wedges

[Pontius]

I am wondering what brand of wedges you folks use. I usually use the cheap ones but I bought one the red head wedges the other day and seems like it is holding up better but maybe it is just my imagination.
Jake

 

[Wade Huggins]

I like to use two different types of wedges, I use a hard head which is a plastic wedge with a steel shank, I also use K&H all plastic, very durable wedge. When felling I set the leaning side with the K&H and drive'er over with the Hardhead. When I am bucking up in the landing I use the K&H(all plastic) usually an older one so when the wedge falls through the cut there is no steel shank to flip down and hit the chain. I get them from Madsens and they are 7.5" and 9" inches long the Hardhead is about 11$ a piece and the K&H is around 4.50$ I ordered a dozen of each almost five years ago and I still have 4 or 5 of each left ...............Hope this helps

 

[Jacob J.]

The K&H wedges are thicker, the medium sized ones are better for smaller timber.

 

[wiley_p]

My first wedge in the backcut always is a 7d dont know who makes them drive that in with one of the maggies or the psuedo one whoever makes the real ones seem to only make a few a month, if not those then hardheads 10".

 

[NeTree]

I use the cheapo green Bailey's wedges. They get the job done, and aren't expensive to replace every time a crew loses one.

 

[Ryan Willock]

I've been using the bailey's green wedges for two years now and am switching to K&H (red head) as they hold up a LOT better and drive better too. I've been through a dozen bailey's wedges since september and in january I ordered two K&H 10'' triple taper and am still using them!

 

[JimL]

K&H,
keep 3 with me in the woods.
last quite a while usually,
but they do break.

 

[Ryan Willock]

The worst wedges that I've ever used were those STIHL wedges, d@mn things didn't last ANY time when it got cold.

 

[woodhog]

I had been using STIHL wedges, but I recently started using the K & H red head wedges also. They seem to hold up alot better for me also.

 

[Chainsaw_Maniac]

I'm using oragon. The only thing that matters for me is that they are pure plastic.

Well, I shoudln't say that...........I also use steel wedges but not in the same way you'd use a plastic wedge. I cut the tree so it's about to fall and then I put the saw totally away, put in a steel wedge and hit it with a sledge hammer. That's a good way to contraol the fall of a tree exactly if it's leaning or hangin in other trees in such a way that it's risky to fall it the conventinal way.

I only very rarely use the steel wedge method though. How did I get off topic like this?

 

[Ryan Willock]

People stopped using steel wedges in that manner because during hard pounding pieces would break off the wedge and occasionally hit people in the eye.

 

[Chainsaw_Maniac]

Originally posted by Ryan Willock
People stopped using steel wedges in that manner because during hard pounding pieces would break off the wedge and occasionally hit people in the eye.

True. That's why only very rarely do it.

Not to argue against safety or anything but I've never seen a piece fly off and I've got eye protection on anyway. Also, those same wedges are used to split blocks of wood, and a piece could just as easily fly off doing that.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

stihl high lift suits me