I quit wearing my wedding ring after I "sprained" my finger. Heard the knuckle pop when catching myself when I tripped, and knew by the instant pain to take the ring off immediately. The finger swelled up for weeks, and months later I still could not get the ring over the knuckle. That was years ago, and the ring is still on my nightstand. When working around equipment, I was always aware of the danger of the ring catching before I quit wearing it.
As for gloves, I buy the cheap welding gloves at the tool sales and use them for everything. They are very durable, and work well for everything from shovelling to dutch oven cooking. They work very well for chainsaw use also, both in terms of protection from sharp and hot parts, but for vibration control as well (especially with the fuzzy-lined ones). Plus you can fearlessly reach into a pile of bramble and deal with it.
The only problem is twigs and things that fall into the cuffs, but I have developed a hold-my-arm-up-and-shake routine that gets the stuff out quickly and looks like I'm waving at the neighbors.
Of course, I have several pairs that I've worn the finger tips out of, and they don't need the arm up part!
- Just Gary
