PSA....ALWAYS wear them......

[Dragline]

 

 ... even if you don't think you need too. Had a near miss this morning cutting firewood when the chainsaw grabbed a vine and pulled into my chaps. Fortunately they did their job!

[doc henderson]

good for you and great lesson for us all to be reminded of. 

[beenthere]

BTDT

Two days before leaving for a 2 week elk hunt out west.

Bar/chain hit right above the knee joint. 
Now do not start the chainsaw without the putting on the chaps.

[peakbagger]

Thanks for the PSA. The company I worked for, James River (the former Brown Company) was the last paper company owned logging operation in the Northeast. They worked with a local firm, Labonville's in Gorham NH to develop chainsaw chaps. The company crews wore chaps long before they got popular. They had a display at the logging camp of chaps that had saving folks from harm. The company finally shut down the camp a few years after I went to work for them. Labonvilles is still cranking out the chaps and they supply a lot of goverment contracts for NPS and USFS.  

[kantuckid]

I have some chaps (Stihl branded)-but guilty of not always using them! 
A co-worker who cut his own firewood nearly cut to the bone in his thigh years ago. He's gone now, but it scared him such that he quit using firewood altogether. 
Thanks for the reminder.  

[SawyerTed]

As a chainsaw kickback survivor, thanks for reminding us.  That little nick in the chaps could have been a cut that notched the bone.  I know first hand.

I had a kickback that cut my left shin to the bone and cut into the muscle on the outside of my leg that required about 2 hours of surgery to fix.  It took nearly 3 months to recover - the worst parts were how the laceration had to be cleaned and the subsequent the antibiotics.

That was nearly 30 years ago.  For Christmas that year my parents gave all the men in the family chainsaw chaps, safety glasses, hearing protection, gloves and hard hats.  When a man makes a promise to his mother, at least in my family, he keeps that promise.  I'm on my 4th or 5th set of chaps.

[Stephen1]

I am on my 4 set of chaps. I have had a nick from the saw. I wear them before I get the saw out. 

[Walnut Beast]

My Chaps 😳. I guess this is a good idea to wear chaps. I got lucky the other day. I started the saw and didn't kick it down. Letting it warm up. The mistake was carrying the saw and stepping over a log on the ground and had the saw lifted and when my leg come up the bottom just caught the sweatpants ( got lucky)

 

[doc henderson]

may have been your first and final warning.  I am not as religious about this as I should be.  

[kantuckid]

Chaps are much like motorcycle helmets IMO. Same can be said for motorcycle clothing. There is no shortage of proof the gear works but much proof it's ignored. I sadly need to do better on the chainsaw stuff.
 In my shop I'm strictly safe, the woods less so. 

 On the road riding, I'm what's call an  "ATGATT" rider.
 It means: All the gear, all the time. Includes gloves, boots, eyes, helmet (not sgt shultz version:D), pants and jacket plus hearing plugs even with a full helmet and shield.  

[SawyerTed]

No disrespect intended - you don't get to be 78 years old being stupid.  I too am ATGATT.  Remember I said I promised by mother to wear the chainsaw gear?  I promised my wife and kids I would wear the motorcycle gear - another promise a man has to keep. 

[thecfarm]

Promises are good.