OlympicYJ
ArboristSite Guru
Looks like they wear good! Landing duty kills em all. I've been pretty happy with the Phillips tool steel compared to the champs but maybe I got some leftover from good production..?
A hard calk life for me
- Thread starter northmanlogging
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That is the kind of life I'm aiming for... Didn't take a pic from last weekend but I can say the hardened ones are showing they're strength now. The stock calks are nearly at ball bearing status, the hardened ones are starting to see some wear finally, This has been on rocky ground and graveled landing so far, not a whole lot of log walking on this job...
Was going to get to Bob's Wesco's tonight but got called out an a timber bid, so maybe tommorrow?
Was going to get to Bob's Wesco's tonight but got called out an a timber bid, so maybe tommorrow?
I'll have a good test for them when I get them back. I have some roadside hazard trees to take out and that means walking on gravel part of the time.
Now, come up with a simple tool to get the calks out that are stuck, please.
That'll be a challenge. Once the bases spin in the sole, there's not much you can do to grab them, short of removing the entire sole itself. My Kuliens connection favors drive calks over replaceable ones for this reason.
Uh, Wescos don't get stuck. 'Course that might be because I work in a drier climate and they don't corrode. Or maybe because Wesco calks wear so fast that they get changed often enough to keep everything free and easy? Good boots...lousy calks.
We'll see how NM's heat treated calks work out. Us poor starving logger types can't afford those fancy designer boots like you gubmint people.
stikine
ArboristSite Member
My solution to this problem has been to remove all the corks from a new pair of boots (before you wear them) and put a dab of anti-seize on the threads and then screw them back in. Each time I change out the dull ones the new cork gets the same treatment. I haven't stuck a cork for years after I started doing this.
As a time saver I also remove the cork tool handle and chuck the shaft onto a cordless drill to speed up this process.
Us poor starving logger types can't afford those fancy designer boots like you gubmint people.
Designer? I get what GSA has on the website. The Kulien's connection is my old forestry partner from my contracting days; I've known him since Jr. High school.
That's a good idea. I'll try it next time I get new boots.
Us poor starving logger types can't afford those fancy designer boots like you gubmint people.
Poor boy. I'll get out my violin. If I had BIG feet, a whole new world of boot brands would open up.
The current plan for ground up calks is to have a hex rather then the goofy holes like the champs, then it would be fairly hard to get em stuck, and you won't have to wast money on one of them cheap calk wrenches. Still in the planing stages of that project though.
oh no! now AS members are giving their footwear performance upgrades! Good thread!
Can you harden the eyelets too? I think mine are made out of brass? They wear quickly because I use the dreaded synthetic laces.
How come synthetic? Do the leather laces rot in the damp climate?
hmmm... I could technically... but it is brass and therefore never going to be super hard or wear resistant, and the down side is yer boots would have to be heated to something like 1000* F... and then soaked in silica.
I just use a pair of needle nose pliers and spin them so the worn side is away form the laces, it buys me another year or so. There shouldn't be any reason that a decent shoe repair shop can't replace them for sorta cheap
I just use a pair of needle nose pliers and spin them so the worn side is away form the laces, it buys me another year or so. There shouldn't be any reason that a decent shoe repair shop can't replace them for sorta cheap
They always break on me, not sure for missP, but tend to yard on em pretty good. There has been more then a few times that I had to stop and loosen my boots cause my feet fell asleep
They always break on me, not sure for missP, but tend to yard on em pretty good. There has been more then a few times that I had to stop and loosen my boots cause my feet fell asleep
Yup, they'll break before synthetic laces do. And synthetic lasts longer, I agree. They also seem to fit under the little-bitty hooks better. They also cost less than leather. It's getting harder and harder to find leather laces long enough for 12" boots unless you order them fro Bailey's Or Madsens.
That being said, I'll still keep using leather. Synthetic laces are kinda like plastic hard hats...they might be more practical but they just don't feel right.
Must be an "old guy" thing.
Joe46
ArboristSite Guru
Must be! Have always used leather laces on my corks or other work boots. But good ones are getting harder to find. I ordered some 120" ones online to replaces the ones in my Buffalos that the mice had made into a condo.
I must look at them wrong, or do the wrong incantation, because over here in the rain leather laces last about a week for me. I've greased them too. No good. Oh well.
Yup, I turn the little rings. A flat head screwdriver on a multitool will rotate the rings.
Yup, I turn the little rings. A flat head screwdriver on a multitool will rotate the rings.
NM...the treated spikes arrived in today's mail. I'll put them on the boots first chance I get and see how they do. They look good, no deformation or metal loss.
