Am I the only one who switched from hand pruning to a pole saw for most canopy work?

I used to climb everything with hand pruners and a handsaw for deadwood removal, took forever on big oaks. Then I got a battery powered pole saw after a buddy in Dallas showed me his setup last fall. Now I clear lower deadwood from the ground in half the time, save my energy for the risky cuts up top. But I still wonder if I'm missing something on tree health long term - anyone else notice more bark tears with a pole saw?

2 comments

2 Comments

shane_nguyen18d ago

Man, that's exactly what my buddy learned the hard way. He switched to a pole saw and was getting mad bark tear on his maples until he realized his chain was dull as a butter knife. After he got a new chain and kept the speed up, his cuts cleaned right up with no damage.

shane_nguyen18d ago

Bark tears are user error, not tool error. You gotta run the pole saw at full speed and let the blade do the work, not muscle it through. A sharp chain makes all the difference too. I see way less tearing now than I did with that cheap bar that came on my saw.