But For Grace and Chaps...

For me, always eye protection and ear protection. An eye can be lost in an instant, no matter how careful I am. Hearing loss is virtually guaranteed without protection. Gloves and boots always as well, mostly because I am more comfortable with them.

Chaps depend on the situation, but I usually wear them. Helmet only when felling.

It works for me.

 

Hard hat #1
Eye protection #2
Chaps #3

For me corks are #1 in the thawed out months or on steep ground.

Really glad you didn't get hurt !
If a person is wanting to get the rest of the day in after they nail their chaps. You can wear them inside out. Most people cut their left leg chap .

 

I won't start my saw without my chaps on. Saw injuries are generally grizzly things. Glad you geared up. That little nick would have sent you straight to the hospital. I always wear chaps, safety glasses, gloves and ear muffs. My next purchase is a hard hat with chip shield.

 

Hard hats are so important. Not for buckin on the landing but anytime a person is In the woods.
As most here do selective cutting, always falling thru and past standing trees. There's just a LOT of stuff that can come and ring your bell.
Getting the wood out of the woods can get your mellon thumped real easily also.

 

Well you were lucky and good to see that PPE really works.

It was brought to my attention as well as others in another thread there was a picture of me ; yup you guessed it. I wasn't wearing chaps.
Can't and won't make up excuses but bottom line is I was not. Bad call on my part and I know better , neighbor a few years back got himself pretty bad in the leg so saw the damage first hand.
Seeing this thread just goes to show you that you never know and it does happen.
Thanks for posting and the reminder that chaps don't work when you leave them in the truck.

 

Holy mackerel! I did the same thing today, too. So glad for my chaps and all the rest of my PPE. Zero penetration through the chaps.

 

Ruining chaps seem to be a bit contagious now. Maybe we ought to do a stand down for a safety session. Glad you are OK.

 

We may need to start a bulk order.

 

Dang Mike. Glad to see this wasn’t worse. Those hot-rod saws could probably rip through there pretty quick at wfo.

 

Another lesson for everyone in the safety course , Glad you are ok .
Thanks for posting another reminder that things happen.

 

yikes
That was a good bite!
Glad you weren’t hurt

 

My brother in-law cut knee to the kneecap because he wasn't wearing chaps. He never got stitches, I don't remember why. I think they wanted to do an x-ray to check for bone fragments, and he said thanks but no thanks. He also had his two front teeth knocked back from a tree kickback, while wearing a face shield, so I'm starting to think that his idea of safe cutting isn't safe enough...

 

Not to sound like a smart alec, but there's no such thing as safe cutting. Just like driving or other daily activities. There are certain inherent dangers that can be mitigated by training, common sense & safety gear. Take any one of those from the equation & things get exponentially more dangerous.

 

Golly Mike, be careful. Ya, you nailed em good. What saw were you running at the time ?

 

Yes they can ! Madsen's has a write up about Chaps and Ham.
They got some hams and stuffed them in chaps that they attached to a pallet or something . then they cut them with different saws and chains.
Perfect ground chisel chains on juiced up fallin saws made it thru the chaps by a good bit.

 

Yup. The single biggest contributing factor in most injuries while running a saw is letting your mind wander from the immediate task at hand .

Its a wandering mind that is dangerous !
Not to vilify anyone , I've asked guys I was packin out , and I know from the accidents I've had . When the brain isn't on what the chain is cutting at that instant. Problems follow.
Usually its just getting hung up or rockin or throwing your chain.
But when falling or skidding .
A wandering mind can get you killed.

 

I wore my chaps today. Chainsaw stayed off of them.

 

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. FWIW, I was limbing and bucking a cherry tree that go knocked down into some raspberry brambles, so it was kind of fussy cutting. I did something that I have never done before and will never done again, making a cut left-handed. It was a Stihl MS261 w/ 18" bar and RS chain. I was very cautious during the cut and it went fine, but when I switched the saw back to my normal right handed grip while the chain was still winding down and it must have brushed my chaps. I felt it get sucked into the chaps, which in a sense is what the fibers in the chaps are supposed to do. Also, if anyone is looking for a new set of chaps, TreeStuff.com has the Labonville, full-wraps for $104.99, free-shipping, and they always have a discount code "ARBORIST" for 7% off. That was the best deal I could find on the Labonvilles. After this last incident, I'll never use anything else.

 

Not to be overly dramatic, but I stopped by my local saw shop for minor parts order. Owner said a forester got killed in a barber chair incident less than a couple miles from my house. That sucks!

 

"Cheaper than a co-pay."

"Would you rather walk away in disgust, or get driven away in an ambulance."

ATGATT - All the gear, all the time.