Logging Tools

Hand Saw

• The pit saw began as a non-gas-powered blade operated by two lumberjacks --- one pulling and one pushing the two-handled saw blade. The saw blade measured 3 to 5 feet long and 8 inches wide. This saw remains in use in old logging operations around the world where gas-powered tools are not an option. Nonetheless, modern-day manual pit saws are made from carbon steel, which is more durable and easier to use.

Ax and Wedge

• Traditional logging included the use of a hand ax, used to chop large trees down where the hand saw could not. This ax head was made of steel with a 3- to 4-foot ash handle attached; the head had a sharp end and a blunt end. The logger used the blunt end for driving wedges into small cuts at the bottom of a hand-sawed log. Loggers could keep the wedge, made from hardwood, in their back pocket until they needed it. Though modern logging operations continue to use the ax, it is used sparsely because of the chain saw innovation.

Chain Saw

• The chain saw took the industry by storm in the mid-20th century. This saw, which began as a meager addition to logging, was used as a simple trimming tool. However, by the 1970s, the chainsaw increased in size so the chain and bar were in excess of 3 feet long. The chain saw is responsible for 80 to 90 percent of logging harvests around the world. Nonetheless, constantly undergoes revisions to make logging more efficient.

Choker

• Logging cables called chokers have been in use since the 17th century. The oldest chokers were made from ropes wrapped tightly around the log and connected by an open loop on one end of the rope. As the logger pulled the rope, the choker tightened, pulling the log along. Modern chokers are made from steel, although the technology remains essentially the same. Steel choker cables have a loop on one end through which the logger inserts the other end of the cable once the cable is wrapped once around a log. Once the logger applies pressure with a towing vehicle such as a tractor or horse, the choker locks around the log for removal.