Does the high torque of electric saws preclude the use of chaps? I heard that somewhere and have not been wearing chaps with my 60v 16" bar greenworks. But a friend says bad Kris. Ed at the saw shop says wear chaps and the torque issue only applies to corded saws, not the crap battery saws -- his colorful language. Ed is a bit of a two-cycle man. The battery saw is handy, but my Stihl saws still are beasts. Oh, did a Web search for chaps that claim protection from electric saws, but no go kris
My understanding of chainsaw chaps is the kevlar material inside the chaps gets pulled out like fiber in a sleeping bag and jams the saw no matter how much torque your saw has. But I've had a tree pruning career for 30+ years and use my corded electric saw only every few years because I've owned about a dozen of these Corona saws since 1989 and I can cut through a 12 inch log in about 5 minutes with it. Handsaws are not only great exercise, but mistakes happen after that many decades of work and my hand saw mistakes don't cut me open enough to require stitches. Also you can still hear the birds singing while you're sawing if you use these instead. Sadly, these saws were discontinued by Corona, so next I need to buy a new one I'll buy one of these: No. K24
From your posts, I have the impression you are in Western Oregon, in some county such as Lane or Lincoln First, I agree with Ed. Follow his advice. But, if you want probably your best local information, find some time on a weekday during business hours to drop by a local county fire station, bigger would probably be better, but not always. It has been decades since I fought fire, but I know one thing has not changed, the people there will know what they are talking about and will be glad to help. Personally, I have Labonville full wraps. Expensive, but, well, better than losing a chunk of leg.
That's a good point about corded vs non-corded. I don't know. I still wear them anyway when using the corded electric chain saw but try to be extra careful. I don't use the anti kickback chains on it either, but not too aggressive. Then there's the little Harbor Freight corded electric pruning saw-on-a-stick waving around up over my head, lol. Last time I used that I powered it with a little generator sitting in a lawn tractor trailer. The saw was only 40 bucks. I got a Husky last time after a Stihl-I felt it had a lot of plastic stuff on it. Six of one... Saw shop Ed probably knows what he's talking about. You could also perform your own experiment. Of course it would mean a pair of sacrificial chaps (not leg). edit: And, with pictures, it would make for an interesting post!
IMHO; I'd wear them if I had them. I'm too cheap and don't really use the chain saw that often. When I do, I'm extremely careful. I even run a metal detector over the areas I'm going to cut.
Metal detector, wow. You are the safety guy. In one of my wood lots, the entire perimeter had barb wire fencing from 1970. I just don't cut any wood along those fence lines. But in reality, any tree might have some scrap.
Yep; not a fan of having a chain snap and wrapping around my appendages. The chain's rotation should kick it down and around - but you never know - another reason you should wear chaps - if you got them. If I need to slice horizontally - I'll usually use a hand saw or pay someone; if it's too big. I didn't become an old fart by being stupid or taking outrageous chances. I know that most areas, especially back east - tree lines are used to mark property line. So finding barb wire inside of a tree isn't unheard of. Ditto for finding metal spikes in them. Gate hinges and such.
They're not singing. They're yelling at you for sawing limbs off of their neighbor's house. @ Chaps: ATGATT. ALL the gear. ALL the time. Good friend. Look at it this way.... If you KNEW you were going to be dragging ANY saw blade across one of your drumsticks WHERE would you want the chapps? I'm guessing probably NOT on a hook in your shed.
As a side note, I used a folding Fiskars saw to clear branches on the trail when I was walking a couple years ago. I should've worn gloves. 'Nuff said.
