Wrist lanyards on machetes or choppers - good idea or not?

RayseM

RayseM

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I've just acquired a 10" blade Seigle Chopper that probably weighs close to 3lbs (certainly 2 lbs +). Never thought of it until this blade but I'm wondering if I should attach a wrist lanyard to it as a safety precaution when swinging this heavy little chopper.

Will be used for trail clearing and camp stuff - mostly sapling type wood or light chopping (maybe heavy chopping - it is certainly up to the task, if I am :rolleyes:). This to replace my 16" machete which is lighter though longer. I have pretty much cleared all the pucker brush and light stuff around my property so the machete will spend more time on the wall whereas the Seigle will be getting a work out.

Point is that I don't expect to need the lanyard to save my "knife" from falling off my wrist in to a raging river or off a precipice in a survival situation but in general woods work. The weight has me wondering that if this thing slips it could be a threat to other people in the vicinity if not to myself.

Actually - as I work alone mostly will a lanyard be a danger to me? Rather than falling away from me if it did slip it could simply fall towards my body. The weight and sharpness could be painful.

Any real world pros and cons on the subject? I have never used a lanyard on any tool - hammers, axes, chainsaws :confused: - so should I start now? Thanks for sharing.

Ray
 
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Lanyards are nice with heavy knives that you will be swinging a lot. Wrap it around your thumb and around the backside of your hand. Hard to explain but if you happen to let go, it will swing out instead of straight back. Also lets you put a little bit of swing weight on the lanyard. This is nice when you start getting tired. I'm sure smarter people would advise you to stop using the knife if you're too tired to hold on to it. I am stubborn in that when I start a job I'll just work until it's done. So lanyards help me. Ymmv
 
Personally lanyard for me is more of getting the blade out of the sheath.

If i must have one it will be placed right after the scales, 1 inch away from the spine.

The more important question(s) would be are you operating alone when you clear path/ allow clearance between you and the person behind you as well as practicing common sense and knowing when to stop.
 
I'll need to look for an image or video of wrapping around the thumb too. Sounds smart to use a system that would direct a slipped blade.

As for safety and precautions I have been in the woodworking, carpentry, and woods work business for 30+ years with no harm done to me or co-workers. I actually annoy people with my precautions. I am a PIA proponent of situational awareness and appropriate safety gear. Just wondering if a lanyard is safety or false security and so my question.

Thanks for your input.
 
i always try to position myself so i'm swinging away from my body...if i happen to do a glancing blow and it manages to slip off my hand then the chopper is going away from me so i don't want a lanyard to pull it back towards me.

i've seen it first hand where a buddy of mine practically flung the machete towards me when his grip slipped...lucky for both of us he wasn't using a lanyard and i was standing a long ways away watching him chop.
 
I'm wondering if I should attach a wrist lanyard to it as a safety precaution when swinging this heavy little chopper.
Click to expand...

I don't know anything about the topic but it reminds me of when I was watching YouTube reviews of folding camp saws and one of the guys said a branch had fallen and caught the lanyard on the saw and it swung around and cut the crap out of him. I made a mental note to remember that if I ever feel like putting a lanyard on a knife.

Here's the YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEUqP095WRE
 
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Wowbagger said:
I don't know anything about the topic but it reminds me of when I was watching YouTube reviews of folding camp saws and one of the guys said a branch had fallen and caught the lanyard on the saw and it swung around and cut the crap out of him. I made a mental note to remember that if I ever feel like putting a lanyard on a knife.

Here's the YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEUqP095WRE
Click to expand...

Yeah - I wonder if wearing a lanyard encourages you to hold onto your tool while pushing stuff out of the way rather than setting it downs as you naturally would if it were loose in your hand. Thanks for that Wowbagger.

And yes JV3 stand the hell out of the way of your swing. Not always easy to do when working in a tangle but KEEP YOUR WITS ABOUT YOU AT ALL TIMES - is a good little voice that must not be ignored. :thumbup:

I am now leaning to the NON lanyard way of thinking.
 
No lanyard for me. I don't want anything that attaches a really big blade to my body if by chance I loose my grip on the knife and the blade is pulled back to me. Would you want a lanyard on a sword? I think not.
 
No lanyard on long bladed knives / machetes because they can swing back and cut you.

On shorter blade knives (9 inches or less) I use a lanyard like Tankerwolf explained; hang the lanyard on your thumb, and then pass the knife over the TOP of your hand and back into your palm to grasp the knife.

You will get a good hold on the knife, and if you drop the knife it is easily recovered by using your thumb to hold the lanyard.

I would think there is a YouTube video showing proper use of lanyards.
 
I have a lanyard on my BK4 but its mostly for aesthetics, I have it tied though so I could put my wrist in if I wanted to

IMG_20160131_152118930_zpspyb8tcit.jpg
 
I like a forward lanyard. If you let for of the knife, it won't swing down and hit you. A proper forward lanyard should keep the knife right where it should be, in your grip, even if you let go.

Sometimes I use one, sometimes I don't.

I don't like the wrap around the thumb version. It is uncomfortable, and I feel, makes the grip less secure.
 
Thomas Linton said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYf56upj0M

Note position of lanyards.
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Man - I tried to see how the lanyards were used but they were moving targets

All I could see is that they were cinched up tight at the wrists but otherwise :confused: Is that a "forward lanyard" position?

This thread has - so far - left me undecided. I think if properly worn the lanyard could be a safety feature but have yet to see what "properly" means. I'm feeling a bit dense :rolleyes:
 
RayseM said:
Man - I tried to see how the lanyards were used but they were moving targets

All I could see is that they were cinched up tight at the wrists but otherwise :confused: Is that a "forward lanyard" position?

This thread has - so far - left me undecided. I think if properly worn the lanyard could be a safety feature but have yet to see what "properly" means. I'm feeling a bit dense :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

They were all attached forward of the hand.
 
Thomas Linton said:
They were all attached forward of the hand.
Click to expand...

OH - now I see. :) I forwarded to the part where they where doing the chopping in my first look. This time I started at the beginning (duh) and I saw the line up of the choppers and NOW I SEE what forward of the hand means. Thank you Thomas for that important piece of info. I intend to try that with some careful releases of the chopper to see what happens. Thanks.
 
Ï agree with Tankerwolf on placing the lanyard on the thumb instead of the wrist for choppers and long knives. Actually, I do this with all my knives. I don't fully understand the physics of it, but if you used an adjustable lanyard (I use a cordlock) and set it tight, it makes the grip feel more secure. Of course, it also makes the knife swing away from you is it slips. Here is a step by step how to on the thumb lanyard.
 
Three types of lanyards:
The wrap round your thumb and the back of your hand, helps to swing and safety as it falls away from you
The toggle to pull a knife out the sheath
The attached to your belt so you do not lose the knife working on a boat or up ladders

I use all three depending on the knife
 
Preacher Man said:
Ï agree with Tankerwolf on placing the lanyard on the thumb instead of the wrist for choppers and long knives. Actually, I do this with all my knives. I don't fully understand the physics of it, but if you used an adjustable lanyard (I use a cordlock) and set it tight, it makes the grip feel more secure. Of course, it also makes the knife swing away from you is it slips. Here is a step by step how to on the thumb lanyard.
Click to expand...


Excellent. Thanks for that link!
 
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