Chaps

[Knotdodger]

Well fella's I will be ribbed for this. I have did alot of reading on here and have been cutting for years but I never wore any chaps before.. Only at work. I am embarased to say I hit my leg today right on the shin..I was bucking and finished a cut when I took my right hand off the saw to get something out of the way.. Let the left hand down NOT Thinking , and wham the 361 got me.. Looked down and pants all ripped up I just knew it was going to be bad because it smarted pretty good.. Wow did I get lucky. The still turning chain before the rpms went down hit a small twig and I only got a small cut.. Well It was a good one but no arteries or bone.. I never hit myself before. Thought I didnt need them.. I WILL NOT GO WITHOUT THEM AGAIN!!!

 

[troutfisher]

.. I WILL NOT GO WITHOUT THEM AGAIN!!!

Sounds like a good lesson learned, The first time I dumped a motorcycle I didn't get seriously hurt, but it sure spooked me! Sometimes a little sting will remind you of what could happen.

 

[BobL]

At this stage I reckon you go buy some lottery tickets and hope your luck keeps running!

Cheers

 

[Patrick62]

been there, done that.

I went a bit deeper than you did. I still don't always wear chaps/pants. However I am a lot more careful about where the saw is and what is going to happen next. Careful, careful, careful. :monkey:

We must all realize that a chainsaw is one of the most dangerous power tools ever unleashed upon the common man. In a blink of an eye!

-Pat

 

[TOOTHHUNTER]

As long as it grows back all is well.

Yeah, me too. Took a step with old blue still spinning down. Didn't see a piece of brush that pushed the bar into my leg. Thinnest pair of jeans I owned. Lots of blood but not much meat. I started wearing heavy farriers chaps after that but I think full length chaps is probably a better idea.

John

 

[beelsr]

Well fella's I will be ribbed for this.
...
Well It was a good one but no arteries or bone.. I never hit myself before. Thought I didnt need them.. I WILL NOT GO WITHOUT THEM AGAIN!!!

Well, I, for one, won't rib ya'. I think we've all had one of these "holy crap, i need to check my pants" (but that's another thread moments. If not with a saw, then with something else.

Just the other night, I was driving out of the mall and toatlly zoned on where the parking lot 'ended' and the access road 'started'. It's kind of confusing as there's parking lot on the other side of the road too. All of a sudden, I'm in a different parking lot and I instinctively looked in the rear-view mirror to see a car driving by that would have t-boned me if it was 2 seconds earlier...

 

[beelsr]

I went a bit deeper than you did. I still don't always wear chaps/pants. However I am a lot more careful about where the saw is and what is going to happen next. Careful, careful, careful. :monkey:

We must all realize that a chainsaw is one of the most dangerous power tools ever unleashed upon the common man. In a blink of an eye!

-Pat

You on the other hand... I hope your insurance is paid up....

 

[NovaMan]

Just today I was clearing some brush and I just barely nicked my chaps with the chain. My thick jeans would most likely have stopped the chain before it got to my flesh, but it made me glad I was wearing the chaps. I really ought to get some steel-toe'd boots too.

When I was porting some heads for my Nova, I got a chip of steel in my eye even though I was wearing safety glasses. Hurt like the dickens, and I had to go to the ophthalmologist to have the chip removed. I wore goggles when I finished porting the heads.

Edit: the important thing is you learned your lesson, and you didn't get hurt too badly in the process.

 

[TDunk]

that's one reason that i do like stihl's is b/c of there "c" version saws. I had a 361c that work awesome for limbing and clearing big brush.

 

[Tzed250]

I have the Stihl Full-wrap chaps, and while they are a bit cumbersome, they make me feel well protected. The chain spends more time near your legs so protect that area.

 

[martrix]

that's one reason that i do like stihl's is b/c of there "c" version saws. I had a 361c that work awesome for limbing and clearing big brush.

What do you mean by the "C" version?

 

[royta]

What do you mean by the "C" version?

I think he means the MS 361 C-Q. It has a Quickstop and second chain braking system. http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/MS361CQ.html.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I started wearing heavy farriers chaps after that but I think full length chaps is probably a better idea.

John, when you say, "farriers chaps", do you mean something like these?

http://www.horseshoes.net/mfc/aprons.asp

http://www.centaurforge.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NCAPRON



If so, I think the only thing your chaps are giving you is a false sense of safety. Those things aren't going to do anything to keep you from getting cut! Chainsaw chaps don't protect you by being thick and tough, like farrier's chaps. They protect by jamming the saw with multiple layers of kevlar, which stops the chain.

Check out this video, that shows the process in action:

http://www.labonville.com/videos/v2.htm



And not all chainsaw chaps are created equal. Check out this thread:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=39830

Lastly, I couldn't find it just now, but someone on this site posted pictures of some Army surplus chaps that were tested. THey might as well have been tissue paper for all the good they did, yet they were EASILY much thicker than farriers chaps.

Please reconsider your safety equipment! The right tool for the right job, and that includes PPE!

 

[forestryworks]

i'm employed as a groundskeeper at the hospital here
and they bought be a pair of the Elvex 94 Series chaps

they fit a bit better than my labonville chaps do

anyone ever used the Elvex 94 Series chaps?

 

[turnkey4099]

When I first got mine (partial wrap) this spring I thought they would be cumbersome. Not at all. I don't even notice that I have them on after the first few minutes. I shouldn't have waited for over 30 years before getting a pair.

Harry K

 

[frankyslog]

im glad your ok! saw a fellow logger some years back, break a 28 inch loop of semi skip full chisel total brand saw chain, buring the loop like a noose around his right leg. (too the bone!) just above the knee 60 cc powerhead, bucking up large sticks for fire wood. dont ever! take a saws spinning chain for granted! with his 621 johnsered dangleing & bobleing around by his feet chain bound up in clutch cover. trying to get to the house to get his wifes attention. thank god she was home !! and he was just out back, and not way out back.!!!!! because he passed out from blood loss before she could get him the car. 16 miles from the nearest hospital, while the paramedics got him through it , several surjurys later , he was never the same, problems with blood flow/ partial paralisis (nerve damage and all) and not to mention a leg that looked like a tree that was barked up!! by a skidder. while if my swedish friend had been wearing chaps that day, of any type!!! things may have gone a whole lot different. and most importantly he lost some thing from all that. his love of working with timber.those kinda scars just dont heal.

 

[tek9tim]

Good to hear you made it. Little scares are always good for opening the eyes. I had my saw get jammed into my boot a few weeks back, got me thinking. First time in 12 yeas of running saw that I've ever made contact with my PPE.

I got a pair of Labonville insert pads that I like a lot. Rigged them up to work with any of my logger's pants. Definitely happy with them. Thanks to fishuntcutwood on the idea.

 

[SteveH]

Been wearing the Elvex for a year or so now, really like them. Don't know the number, they just say "ProChaps" on them. Very well made.

I don't cut at all without them. Too many times, I have grabbed the saw to do some tiny little cut on something, figure one of those times, five minutes or less cutting, is the one that will get me, just a quick little cut rather than a full-blown session of felling/sectioning or limbing. Takes me thirty seconds to a minute to put them on.

Rode bikes for over thirty yr., regularly, before I laid one down on some gravel, going no more than maybe two mph, and separated my shoulder. Quit riding them. Ran chainsaws for twenty yr. before I had an accident that left the saw up against the upper inside of my thigh, chain running, lucky and didn't even get a scratch. Never cut without chaps now. Flew aircraft almost daily for fifteen yr. before a cockpit fire gutted the Cessna 310 and I made it out without a burn, somehow, and now I have an extinquisher in mine and a portable in my flight bag for other planes. Those of us who live on, learn. Those who don't learn lesson their chances for living on.

 

[ents]

I'm a believer after an incident 2 yrs. ago. Only ended up with a nick on my knee but went out and got chaps. I subsequently saw a live demonstration and was very impressed. I can't remember what saw it was but it was square grnd. chain and EXTREMELY sharp (I looked at that chain prior to the demo and I could cut a curl off my thumb nail). The biggest thing (previously mentioned in this post http://www.arboristsite.com/showpost.php?p=534900&postcount=38) that was stressed during that test was the tendency for the chaps to rap around. Full wrap for me.

A couple of guys I cut with do not wear ANY protection (head, eye, ear, leg). I can't get them to change. I did send them the link to the ham cutting. I wonder what their thoughts will be when they see that saw ripping thru that ham hock.

Although chaps and safety gear are not new topics on AS I believe it's best to resurface these issures on occasions. Maybe the folks out there that are like my 2 friends will change prior to an incident.

 

[PA Plumber]

Thumbs up for chaps. I got hit this week and the chaps saved me a lot of stitches at best. Was limbing Hemlock, and a limb threw the saw at my left leg. I felt the saw start to go and yanked hard but could not stop if from making contact.

This was very sobering. 3" gash in my chaps and the material inside stopped the saw from turning. The chaps definitely saved my bacon.

I only bought chaps after reading a thread on this site a while ago. I use the ones from Labonville, but do feel they are a little bulky. I am going to look into another style, but firmly believe Chaps are as important to cutting wood as my saw.