Thank you GOD for kevlar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guys, I have said it so many times: don't count on a steel-toed boot to keep your foot safe against a chainsaw. Here is all the proof I need to know what I have been preaching is true.

I was limbing a 8" oak I had just dropped. I was running a ported 346 with 3/8" RS, freshly sharpened. I was facing the stump, limbing towards the butt. I cut a 2" limb which had a large flare at the collar. It was, unknown to me, under a great deal of tension toward the top and towards me. Because the saw went through very fast, instead of pinching it just spit the bar back at me. Before I knew what happened my saw kicked into my boot. I have always considered myself careful and attentive to the dangers of a chainsaw. This happened so fast I had to go back to the tree after I got settled down to piece things together (I later determined it was 1.5ft from where I was cutting and I was pushing the saw away from me). All I could do when it happened was imagine the worst!! I was in shock. My brother was cutting about 50yds away, and my son was stacking the wood for both and was helping my brother at the time. I threw the saw down and pulled my chaps back. My foot was aching and I was expecting to see blood. I limped to the truck, yelling at my son. He heard me and got my brother's attention. Both of them came running. We got my boot off and found I just had a big red spot where the saw hit me (got a bruise that looks like a hammer hit me). I checked the boots out well. It looks like they were cut through the first three or four layers of the seven in this boot. But what is more important, and the point I want to make is that, though this boot has a steel cap, the saw glanced off the front and went straight to the soft part. I am SO thankful that there was Kevlar there. Otherwise, I would have lost the front portion of my foot- THERE IS NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT FACT!

Please, if you value your body, invest the money in some serious protection for your feet. You do it for you legs, head, and think you do with steel toes...you are so wrong. Yes, if you hit your foot straight on the steel will stop the saw, but what happens in the next fraction of a second could be very ugly. These boots are almost three hundred dollars. My hospital bill would have run into the tens of thousands of dollars. And even with insurance I would have taken a serious financial hit. But more important, I would have never had more than a club on the end of my leg. I would never have run or played baseball with my son. I am so thankful to GOD.

I don't know if Matterhorn will sell single boots, but I plan to send some pics, thank them for their product, and see if I can get a replacement left boot. The bummer in this episode is that I have had the boots for over two years. They don't get a ton of wear, but they were finally getting well broken in. I'm guessing it would take a few weeks of daily wear to get them back to this point.

Please, hug you kids, tell your wife you love her, and get some boots with something more than a steel toe to protect your walking gear.



A

No blood.

I don't see any blood. That is a good thing.

Amazing how fast **** goes bad , glad you only ruined a boot and not your day .

Congratulation! Sometimes it's good to have some quality equipment!

7

Yup, new boots = a lot less than a hospital visit. :msp_thumbup:

Thank you GOD for kevlar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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As much as I love to hate the big multi-nationals for their dubious business ethics and lack of morality, thank your deity for Du-Pont !

I only use steel caps so my foot would've been looking a little second hand. :msp_unsure:

Glad you are ok and thanks for sharing. I made a similar mistake a few years back and the good lord and I had a long talk that night. I vowed never to cut trees with out chaps, boots, etc, again. I have kept my word, and he's helped keep me safe. I lost a new set of boots that day but I have never complained.

Glad it worked out and never get complacent out there!

The thing about this is that I was cutting away from my foot, and it wasn't the tip of the bar that hit something and kicked back. It was the tension of the limb of limb...and my foot was was a foot and a half behind the limb. Again, steel-toed boots only would have done nothing for this accident. It would have just taken my foot off a bit farther back.

When I started running a saw, my uncle showed my a nasty looking scar just above his right knee caused by a Pioneer saw when he was much younger. That scar, and knowing my grandfather got laid up for a while by a tree that didn't come down as he expected it to, are things I think about at least once every time I start to cut wood. I try to keep my body parts clear of the path of travel and pay close attention to what's going on. Most of the time, someone else is around close by if something happens. Lately though, I've been by myself.

I suggest a good first aid kit with a clotting agent(quick clot is one brand name), gauze pads, etc. as additions to your wood cutting gear. Toss in some tweezers and a magnifying glass for splinters while you're at it. Tourniquets are generally frowned on, but a "combat action tourniquet"(check amazon or ebay) that can be set with one hand might be worthwhile as well.

Good Lord!! Talk about a reality check :-/

I'll have my wife read this.. So should everyone else. $200-$300 suddenly isn't such a bad deal.

I'm positive your sharing this bad experience will help hundreds if not thousands pay more attention to their work and hopefully wear appropriate PPE every time.

I'm glad you're okay and your family isn't sitting around a hospital bed worrying about feet and finances. Things could have gone down hill in a hurry.

Thank you for sharing,
Jake

Ppe

Thanks for sharing this, & thank heavens you are OK!! That was not a staged test! A ported 346 isn't a tinkertoy. In the staged tests the saw usually skids off of the steel cap. Looks like yours did just that but skidded toward your instep rather than away, which would have put it off the toe & toward the ground. You may have saved some feet by posting this very valuable piece of information!! I recently bought a pair of Swede-Pro steel toed & kevlar lined boots. I hope to never put them to "the test".

nmurph said:

Thank you GOD for kevlar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Your thanks seems a bit misdirected! :msp_wink:

Apart from that, I totally agree with you point, and always wear boots with protection behind the steel toe.

I have a bruised bone and I can't put much weight on that foot. I swear it felt like I someone hit my foot with a hammer.

The chainbrake kicked in and and the chain had some Kevlar in it.

Needless to say I let my brother finish bucking the tree and then we came home.

SawTroll said:

Your thanks seems a bit misdirected! :msp_wink:

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No, it's not.

Glad you came out of it okay and you had the gear to work for you. I wish I could dish for a nice set of boots like that but for now only steel toes. I do need a new pair becasue the ones I have are killing my feet. Maybe I can get a nice pair this time. Thanks for sharing this and keeping us all more aware.

OK, you sold me. Time for a new pair of boots. Glad you made it out safely.

im glad to hear you are ok!! Im blessed to still have hands and feet I guess the good Lord
helping me too! its spooky when you guys that are safe resposible saw operators have something like this happen
its a good wake up call for us all:msp_ohmy:

SawTroll said:

Your thanks seems a bit misdirected! :msp_wink:

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my thoughts exactly. didn't know he made kevlar boots, come to think of it, i don't think he does jack ****.

I started running chainsaws at 6 years old and never ever used any protective gear til I bought my 372. I think I was 11 or 12. needless to say it was stupid of me and even more stupid of my parents to let me. thankfully no incidence ever happened. now I wear gear most of the time but always boots. I just went checked and they are steel toe and reinforced with Kevlar which is pretty cool cause I thought I was gonna have to go buy new boots :msp_thumbup: thanks nmurph for the eye opener and glad you are ok. people think it will never happen to them but then it goes and happens to someone who ain't new to chainsaw dangers in a flash of a second. it can happen to anyone. stay safe guys

pardon my ignorance...where do you get these boots???:msp_unsure: