Brushcutting chaps?

[weesa20]

I am gearing up to do some light brushcutting and have been looking for brush blade specific chaps but have really only found chainsaw chaps- because the two machines work and are stalled in very different ways, i am concerned that the chainsaw chaps are not sufficient...anyone aware of brush cutter specific chaps or shin guards?

 

[Skyco]

If you have a proper brush cutter harness it is impossible to get to yourself with the blade...

 

[studor]

As long as the guards are in place and you are wearing the harness it seems kinda hard to visualize getting hit by the brushcutter blade as Skyco says. I have been hit by chunks of flying vegetation that hurt so I don't wear shorts anymore. I wear high boots to protect my shins and my logging hard hat with muffs and face guard to avoid hearing loss and stuff in my eyes. Needless to say this is also not one of my summer tasks anymore!

 

[Gary Fowler]

I cant see getting the blade into your leg, maybe into your foot if you maneuver it wrong. I would get heavy steel toed boots with the additional top instep flap to protect the top of your foot. They tie on with the laces. Other than good eye and hearing protection, that should be all you need if you keep the guards in place.
For cutting vines, saw briars etc. I bought the heavy duty Gator attachment with the 4 steel reversible blades for my weedeater and it works fine. I have the old 4 way skil saw looking blade with 4 notches and the Gator is much better.
Stihl make one with chain saw teeth that they swear cuts 4" saplings but if you have ever used a chainsaw, you know what touching it in the dirt does for instantly dulling the teeth not to mention rocks. Kinda pricey too. I am happy with my less than $15 gator attachment as I have hit rocks and barbed wire with mine and it keeps on ticking like a Timex watch. It is much better than the saw blade style as it is on pivots like a bush hog so if the blade hits an immovable object, they swing back.

 

[deereman75]

This past summer I was doing trail clearing in the alberta rockies with stihls biggest forestry clearing saw. I was wearing chainsaw chaps the whole time. That was more to prevent pain from getting hit with flying rocks and such. I doubt the chaps would really stop the saw, seeing as it will clear christmas trees as fast as you can swing that thing. Heres a pic of it.

 

[Soundguy]

chainsaw chaps and good high shaft boots or snake chaps and you should be fine.

soundguy

 

[Skyco]

I don't think chainsaw chaps will do diddly. They are designed to jam a chain not deflect it or shield against it in any way. They aren't gonna jam a rotating circular saw blade, nothing to jam.
Again with a proper harness you cannot get near any part of your body with the blade end, it is impossible, that is why the harnesses are made like they are.
I have that biggest Echo beast and I have thoroughly checked it out as I was concerned too, but it just can't be done without destroying the harness somehow.

 

[Soundguy]

if it's a kevlar lines chap it should 'resist' slashing style cuts.

resist being the key word.

swat uses slip on kevlar arm sleaves that look JUST LIKE chainsaw upper arm sleeves, only black, and use the to throw off kinfe blades...

soundguy

 

[studor]

I think if you somehow managed to get yourself with the blade that you will ruin a very good set of chainsaw chaps and drive fibres into your wound!
Even the Kevlar would be driven into the wound and the blade would continue to run free. JMHO

 

[Dan Hunter]

The chaps go on the person that is collecting and piling the material you're cutting. I can provide photos upon request to explain this. Surprisingly, it isn't all that painful compared to, say, spinal issues that warrant the fusing of C4-C7. Doesn't bleed much either but it does tend to horrify the operator.

 

[Branchchipper]

When cutting nasty stuff like blackberries, we wear high-top steel toed boots (or, when wet, rubber Viking chainsaw boots with Kevlar front rib) and chainsaw chaps.

I had the misfortune of seeing an accident some years ago involving a cutter blade that came apart at speed, and the resultant leg injuries.

I want the extra layers between me and the outside world, even if they aren't designed to "stop" the blade.

Other solutions? I have seen "snake chaps" for sale that claim to be designed for extreme rattler action; they are rigid plastic ankle protectors that extend almost to the knee. Seems like a pretty good alternative, albeit not designed for cutting. I don't know who makes/sells them.

 

[kco]

This past summer I was doing trail clearing in the alberta rockies with stihls biggest forestry clearing saw. I was wearing chainsaw chaps the whole time. That was more to prevent pain from getting hit with flying rocks and such. I doubt the chaps would really stop the saw, seeing as it will clear christmas trees as fast as you can swing that thing. Heres a pic of it.

Same here--I had a large Husqvarna saw similar to the one pictured (bought in 1986) and debris (especially on sidehills) made it very unpleasant until I got padded safety pants (I think they are kevlar). The pants are a pain to put on though, so I wish I had bought chaps.

The saw worked great but got harder on my back as I aged, so I gave it to a friend last year. I now use a hedge trimmer and loppers to maintain the non-driveable sections of my paths.

 

[deereman75]

Same here--I had a large Husqvarna saw similar to the one pictured (bought in 1986) and debris (especially on sidehills) made it very unpleasant until I got padded safety pants (I think they are kevlar). The pants are a pain to put on though, so I wish I had bought chaps.

The saw worked great but got harder on my back as I aged, so I gave it to a friend last year. I now use a hedge trimmer and loppers to maintain the non-driveable sections of my paths.

Ya they are hard on your back. I am in high school and in prety good shape, and after 2 or so hours my back was killing me. I was using the good stihl harness, but I had never done that before, so I wasnt use to it. It seems like it uses muscles I normaly never use..... That wasnt as bad on my back as loading and unloading the helicoptor nets.......

 

[weesa20]

So I ran the stihl 4 edge "grass" blade on the fs250r this morning- added barrier bar, larger shield, and single loop harness (all recommended for grass blade) and it went much more smoothly than I thought it would- that setup with cut through a lot more than just grass and it barely kicked back- I could see how a larger machine could kick under the right circumstances but this thing just chewed through everything I put in front of it. I will be getting some saw chaps and a combo shield/helmet/ear protectors for xmas to stop the self destructing blade parts and debris from hitting me as suggested above- I have a lot of brambles- whats the best material to stop the bramble attack? (eg sticking in my pants and following me around trying to trip me up?)

thanks for all the thoughts

 

[Chilly807]

We use the Stihl 3 blade brush knife on anything up to about 1/2 inch diameter, it's the cat's pajamas on mature goldenrod or briars. The saw blade works better than you might think, it's easy to re-sharpen and will easily lop off 3"+ alders.

We use an FS130 brushcutter.

Sean

 

[Coyote machine]

If you wanted stellar leg protection I would suggest hockey shin-guards* coupled with chainsaw chaps. It is essential to know which side to approach a sapling from with the saw mounted brush-cutter blades. This way kickback is all but eliminated. Each owner's manual will give copious detail on this safety aspect, which should be followed to the letter. Face protection is crucial too because of random thrown or ricocheted objects at high speed. Dr. Mower makes a pro level self propelled mower for this purpose, which I own, as well as a Jonsered and Echo brand brush cutter/weed eater. The Dr. machine is easiest to use, IMHO, in all but swampy conditions, and it is way less strain to my back, etc. It uses what they call a Beaver blade, which is a chainsaw chain attached to a circular disc.

DISCLAIMER:
*Not yet tried but seems like it might accomplish the task at hand. No warranties expressed or implied- it's just a suggestion from having used both during my lifetime to date.

 

[Soundguy]

i used to have a set of those rigid ones. I think mine were plastic over fibreglass.

soundguy

When cutting nasty stuff like blackberries, we wear high-top steel toed boots (or, when wet, rubber Viking chainsaw boots with Kevlar front rib) and chainsaw chaps.

I had the misfortune of seeing an accident some years ago involving a cutter blade that came apart at speed, and the resultant leg injuries.

I want the extra layers between me and the outside world, even if they aren't designed to "stop" the blade.

Other solutions? I have seen "snake chaps" for sale that claim to be designed for extreme rattler action; they are rigid plastic ankle protectors that extend almost to the knee. Seems like a pretty good alternative, albeit not designed for cutting. I don't know who makes/sells them.

 

[deereman75]

My method for using the FS550 was just use it like you would a string trimmer in grass. Man with the clearing saw blade, it cut christmas trees as easly as my john deere string trimmer cuts grass. Probably not all that safe, but it worked.....

 

[amigauser]

My method for using the FS550 was just use it like you would a string trimmer in grass. Man with the clearing saw blade, it cut christmas trees as easly as my john deere string trimmer cuts grass. Probably not all that safe, but it worked.....

I own a FS450 (one step down from yours) and with the circular saw blade it is like a hot knife through butter for most brush. Like has been stated no way to get your leg if using the harness and gaurds.

 

[deereman75]

I own a FS450 (one step down from yours) and with the circular saw blade it is like a hot knife through butter for most brush. Like has been stated no way to get your leg if using the harness and gaurds.

It was actually my uncles brush saw, I wish I had one....