Keeping fingers warm when cutting

[Good Feller]

What kind of gloves do all you loggers wear when cutting in the winter?  I was wearing thick leather gloves with cotton inserts the other day (32 degrees) and it didn't work too well.  My finger tips get so cold it's painful.  The coldness from the saw's handles really soaks through my gloves.  Also, I was wondering if there is a way to devise heated grips on a saw?  thanks

[Maineloggerkid]

Alot of newer saws come with heated handles as an option.  As for me, I wear the most insulated gloves I can and still have good dexterity with my hands. There is nothing I hate more than not being able to fully bend my fingers!

I hear ya on the cold, though. It has been down to about 15 degrees the last few mornings, and Thursday I think I started get frostbite on my left hand while cutting. It went away though, so its ok.

[Good Feller]

My next saw WILL have the heated grip option. 

[bkellyvtme]

Hey Maineloggerkid, I see you are not far from stinkin' Lincoln . How are things going at that mill? Still going?
Goofeller, heated grips are worth thier weight in gold when you need it. I never buy a saw w/o it. I found finding some small fleece gloves, and then larger leather did o.k for me.

[mike_van]

Anything thats too tight is worse, like the liners inside the leather, they need to fit really lose.  When it's bitter cold, they best thing is mittens instead of gloves. It gets harder to do certain things, but not impossible. I never had the 3 finger ones, they'd probably help some over regular ones.  A lifetime of working out all winter, the only thing that bothers me about the cold is my hands.

[Kodiakmac]

I don't have much in the way of advice for you, but your question brought back some memories.  Back in the 50s and early 60sy my twin sister and I used to go to the bush in winter-time with my Dad and his brother.  They used horses back then...Clydes. 

I remember when our hands got cold my Dad would walk us over to the team .  We'd stick our mittens up in the horses' arm-pits (leg-pits?) until our fingers warmed up. 

Like I said, this post wasn't much help...I suppose you want a solution that's a bit smaller and more maintenance-free than a Clyde, eh, Good Feller?

[Good Feller]

I'm just cold-blooded.  I've got the heat on 71 degrees in my house and my hands are like ice.  I'm willing to spend the extra dollar to stay comfortable this winter in the woods. 

[Maineloggerkid]

The Lincoln mill is still going strong, for now. I have a cousin that is a foreman there. They are shutting Millinocket soon, but hopefully Lincoln will not follow suit.

[bkellyvtme]

I hope not too. That would hit the area pretty hard.

[Maineloggerkid]

Extremely hard. THe whole area works off the mill. THe welding shop my dad works for gets alot of business from them, so even people that don't work in the forest products industry would be hit with a big blow.

[bkellyvtme]

I know the whole fiber industry has been taking a thrashing. I heard some have switched over to producing energy from chips and other biomass.

[SwampDonkey]

If sawing without heated handles, some of the family wore leather mittens with wool mitten liners and take along an extra part of liners. Me, as long as I'm moving I'm warm with Thinsulate gloves. But I can understand not being warm in 70 degree weather, my grandfather in his older age was always cold, even in summer with the heater on and never wanted a window rolled down. I used to ask what was cooking for breakfast. At home he wanted the heat near 90 degrees enough the melt any normal human being.

[Reddog]

The search feature can be your friend.

http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,23903.0.html

http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=search2

[thecfarm]

That's what the "G" is for on my 372XPG. The G is for generator I think.Use to only add about $40 dollars and a few ozs to the saw.I could not find anything to really keep my hands warm,except for the exhaust on the tractor.I could cut just fine,but as soon as I grabbed on to the chockers and the links would fill with snow and than I would grab on to the chains,that would be it.I was to cheap to buy good gloves.Cheaper to spend $40 once and wear cheap gloves.

[Good Feller]

Reddog, if everyone searched what would be the point of this forum?  I'm here to interact.... not "google" around in the search bar.  If nobody posted anything it would be pretty boring around here.  The same topic brought up today can have different information than one created a few years ago.   Nobody has to respond or even read my posts if they don't want to.

[SwampDonkey]

Reddog was just bringing your attention to a previous discussion(s) made on the forum and a feature of this forum that sometimes gets missed by members or overlooked. He wasn't trying to kill the thread. Go easy on your fellow member. 

[Dale Hatfield]

Heated handle bar  is best option. But here are a few tips.
Buy a set of loose fitting wist bands. Buy some packs of hand warmers.
Place hand warmer once activated  place one inside of wrist band.
Or place hand warmer on back of hand inside of glove.
I have found  that some of the sore back heat pads from wally world placed on you back will help fight the bone chilling cold back when working slow paced in the cold.
I use this method in ice carving comps where I have to keep hand inside of PVC gloves  that  get hard as a brick and half froze.
When we carved south of Chicago   last year if it hadn't had the hand warmers i would have locked smooth up. I  bought a case  on the way in and had em stuffed everywhere on the last day. It was so cold that blocks of ice were shattering from the change in temps when we pulled the boxes off them, even though they had been stored outside all night.

[beenthere]

For me, keeping the hands as dry as possible helps the most. I like the loose fitting wool gloves, or just the brown cotton gloves....until the glove gets soaked with melted snow (being warm and then handling the snowy chains, etc. as thecfarm mentioned).

I like the hand warmer pads too, but most times when sweaty and then the back of my neck gets cold and clammy, ... I drop one of those pads under my shirt collar in the back. Feels real good.

My hands may be cold when I start chain-sawing, but with any amount of work, they soon warm up and I start shedding clothes and changing to lighter, but dry, gloves.

No plans to go the heated handle route, but then I don't do chainsawing often enough to justify the expense, like many of you.

Parts of this thread remind me of what my Dad used to say to me (and my brothers) when growing up....."Knock that chip off your shoulder Son, or I'll knock it off for you". Usually I would take the hint and slink outta sight for awhile until we both cooled off...
If not, I knew that he'd make an attempt to "knock it off" and I'd be shaking my head a bit. 

[Mooseherder]

Parts of this thread remind me of what my Dad used to say to me (and my brothers) when growing up....."Knock that chip off your shoulder Son, or I'll knock it off for you". Usually I would take the hint and slink outta sight for awhile until we both cooled off...
If not, I knew that he'd make an attempt to "knock it off" and I'd be shaking my head a bit. 

Then you'd forget about how cold your hands were.

[Jeff]

I'm getting real close to playing the part of the Forum Dad.

[tyb525]

Wearing latex gloves under regular insulated gloves works for me. Plus it keeps the wet out, unless you start to sweat.

[okie]

I for one am really glad this topic came up. I have a condition called raynauds disease and as a result, if the temperature drops much under 50 the blood drains from my hands and they get paper white. In the 30's if unprotected it is really painfull. I am more suseptible to frost bite on account of this. My solution thus far has been fleece gloves with leather on over them and hot hands inside on the back and a fire going nearby to warm them if need be. I remember when i was a kid my dad got a pair of heated socks for christmas one year and they worked. I really wish someone made these in gloves. 

[John Mc]

If a new saw with a heated handle is not in your budget...

A couple of things learned from winter camping on keeping hands (and feet) warm.

Cotton is worthless. Once it gets damp or wet it has very little insulating value. It also holds any moisture right against your skin, sucking more heat from you. GEt something tha insulates even when wet (wool, polypro, etc.) as a liner in your gloves.

If your hands (or feet) are cold, put on a hat. A tremendous amount of heat is lost through your head. When your body's core temperature starts to fall, your system reacts by restricting blood flow to your extremities, trying to conserve heat and protect vital organs and your brain. Restricting blood flow to the brain has rather dire consequences, so your body doesn't do that... you'll just keep radiating heat out of your head. A good windproof fleece hat is one of my favorites. Still breathes to let out moisture, but insulates and cuts down on wind chill. You'd be surprised just how much difference this can make. there are special liners made for rock climbers and mountaineers to wear under their helmets that would probably work well under a chainsaw safety hat.

Keep your arms and especially wrists warm. One of the things that makes your fingers cold is chilling the blood on the way to them. A weak link in many people's cold weather gear is at the wrists... there is generally a gap between the coat and the glove, or at least a less insulated point. Your wrists are not well insulated naturally, and the arteries flow very close to the surface. Gloves with gauntlets (a part that extends up past your wrists)help, especially the ones with a drawstring to close the end of the gauntlet. The drawstring helps to seal off the opening to the air, and keeps all the wood chips from falling into your glove while sawing. Gauntlets should extend well up past the wrist. Picking a glove and coat that work well togethr in the wrist area can make a significant difference.

Avoid clothing that is too restrictive in the arms, wrists or hands. Often, as people try to layer up, the layers will cause a squeeze in places, partially restricting blood flow. This often happens in the wrist area. It can also happen in or near your armpits or the inside of your upper biceps (putting pressure in this area is something a paramedic will do to stop or slow bleeding further down your arm... the pressure squeezes the artery that supplies blood to your arm and hand. Even a partial restriction will cause problems... just like trying to cram too many pairs fo socks into your boot will make your foot colder, not warmer. Gripping too tightly or otherwise tensing up arm or hand muscles can have a similar effect.

Sorry for the long post. Thought some of this might help someone.

John Mc

[thecfarm]

Comfort to me is worth alot.Even if the price was $100 for heated handles I would spend it.I would gp through more good gloves trying to keep my hands warm and the bother of it too than the price of the handles of the life of a saw.Bother is worth something too to me.I've had my XPG for 5 yeras now,I think,seems like I did not even pay $40 for the heated handles. Getting cheaper by the year now Cold hands are no fun.

[thedeeredude]

I have underarmour brand glove liners.  Real thin warm and lots of dexterity and if its really windy, light leather gloves over top of them keeps out the wind.  They were pricey ~24$ I think, but worth it in my view.  I found a link to them
gloves link

[SwampDonkey]

I agree with John to about your whole body being warm. I get real warm with the get up I mentioned above and often will have a wool shirt under by jacket in real piercing cold. After a good work out with a saw the steam just rolls off my hands if I take my gloves off. Everybody works a little different I guess, some will need a fire to keep warm and others work on their own fire.

[Woodhog]

My finger tips get really cold and painful with leather gloves on when I first start on a cold day.
I then use the "built in heater" on the saw and press my gloves on it till my fingers get warmed up a bit with the saw idling.

 After a few breaks from cutting and doing this my fingers seem to be OK and almost get to hot....

[Corley5]

I usually wear a light pair of gloves when running a saw and my hands seldom get cold as long as I'm working the saw.  I carry a pair of insulated Kinco's from Bailey's to put on walking in and out and wear them when running the forwarder.  If my hands get too cold just once during the winter the rest of the season I have a hard time keeping them warm

[okie]

I agree with John to about your whole body being warm. I get real warm with the get up I mentioned above and often will have a wool shirt under by jacket in real piercing cold. After a good work out with a saw the steam just rolls off my hands if I take my gloves off. Everybody works a little different I guess, some will need a fire to keep warm and others work on their own fire.

  I figured somethin like that was comin    The fire is for my hands not my body, I can be sweatin like all get out and if temps are like I stated above , my hands will be suffering. The fire is a necessity. The first thing your body sacrifices in the cold as you probably know are its extremities, it does this by shrinking the blood corpusules if I am not mistaken....might be somethin else though as its been years since I was diagnosed with this. Basically I got a short cirtuit that causes my body to shut blood flow off sooner and in less extreme conditions than it should.

[Urbicide]

I for one am really glad this topic came up. I have a condition called raynauds disease and as a result, if the temperature drops much under 50 the blood drains from my hands and they get paper white. In the 30's if unprotected it is really painfull. I am more suseptible to frost bite on account of this. My solution thus far has been fleece gloves with leather on over them and hot hands inside on the back and a fire going nearby to warm them if need be. I remember when i was a kid my dad got a pair of heated socks for christmas one year and they worked. I really wish someone made these in gloves. 

+1. White finger disease. It is very painful. I loose circulation and feeling in most of my fingers and the color they exhibit is a rather corpse-like off white. Vibration can also set it off when cold. I told my orthopedist about this and he said to just keep warm. I'll tell that to the foreman.

I would love to have at least one XPG saw. They are not common around these parts at all.

[moonhill]

Not sure if this will help, but I flap my arms, not up and down but out in front, kind of like you are hugging yourself but fast.  This forces the blood into the hands.  If done before they get too cold they don't hurt so bad as they warm up.  It they were really cold they hurt as the capillarities expand back to normal.   It is almost a wonderful sensation.

I like the three fingered leather mittens with a variety of liners depending on the temp.  It is hard to beat a leather mitten with a wool liner and a poly liner inside that.  Its that time of the year again.     

Tim

[okie]

I for one am really glad this topic came up. I have a condition called raynauds disease and as a result, if the temperature drops much under 50 the blood drains from my hands and they get paper white. In the 30's if unprotected it is really painfull. I am more suseptible to frost bite on account of this. My solution thus far has been fleece gloves with leather on over them and hot hands inside on the back and a fire going nearby to warm them if need be. I remember when i was a kid my dad got a pair of heated socks for christmas one year and they worked. I really wish someone made these in gloves. 

+1. White finger disease. It is very painful. I loose circulation and feeling in most of my fingers and the color they exhibit is a rather corpse-like off white. Vibration can also set it off when cold. I told my orthopedist about this and he said to just keep warm. I'll tell that to the foreman.

I would love to have at least one XPG saw. They are not common around these parts at all.

Yup, that is it. The first time it happened to me it was 45 degrees and cold water on my hands felt scalding hot. Scared me cause it wasnt cold enough to do that.  Symptoms kept increasing and I went to the doc. Doc prescribed me anti inflamitories and that didnt work, he said it was all he could do. I have gotten used to it and learned how to work with it but I really hate winter mostly because of this. My wife frequently coments that my hands look like they are off a dead man when I come in when its cool.

[Larry]

I thought white finger was a condition most old loggers came down with caused by chainsaw vibration, maybe in conjunction with high blood pressure.  Did a little googling and looks like I was wrong.

I fish all winter...bare hands in cold water along with wind and ice.  I keep Hot Hands in each pocket of my Carhardts.  Mittens on straps up through the sleeves of my coat...just like the little kids.  Spare mittens for when the first get wet.  One trip last year I wasn’t prepared and my fingers got so cold I couldn’t turn the ignition key in the boat to get it started.  Had to get plier’s and hold them with both hands...bent the key.

[beenthere]

..............
I would love to have at least one XPG saw. They are not common around these parts at all.

urbicide
Where is "these parts"...??

[thecfarm]

I had to order mine special.Takes a week to get to come in,if I remember correctly.Hope I don't get to find out how long it does take to get one.I have had some kinda snicker at my saw,but if you have a problem you do something about it.That's my fix for cold hands.

[zackman1801]

my problem is, is that i keep my hands warm and then i sweat. and then its over, once my gloves are wet i get colder and colder untill i eventually just take them off because they start to freeze.  thats always been my problem i dress warm enough and then i sweat, i would even sweat if i only had a t shirt on in the winter then i would really be in trouble.

[Mooseherder]

I for one am really glad this topic came up. I have a condition called raynauds disease and as a result, if the temperature drops much under 50 the blood drains from my hands and they get paper white. In the 30's if unprotected it is really painfull. I am more suseptible to frost bite on account of this. My solution thus far has been fleece gloves with leather on over them and hot hands inside on the back and a fire going nearby to warm them if need be. I remember when i was a kid my dad got a pair of heated socks for christmas one year and they worked. I really wish someone made these in gloves. 

+1. White finger disease. It is very painful. I loose circulation and feeling in most of my fingers and the color they exhibit is a rather corpse-like off white. Vibration can also set it off when cold. I told my orthopedist about this and he said to just keep warm. I'll tell that to the foreman.

I would love to have at least one XPG saw. They are not common around these parts at all.

Yup, that is it. The first time it happened to me it was 45 degrees and cold water on my hands felt scalding hot. Scared me cause it wasnt cold enough to do that.  Symptoms kept increasing and I went to the doc. Doc prescribed me anti inflamitories and that didnt work, he said it was all he could do. I have gotten used to it and learned how to work with it but I really hate winter mostly because of this. My wife frequently coments that my hands look like they are off a dead man when I come in when its cool.

Unfortunately my wife is afflicted by Raynauds also and has long suffered it's effects even in sunny South Florida.  She has been to many doctors who don't seem to be equipped to diagnose the ailment.

She found a Doctor who seemed to know what he is doing and has prescribed Fish Oil pills.
My wife says to have your thyroid checked.  She is also taking Armour Thyroid medication.  It is natural medication and has helped tremondously.

[beenthere]

zackman1801
Quite like my problem..sweating, no matter how cold out.
The best I've found that works is silk underwear top, with wool shirt. The best for moving sweat away from the skin, and into the wool. Found the silk to be much better than the poly undershirt.
I like the natural fibers and think they are the way to go.

With the wool, I can stop sawing or working, and rest without getting chilled. If windy, a light nylon windbreaker over the wool to start out.

[Maineloggerkid]

Beenthere, zack, I have the same all-weather sweating issue. To combat this I wear many layers. As I get warmer, I shed them. As you walk in my skid trails, you can see a whole wardrobe hung in tree branches until you eventually find me in a t-shirt at the end of the day.

thecfarm- My local(30 miles away) saw shop usually has 2 372xpg's in stock all the time, so I think my next saw is gonna be one of those babies. I have to wait a while, though. I just got a 385xp a couple moths ago.

[arojay]

I have a couple of xpg's now and they are great.  I work in temperatures as cold as 30 below F. and I usually wear leather one finger mitts with wool liners when setting chokers and skidding and with heated grips I can wear gloves when felling. Before I had heated grips I would wear the mitt combo all the time.  I forgot the leathers in the shop one day but I had lots of liners so I doubled them up and my hands were warmer.  This is in weather that is too cold for the snow to melt on the wool, if is warmer and the snow could melt the leathers are the thing.  I wear lots of wool and fleece layers with a nylon on top when it's windy or there is lots of snow hanging in the bush.  I find it is better to be just a little on the cool side and avoid sweating.

[Maineloggerkid]

  -30 degrees is just right for working. thats when I like to cut pine. sap is frozen solid, limbs snap off when it hits the ground, and you work up enough of a sweat to keep ya warm.

thats right- I sweat in 30 below temps. last year at school we would be down to our t-shirts and a thin sweater in negative temps. (wonder we didn't all catch cold)

[Ed_K]

 I wore kinko's while cutting and setting chockers. Now with the 346xpg its thin leathers cutting and the kinko's the rest of the time. If I have a long skid I have a pair of leather mitts to put on. I don't believe I'll ever buy another saw w/o the G .Anyone interested in a slightly used 575 xp?

[timberfaller390]

Down here in the winter Our coldest mornings are usally 19 - 20* and rise to a balmy 35 - 40* so as long as your workin you can get buy with a flannel shirt and a carharrt coat.

[Urbicide]

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

 

[Urbicide]

..............
I would love to have at least one XPG saw. They are not common around these parts at all.

urbicide
Where is "these parts"...??

Sorry about that. I should put that in my profile. I live in SW Ohio in the Cincinnati area. My woodlot is in Clermont County, which is one county to the east of Cincy.

[Tom]

I can wear work gloves when I handle the wood, but don't like them when operating the mill, So, I keep my fingers in Florida.

If it gets too cold for me here, I quit and go inside. 

[SwampDonkey]

I hope it doesn't turn cold down there for a stretch Tom. You might have to ask Harold in CR if he has a room for rent and if he barters food for sawing.

[Stephen Alford]

When the paws get cold head for the kitchen.  Can't do a turkey but soup works. Have a great thanksgiving !   

[Maineloggerkid]

I'm assuming you stop the tractor on the level before you try to cook.

[Ed_K]

 When i worked in construction i heated soup or beans on the manifold of the JD850 when it got cold in TX.

[snowman]

Golden grippers one size to large with army surplus wool liners. Warm and cozy and they stay dry. Men with heated handlebars probly have AC in their pickup too.

[Stephen Alford]

Hey Main; somtimes its stopped but not always ,got to remember "fire is our friend" just need attention, the real danger that i just realized is that photo of my ol kettle falling in the wrong hands,there could be talk of pirates and plank walking for sure.  Of coarse when your on an island in the Atlantic there is always that risk. 

[dsgsr]

Gees, someones got a nice cab on there tractor to sit in I'm with snowman, good old Army wools with leather covers. Keeps my hands warm on the coldest days, and I'm pretty slow in the woods. I have some physical disabilities that keep me slow so I have too dress warm cause I can't move fast enough to stay warm

David