Aksel Gresvig was a Norwegian racing cyclist back in the early 1900s and, like many sportsmen over the decades, he decided to open a shop in Norway’s capital city, Oslo (it was called Kristiana back then). Aksel’s company grew and expanded into the world of skiing. Gresvigs’ bought the Huitfeldt (see their bindings elsewhere in the collection) ski factory in 1923, and it seems that they started making their own, Gresvig, skis at that time. A Swiss skier called Guido Reuge invented the cable ski binding in 1923 and called it the Kandahar (more info elsewhere in the collection). It became the most popular ski binding for decades to come, albeit with many variations on the original design.

Guido Reuge patented his binding in 1932, though allowed various companies, worldwide, to manufacture them under a trademark/licensing agreement. Gresvigs’ would seem to have been one of those companies, as both Grevig and Kandahar appear on the binding.

The skis are also of Gresvig origin and we reckon they date from the 1960s, when skis were changing from wood to various forms of plastic. They have a wooden core, with a plastic sole flanked by sectioned metal edges. Aluminium reinforcements at tip and toe compliment a very fine set of skis. They were kindly donated by Elizabeth Forbes on behalf of her late husband, Alan. Both were avid skiers and great fans of the Glencoe ski slopes here in Scotland.