Can chaps be repaired?

[Jedon]

So I had my first really scary incident this weekend, I was cutting into a  thicket of small trees and the saw ( MS361 ) hit some barbed wire I couldn't see and ricochet the tip into a stump that then shot the blade into my thigh. I was wearing Stihl chaps so all I got was a little bruise and a big case of  . I was also wearing boots, gloves, helmet with face mask and jeans with long sleeve shirt so I think I was going about it safely, I learned not to cut where I can't see!
Anyway, I now have a nice gash in the chaps of course and they say to replace them if they get cut. I can see why, since if you hit there again they won't be effective. It seems like if they made a patch of the same stuff as the chaps you could sew it on ( double stitched with string thread! ) and repair the cut without having to spring for new chaps.  Perhaps I should be more grateful that they saved my leg and stop being such a cheap bastard?  ???

[Woodhog]

Glad you didnt get cut...
Darn chainsaws always seem out to get you...

They always say not to patch the chaps, if they get cut , or over dirty with oil, gum etc...

My present pair have a large patch made from that fake suede leather stuff...
It is easy to sew on with a sewing machine., also for small rips and tears I just gather the two edges together and go round and round with a needle and strong thread.

I try to make sure that stuff inside is all together under the patch and tear when its
sowed back up...

I am going to buy a new pair next fall if the price of logs goes back up...

I dont think mine are very effective anymore as they have gone from orange to dark black in colour and stink bad...

[beenthere]

I know how you feel - both the one for being thankful, and the other for feeling they should be still usable.

What I did was to patch them (yes, there were two pair saving my skin, bone, and ligaments and that red stuff too), but still bought a new pair.
Now the old patched pair are for volunteer help that shows up without anything to wear. At least I insist they wear the patched chaps (just in case and maybe to remind them that wearing them isn't so bad, as well as they can think about what part of their body is under that patch).

I'd say bite the bullet, buy a new pair, and in the meantime work on a patch for the old.

Glad you are writing about this dilema, rather than one of being in the hospital surgery room and the time spent recovering (or a worse story yet).  Chaps wouldn't have saved our member Mark M a bit over a year ago, but some chatter about what might happen when loading logs on a trailer could have made a difference.

[Ianab]

Replace them.  :

The reason is because of the way they work, they aren't medieval armour. They rely on the idea that when the chain hits them it pulls out a big handfull of tough fluffy nylon that jams up the chain and sprocket and stops the saw before it does too much damage to you.

If you go sewing patches over them the stitching stops that happening properly and they dont give the same protection. Maybe a patched pair is better than no chaps, but not as safe new ones.

I think you have got your moneys worth from that set  ;) :D

Cheers

Ian

[Jedon]

How did you know I had medieval armour?    I have thought about wearing my armour, it's 10 gauge T6 aluminum so should protect pretty well, I'm sure branches would get caught in the articulations though.  >:(

I'm not sure about the logic about the stitching, if that were the case then the pocket would impair them also right?

[Dan_Shade]

getting the material that actually stops the chain, the kevlar, or nylon or whatever right is the problem....

if you stitch a patch into the layers of fabric, it won't pull out properly to stall the chain.  if all you did was superficially cut the cover, then a patch would probably be fine, but I doubt that's what happened.

chaps are cheap, that $50 already saved you thousands.....

[Jedon]

Yeah it would have to be a special patch made with the fibers in it so it acted like a second pair of chaps.
I paid $67 for them, pretty close to my copay for an emergency room visit 

[Dan_Shade]

i don't think you can fix them properly... to fix them would take replacing all of the effected fibers, which would mean a new leg.... 

hang them up in your garage or shed as a reminder....  It's amazing how hard headed people are about wearing chaps, I'm glad you had yours on

[Reddog]

The short answer.

IF you ever product test any of you safety gear, Helmet, chaps, boots, replace them. They did their job.

[Frickman]

I have cut very expensive, nine layer Stihl brand chaps. They're close to $100.00 pair. They did their job, and they're retired. I always keep an old pair to wear when I'm marking timber in brush. Sometimes I wear them when running the mill in the winter also. I'll even need a spare buckle for my new chaps sometimes. Once they do the job they've more than paid for themselves and I get a new pair.

[Jedon]

Mine were Stihl brand, maybe they didn't have as many layers since they were cheaper? Still worked though, although I do have a bruise on my leg where the saw hit.

[Frickman]

Jedon,

Stihl has a whole line of chaps. There are both six layer and nine layer professional chaps. You can get them with or without the wrap-around pieces on the lower legs. They have skidder chaps too, which are six layer with a bib overall front. There are homeowner/consumer grade chaps also that are colored black instead of orange. I'm not sure how many layers they are. If you are going to buy safety equipment, buy the best protection you can get, the nine layer chaps. You don't want to be lying in a hospital wishing you had spent another thirty dollars.  :(

All the Stihl chaps are polyester fill with a nylon cover. As mentioned above, the polyester pulls out and fluffs up on contact with the saw and jams the saw. I haven't seen kevlar chaps for sale in a while. They may be made still though. I never liked them much though.

One thing to remember everybody about the polyester chaps, no matter the brand. They are machine washable, but must be machine/tumble dried. Not line dried. The reason is you want to fluff up the polyester fibers so they do their job. I wash mine when they get dirty partly to fluff up the fibers again.

[Jedon]

Mine are orange and have 2 straps across the back of each leg.

In my other hobby I wear this:
Admin Note:Link Removed. Pictures MUST reside in the forestry forum galleries

That's me on the left  8)

[mur]

Don't fool around trying to repair damaged chaps.  What is your leg worth? Or your Compensation claim?  I ran saw for over 30 years and wore out lots of pairs of chaps - never cut one though.  They're cheap in the scheme of things. Replace the chaps and get the good ones. 

[SawTroll]

i don't think you can fix them properly... to fix them would take replacing all of the effected fibers, which would mean a new leg.... 
...

Agreed!

[Jedon]

Okay I won't repair them, thank you all for the advice.

A friend said he's going to make me some chaps out of welded chainmail, I think it would work but might damage the chain?

[Jeff]

That oughta produce enough shrapnel to do the job up right. 

[rebocardo]

The kevlar type, as I understand it, is made from one big thread. Once you cut the thread or pull it, you have reduced its effectiveness. If you got a bruise from the saw impact, that means without the chaps you would have cut your leg off, easy. Probably would have killed you in doing so, lucky to be alive  8)

Watch out for chain link in trees too.

[jon12345]

Getting oil and other chemicals on them is also damaging.  They are only designed to work once, I agree with these other guys, your life is worth more than the 50-100$ you would spend on a new pair of chaps.  Givin someone a pair of damaged chaps is kinda like lettin someone borrow ur car with bad brakes, sure it will get them there but who knows   ??? I don't cut without them or near people without them. The only thing they are really good for now is a reminder, or walkin through the prickers. 

[Raphael]

The only thing they are really good for now is a reminder, or walkin through the prickers. 

  They will definately help with the prickers, I went out to harvest some floor joists last week and found a nearly perfect black birch surrounded by black berry briers.  I used the chainsaw maybe 20 minutes tops but had my chaps on for the entire time I was out there to fend off those prickers.

Jedon -  I was thinking that those damaged chaps might make good underpadding for a set of articulated legs.  Are you in SCA , MSR or is the armour for some other activity?

[micky boy]

Each vertical strand of  ballistic nylon threads the whole length of the leg with with no stitches to  hinder it, when the saw cuts in each and every strand that gets pulled will be affected and probably have been pulled from its stiching at the top and at the bottom resulting in some shorter lengths randomly moving under the outer material, these might affect your next cut ( if there is one).
Personally if I only had a small cut through say 2/3  layers out of 9 I would patch the outer nice and neat, assuming it wasn't a nasty cut. But if it looked a mess I would by a new pair.
Chaps are rarely used in the U.K and most of us wear trouser types- which are a lot more expensive to replace - and always rip out at the crotch >:(

[Max sawdust]

Chaps are rarely used in the U.K and most of us wear trouser types- which are a lot more expensive to replace - and always rip out at the crotch >:(

Interesting, I prefer the trouser type too.  Only ones I can seem to find are sold by Husquvarna.  A good pair of suspenders helps reduce the crotch rip issue :D
Max

[jkj]

A good use for damaged chaps might be as an object lesson for those who refuse to wear them.