# Saved by the glove



## Pioneer (Oct 13, 2016)

I was cutting some small branches up with a one handed saw today, the ones that are most likely to kick back your saw- and that what's happened. I felt the blade smack the end of my ring finger on my left hand and waited for the pain and blood. But after a few seconds it was only a little numb and I slowly removed my glove expecting the worst. 

*Surprise!* just a small nick that didn't even need a band-aid. What would have been a gash to to bone turned out to be something I could ignore and go back to work, just a little wiser. Thanks to the leather and fabric gloves I was wearing, I was saved a serious injury and a trip to the hospital. The glove took the worst of it, chewed up the way my finger would have been.

Going to start looking for something to protect the legs to add to the gloves, earmuffs and glasses.


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## HuskStihl (Oct 13, 2016)

Did you learn to keep both hands on the saw? Glad you got off easy!


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## Pioneer (Oct 13, 2016)

At the very least I learned to keep that hand farther from the blade, and that gloves are NOT optional. Doing the small branches away from the trunk is dangerous the best of times, they tend to bounce and you need to steady them to prevent that. I think I will have to design something that will allow me to keep both hands on the saw. Ideas anyone?


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## peakbagger (Oct 13, 2016)

Wow, are you actually running a saw without chainsaw chaps and a helmet? Thats pretty much the bare minimum. As for one handed sawing that is definitely not recommended. I would suggest using a hand lopper for the trimming back the small stuff. A Swedish brush ax is also pretty handy for fast clean ups of small stuff as long as you keep the blade sharp. I am quicker with the brush ax then the saw for the small stuff and keep one handy after I drop a tree.


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## Pioneer (Oct 14, 2016)

Going to make a portable saw horse. I will keep both hands on my "one handed" saw from now on. 

It's funny, I see workers use helmets because they have to, but I think if you put yourself in a position where you might have something fall on your melon while using a saw, you are doing something VERY wrong. 

Earmuffs are a bare minimum. I have seen people use saws for years without modern safety equipment and still retain all of their parts, but even modern saws will damage your hearing over time. 
As with most potentially dangerous work, common sense is our best ally, and learning from other people's mistakes our second.


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## derwoodii (Oct 15, 2016)

left hand saw injury's are over represented but predicable due to one handed use. its good your working towards reducing that exposure well done..

note data no harm to the right hands,, how & why would that be leave that ?? with you 




have a look tho some injury pictures here it should enhanced the level of care you take 

https://www.facebook.com/treefellingandclimbingaccidents/


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## treebilly (Dec 1, 2016)

It's called a top handled chainsaw, not a one handed chainsaw.


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## SeMoTony (Dec 1, 2016)

Pioneer said:


> I was cutting some small branches up with a one handed saw today, the ones that are most likely to kick back your saw- and that what's happened. I felt the blade smack the end of my ring finger on my left hand and waited for the pain and blood. But after a few seconds it was only a little numb and I slowly removed my glove expecting the worst.
> 
> *Surprise!* just a small nick that didn't even need a band-aid. What would have been a gash to to bone turned out to be something I could ignore and go back to work, just a little wiser. Thanks to the leather and fabric gloves I was wearing, I was saved a serious injury and a trip to the hospital. The glove took the worst of it, chewed up the way my finger would have been.
> 
> Going to start looking for something to protect the legs to add to the gloves, earmuffs and glasses.


pleez donot depend on gloves to protect you. What protects us the most is use of brain to make safety a priority!!! correct use of equiptment first.


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## SeMoTony (Dec 1, 2016)

Pioneer said:


> At the very least I learned to keep that hand farther from the blade, and that gloves are NOT optional. Doing the small branches away from the trunk is dangerous the best of times, they tend to bounce and you need to steady them to prevent that. I think I will have to design something that will allow me to keep both hands on the saw. Ideas anyone?


bow saws have metal fingers to stop branches caught on saw teeth that b mor dangersome woont


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## ATH (Dec 9, 2016)

Pioneer said:


> ....I think I will have to design something that will allow me to keep both hands on the saw. Ideas anyone?


How about one handle where the trigger is and then add a second handle towards the front of the saw...in a position that will jam the chain brake into your hand if it kicks back? I'd make it look something like one of these:


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## ATH (Dec 9, 2016)

PS: Not saying I have never one-handed. I was also "saved by a glove" this summer. I knew I was doing something stupid, before I could correct it, the saw kicked and hit me in the bottom of the palm of my left hand. It was a long cut, but fortunately, not too deep. The glove was pretty bad. I call it a cheap lesson - one that I hopefully will remember if I am tempted to take the left hand off of the handle again! Hopefully your lesson will do the same for you  And, maybe both of our lessons will help a 3rd person!!!


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## ChoppyChoppy (Dec 9, 2016)

Our hired hand ran his hand through the processor this morning. Somehow didn't break any bones but needed 12 stitches.

I'll spare the pics, it was bad!


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## teacherman (Jul 18, 2017)

ValleyFirewood said:


> Our hired hand ran his hand through the processor this morning. Somehow didn't break any bones but needed 12 stitches.
> 
> I'll spare the pics, it was bad!


Yikes


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## Cycledude (Jul 19, 2017)

Oh yes safety is very important, I've always used gloves but only been using a helmet for the past couple years, since I've gotten used to the helmet I hate working without it, next I need to get some chaps.


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## Ted Jenkins (Jul 19, 2017)

I almost never wear gloves and I almost never one hand anything. Cutting brush and small limbs off of a tree makes me nervous even with 50 years of experience. Last week was wondering how I was going to cut up my piles of limbs from 20 large Oak trees. After a few days of thought I decided a saw horse was the only reasonable answer. One solution for limbing has been a pole saw with about a 6' handle. It goes amazingly fast and it is safe always. A bit more work , but safe. Even with the saw horse and limbs I check to see if there is a safer way. Thanks


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## teacherman (Jul 22, 2017)

Ted Jenkins said:


> I almost never wear gloves and I almost never one hand anything. Cutting brush and small limbs off of a tree makes me nervous even with 50 years of experience. Last week was wondering how I was going to cut up my piles of limbs from 20 large Oak trees. After a few days of thought I decided a saw horse was the only reasonable answer. One solution for limbing has been a pole saw with about a 6' handle. It goes amazingly fast and it is safe always. A bit more work , but safe. Even with the saw horse and limbs I check to see if there is a safer way. Thanks


Sometimes you just need to be up in the tree, and you need to hold on with one hand and cut with the other. hard to climb wearing chaps, and well, this is an inherently dangerous activity. I have a hard time with dexterity wearing gloves, but I think if I am going to be in a tree with a saw, the least I can do is wear leather gloves. I'm trying to remember to click the brake after each cut, because a twig or whatever could get hung up in the trigger, creating a whirling dervish death monster, straight outa Saw 2.....


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## ATH (Aug 3, 2017)

teacherman said:


> Sometimes you just need to be up in the tree, and you need to hold on with one hand and cut with the other. .....


Yep. That is where a Sugoi rocks!


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## teacherman (Aug 5, 2017)

ATH said:


> Yep. That is where a Sugoi rocks!


What is a Sugoi?


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## ATH (Aug 5, 2017)

teacherman said:


> What is a Sugoi?


A hand saw. If I can't keep 2 hands on the chainsaw, it gets cut by hand. Sometimes if it is a large limb that means getting in one position to make some of the cut with the chainsaw, then moving and finishing it with the handsaw. If it is 6" or under, I'll usually just make that cut with by hand. But you need a really good saw if you are going to do that. The Sugoi is the best big saw I have found.


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