I’ve always worn at least hardhat, safety glasses and chaps, if not a face shield. When I started using saws in the 70s, I didn’t believe in hearing protection, but got serious about that when I noticed some hearing loss. Too bad it’ll never come back, but my own fault.
Sorry to hear about your accident. In many, many hours of sawing (including several seasons on a USFS hotshot crew), I have been fortunate enough not to get cut. Knew several guys (and one woman) who had impressive zippers on their arms and legs from a moment of carelessness.
Yeah, my brother who,was a logger told me I should wear chaps too, but I always resisted, like a dummy.
When i first started cutting firewood, I did a lot of wood cutting in the woods too, and felling trees, sometimes the tree would buckle, or get pinched- and ive have had a few close calls where as soon as you hit the fallen tree with the saw, it “explodes” (releases all the energy from being under pressure), and have had the saw shoot up over my head- that is a scary deal when you aren’t expecting it. Sometimes I would cut through a tree that was on top of another smaller tree which got twisted, and would hit that with the saw and it would snap out and smack me in the chins or arm.
Such a dangerous profession or pastime. But with precautions, it can be made safer. Just gotta keep yourself aware all the time as you know. Accidents happen so fast that you don’t realize they happened until the pain starts almost.
I didn’t use hearing protection either, and now suffer tinnitus- but partly because I listened to really loud rock- again, like a dummy I shunned hearing protection.
God must have had to work overtime saving me from myself. I was in too much of a rush to stop and consider the consequences of things. Typical teenager who doesn’t think about such things I guess, but my teen year “bravado” (ie lunacy) went well into my 30’s