kshultz said:
Full chain saw gear is pretty cheap and can be found online easily. Helmet w/ ear muffs, full chaps, and chain saw gloves. I was always afraid of chain saws so that is what I did. I feel like I'm protected. OH, yes the chaps really do save your legs, thighs, I found out a couple years ago. Take good care of your gear & you will have it for years to come. I keep all of my gear & the chain sharpening equip. in a back pack just for my wood cutting times. I touch up my chain ervery tank or two, gives my back a good break.
On the wood splitting, I have done a lot by hand. As little as an hour a day you will be amazed at how much you can accomplish! This year I had 6 cord log length delivered & am renting a splitter for my brother & I.
There are some good publications online you can download for cutting & splitting. Good luck, it will grow on you!
Most of the gear is pretty reasonable I'll agree - figure around $40-50 for helmet w/ muffs and screen, $50-70 for chaps, and about $25 for the chainsaw gloves...
(Note when purchasing - at least at my local hardware store, there are lots of fancy gloves with the Husky and Stihl names printed on them that are NOT "chainsaw gloves" - but merely standard work gloves or fairly ordinary "technical" gloves with the name on them to make you pay more... Be sure that what you are getting are REALLY chainsaw gloves...)
What really kills you on the price when purchasing gear are the chainsaw BOOTS... If you look at the OSHA injury stats, there are a LOT of foot injuries reported, and many of them are to the top of the foot, an area not protected by a steel toe. Steel toes are probably better than nothing, especially if you drop a log on your toe :red: but are NOT adequate protection per OSHA standards, and they do have the evidence that backs up the requirement for the boots. The so-called "Logger boots" offered by many work shoe companies are NOT chainsaw boots, they just ordinary boots. A chainsaw boot, like chaps, has added layers of kevlar or other material that is intended to jam the chain and stop the saw - this adds a considerable amount to the cost of the boot and will be advertised if present.
Keep in mind that feet, like hands, are very complex from a biomechanical standpoint - and fairly easily damaged - a foot injury is likely to be VERY difficult to put back together simply because there are a great many bones, tendons, etc. involved. Looking at the (broken link removed to http://www.elvex.com/facts08.htm), I think that boots are well worth the money they cost in terms of the injury exposure they are protecting against... I would rank them right up with chaps in importance, probably ahead of gloves.
When I was shopping for boots, I found three-four main classes of boots - for about $50-100 there were some european boots with very poor descriptions, and which looked like a heavy duty version of the green rubber boots many of us probably wear when shoveling snow... Looked really uncomfortable, for wearing very long, and while they meet standards, they didn't say how well they did so...
Labonville makes a kevlar boot liner intended to be worn inside a pair of oversized workboots - only $35, but when you add in the cost of a new pair of steel toe work boots (one size larger than what you normally wear) they weren't likely to save you much... The few reviews on them implied that they were also rather uncomfortable, and only marginally effective as protective gear.
Next were the (broken link removed to http://www.labonville.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=41&idproduct=79) for about $165 - nice looking, but fairly low, and only 4 layers of kevlar. They appeared to be water resistant, but not water proof. However they had several good reviews on them, and I gave them serious consideration.
Then I found these
Matterhorn Boots - 10" high instead of 8" - Seven layers of Kevlar instead of four, Waterproof Gore-tex liner, etc. definitely looked like a better boot but NOT cheap... Look to spend around $275 or more for these, but the quality is definitely top notch, and I will say that aside from feeling a bit like Frankenstein feet because of the size and weight of all the protection, they are the most comfortable boots I have EVER owned. Highly reccomended.
Gooserider
