The Khmer by Kam

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bigKam
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The Khmer by Kam

Post by bigKam »

The Khmer! The graphics were inspired by my cultural background -- images from Khmer (Cambodia). The Buddha face is from the old city of Angkor Wat; and the skulls, Khmer writing (not that visible in this photo because of the lighting conditions), and Khmer boy holding a machine gun are images from Pol Pot's rule. This pair means a lot to me and was designed to serve as a remembrance of my family's struggles in Cambodia.

Image

The skis are 175cm long, and about 126 mm wide underfoot. Shovel width is approx. 145 mm. The tip and tail shapes are slightly pin-tailed with early rise. Max camber is ~8mm, just perfect. The best circle that fits the sidecut shape would have a radius of approximately 24.5 m, but skis have an effect edge length of 125 cm. Sidewalls are carefully flame-treated UHMW. The base material is RED, of course. Graphics are printed on polyester topsheet material. It's not my favorite material because it chips and the beauty of the gloss finish only lasts until the first day I ski on them because scratches show easily.

The core is pine. I really enjoy this wood for skis, but it does not hold binding screws well, so I added binding inserts. Somewhere between the binding screws and tip, embedded into the core, is my patented damping sandwich, a mix of a viscoelectic and high-modulus materials.

I rode the Khmers on the hardpack last week, and they like to go fast, easy to turn as expected. This design is not ideally suited for all mountain, obviously; but for those nice soft days the skis will certainly charge. Expecting fresh snow this weekend.....!!
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Post by skidesmond »

Very nice and professional looking. Looks like you have the process dialed in!!

BTW- How is a ski core made of pine? I know pine is a soft wood. I've been using ash and the skis have been fairly stiff. So I'm contemplating using a softer wood OR I need to make my cores thinner. The last 2 I made over the last few days have a core center of 12mm and taper to about 3+ mm, lengths have been 168cm and 172 cm and are all mountain type ski, unlike yours.
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vinman
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Post by vinman »

similar in looks dimension wise to the S7. Is this what you were going for?
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bigKam
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Post by bigKam »

Vinman wrote:similar in looks dimension wise to the S7. Is this what you were going for?
I've never heard of or even seen the S7, so had to look it up. I've been out of the loop about manufactured skis over the past few years.

I had the Khmer shape drawn up over a year ago, and finally found some time to build it. I drew the shape based on gut feeling. But it does look a little like the S7; however, the S7 appears to have less of an effective sidecut edge. The tail on the S7 doesn't taper as much as the Khmer. Also, the sidecut portion on the S7 looks like an arc from a circle. The Khmers sport a polynomial shape. I'd be interested in comparing the two on the snow.

Regarding the pine: I like pine because it's soft and fairly light. Ash has a pretty high modulus, like maple. But be aware that pine may contain pockets of sap, which can be a pain to deal with.
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Post by vinman »

right on Kam. Hopefully they ski as good as they look.
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powderho
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Post by powderho »

bigKam wrote:I've never heard of or even seen the S7, so had to look it up. I've been out of the loop about manufactured skis over the past few years.


That's so awesome! You must spend a lot of time in the backcountry then too. The S7 is the reason I started building skis. It opened my eyes to a lot of different design possibilities. My first ski was designed around the S7, Armada JJ, and CR's 4Front ski. I'm a big believer in this shape for everyday skiing. My current design looks a bit more like yours though. A little bit longer effective edge than the S7. The length of the effective sidecut is about 4 inches longer as well. I have around 14 inches from the tip of the ski to the start of the sidecut (37m). I think this plays a big part in the ease of maneuverability of my skis......and the other skis mentioned above too.
Docta
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Post by Docta »

Kam that is a beautifal ski, awesome design and I think the artwork is great.

Ive been demoing bunches of skiis this season as well, and I am a huge fan of this design type as an all mountain all around ski.... the Armada JJ opened my eyes wide and I skiied that thing in every condition I could find and it tore evrything up.

Congrads on the fine build.
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Post by webboy »

Beautiful skis bigKam!

Ffs, I can't believe that no one mentioned the ON3P Billy Goat or Cease and Desist alongside the commercial stuff. Scott (the owner, aka iggyskier) has posted a lot of stuff on skibuilders.com. See http://on3pskis.com

ON3P Journal: http://www.skibuilders.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1288

I am the proud owner of a pair of 186 Billy Goats, and I love them so far. ;)

Billy Goat:

Image

Cease and Desist:

Image

bigKam, I hope they ski as well as they look. :D
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