a decision to prioritise quality over quantity. I have 2 presses running at the moment.

[@fabiopatti2286]

So funny, I used to do the same job doing my gliders wings, but I prefer vacuum tech, more I just mix resina with cappuccino mixer 😂

[@roninskis]

I'll consider it ;)

[@bigwave_dave8468]

Brilliant stuff! Did Jonno learn his craft on his own or did he apprentice with another manufacturer? I get the feeling he's a mechanical engineer who's married his craft with a love of the outdoors?

[@roninskis]

Hey Dave. Honestly mostly self taught. Just very curious about the process of ski building and was encouraged that people liked my early work. So I kept doing it. Didn't hurt that my initial builds didn't suck ;) If your interested I can point you in the direction of some great learning resources.

[@bigwave_dave8468]

@@roninskis Awesome and amazing achievement in tenacity. At present, I'm content to support the craft-work of artisans such as yourself as I'm distracted with too many projects -- currently obsessing over improving cheap vintage coffee machines as I learn the mechanical arts. Cheers, Dave.

[@roninskis]

@@bigwave_dave8468 Learning something new is so rewarding. Love the idea of coffee machines.

[@muddyhumber]

Thanks for confirming to myself what a geek I am. I will assume some of the underfoot laying up was proprietary so wasn't shown. If not, it would be interesting to know what those (white weave) layers were. Q: does the entire building get heated to 65 degrees or does it go into a more efficient volume? Thanks

[@DaveSearle]

Nothing proprietary, just so many small steps and layers that I would have taken hours to talk about it all. The shorter rectangles are glass fibre and the long strips are fine felt to help the carbon bind to the balsa. I’m glad the building wasn’t at 65deg! Just the heat blankets that encase the ski in the press.

[@muddyhumber]

@@DaveSearle Thanks for the response. Great content in all your videos.

[@roninskis]

Obviously Dave was concentrating during the workshop. Exactly as Dave mentioned and also... the biax fibreglass is there to add reinforcing to the binding area and stop propagation of micro fractures in the top carbon layer. Carbon is fragile under compression which what is happening every time you flex your ski. It safeguards us in case a ski tech overdrives a screw and compromises that top layer .

[@hanneskannes5953]

Did you cut a hole in the flax and carbon beneath the core to make space for the dovels? How did you get the skis into perfect position in the mold? I am vacuum-pressing my skis and I am always looking for a way to improve🙂

[@DaveSearle]

Hey! Yes I remember cutting a small hole in the flax and carbon. I can’t remember how we lined everything up exactly but I’m sure Jonno would be happy to explain if you reached out!

[@roninskis]

Thats exactly it. Drill small holes for wooden dowel. Push it through. Cut it flush with a Japanese hand saw then a drop of gel super glue on top of the dowel. The you place the P-Tex base in the correct alignment and once its dry lift it off and the dowels stay on the base and allow for perfect alignment :)

[@roninskis]

Get in touch directly if you have any more question. People have always shared knowledge freely with me and I'md pumped to do the same.

[@adriendouillard7695]

Hi Dave, thank you for this excellent video ! If I understand correctly, the profile of the ski (camber, rocker...) is given by the shape of the cavity under the press. Why is this profile not given to the wood core earlier in the process, by removing material ? I imagine that it would prevent the wood core from bending and remaining with internal stress after cooking.

[@roninskis]

Hey Adrien. You are correct. The core is forced into the rocker profile. And then the resin sets and it holds it in place. So imagine I shaped the entire core profile from a solid log. I would have to shape the ski from a solid block of 8x14x180cm. There would be a massive waste of raw material. Kinda what I'm trying to avoid with more sustainable practices. It would also mean there was a lot of end grain wood in the rocker. And actually we want that stored up energy by bending long grain wood into the final shape to harness some of that energy and have it transfer into "pop" in the ski. Hope that is a clear enough answer :)

[@adriendouillard7695]

@@roninskis I understand, thank you for your answer !

[@roninskis]

@@adriendouillard7695 Pleasure :)

[@jameslowe2979]

How are the bamboo sidewalls treated to not absorb water?

[@DaveSearle]

Bamboo is naturally waterproof so it’s untreated.

[@roninskis]

Its pretty impressive stuff.

[@peteroffpist1621]

I prefer skiing on my spare time, but we are all different

[@DaveSearle]

😂

[@saschafunk2966]

Why is nobody curious about the pricetag? 🤔

[@Benzknees]

Interesting stuff, but €1250 for a pair of skis😱

[@DaveSearle]

Bargain!

[@jonnyhifi]

I’m sure there’s not much profit margin left in them even at 1250 - ie it’s a fair price to my thinking. It’s always the snag for artisan processes that are tailored to the purchaser, that it will result in way costlier product compared to industrial processes that have been optimised to the max, you can’t compete on price - the usp Could never be price. If you want cheap - buy a second hand mass produced ski at a slope swap and buy sale … but you won’t ever get “your” ski. Having over the years been involved in making things (not skis !) - I always find this inevitable trade off quite depressing, if one is wanting to go down the non mass produced route, esp if shooting for personalised quality. I remember about 10 years back steeping myself in patents for skis as I was wanting to find out what secret sauce was protected - and to my sadness I found there are lots of patents, but they are almost all to do with how to lower manufacturing costs - almost none are to do with how you make a ski that skis well. That’s just not a driver for the mass manufacturers despite what their Press releases about products would have you believe. The main manufacturers do very little innovation, Mass manufactured Skis haven’t changed in any meaningful way in decades. That last part really came home to me at ISPO which I visited some years back as I was pitching an idea to see how the IP side of things worked - and one do the Amer group brands (I think the Salomon brand in particular) had World Cup winning skis around the stand in cases signed by the orignalnskiier going back 15-20 years, to show how impressive their ongoing racing success was. The centre of the stand had their “twin deck”’skis which were the current thing they were shifting. None of the race skis looked like the twin deck, and indeed they all looked the same over a 10-20 year period, I asked why this was and was. Told “we know how to make skis that can win the World Cup - so shy would we change them ?” Ie there was a complete disconnect between the IP they bought in for typically a 5 year period to flog the latest greatest thing - which actually performed worse than their classic ski make up they used for their real racers, which clearly were hand made boutique skis. Notably they don’t sell them either … as they have to have a product line that has a “fashion”‘changing element to it to make purchasers come back and buy more in a few years time, and to continue the PR that they are innovating and their products are the best. Having said that the CEO of the amer group, and their head of engineering / development were decent knowledgable and nice guys, who were very professional and are just trying to run a massive corporation and keep it profitable. No mean feat, but they will never offer anything like what a boutique manufacturer like Ronin can and does. Rather sad … but well done and ongoing good luck to Ronin for doing what they do, it makes the world a better place.

[@Benzknees]

Err, that's €1250 for standard non-customised skis. And no innovation?! Carving skis? Fat powder skis? Reverse camber skis? Use of foam in core? Hollow core tips? Tapered tips & tails? Half cap construction? Foldable skis? Use of carbon fibre? Use of flax? Use of titanal? Use of milled, lighter wood cores? Use of higher molecular weight sintered HDPE with graphite in? Use of rubber damping strips? Horizon tech tip shape? Different radii on each side of Elan skis? Use of more recyclable materials? More advanced types of synthetic wax & anti-static powders?

[@rainmaker3700]

Does not seem very expensive for what it takes to make them.

[@Benzknees]

@@rainmaker3700 - So when are you going to buy a pair?