Originally posted by Lumberjack
Yes, that is a snipe. The snipe is the ledge, you can combine it with any face to acheive a certain end. But for directional falling, you want a completely open face, without any snipe, so the faces stay open, and the hindge intact.
You are mistaken Carl, that is not a snipe, it is a breached hinge.
Isnt all felling directional felling? An open faced hinge would be used when you want the face to stay open longer or all the way down.
A basic notch- (humbolt or convential) can also be used for directional felling they just close sooner thus causing the hinge to break.
Depending on the tree, site and many circumstances, a different type of face cut can be employed as needed. If the tree has lean towards your drop zone, a basic notch will usually work because once enough holding wood(back cut) is removed gravity will take it course. The height of this notch will determine how soon the face will close and the hingewood will break.
A short notch= face closing sooner hinge breaking sooner
A tall notch = face closing later hinge breaking later
Open face= depending on the lean of tree may never fully close and hinge may stay intact.
An open face notch is good for trees which you pull out of a back lean because you want the tree to be well past center before your face closes up and hinge breaks.
Did that make any sense or did I repeat what everyone else has already said
I must admit Carl your post worried me a bit, because it is clear that you dont have a full understanding of how a face cut & hinge actually function, but yet you pass advice to others as if you do know, which can be very detrimental.